need hand power tool dado/tenon cutter

[Charlie Fox]

first, i am a very basic "minimalist" woodworker so i am not extremely knowledgeable of all the tools available out there, but had 2 years woodshop in high school and have used table saws etc. right now i have a drill press, band saw, 12" thickness planer, and a craftsman RAS, along with a fair amount of hand power tools including 4" grinder and king arthur attachments.

i am working with live edge slab lumber - oak, pecan, elm, etc - hard stuff. size is typically 7-8' long, up to 24" wide, i need to cut some large mortice and tenons, in a rustic but professional looking fashion - the tenons being 6 to 12" wide and 1" thick, cut out of a slab about 20" wide and 8/4 stock, meaning i need a 1/2" cut on each side. also - i really want them to extend through the mortise end (mortise fully penetrates 8/4 stock), so i want them over 2" long. i have done so recently in mesquite - equally hard of course - but smaller M&T's (6" long, 1/2" thick in 6/4 stock - but the mortise did not fully penetrate). here is what i have done:

used a 1960's era craftsman RAS with dado head the same age. "technically" it works ok, but - with wider stock the RAS cant reach the whole cut so i have to flip it to come in from the other side, making alignment difficult since you cant really use a straight edge on a live edge. other issue - the old RAS safety issue. its an old tool, and the unit moves too smoothly. if it had a means of slow movement with a stop it would ok, but with a loose movement you have to be sooooooo careful to take very small bites/cuts, and eventually it always grabs and climbs and everything locks up, especially on hard stock. NO FUN.

have also used the RAS with 2 or 3 crosscut blades togehter, and just keep moving the wood, if the 3 blades are 3/8 thick well, do the math and remember the size of the wood. time consuming, and the table on the RAS is not very big yet the stock is very big.

next, i tried just a hand router (basic craftsman) with 1/2" bit. i can do ok, but it is very demanding (noise, dust, vibration, etc) , and the bottom cut is not very smooth. cutting a wide tenon presents a problem keeping the router level, so i end up with a lot of indents that i can take out with a belt sander but wish i didnt have to. i then can trace the final shape of the tenon onto the other stock and use the router to do the best i can to fit. this works, but is time consuming. oh yeah - i do clamp a piece of wood at a right angle to serve as a router guide so i have a straight edge.

now i could also do the same job using a circular saw making one pass at a time, but this will also be very time consuming. so it seems to me what would work perfectly is a circular saw with a dado head. is there such an animal? or at least a circular saw that will accept 3 or 4 blades?

any other ideas? i am in Houston and have Woodcraft and Empire Tools nearby....


charlie

[Kenneth Speed]

Charlie, You're scaring me! Are you suggesting using a stack dado in a skilsaw?!?!?! How can I saw this? Don't even think it! I think what you are trying to do can be accomplished with a good router, some upcut spiral bits and a straight edge.

I'd go to Woodcraft and tell them what you want to do and preferably bring some drawings.

[Stephen Cherry]

Just like everyone, you need some shapers, this cutter cuts humungo tenons in no time.

237030

[Charlie Fox]

calm down kenneth!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL! dont worry - a stacked dado wont even fit in a skilsaw - (not that i tried it, i just looked) the arbor shaft aint long enuf and the guard is to skinny. i was just wondering if someone made a new modern and SAFE tool similar to a skilsaw with a dado head. think about it - 20 years ago would you think a 4" chain saw disc would be safe on a 4" grinder? just hopin' someone came up with somethin' that would work... even just a 1/4" deep cut with a skilsaw similar set up would be way cool!
;-)

but wow, i just saw the 1/2" bit upcut spiral bit at 0ver $50. ouch. i hope it is worth its cost. i assume it is smoother than what i have been using, a typical dado bit? lot of $$ to spend for just a bit, but i am a big believer in toy get what you pay for if you do your research, which is why i am here......thanks for your help!

[Charlie Fox]

great Stephen......any more details? looks a little pricey at first glance.....

[Bill ThompsonNM]

A power plane would do for the tenons, e.g. Google 'CPO dewalt planer' Now as to the mortises. .. Some auger bits, a brace and mortise chisels might be faster than anything without spending gobs 'o money.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

had a thought..... if you want a straight edge, and you can't clamp it, secure it with double sided turners tape. That stuff is tough!

[David Weaver]

I don't know what your time constraints are, but none of what you're talking about would be very difficult with hand tools, especially if you're looking for rustic (i.e., well fitting, but not multirouter precision type joints).

Any large mortises, do drill and pare style, small ones, decide what you want to do (anything would be fine).

The long dadoes, a circular saw cut on both sides of the groove and removal of most of the waste with a chisel would be fine, and after a few it wouldn't be slow, either. Undercut just a fraction in the middle of the dado and keep things tight and tidy on the ends marking the depth and working to it.

Same with large tenons - if you can mark it, you can cut it easily with a handsaw, and if you're afraid of overshooting a mark, you can cut short of it and pare or plane to depth (or use your router on a base). You can be as precise as you need to be, precision doesn't cost much with hand tools.

[Mike Heidrick]

Chisels and tenon and crosscut handsaws.

[Charlie Fox]

gotta ask tho, why couldnt i use maybe the two blades from a dado stack? or the two with one dado cutter between, if they are plenty clear of the insides of the guard? remember i am only cutting 1/2" deep. is this really difficult to control and will kick back like a mule?

[lowell holmes]

Yep! You bet.

[Charlie Fox]

well, i have never been one to follow all the safety rules - one of my other hobbies is photographing grizzly and black bears on solo backcountry hikes, what can i say?

so i put in the two 7" outside saw blades from an old dado set - could not fit a dado head - and tried it on a piece of yellow pine with no issues, cut like butter. still not optimum, but easier than the router. gotta take a trip to woodcraft........