# Woodworking question



## Haywire Haywood (Dec 17, 2007)

Hey guys I have a question about router bit size. My wife does stained glass and wants me to build her a box to store her glass in. It'll be made of the Cedar I milled earlier this summer. Basically just a open front box with vertical dividers so she can separate the different colors of glass.

I bought some 3/16 hardboard for dividers and will be using a router to cut slots in the top bottom and back of the box for them to fit into. I'll be gluing them in. 

My question is this: Do I buy a 3/16 router bit or a 7/32 so I don't have to be spot on with my measurements for the hardboard to fit? I've found both online. Also, I have been looking at upcut spiral for this as opposed to a regular double flute straight bit. Whiteside also sells a "veining" bit that looks like a stubby spiral. I suppose the slots I will be cutting will be about 1/4" deep.

Any suggestions as for type and size for this project?

thanks,
Ian


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Dec 17, 2007)

Spiral up cut bits tend to pull splinters up along the top edge. Spiral down cut bits will give you a much cleaner top edge but they are limited to how deep they can cut and still clear the chips. You may have to take two pases with a bit that small.

If you want the joints tight, I would get the 3/16" and use sandpaper wrapped around a blade of some sort to adjust the slot wider as needed. If you are less concerned about their appearance then get the 7/32".

Good luck.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 17, 2007)

Thanks Aggie, I think I'm going to get the 7/32 to give me a little room for error.

This box is going to be 18" front to back and my boards are 7-8" wide. I am going to be joining them with biscuits to make the 18". Should I just go with 2 wide boards and a narrow one or rip them down and do several narrow boards? I'm thinking about possible cupping.

thanks,
Ian


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 17, 2007)

Glue smaller ones, not biscuits. Alternate the end grain as well, so if one is arched up, the next one will be arch down. Once it is dry you can scrape the access glue off and plane it with a hand plane if you don't have a power planer. I would also suggest getting a carbide tipped router bit for your dado's.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 17, 2007)

I ended up ordering a Freud 7/32 double flute carbide straight bit. 

Ford, why not the biscuits? I got a plate jointer for my birthday a few days ago just for this project... LOL I haven't had much luck in previous projects just gluing it together. I suppose I could buy a finger joint bit for the router and glue it up that way but those things are pricey.

Ian


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## Woodsurfer (Dec 17, 2007)

I was going to suggest that you put calipers on the hardboard to see what the thickness really is... Many sheet products are undersize, like 3/4" advertised may actually be 0.7", 1/8" may be 0.10", etc. If your board actually measured 0.175" for example, a 3/16" bit would give a sweet fit. On the other hand if the hardboard is actually 0.188", a 3/16" slot would be too tight.

I do stained glass, I know your wife will appreciate the organized storage.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 17, 2007)

Woodsurfer said:


> I was going to suggest that you put calipers on the hardboard to see what the thickness really is...



I didn't think of that but I just mic'd it and it came out fat. 189-190

Ian


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 17, 2007)

I've just never used biscuits in a situation like that before. I would think they would just add extra reinforcement, but at the same time just take longer to make, because it is all going to be glued together anyway. It also helps to put weight on it if it is not going to be used as soon as it dries. A couple cinder blocks help the warping quite a bit. Good luck!


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 17, 2007)

Ok, thanks. It'll be a new toy to use tho and a little extra reinforcement won't hurt and hopefully it'll help with alignment.

Ian


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## stonykill (Dec 17, 2007)

Ford's Lawncare said:


> I've just never used biscuits in a situation like that before. I would think they would just add extra reinforcement, but at the same time just take longer to make, because it is all going to be glued together anyway. It also helps to put weight on it if it is not going to be used as soon as it dries. A couple cinder blocks help the warping quite a bit. Good luck!



using biscuits takes literally seconds to do. It not only adds reinforcement, but it also aligns the boards so you shouldn't need to plane anything after glue ups. Just a light sanding. I build furniture for a living, and biscuit joint EVERY board. Not putting biscuits in is asking for the joint to break later on. The biscuits swell from the moisture in the glue, creating a very tight joint. 

I've been biscuit jointing since biscuit jointers were introduced 15 to 20 years ago. Never had one fail.


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## Husky137 (Dec 17, 2007)

Too true, I've had the wood grain fail before the biscuit joint failed.


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## tanker (Dec 17, 2007)

*cutting slots*

You should also be able to purchase a slot cutting bit from whitesides. this would also allow you to put the boards together with spines.


