How Would You Make This Cut?

[Michael Peet]

I make kayak paddles. I use western red cedar because it's light and is naturally water-resistant. It is, however, a very soft wood.

One thing I like to do is reinforce the ends with a hardwood insert. Today I do this as the first step by carefully nibbling away a slot with my bandsaw, but this is fairly error-prone and I have made some pretty sloppy inserts.

I have a bunch of 3/32" hardwood stock for the inserts, so I'd like suggestions for cutting accurate slots 3/32" wide and 1.5" - 2" deep in a 2x4 as shown in the pic. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Mike

[Mark Singer]

Band saw works well

[Ted Shrader]

Mike -

I know you said you are using a bandsaw, but I also vote for the bandsaw. Make sure the saw is well tuned. You may have to make a custom fence i.e. taller and make sure you have a good blade installed. If the slot has to be centered on the stock, make the first cut, flip the stock and make the second cut.

Ted

[Jeff Todd]

Well how long are the 2x4's? forrest makes a slew of saw blades with a 3/32 kerf. if the 2X4 are short use a tenon jig on the tablesaw just center the cut. or use a Circular saw with a 3/32 blade just make a jig that lets you clamp it to the end of a 2x4 and run the saw cross the cut.

[Karl Brogger]

Well how long are the 2x4's? forrest makes a slew of saw blades with a 3/32 kerf. if the 2X4 are short use a tenon jig on the tablesaw just center the cut. or use a Circular saw with a 3/32 blade just make a jig that lets you clamp it to the end of a 2x4 and run the saw cross the cut.

or, just throw a circular saw blade in the table saw. I think the bores are the same.

[Michael Peet]

Thanks for confirming that my current approach isn't too far off base then. :D

I'm using a 3/4" Timberwolf blade, and it's perpendicular to the table surface. I haven't tried using a fixed fence yet - I've been doing it freehand with a cast iron angle block to stabilize the stock.

Thanks :)

[Michael Peet]

Well how long are the 2x4's? forrest makes a slew of saw blades with a 3/32 kerf. if the 2X4 are short use a tenon jig on the tablesaw just center the cut. or use a Circular saw with a 3/32 blade just make a jig that lets you clamp it to the end of a 2x4 and run the saw cross the cut.

The 2x4s are anywhere from 6 to 8 feet long - too long to run through a tablesaw vertically in my basement unfortunately.

I kind of like the idea of the circular saw and jig. I'll reckon I'll study on that some.

[Alex Shanku]

Freud, and other, make a thin thin kerf blade that is 3/32"

Use it in a table saw with a tenoning jig and it may work out ok.

Although, I am not sure it you will get the depth you need using this method.

[Alex Shanku]

The 2x4s are anywhere from 6 to 8 feet long - too long to run through a tablesaw vertically in my basement unfortunately.

I kind of like the idea of the circular saw and jig. I'll reckon I'll study on that some.


Ooops, we were typing these at the same time. Forget my last post. :)

[Bob Vallaster]

Ted nailed it. Two passes to get the slot centered. Some trial&effort required for setup.
S2S with all stock (in one batch) the same thickness.
Make sure the fence is // to the blade.
Use ~1/2" blade.
Use a stop clamped on fence behind the blade to make each cut a repeatable depth.
Push in, pull out, flip...repeat a second time.
Done.

BobV

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

Any ideas?
Wouldn't be much of a problem at all to fabricate a jig arrangment - similar to a panel saw - using a GSS like the EZ, Festool or DeWalt.

You might want to have a look here at the EZ forum and see if there's anything there you could adapt.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have a tenoning jig for my table saw that I might consider. If that didn't work out well, then I would use the fence on my bandsaw.

[Bruce Page]

I can see how doing it freehand on the BS would be tedious. A fence is the way to go. Once the BS is set up properly, you could cut identical slots all day long.

[Jeff Hallam]

How good of a glue surface will your bandsaws leave for you to put in a hardwood insert? Having no access to sand or refine the bandsawn surface on my machine would be a disaster. Maybe I am doing something wrong but the surface is generally pretty rough.

[Lars Thomas]

I guess it depends on the look you are going for, but what about cutting it all the way in half (like you have pictures, but completly in half). Then make up a sandwich of the cedar, choice of (contrasting) hardwood and then the other piece of cedar. Then when you shape the paddle, the hardwood center will remain visible. I think that would look pretty cool.

[Nate Folco]

It might be just me but I have a hard time believing that a 2"x3/32" strip of hardwood is going to add much strength or protection.

How about just put a layer or two of epoxy/fiberglass cloth over the last couple of inches. This would give better protection against paddlers pushing off a rocky bottom I think.

