Making slots for table

---------------------- Incomplete details to adequately respond.

Lew

Those drawer joints looked a bit *too* tight; if you have to hammer them together, you risk splitting out the dadoes (and you WILL split them out once add in the glue). Best to slack off the fit by the thickness of a rolling paper. For $65, probably a nice tool if you're doing production work. Cheap for Bridge City, actually.

The router will cut relatively slowly, make lots of noise, and make fine dust.

A biscuit joiner will cut quicker, make lots of noise, make coarse dust.

A mortising chisel (square chisel with central auger-like bit) will cut more quietly, make shavings instead of dust, and is intermediate in speed.

An auger or Forstner bit and chisel and mallet will do it slowest, make big shavings (chips), and is the most fun. For learning about wood, and about sharpening of chisels, everyone should do this at least once. 20 or

a heartbeat. Looks neat, though. Wonder if getting sawdust in its insides, somewhere, might screw up its accuracy?

Sonny

Depends on how long the slots are to be. If not too long, a table saw would be worlds faster, you could stack the pieces and cut slots in each at one time...position stack, cut, position stack, cut. Et cetera.

Nope. Nowhere to get sawdust into. It's an incredibly simple device.

When I built my last torsion box affair (served as a six+ foot shelf/ table top) the internal cross members were relatively thin (quarter- inch or so) and the slots were half their width (less than half the thickness of the finished torsion box).

I think a ten-inch TS will cut in excess of 3" at ninety degrees. Less with a DADO blade.

But, as someone pointed out already, the OP provided insufficient detail from which to determine a best practices approach the project at hand.

"Hoosierpopi" wrote>

Are you sure? Seems I recall having to go to a 12" TS to cut 2.75 inches.

Most, even the benchtop saws cut 3-1/8" @90degrees. Surprised me, I expected the benchtops to be less than cabinet saws (Ryobi and Delta benchtops cut 3" @90).

Some of the responses have indicated that I failed to give more detail.

Hopefully, this will help.

I want to build a grid of interlocking pieces of plywood (3/4"). Each long piece in the grid will be 4 feet long, the cross piece is also 4 feet. The height of all the pieces is 4 inches. On top of this, I'll put a sheet of 3/4 ply. I don't need to make the top super flat as in a torsion box just ok will do. The idea is that I'll be able knock this down when I need to, which I expect could happen over time. Want to end up with a grid 4 feet by 4 feet.

I was thinking of a grid of three pieces in length and 5 cross pieces with one at each end.

The interlocking slots need to be all the same depth, width and in the same spot on each corresponding pieces (each cross piece needs to be identical, each long piece the same).

I was thinking of a dado cut, but just not sure if an 8" dado would cut that high, and to be sure of consistently in the slots, I'd would have to gang the pieces together. Seems to be a bit of over engineering.

I was thinking of making a template out of MDF or ply. A router could be used to ride the template and cut out the slots.

Someone suggested to me use of a jigsaw, but I really want super straight cuts and each to be the same. Not sure if the jigsaw is the right tool for this job.

I looked at the Kerfmaker - nice tool, but am barely able to afford to buy MDF these days then another tool. Besides, it looks like it's better for a tablesaw, then a router.

Hope that helps.

MJ

That looks like a nifty tool. To set a groove kerf without a special too, take any piece of scrap with at least one straight edge. Set your rip fence somewhat narrower than the scrap and rip it to any arbitray width. Now take a piece of the stock that you want to match the groove width too, and place it between the fence and the 1st scrap piece. It needs to be long enough to act as fence itselt. Rip the scrap piece again, this time so it is riding against the sample piece being held against the fence. The cutoff produced will be exactly (within the limits of your machine's accurace) the width of the stock less your saw's kerf.

--------------------------------------- Based on your description, this is a classic table saw job.

Do you have a decent T/S?

If so, do you also have a dado set?

Just curious, why do you want the ply pieces to interlock?

What is the ultimate purpose of this structure?

Will await your response.

Lew

You only have to cut 2" deep. Stack and clamp all the length pieces & cut slots. Do same for width. Precision relationship between slots is not needed, as long as the pieces are stacked and clamped.

Seems like you would also want a bottom on the box to keep everything together if you move it. Sounds like you would just arrange the crate on the bottom, screw on the top, flip, and screw on the bottom.

Are you thinking about running a router bit 2" deep into a slot? A bit capable of that might cost as much as the BCT gizmo - maybe more. Cutting on the face of the strips leaves you with the rounded end issue.

I'd use the dado. Simpler.

It's not.

But you do have a table saw, right? For the dado set?

BCT stuff is very well made, but obscenely expensive.

Ok.

Yes

Yes

It's my table, I want it this way. As I explained in my second note, I might have to dismantle it.

Support 1/2" plywood (4x4) with about a 50 lb load - tops.

I await yours.

MJ

(whoops) = 3 1/8