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 17, 2007)

Biscuits are good in some situations, however glue is stronger then wood. If I am getting this right, the objective is to glue something like six 3 inch pieces to make something 18" wide. Ideally you would want to start with someting thicker then the finshed thickness and put it through a jointer then planer to the final thickness.


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 17, 2007)

The only time I ever use biscuits in furniture is on face frames and corners if they are not mitered, and if they are, splines.(I don't mean face frame corners, more like cornerboards)


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## stonykill (Dec 17, 2007)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Thanks Aggie, I think I'm going to get the 7/32 to give me a little room for error.
> 
> This box is going to be 18" front to back and my boards are 7-8" wide. I am going to be joining them with biscuits to make the 18". Should I just go with 2 wide boards and a narrow one or rip them down and do several narrow boards? I'm thinking about possible cupping.
> 
> ...



If your boards are good and dry, I'd glue up 2 wide boards, or possibly 3. If they aren't sufficiently dry, no matter what you do they will cup, warp , twist and crack. 
Do you have a moisture meter? You meantioned you milled them this summer. If they have been indoors for a few months, after being out for a few, they are most likely dry, but a moisture meter is the only way to tell for sure. I dry my wood outside for a month or more depending on species, then this time of year they are in the basement where the forced hot air heat exchanger is from the owb. I get my softwoods and birch down to 6 % pretty quickly, then bring them to the workshop where they acclimate to the surrounding. 
If oyu are going to mill, and don't have a moisture meter, its a good investment.


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## dustytools (Dec 17, 2007)

stonykill said:


> using biscuits takes literally seconds to do. It not only adds reinforcement, but it also aligns the boards so you shouldn't need to plane anything after glue ups. Just a light sanding. I build furniture for a living, and biscuit joint EVERY board. Not putting biscuits in is asking for the joint to break later on. The biscuits swell from the moisture in the glue, creating a very tight joint.
> 
> I've been biscuit jointing since biscuit jointers were introduced 15 to 20 years ago. Never had one fail.



+1!! Biscuits are very quick and simple to use, butt joints are several times stronger when using them. Ian I have a small router table that is yours for the taking, Ill bring it to you next time we meet. Also I have a slew of router bits that you can use and experiment with incase you want to try some out before buying them.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 17, 2007)

They've been milled since early summer and were stickered till maybe september. They've been stacked in the loft of my barn since. I think I'll rip them down to maybe 4 or 5 inches and alternate end grains like was suggested.

Terry, I already have a router table, but thanks for the offer. That was my Christmas present I think 2 years ago. I bought the router (Bosch 1617EVS) and the better half bought the Bosch table to go with it. The plan then was to make some molding for the house but that is one project that I let drop by the wayside. I got a set of bargain basement bits and a couple decent bits that I bought for specific projects. I have a Makita 12" planer that works pretty well but when it came to a table saw, space and money ran out.

Ian


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## woodshop (Dec 17, 2007)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> Spiral up cut bits tend to pull splinters up along the top edge. Spiral down cut bits will give you a much cleaner top edge but they are limited to how deep they can cut and still clear the chips. You may have to take two pases with a bit that small.



ditto on the spiral down cut bits... I use them all the time for very clean slots. But then Hayward you said you already bought a double fluted strait. That works too, and is usually less expensive. 

I have a biscuit jointer and use it often... they do give you a very strong joint as was said... the moisture in the glue swells the biscuit before it sets. However, Fine Woodworking had an article about gluing up boards to make a wide table top or whatever, and after lots of trial and error and testing, they decided on most glue-ups they were just not necessary if you have two good jointed edges. The glue already dries harder than the wood... period. If you try and break the boards apart they will not separate at the glue line, they will break at weaker points in the wood. In those cases the biscuits were just not needed, kinda like overkill. 

That said, I often use the biscuits even where they are overkill, just because I like using them.


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## dustytools (Dec 17, 2007)

I have a very old (8" I think) table saw in the shop collecting dust. It has a small table and needs a new on/off switch but it could be incorporated into a bench or something similar to make the table bigger. Ill let you have it if you want it. Might come in handy till you get a bigger/better one.


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## woodshop (Dec 17, 2007)

dustytools said:


> I have a very old (8" I think) table saw in the shop collecting dust. It has a small table and needs a new on/off switch but it could be incorporated into a bench or something similar to make the table bigger. Ill let you have it if you want it. Might come in handy till you get a bigger/better one.



