I am new to woodworking and currently setting up a one-man shop. I purchased a Porter Cable 4212 router jig for making dovetail joints etc. I thought I would begin with something simple so I began to make the drawers for one of my base cabinets. My intent is to use finger or box joints. However, I have not, after repeated attempts been able to cut the finger joints without significant tear out in 1/2 inch baltic birch plywood. I have tried using a marking guage to score the surface, started the cuts with a 1/4 in radius straight bit and then moved up to the 1/2 radius, taped both sides with painters tape and still significant tear out. Is this to be expected with plywood or am I missing something here?
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Replies
No you're not missing anything here. Plywood has a tendency to blow out when cutting through the face veneers. I'm not familiar with the P-Cable jig you mention but it looks like a standard multi-purpose jig.
On the tail boards, you should be able to put scrap plywood on either face of the boards or both faces and still get an accurate cut. Use 1/4" ply or mdf and make sure the whole package is clamped tight. This should eliminate the tear-out on the tail boards.
You can only put a scrap piece on the face or outside of the pin board. If you put something on the inside face it will change the size of your pins. For finger joints it shouldn't matter if you use backer or scrap pieces to help protect the face veneers.
Try this or go to solid wood to eliminate your tear-out problems. Good luck. Gary
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