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Using a router to mill perfect joints

Creating joints to fasten two or most pieces of wood is the common way to build a wood working project. Learning how can be tricky for those who are just getting started in the workshop. There are four common joints that you can make with a router and use for most of your projects.

There are many different types of joinery that a wood worker can use to join two or more pieces of wood together. Depending on the situation and the amount of stress a joint will be subjected to a wood worker needs to create a joint that will be able to with stand the stress.

Selecting a joint that is going to maximize strength is important. This is determined by the amount of glue surface of the joint and the direction of any stresses the joint will experience.

Housed Dado
Used when making book shelves or other frames a housed dado is the most common joint. It is simply a flat bottomed groove in a piece of stock.

Using a wood router and a straight cutting bit a housed dado can be easily cut. The easiest way is to clamp a straight edge to your stock to guide the router. With your wood router unplugged measure the diameter of the base plate and take note of the bit diameter. Use the radius of the base plate minus the radius of the bit to determine how far from your layout marks you will need to clamp the straight edge.

Once your straight edge is clamped in the proper position simply guide your router through the cut. Take several passes, increasing the depth of the cut with each pass. This way you are able to control the router easier and reduce the work load on the router. Continue to cut and reposition your straight edge until you have cut all the dados.

Stopped Dado
Ideal for shelves or bookcases that don't have a face frame a stopped dado hides the joint to make a project look better. Stopped dados are created the same way you would make a housed dado. Great for shelves and bookcases without face frames a stopped dado allows a woodworker to hide the joint along the front edge. This still provides the strength of the dado joint but stops just short of the front edge.

To make a stopped dado simply mark the joint about an inch from the front edge and stop the router as you get to that mark.

Rabbet Joint
A rabbet joint is simple a groove or dado that is cut along the edge of a piece of stock. The simplest way to form a rabbet joint is to use a rabetting bit in your router. This is a straight cutting bit whose depth of cut is controlled by a guide bearing. Depending on the size of the rabbet you can change the size of the guide bearing.

Rabbets are most common for making a recess on the back of a project to receive a plywood back.

Tongue & Groove Joint
Basically a tongue on one piece of stock that fits into a groove on a mating piece of stock. There is plenty of glue surface area making a tongue and groove a very strong joint.

Creating a tongue and groove joint is a bit more work then a housed dado but is still rather simple with a router table. First start by cutting the groove. A general rule of thumb is to cut the groove first and cut the tongue to fit. The groove should be 50% of the thickness of your stock.

Begin by setting up your router in the router table and set the height of the straight cutting bit about 1/16" higher then the length of the tongue. Set up the fence on the router table so you can center the groove. feed the stock through and turn it end for end and feed it through again. This will center the groove on your stock.

With the groove milled in the first piece you can measure the exact width and start to form the tongue. This is simple, place the piece with the groove flat on the router table and set the height of the bit so it is just shy of the groove. This will be the most precise method for getting the tongue the right thickness. Make the pass on the first side flip over the board and make a second pass to complete the tongue.

The router is a great tool for creating precise and attractive joinery. When used with a router table and the right bits you can make almost any type of joinery needed to complete most wood working projects.

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