...geeez dusty, you're given away tools left and right here... come on up here to PA with all that stuff


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## dustytools (Dec 17, 2007)

woodshop said:


> ...geeez dusty, you're given away tools left and right here... come on up here to PA with all that stuff



I reckon its payback time. Ive gotten a few freebies from Ian here lately. If you are interested in the router table Woodshop Ill gladly box it up and send it your way.


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 17, 2007)

I have a biscuit jointer and use it often... they do give you a very strong joint as was said... the moisture in the glue swells the biscuit before it sets. However, Fine Woodworking had an article about gluing up boards to make a wide table top or whatever, and after lots of trial and error and testing, they decided on most glue-ups they were just not necessary if you have two good jointed edges. The glue already dries harder than the wood... period. If you try and break the boards apart they will not separate at the glue line, they will break at weaker points in the wood. In those cases the biscuits were just not needed, kinda like overkill. 

That said, I often use the biscuits even where they are overkill, just because I like using them.[/QUOTE]

Thats what I've been trying to say. Biscuits are completely unessacary in this situation. I'm not against biscuits or anything, just that they are not needed here. As stated before, wood is proven stronger then wood and WILL split in the wood grain, not the joint


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 17, 2007)

Well see how it goes. I'll post some pics whether it turns into a glass organizer or a pile of scrap cedar. I don't have a real jointer to square my boards, I make do with the router table. It's set up so I can offset the fence a bit on one side and use it as a makeshift jointer. Seems to work ok so far, even though the fence is too short for the task.. 3' at best.

If that table saw is truely collecting dust, I'll take it. building a small table around it might be the next project.

thanks,
Ian


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## dustytools (Dec 17, 2007)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Well see how it goes. I'll post some pics whether it turns into a glass organizer or a pile of scrap cedar. I don't have a real jointer to square my boards, I make do with the router table. It's set up so I can offset the fence a bit on one side and use it as a makeshift jointer. Seems to work ok so far, even though the fence is too short for the task.. 3' at best.
> 
> If that table saw is truely collecting dust, I'll take it. building a small table around it might be the next project.
> 
> ...



Consider it done. Actually I have found that the router table makes a very nice jointer for smaller stuff. If you have some scrap 1x material laying around you can lengthen your fence(s) fairly easy on the table.


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## stonykill (Dec 17, 2007)

Ford's Lawncare said:


> I have a biscuit jointer and use it often... they do give you a very strong joint as was said... the moisture in the glue swells the biscuit before it sets. However, Fine Woodworking had an article about gluing up boards to make a wide table top or whatever, and after lots of trial and error and testing, they decided on most glue-ups they were just not necessary if you have two good jointed edges. The glue already dries harder than the wood... period. If you try and break the boards apart they will not separate at the glue line, they will break at weaker points in the wood. In those cases the biscuits were just not needed, kinda like overkill.
> 
> That said, I often use the biscuits even where they are overkill, just because I like using them.



Thats what I've been trying to say. Biscuits are completely unessacary in this situation. I'm not against biscuits or anything, just that they are not needed here. As stated before, wood is proven stronger then wood and WILL split in the wood grain, not the joint[/QUOTE]

That's the thing with woodworkers. Everyone has there own way.

Well my own testing on old furniture I built years ago shows different. A blanket chest I built my wife just before I got the biscuit jointer is a perfect example. I edge glued the boards, not listening to my mentor, my grandfather. He told me to either dowel them, tongue and groove them, etc. I was 19 like you,(yes I was married at 19) didn't listen to him, and yup, 10 years later the top broke, at the glue joint. I re glued it after putting in biscuits, and its still fine. We still use it today, nearly 22 years after it was initially built, and nearly 12 years since I re glued it.
When a woodworking mag does a long term test, over the period of years as to the durability, I'll listen to it. Maybe. Until then I'll biscuit, or otherwise reinforce every joint. 
Yes glue is stronger than wood. However wood moves a lot. Over time, a glue joint that is not reinforced in some way will fail AT the glue joint. If while the glue joint is fresh, a few day old at least, and you try to break the joint, sure the wood grain will fail 1st 9 out of 10 times. Give that glue joint 10 years, then try the same thing. 
I've restored many antique tables over the years. The tops were tongue and groove on most of them. The tops were also rarely in need of reglueing. The leg stock that was glued up however most often was coming apart at the glue joints. Yes, the old glue is not as good as todays, but the blanket chest I mentioned earlier was glued with titebond, all I ever use. 
I see on your user profile you've been a landscaper for 6 years. Since you were 13 apparently.. At least according to your post on the firewood and heating section, you said you were 19. By that logic, I'll count my cub scout birdhouse that I made at 9 or 10 as the beginning of my woodworking career. That means I've been woodworking for 31 or 32 years then. I'll stick with what I have given the test of time, not what some woodworking mag says.
Like I said at the beginning of this post, every woodworker does things differently. The difference is, some build pieces to last generations, while others don't care how long it lasts. Or believe everything they read.


