Router Forums - View Single Post - Walnut Burl Box Build Along (1st Veneer Project)

Nickbee · 02-06-2008, 10:32 AM

A project is not worth doing unless I get to buy a new router bit. For this project I pick up this beauty:

A 1/16” 4 winged slot cutter from Whiteside. The bearing is for show (and to secure the slot cutter on the arbor). The fence on the router table will be setting the depth of cut, not the bearing. I also now realize that I could have used a 1/8” kerf cutter (since my groves will be cut to .155”). I ordered the 1/16” not knowing what the final panel thickness would be for this project. Oh well, it just means one extra pass, not a big deal.

Since I know my grove width is going to be .155” I set my fence at this dimension also. This will produce a square looking tenon at the visible joints.

As I start my test cuts I run into two issues. 1st off the wood was feeding into the cutter roughly and the wood was smoking????? WTF? Then looking at the bit coming to a stop I noticed I installed it on the arbor upside down (see the pics above again)!!! Doh!!!! I didn’t even think of it when installing the cutter on the arbor.

With that issue settled I make a test cut with a .155” x .155” grove. With the grove centered in the stiles it was not leaving enough meat on the inside corner of the stiles. So I adjusted the fence to .125”. My visible tenons will not be perfectly square but they will work with the design.

Now’s a good time to mention that the fence will only be set once while cutting the rails/stiles. This will guarantee that the groves (mortises) and tenons will be the exact same dimension. The only adjustment made will be to the bit height.

Here’s the router all set up and cutting the 1st pass of the groves:

Here are the rails / stiles after the 1st pass:

The bottom rails will need another grove cut to accommodate the box floor but they will be cut after the tenons to avoid tear out (this is a hard lesson I learned while building the plant stand).

Here are the stiles after a few passes. Note how the grove is centered since the panel will be visible from both the outside and inside of the box:

Some quick mock ups show the panels fit nice and snug in the groves:

Here are the rails with the 1st groves all done:

And here’s a panel mocked up with rails / stiles:

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The tenons need to be cut! That comes next.

02-06-2008, 10:32 AM	#24
Nickbee Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 422 View Nickbee's Gallery	Report This Post! A project is not worth doing unless I get to buy a new router bit. For this project I pick up this beauty: A 1/16” 4 winged slot cutter from Whiteside. The bearing is for show (and to secure the slot cutter on the arbor). The fence on the router table will be setting the depth of cut, not the bearing. I also now realize that I could have used a 1/8” kerf cutter (since my groves will be cut to .155”). I ordered the 1/16” not knowing what the final panel thickness would be for this project. Oh well, it just means one extra pass, not a big deal. Since I know my grove width is going to be .155” I set my fence at this dimension also. This will produce a square looking tenon at the visible joints. As I start my test cuts I run into two issues. 1st off the wood was feeding into the cutter roughly and the wood was smoking????? WTF? Then looking at the bit coming to a stop I noticed I installed it on the arbor upside down (see the pics above again)!!! Doh!!!! I didn’t even think of it when installing the cutter on the arbor. With that issue settled I make a test cut with a .155” x .155” grove. With the grove centered in the stiles it was not leaving enough meat on the inside corner of the stiles. So I adjusted the fence to .125”. My visible tenons will not be perfectly square but they will work with the design. Now’s a good time to mention that the fence will only be set once while cutting the rails/stiles. This will guarantee that the groves (mortises) and tenons will be the exact same dimension. The only adjustment made will be to the bit height. Here’s the router all set up and cutting the 1st pass of the groves: Here are the rails / stiles after the 1st pass: The bottom rails will need another grove cut to accommodate the box floor but they will be cut after the tenons to avoid tear out (this is a hard lesson I learned while building the plant stand). Here are the stiles after a few passes. Note how the grove is centered since the panel will be visible from both the outside and inside of the box: Some quick mock ups show the panels fit nice and snug in the groves: Here are the rails with the 1st groves all done: And here’s a panel mocked up with rails / stiles: But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The tenons need to be cut! That comes next. Last edited by Nickbee; 02-06-2008 at 11:14 AM.
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