Hello,

Not sure where this should go or if it has been discussed before. Apologies in advance.

I did something in the shop that I have never done before, made a classic style Tongue and Groove cabinet door for our kitchen cabinet.

I admit that although, my first one, it isn’t all that bad.

Several months ago, I purchased a two piece tongue and groove router bit set. Although it was cheap ($20) from Amazon, I didn’t want to spend $60-$100 on a bit set that I didn’t know if I would like.

Now, for the work. The groove was easy to cut. Put bit in and cut all pieces with the groove.  The tongue had a bit of a learning curve.

First, I don’t think I isolated the bearing accurately. When starting the piece through the tongue bit, it cut about 1/16” deeper than the rest of the wood.  That will take a little more practice.

Second, when cutting the wood, I had about a 1/16” piece of wood on top and bottom of the board where the bit didn’t completely remove the material. Not sure if I did something wrong and needs a little adjustment.

I will say that I measured my bit and it is about 13/16” thick from carbide tip to carbide tip.  The wood I purchased was sold at a big box store in their dimensional lumber section. It is basic pine. The wood I measured was 13/16” thick.

Is this a case that I should be milling my lumber down to 3/4” instead of just cutting it straight from the store?

I will say that I am still in the beginning stages of woodworking. I haven’t purchased a planer yet. The only tools I have so far is a Table Saw, Bosch 1617EVS Router with fixed and plunge base, compound miter saw, dewalt variable speed router.

Sorry for the long post.