Garth Snyder
04-28-2015, 6:42 PM
I'm working on some cabinets for our laundry room, and I ordered the Freud 99-036 (http://www.amazon.com/1-3-Dia-Adjustable-Tongue-Groove/dp/B00006XMTT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430259446&sr=8-1&keywords=freud+99-036) adjustable tongue and groove router bit set for making the doors. I just want to make simple frame-and-panel doors much like the ones shown here:
312466
But as I was working on the first set of cabinet frames (I haven't gotten to the doors yet), it became clear that my usual dowel joinery system (using the older JessEm jig) was going to be quite time consuming, since there's a lot of joint area and many boards have joints on three or four sides. It occurred to me that tongue and groove construction might work well for this, and that led me to read about Marc Sommerfeld's tongue and groove system (http://www.amazon.com/Sommerfelds-Tongue-Groove-Cabinetmaking-2-Inch/dp/B00FAFIT94/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430259975&sr=8-1&keywords=sommerfeld+cabinetmaking) for cabinets, which has been discussed here in the past.
Could I get by with just one of these router bit sets for both cabinet construction and door-making? I haven't opened the Freud set, so I can still exchange it.
I guess there are really two sub-questions here: Could I use the Sommerfeld bits to make cabinet doors without too much pain? Alternatively, could I use the adjustable Freud bits as a joinery system?
I really like the concept behind the Sommerfeld system, especially the height-matched bits that you can swap out without readjusting. On the other hand, the tongue in the Sommerfeld system is offset to one side, though it's not clear by exactly how much. That seems less than ideal for making doors. On the third hand, the Sommerfeld catalog says the maximum stock width for the system is 1 1/8", which suggests that there is some flexibility in positioning the tongue. Would it in fact be possible to make centered tongue-and-groove joints with this set in 3/4" stock?
Cut depth on the Sommerfeld set is only 1/4", which is a little skimpy for doors, but I think I could live with that. (Depth of cut on the Freud is 7/16".) The Sommerfeld system has only a single tongue width, also 1/4". Probably a bit loose with a 1/4" plywood panel, but likely shimmable.
It really isn't clear to me why the Sommerfeld system uses an offset tongue, even after watching Sommerfeld's videos. (See here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klv0jzWD26w) for the start of the series.) Wouldn't this system work just as well with a centered tongue? Is the point of the offset just to make clear when you've put something together backwards?
I know there are other ways to do tongue and groove construction, so it isn't necessarily a choice between one or the other bit set, or both. But I think I'd like to invest in one of these just to see what kinds of possibilities it opens up.
Any comments would be appreciated!
312466
But as I was working on the first set of cabinet frames (I haven't gotten to the doors yet), it became clear that my usual dowel joinery system (using the older JessEm jig) was going to be quite time consuming, since there's a lot of joint area and many boards have joints on three or four sides. It occurred to me that tongue and groove construction might work well for this, and that led me to read about Marc Sommerfeld's tongue and groove system (http://www.amazon.com/Sommerfelds-Tongue-Groove-Cabinetmaking-2-Inch/dp/B00FAFIT94/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430259975&sr=8-1&keywords=sommerfeld+cabinetmaking) for cabinets, which has been discussed here in the past.
Could I get by with just one of these router bit sets for both cabinet construction and door-making? I haven't opened the Freud set, so I can still exchange it.
I guess there are really two sub-questions here: Could I use the Sommerfeld bits to make cabinet doors without too much pain? Alternatively, could I use the adjustable Freud bits as a joinery system?
I really like the concept behind the Sommerfeld system, especially the height-matched bits that you can swap out without readjusting. On the other hand, the tongue in the Sommerfeld system is offset to one side, though it's not clear by exactly how much. That seems less than ideal for making doors. On the third hand, the Sommerfeld catalog says the maximum stock width for the system is 1 1/8", which suggests that there is some flexibility in positioning the tongue. Would it in fact be possible to make centered tongue-and-groove joints with this set in 3/4" stock?
Cut depth on the Sommerfeld set is only 1/4", which is a little skimpy for doors, but I think I could live with that. (Depth of cut on the Freud is 7/16".) The Sommerfeld system has only a single tongue width, also 1/4". Probably a bit loose with a 1/4" plywood panel, but likely shimmable.
It really isn't clear to me why the Sommerfeld system uses an offset tongue, even after watching Sommerfeld's videos. (See here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klv0jzWD26w) for the start of the series.) Wouldn't this system work just as well with a centered tongue? Is the point of the offset just to make clear when you've put something together backwards?
I know there are other ways to do tongue and groove construction, so it isn't necessarily a choice between one or the other bit set, or both. But I think I'd like to invest in one of these just to see what kinds of possibilities it opens up.
Any comments would be appreciated!