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## stonykill (Dec 17, 2007)

btw woodshop, I know its your quote orriginally, but that post was not dirrected at you. Know it all teens drive me nuts. I was one once afterall.


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 17, 2007)

Alright you have me there stonykill. I'm in my last year in vocanional school studying carpentry and cabinetry. Yes, I've been mowing lawns since around age 13, but started pounding nails full time in the summer at age 16 which means mowing became a second income. But I think that if this is for the top, which means there would obviously be no load bearing or anything, but I can't speak for 20 years from now. Also I'm not some know it all teen yet, hopefully someday. Just for this thread I am going to find some old piece of furniture built 50 years ago and cut it up to see what joints were used in this situation.


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## stonykill (Dec 17, 2007)

Ford's Lawncare said:


> Alright you have me there stonykill. I'm in my last year in vocanional school studying carpentry and cabinetry. Yes, I've been mowing lawns since around age 13, but started pounding nails full time in the summer at age 16 which means mowing became a second income. But I think that if this is for the top, which means there would obviously be no load bearing or anything, but I can't speak for 20 years from now. Also I'm not some know it all teen yet, hopefully someday. Just for this thread I am going to find some old piece of furniture built 50 years ago and cut it up to see what joints were used in this situation.




When I'm talking old furniture I mean old. The beginning of the industrial revolution or earlier. 125 years old or older. Most 50 year old furniture is already firewood.


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 17, 2007)

alright I give up. Let's just agree to disagree. I think were all just writing now to piss each other off.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 17, 2007)

Ok everyone in their corners or I'll give everyone a day off to think about it.  

Ian


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 17, 2007)

Sounds good. I'm going to sleep anyway. Maybe we can all think up something else we can argue about tommrow.


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## stonykill (Dec 17, 2007)

thats the thing about the net. Anyone can post anything , it doesn't matter what they know about it and state it as fact. I just typed what I do, why, and Fords age as a refference point. Experience makes a difference. And I was refering to old as in antique furniture. I was an antique furniture restorer, before I went to work for myself. I learned how to build better furniture by studying what lasted 100 years and what didn't. Then figured out how to duplicate the results with a basic shop, with a few modern tools, to get similar results. Ford, not trying to peeve you off, not my style. To quote a great movie " just the facts maam"


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 18, 2007)

Ok stonykill, you make a good point. I'm just going to give up and agree with you on that.


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## BobL (Dec 18, 2007)

dustytools said:


> I have a very old (8" I think) table saw in the shop collecting dust. It has a small table and needs a new on/off switch but it could be incorporated into a bench or something similar to make the table bigger. Ill let you have it if you want it. Might come in handy till you get a bigger/better one.



Here's what I did with my 29 year old 8" table saw.


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## stonykill (Dec 18, 2007)

BobL said:


> Here's what I did with my 29 year old 8" table saw.



Nice work Bob. You made something useful out of something relatively useless. Those 8 inch tablesaws are not really any good for woodworking, but yours sure looks handy!


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## Ford's Lawncare (Dec 18, 2007)

Thants a wicked good idea Bob. It looks like it's on an IV. That 8" grinding wheel you put on it, is that the same abrasivie wheel you can put on a skilsaw? How long does that abrasive disc last before it wears out? I'd like to do something simliar to this. Looks very useful.


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## BobL (Dec 18, 2007)

Ford's Lawncare said:


> Thants a wicked good idea Bob. It looks like it's on an IV. That 8" grinding wheel you put on it, is that the same abrasivie wheel you can put on a skilsaw? How long does that abrasive disc last before it wears out? I'd like to do something simliar to this. Looks very useful.



My guess is it would be similar. The wheel I use to dress bars is a standard metal cut of wheel. I've had it for 2 years and have barely worn the sheen off.