[Michael Peet]

I guess it depends on the look you are going for, but what about cutting it all the way in half (like you have pictures, but completly in half). Then make up a sandwich of the cedar, choice of (contrasting) hardwood and then the other piece of cedar. Then when you shape the paddle, the hardwood center will remain visible. I think that would look pretty cool.

Lars,

I would like to some laminated paddles once I have a jointer and planer. I don't trust myself to make a nice straight cut on the bandsaw. I have never used the fence, because the blade doesn't necessarily cut parallel to the fence.

Thanks for the ideas guys!

Mike

[Ken Higginbotham]

I guess it depends on the look you are going for, but what about cutting it all the way in half (like you have pictures, but completly in half). Then make up a sandwich of the cedar, choice of (contrasting) hardwood and then the other piece of cedar. Then when you shape the paddle, the hardwood center will remain visible. I think that would look pretty cool.

Would that make the part less likely to split under load as well. I've read where the glue joint is stronger that the wood?

ken

[Jason Beam]

I don't trust myself to make a nice straight cut on the bandsaw. I have never used the fence, because the blade doesn't necessarily cut parallel to the fence.

This sounds like the crux of your bandsaw problem. Take an hour or two and get that saw tuned up very well. It may require some wheel shimming and such, but a properly tuned bandsaw should have VERY LITTLE (if any) drift.

Drift can be caused by the blade not tracking on the wheels very well or by poorly ground teeth. If you're using a quality blade, the latter is less common. Every saw my friends have complained about drift were caused (or corrected) by blade tracking.

The rule of tracking in the middle of a crowned wheel is a good place to start but it's not hard and fast. If you do that and find you're drifting one way or the other, try adjusting the tracking such that the crown of the wheel helps to cancel out that drift. For example, if you're drifting to the left, track a little further back on the blade. This fix REALLY shines when you have both wheels perfectly coplanar (hence the notice about shimming).

People will also advise you to adjust the fence for your drift. I feel better about finding the cause of the drift first. At the very least, I would try to minimize what drift I do have. I don't accept misalignment in my table saw, I won't accept it in my bandsaw :)

[Chris Padilla]

Make sure the fence is // to the blade.
BobV

Personally, I'd go for || to the blade...// is a bit crooked to my eye.... :p

[Larry Edgerton]

I would make a jig for a skillsaw, and I have pretty much every tool a fool could desire. Throw the jig on the shelf fo the next one. Safe, repeatable and accurate.

[Peter Quinn]

As an alternative can you use a 3/32" slot cutter set to 1/2" depth, make a full pass around the outside of the cut area, then clean up the middle with the band saw? This would establish a crisp edge where the cedar meets hard wood, the rest is blind so needs only present a glue surface, no? Amana and others make stackable slot cutters and dial a width slot cutters to make this thickness. Just a thought.

[Dave Loebach]

A radial arm saw with the head rotated so that the blade was parallel to the table would do it. I'd make a special sled to ride on the surface and front edge of the table. Needless to say - be careful!

Dave

[Dino Makropoulos]

I make kayak paddles. I use western red cedar because it's light and is naturally water-resistant. It is, however, a very soft wood.

One thing I like to do is reinforce the ends with a hardwood insert. Today I do this as the first step by carefully nibbling away a slot with my bandsaw, but this is fairly error-prone and I have made some pretty sloppy inserts.

I have a bunch of 3/32" hardwood stock for the inserts, so I'd like suggestions for cutting accurate slots 3/32" wide and 1.5" - 2" deep in a 2x4 as shown in the pic. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Mike

Explore the dead wood concept.
Position and secure the pieces flat on the table and make a guide (track) to hold and guide the circular saw on it's side.
Cut 20-50 -100 pieces at once with ease and safety.
Good luck and if you need more details, let me know.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Well how long are the 2x4's? forrest makes a slew of saw blades with a 3/32 kerf. if the 2X4 are short use a tenon jig on the tablesaw just center the cut. or use a Circular saw with a 3/32 blade just make a jig that lets you clamp it to the end of a 2x4 and run the saw cross the cut.

You beat me too it....one pass beats a bunch!

[Bill Keehn]

Make a little jig out of MDF or other scrap. It should just be a box that slides over the end of the 2x4. Make a 3/32" cut in the box to act as a guide for your backsaw. You should be able to cut 2" deep into the end grain of your western red cedar in 3 or 4 strokes. I would think once you have that simple jig it would be much faster than trying to manuever a bunch of 6 foot 2x4's around your basement. It would also be quieter and cleaner.

[Andy Cover]

If you have a radial arm saw that idea from Dave is the best yet. Super easy! And extremely safe if done properly.

Andy