dado veneered panels

[Andy Maldoror]

i'm gluing up some 1/32 veneers on baltic right now. i need to cut dados later. do you just put a strip of tape down the length of where the cut will be made? the dado is not all the way through so i'll be using the router table. any type of bit better to prevent tear-out? or other advice?

[Sam Murdoch]

If your veneer glue up is solid there should be no tear out using a sharp bit. You will veneer both sides right?
What ya' makin'?

Wonderin' Sam

[Andy Maldoror]

yep, both sides. i'm doing a little krenov knock off for myself to use as a tea cabinet. and learning how to veneer. i've built a joe woodworker press and bought some veneer bundles of some exotics i'd never be able to afford as boards. working with curly etimoe which has been a big surprise for me...it's beautiful stuff.

[Mike Cutler]

Like Sam stated, a nice sharp bit and you should be set.
I've always been partial to a spiral up sweep if it's not too deep, or long a dado, but a straight cut bit with bottom cutters should be fine.
Some folks tape, some use a razor knife to define the edges. I use tape and make the first pass light. I'm under no time constraints, so doing multiple passes isn't an issue for me.

[Chris Hedges]

You should be using a down-cut spiral bit as the cutting action of the bit will shear the fibers over the support provided by the ply wood underneath. Having said that, it is possible for the router bit to climb up out of the collet of the router and ruin the work and ultimately fly out of the collet. You must make sure that your collet assembly is absolutely clean and that there are no burrs on the shank of the bit. All of this is just another reason why I prefer doing dado work on the table saw. Though that has its own risks...

Chris

[Sam Murdoch]

The router bit escaping from the collet is a terrible thing. Scared the (well just about everything :eek:) out of me when I was new to routers. I discovered that if you set the bit all the way so that it bottomed out in the collet it would certainly vibrate loose and come a flyin' no matter how tight you wrenched the collet down. SO - DON'T BOTTOM OUT THE BIT IN THE COLLET. Push the bit in as far as it can go then pull it out a tad. Tighten the collet and that part of the set up is a safe as it can get (assuming your bit is sharp and straight).

[keith micinski]

You also don't want to bottom it out because it is harder on the bearings.