For cutting I mainly use a 5" , 0.04" kerf cutting wheel. They wear very quickly but they are very cheap. I used this to rip a straight channel into some SHS steel to make the rails for my CS mill.

The stand that the water bottle hangs on is from an IV stand that I found in a dumpster outside a hospital! I only use the water cooling when I'm doing long cuts on thick stuff and/or am shaping something small and am holding it quite close to the blade.


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## woodshop (Dec 18, 2007)

dustytools said:


> If you are interested in the router table Woodshop Ill gladly box it up and send it your way.


That would be very good of you and I appreciate the offer, but I already have a router table, thanks anyway. I actually built myself a pretty heavy duty cabinet style table about 10 years ago. I purposely made it solid and heavy so the sheer mass of it would absorb vibrations when running stock through it. I has served me well all these years. Upgraded to a Benchdog plate recently, much better, no flex whatsoever. 

On the buiscuit or no buiscut... I certainly wasn't knocking anybodies style of woodworking. Just as Stony seems to be, I'm not one to read an article in a magazine, even a well respected one, and then assume it's gospel either. Although I have been working wood for the last 20+ years, guys like Stony who do it for a living usually have more insight into these kinds of things. Alas, I still have a pesky day job, woodworking is still a side business for me. As I said, I like my buiscut jointer and use it often. Some guys love them, some purists hate them. As for how necessary they are in certain situations of whether I will wish 20 years from now I HAD put biscuits in a glue up... guess I'll have to wait 20 years to see.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 19, 2007)

I got the biscuit cutter today and have the first two scraps glued and clamped together. Ya gotta love new toys.  

Ian


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Dec 19, 2007)

stonykill said:


> Thats what I've been trying to say. Biscuits are completely unessacary in this situation. I'm not against biscuits or anything, just that they are not needed here. As stated before, wood is proven stronger then wood and WILL split in the wood grain, not the joint
> That's the thing with woodworkers. Everyone has there own way.
> 
> Well my own testing on old furniture I built years ago shows different. A blanket chest I built my wife just before I got the biscuit jointer is a perfect example. I edge glued the boards, not listening to my mentor, my grandfather. He told me to either dowel them, tongue and groove them, etc. I was 19 like you,(yes I was married at 19) didn't listen to him, and yup, 10 years later the top broke, at the glue joint. I re glued it after putting in biscuits, and its still fine. We still use it today, nearly 22 years after it was initially built, and nearly 12 years since I re glued it.
> ...



Wow. This thread really took off....

I have to agree with Stony here on the technical aspects of this argument. On fresh, perfectly fitted joints nearly all tests have proven the glue is stronger than the wood. The problem is PVA glues will creep and weaken over years of seasonal movement and hide glues embrittle with age. I've done a few 100+ year old furniture restorations myself and found the same problem with unreinforced glue joints as Stony did.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 20, 2007)

Hmmmm... my first attempt tells me that either I screwed up when I jointed the boards on the router table or that the router isn't perpendicular to the table top. The boards didn't go together flat, but rather at a slight angle. If you clamp them down flat, the bottom seam wants to open up. The good news is that the angle seems to be uniform and I can just turn the boards over to make them match up. Sucks to have to work off sawhorses. A real free standing work table would be much better.

Ian


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## BobL (Dec 20, 2007)

Haywire Haywood said:


> The good news is that the angle seems to be uniform and I can just turn the boards over to make them match up.



That's SOP in my shed.


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## stonykill (Dec 20, 2007)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Hmmmm... my first attempt tells me that either I screwed up when I jointed the boards on the router table or that the router isn't perpendicular to the table top. The boards didn't go together flat, but rather at a slight angle. If you clamp them down flat, the bottom seam wants to open up. The good news is that the angle seems to be uniform and I can just turn the boards over to make them match up. Sucks to have to work off sawhorses. A real free standing work table would be much better.
> 
> Ian



