Gentlemen:
I am in the middle of building the “Wall Cabinet in Cherry” from the November/December 2005 issue of Fine Woodworking. I have glued up the case and in Mr. Teague’s article he describes using “a rabbeting bit on the router table” to complete the rabbet after the case is glued up. As a beginner, I tried setting this cut up with the router table fence on the outside of the case. After trying a couple of test cuts, I was uncomfortable that I properly understood the set-up, or how to safely start the cut and it is not described in the article.
Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I was hoping to complete this for my mother for Christmas. The web tool at Fine Woodworking is an impressive tool and I am grateful for it!
Minnesota Mike (beginner!)
Replies
Mike--Sorry, but I'm not familiar with the techniques Matthew Teague used in the construction of that wall cabinet. So I just sent him an email asking him to reply to your query.--Bill D.
Bill:
Thank you for the update!
Happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Mike,
I hope we didn't get to you too late on this. I've studied the plans and came up with two approaches.
1. My preference would be to use a bearing-guided router bit to make this cut. You will need a straight bit that has a radius 3/8 in. greater than the bearing. In this case, you wouldn't need to use a fence at all; you would let the bearing do the guiding for you. Then finish up the corners with a chisel where the bit can't reach.
2. To do this with a standard bit without a bearing, there are two techniques.
The first is to set up the router table so that the opposite side of the cabinet case is against the fence. If you go this approach you need to make sure that your case is assembled square or the rabbet won't be consistent. Alternatively, set the fence so that the side is sandwiched in between the fence and the bit.
In either case, to make the cut you will need to plunge the case into the bit to start the cut the lift it off the bit to end the cut. Because you will be finishing the corners with a chisel, you can be a little off when you start and stop the cut. This isn't as scary as it sounds. When I do this, I just put a pencil mark on the fence indicating where to begin and end the cut.
Teague mentions making this cut in multple passes. Rather than changing the fence distance to make the cut in three passes, set the fence once and change the bit height. Start with the bit low in the table and raise it slightly with each pass until you reach 5/8 in. in deep.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions. And again, sorry we left you hanging.
Matt Berger
Fine Woodworking
Edited 12/1/2006 7:00 pm ET by MBerger
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