dado cutting

[lum747]

i am building a jewlry rack for my daughter and in need to cut two dados on each corner post to join the rails , the corner post is 1" square and i need to cut dados for 4 rails that are 1/4" by 1/8", so to cut the dado's in the corner post i will only have 1" square hitting the fence, does anyone have a idea as to how to hold the corner posts square to the fence so the dado's will be streight, using my router mounted to my bt3000.

[toolguy1000]

use a miter gauge, or sliding table of a bt3xxxx, with a stand off block attached to a fence to eliminate the possibility of anything binding during the operation.

[leehljp]

When holding small parts close to a spinning router blade, I occasionally use this small parts holder: as shown here on Rockler.

Also, push sticks and feather holders are very helpful.

Is this what you are asking about?

[capncarl]

It may not be everything you are looking for but a fixture called Lynn's Box Jig has been featured on this site before and full instructions to build the jig are on the net, downloadable free. I use my Lynns jig for a lot of things that it was not designed for. With a router mounted on it's side cutting horizontally you should be able to plunge cut datos using this jig easily. Then you will find all kind of things to build using this jig.
capncarl

[greenacres2]

Hey Lum,
If i'm reading your question correctly...I'd remove the rit/router fence, insert the sliding miter table between the main table (mount it "backward" so it slides the direction of the router cut)and the accessory table (might require moving the rails down a bit) and use the SMT to guide the piece across the bit.

To prevent blow-out on the back side of the dado, attach or clamp a sacrificial board to the miter fence, for convenience attach a stop block to that.

Make sense??

earl

EDIT--it would have made sense for dados across the grain, but after rereading it sounds more like a rabbett with the long grain, so never mind the above post!!

[JimD]

I wouldn't use the router. I have never had much luck with dados created by routers except for long shallow ones created using a jig that captures completely the router bit. I would use the table saw or radial arm saw. I like to use an Osborne jig with the table saw for something like this. It has a stop mechanism built in and a non-slip face.

Routers fight you in terms of the position of the piece you are cutting in a way that table saws and radial arms don't. Shallow cuts well within the capability of the tool helps. Cutting at least some of these before ripping the legs out would also help.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

Personally I would much rather cut the dadoes using the BT3000 as a table saw....

But if you must use a BT3 mounted router, here's my suggestions.
make sure the auxiliary table with the router is clamped at both ends. THe Router mounting kit comes with the back clamp.
Cut one long 1" x 1" piece instead of many shorter pieces - much easier to handle. You can use a miter saw to cut the long piece down to 4" pieces later.
The router bit will be buried in the piece, you need some (2) push blocks (left side of picture) like they sell for jointers:

use the hand over hand to keep the workpiece against the fence and against the table.
The rotate the piece 90 degrees and cut the other side.

Check your path before you cut: With the bit all the way down, run the piece through to verify that nothing catches or snags and you have adequate room for infeed and outfeed.
you can use brass setup bars to accurately set the distance from the fence to the router bit.

Failing that you can use drill bit shanks for same.

Make sure the BT3 fence is properly working and locked down both front and back.
Take each cut no more than 1/8" deep, then raise the bit to make another pass, no more than 1/8" cut on each pass. Obviously make the first pass on both sides of your workpiece, raise the bit and then cut both sides again...

[Brian G]

If you can cut a board with a square end, you can make something like this:

http://www.woodstore.net/riropupadpl.html

Scraps and offcuts make great one-time pushers.

[LCHIEN]

i think perhaps I misread your post. On second reread, I think you are trying to make crosscut dados in the 1x1 corner posts.

Some kind of Coping sled might be in order. Back up the cross-grain piece being cut so you won't have a blowout of grain.

[phrog]

If I understand your question correctly, it sounds like something I did recently. I clamped all four of the posts together along with a board in front of and beyond the cuts I was going to make. (The extra boards provide a "platform" for the router base and prevent "blow-out.") Thus I had six peces of wood clamped together. I then clamped a batten along the path of my router to act like a fence. (And removed from the path by the distance of the bit from the edge of the router base - be sure to consider the diameter of the bit.) I used the router free-hand and ran it with the base against the batten creating the dadoes on all four posts simultaneously. (This way I was sure all four posts had dadoes cut in exactly the same place, assuming your posts were aligned correctly when you clamped them.)