Lap Joints

[Greg Labacz]

is there a easy way to make lap joints on a router table. I'm making Japanese type screens to hide the washer,dryer and sink from view. They will be roughly 3' x 6'. Would 1x4 pine be ok?

[Neal Clayton]

you could use a straight bit, and just make multiple passes until you have the joint cut out, using the fence as a stop and the board on a miter sled. any straight bit designed to leave a flat bottom will work.

[Prashun Patel]

You're talking about half-lap joints, right?

I find it easier to use a bandsaw to cut these. But if I were to use a router, I'd rather build a jig for a plunge base - similar to a mortising jig, and then go at it with a spiral bit or flatbottomed straight bit.

[Tom Hintz]

is there a easy way to make lap joints on a router table. I'm making Japanese type screens to hide the washer,dryer and sink from view. They will be roughly 3' x 6'. Would 1x4 pine be ok?

1" X 4" pine should be fine for that kind of screen.

You can make half-lap joints on the router table just like you would on a table saw with a stacked dado set. I like to use a miter gauge on both machines. On the router table any good flat-bottomed bit will work, as will spiral bits. I have a story about half-laps at the link below that focuses mainly on the table saw because it is more popular for this but the procedures are the same for the router table.

Half-Lap Story (http://www.newwoodworker.com/basic/halflap.html)

[Greg Labacz]

Thanks for all your help :D:D. Now I'm off to the shop and play with scrap wood.:eek:

[Dave Gaul]

I would think that a rig kinda like a coping jig would work with a straight bit on the router table... would take many passes to lap a 4" wide stock, but it would work nicely...

[john bateman]

If you're doing a bunch of them, it may be easier to lay out all the boards, side by side. Clamp them down to a work surface. Then use the router handheld, with a straightedge, and cut them all at once.

This might be easier than trying to guide 6ft long 1x4's across a router table.

[pat warner]

I would say relatively easy (on the router table). The key is a jig that is heavy, indexable, holds the work without squirming, and with the ability to square itself to the fence/cutter.
So the cutting is trivial (seconds/face), but the fixturing (for me) took days. Lap sample (http://patwarner.com/images/dovetailed-lap.jpg).

[Brian Kincaid]

For a half lap on the router table I would use a miter fence running in a slot with the work clamped to the fence. You can then adjust the depth of cut with your cutter height to table. That's a big plus when doing joinery where you want better than 1/32.

If you will have to take multiple passes across the joint you can clamp a piece of material to your router table infeed fence to 'index' each time you change the workpiece. After all pieces have been run move the fence to the next cut section, lock it down and run all the pieces again.

I have done this routine when cutting 'collar' designs on legs. I can take pictures if that would help.

-Brian