Long Boards T&G. Table Saw or Router ?????

[Dave Parker]

I have some long boars (6-8ft) X 5/4 that I want to tongue and groove. I have the option of doing it on my router table or table saw. Which would be better for the longer lengths?
I am liking the bit options that a table mounted router would provide, however I don't know if it (or I) can handle this length.

Thanks

Puppypappa

[Jamie Buxton]

If the boards are not absolutely flat, a hand-held router gives better results than the router table or the table saw. Non-flat boards tend to jack themselves away from the table or the fence in places. With the handheld router, the tongue and the groove are well-registered to the face of the board. When you assemble the T&G boards, that good registration helps you straighten out the non-flat boards.

[Peter Quinn]

I'd use the router table personally. I think it would be easier to set up and run long boards with some stock support on the router table than run them on edge over the TS, especially if they are not perfectly flat. A freehand router with a slot cutter for the groove and a rabbit in two passes is also a fine option, and this will follow any bow in the boards if that is a problem.

[Dave Parker]

Thanks a lot. Both good options. Hopefully when I am done planing, they will be flat, although I am intrigued with the handheld route. Is there a better way to set up using a hand held, as it seems like I have to run a straight edge and be exact on my bit depth on each pass. A table mounted seems like one set up (1 for T and 1 for G) and then I can run each board as long as they are the same thickness.

Thoughts?

Puppypappa

[Myk Rian]

Use a router table with tongue and groove bit.
You could route a T&G in a banana board and get it right.
http://www.righttool.com/freud-tools/99-036.gif

[Tom Cross]

A few years ago, I did 1,500 lineal feet of 3/4" x 7-1/4" poplar making tongue and groove on edges for paneling. The boards ranged from 10' to 14' long.

The table saw and router table will not give satisfactory results. I used the Milwaukee 5625 3 HP router with Whiteside 3375 tongue and groove bit to make the tongue. First pass must be a shallow climb cut (right to left) to score the surfaces to avoid tear out followed by a full depth cut in the normal direction (left to right). I used an elongated base on the router so it was steady. The usual round base plate is not steady enough for production work. This really goes fast after a few boards and yields perfectly reproducible tongues for every board.

For the groove, you could use the same Whiteside 3375 bit. But I used a 1/4" three wing Freud slot cutter set up on a second router so I could do a board on both edges - tongue on one edge and groove on the other edge while I was working on one board.

[glenn bradley]

As others have said; if your material is reasonably flat, either would work but use featherboards from above and the side for control. If there is any question, I would go hand held for accuracy of depth. The small baseplate of the hand held unit can follow the hills and valleys better than trying to force curved material flat across a table. My .02.

[Steve Clardy]

If the boards are not absolutely flat, a hand-held router gives better results than the router table or the table saw. Non-flat boards tend to jack themselves away from the table or the fence in places.


+1 on the handheld router

[Josiah Bartlett]

I've done just fine with the table saw on boards that length, but I used a pair of tight feather boards to force the board against the fence and table. If you use a sacrificial fence to make the tongue and run the board through twice you get pretty good cuts.

A router table with a bearing and a hold down to keep the board against the table has been ok for me too, but its much slower than the table saw, at least for me. I have a Unisaw so I have much more power available at the blade than I do with a router.


Now that I have a shaper I just use that.

I feel really uncomfortable trying to do free-hand grooving with a handheld router, it is way too easy to tilt the router and ruin the groove. Free hand tongue might be ok.

[Dave Parker]

Again, thanks for the replies. Just wondering if moulder heads for my TS would be an option? Buying a shaper is not. I know I'm probably overthinking this but I am pretty eager and want to do the best job with my limited skill/machinery.

Puppypappa

[Brian Kincaid]

Power feeder on router table.

[Philip Johnson]

I used to make a lot of tongue and groove paneling, you can not hand hold the boards flat enough for the tongue and groove to match up perfectly. The only way I was successful was use a power feed on the shaper. I would not use any table mounted routers or saws. As others have said I think your best bet would be to hand hold the router so that it can follow any curves in the boards

[Rod Sheridan]

Dave, what are you going to use the material for?

You mentioned that you hoped the material would be flat after planing, however planing doesn't make anything flat, just parallel. (Perhaps you already knew that and just used the word planing instead of jointing/planing).

If your material is straight and flat, a tablesaw would be a lot faster than a router table.

If your material isn't perfect, a hand held router will follow the contours of the material.

When I make T&G boards, I joint one face, plane the other, and joint one edge.

The material is then fed between an outboard fence and the shaper grooving cutter with a feeder. The shaper takes off about 1/16" from the edge, so I get it grooved and planed parallel/sized in one shot.

The tongue is then cut with an outboard fence, again with the feeder.

Regards, Rod.

[Mac McQuinn]

When building strip canoes we use a large homemade router table with two routers attached. This allows us to cut both bead and cove profiles on board at same time with approximately 1/64" or less tolerances. One person pushing and one person pulling at control feed rates make for a quick job of 50 + strips. I know your material is bigger but this might give you some ideas. A power feed would only enhance this system...;)


Mac

[Dave Parker]

Fantastic. Now I am looking at the option to add a power feeder to my router table. I have searched a bit and come up with some ideas,....but there isn't a lot out there for the router table attachment.
Any suggestions?
I was really trying to avoid saying that this wood would be used for some minor flooring areas, as most of the reclaimed/DIY T&G barnboard flooring threads seem to be just a debate on why not to DIY, and the ease of buying commercial etc. I am excited to try this, and I am not out any $$ if it does not go well.

Thanks again.......great forum.

Dave