1/16" deep X 3/16" W x 15" multiple veining on cherry. Simple router technique?

[Don Morris]

I have to make a number of 1/16" x 3/16" veins about 15" long on several pieces of cherry. They should be separated by 1/4". One way is to set up start and stop blocks on my router table top, drop the piece onto the bit and run it up to the stop block, figure out how far to move the fence for 1/4" increments. Or should this be some sort of jig I make up using a plunge router? I'm leaning towards making a jig of some sort. I'm sure a lot of you have done this. What's the simplist way? I'm too old to do complicated.

[Prashun Patel]

I would do it on the router table like you said. However, if you don't have precision fence adjustment, then make a stack of shims that are 1/4" thick + the thickness of the bit ("1/2" mdf or plywood might be perfect). Set your fence location to the furthest flute, and clamp all the shims to the fence and run your piece through using a stop on the butt. Remove a shim with each pass, then repeat.

[Rick Potter]

I go with Prashun. I would use the router table for something that short. Shims are your friend. Don't forget that you can do a groove, swing the work piece around and do another groove, spaced perfectly.

I have used a router guide to freehand grooves in a bunch of door casings. Even using MDF with no grain at all, it was easy for the router to wander if you don't really watch it. The router table would be a lot easier.

Rick Potter

[Chris Padilla]

These sound like flutes? Fluting on columns is a common technique. Rocker sells a jig that makes this easy to do and it is really uncomplicated. :)

[Pat Barry]

I have more questions than answers, ie: 1) are the veins going to be 1/16" deep and 3/16" wide or 1/16" wide and 3/16" deep - it would make a big difference to me. 2) do you have a bit picked out already, if so which bit, what's its profile - I think that matters. Genrally for me, on the first blush look, I see this as the type of thing I would like to do with my router table, basically as Prashun described. However, my router table is not big enough. It would need to be more than 30" across for that to work, more like 36" to account for the stop blocks and clamping. Because of that I would have to make a new, albeit temporary, bigger top for my router table. Then it becomes a question of how wide the board is that you are doing the veining and how many veins are required. I would need more info from you to decide what else is needed.

[Don Morris]

There are going to be 4 veins across four, 4" wide, 22" long boards of 3/4" cherry. The veins are 1/16" deep by 3/16" wide. I was planning to use something like the Whiteside 2 fluted round bottom veining bit. I like the shim idea, that sounds like it should work on my Bench Dog table top of 22" by 30". Thanks for the input guys! Anything else to ease the process is always appreciated.

[Joe Scharle]

Just one more thing......make at least one practice run on scrap first :D

[Don Morris]

I never!!! make any run without a practice run on scrap. Don't ever ask me why.