I'm not sure what you have for tools in your shop, but here is something thats always worked for me, and better than a joiner or the router table for jointing boards. 1st you need a piece of straight plywood longer than the boards to straighten.About 8 inches wide works great.Add a reinforcing strip (1x1 works fine) to keep the new tool flat. I keep a 50 inch piece and an 8 foot piece ready and hanging on the wall. They are now tools. 
Next plane your boards to be joined flat on the 2 wide faces. Once you get the boards flat and to the thickness you want, you set up for the next process.
Set up your boards that need the edges cleaned up on a workbench, old table, whatever work surface you have. ( I use the extensions on my unisaw)
Measure the distance from the blade to the edge of the "table" on your circular saw.Lets pretend its 6 inches. Add 1/4 inch at least and clamp your new plywood tool to the board to be straightened at 6 1/4 inches from the board edge. . Run the circular saw along the plywood tools edge, or fence if you will. You now have 3 sides square on a board. Now you can either finish up the 4th side on a table saw or radial arm saw, of if you don't have one of those, repeat what you just did. 
For me this not only ALWAYS works, but produces a straighter cleaner edge for gluing. I find it a major pita to joint boards, in particular wide or long ones on a jointer. Same with the router table.
This is so simple it'll make you say, after you tried it, "why didn't I think of that" 
Now if you already ripped those wide boards down to 5 inches (which was not my suggestion btw) this procedure won't work. Thats why you prep your boards 1st, then rip them into narrower pieces , but only if needed. 8 inch dry cedar is perfectly stable if finished correctly, as in all surfaces finished. All surfaces, inside, outside, bottom, the whole piece of furniture. If you only finish the parts that show, I give you my 100% guarantee that it will warp, twist, crack, you name it.
When woodworking in a basic shop you need to think outside of the box. Forget about all the tools the woodworking mags tell you that you need. There job is to sell tools for their advertisers. Look at what you have for tools, and figure out a SAFE simple way to do it. There always is.


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## stonykill (Dec 20, 2007)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Hmmmm... my first attempt tells me that either I screwed up when I jointed the boards on the router table or that the router isn't perpendicular to the table top. The boards didn't go together flat, but rather at a slight angle. If you clamp them down flat, the bottom seam wants to open up. The good news is that the angle seems to be uniform and I can just turn the boards over to make them match up. Sucks to have to work off sawhorses. A real free standing work table would be much better.
> 
> Ian



sounds like you jointed the boards before you planed the boards flat. Maybe not, but thats what it sounds like.


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## Haywire Haywood (Dec 21, 2007)

Figured out my angled edge problem. I remembered tonight that when I edge trimmed the boards, I forgot to square my circular saw blade for the first few boards. I ran the crooked ones over the router table and all was good again.

How far apart do you place the biscuits? I placed them every 5 inches. Probably over did it a tad.

Ian


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## stonykill (Dec 21, 2007)

Haywire Haywood said:


> Figured out my angled edge problem. I remembered tonight that when I edge trimmed the boards, I forgot to square my circular saw blade for the first few boards. I ran the crooked ones over the router table and all was good again.
> 
> How far apart do you place the biscuits? I placed them every 5 inches. Probably over did it a tad.
> 
> Ian



it really depends on what I'm doing as to how far apart they are. I generally place them 8 to 9 inches apart. Nothing wrong with 5, a little added strength


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## woodshop (Dec 21, 2007)

stonykill said:


> it really depends on what I'm doing as to how far apart they are. I generally place them 8 to 9 inches apart. Nothing wrong with 5, a little added strength


Stony, curious what brand of biscuit jointer you have and why you chose that one over others. I went with the Dewalt, and then I got a little Ryobi mini biscuit jointer that does those small biscuits great for picture frames etc.


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## stonykill (Dec 22, 2007)

woodshop said:


> Stony, curious what brand of biscuit jointer you have and why you chose that one over others. I went with the Dewalt, and then I got a little Ryobi mini biscuit jointer that does those small biscuits great for picture frames etc.



mine was a gift, so I didn't choose the model. Its a craftsman that appears to be built on the black and decker/ dewalt assembly line. When I worked at a refinishing/ reapir shop 10 or so years ago, we used a dewalt there. I brought mine in one day and they were identical except for the color. 
What do I like about it? Its quick and easy to adjust. It does 3 biscuit sizes, again just a twist of a knob. 
The only thing I don't like about it is the dust collector. Same with my former bosses Dewalt. The dust collector port is poorly designed. Way too small and plugs all the time. Needless to say the only way I use it is sans dust collector. While biscuit jointing I get a sawdust belt. 
All the biscuit jointers I've looked at look really similar. No big revolutionary differences between them. At least not that I noticed.


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## A. Stanton (Dec 22, 2007)

I would have advised ya to glue cleats along each side of the dividers. This way you wouldn't have to worry about the grooves lining up. Rip some small pieces of wood for the cleats. Glue em and nail em with brads.


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