Need to widen 1/8" groove

[David Tolsky]

This is the bottom of a box. Turns out the groove on the right is too tight for what slides into it. That groove piece is already glued to the bottom of the box. What tool would you use to widen this groove just a tiny bit? Tried a Dremel with a mini router bit but it was awkward. Don't know of a strip sander that could fit in there. Some sort of wood file maybe?337026

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I would clamp a piece to the thin side to provide some mechanical stability so it wouldn't flap and with the fence to guide it, use my table saw to widen the groove .

[John Vernier]

A side rabbet plane like the old Stanley 79 is perfect for this sort of thing. It's a pity they don't make it any more, although they aren't rare by any means. There should be plenty of examples on the auction site, mostly overpriced of course. Lee Valley makes a side rabbet plane, and Lie-Nielsen makes a left-right pair. The Stanley 79 is the most compact design, and I liked to carry one in my field kit as it could be the quick fix for lots of fitting problems.

[glenn bradley]

+1 for tablesaw.

[Charles Lent]

+2 for the table saw

Charley

[Ben Rivel]

+3 to what Ken said.

[Stan Calow]

Those L-N planes are nice for something like this, but you have to watch the grain direction or you'll tear it up. If the groove is not too long, I'd try finding a skinny file to fit. Or maybe a sharp chisel. Or a card or scraper with sandpaper wrapped around it. I would have trouble managing this accurately on a table saw.

[John Sanford]

Side rabbet plane would be my tool of choice, if I understand the pic correctly. If I'm not understanding it, then a side rabbet may not be deep enough. It's da bomb for opening a groove up just a smidge. Veritas makes one which I found to be of great value. Much, much quicker and less likely to screw things up than a router or trip to the tablesaw. Woodriver (i.e. Woodcraft) makes one very similar.

[Al Launier]

I would clamp a piece to the thin side to provide some mechanical stability so it wouldn't flap and with the fence to guide it, use my table saw to widen the groove .

Ditto! Ditto!

[David Tolsky]

337071Impossible to use a tablesaw without actually breaking the piece off the bottom of the box first. There are grooves on each side of the bottom of the box like this and they face each other sideways. The tops of these grooved pieces are glued to the Masonite box bottom. A clapper board slate like they use in motion pictures slides into these grooves. The groove pieces were originally grooved with a tablesaw but somehow one is tighter than the other

[Mel Fulks]

I would use sandpaper glued ,or double faced taped , to a thin piece of wood or sheet metal.

[Charles Lent]

With this additional information I think I would go with careful sanding of it like Mel suggests.

So +1 for Mel's idea.

Charley

[David Tolsky]

I ended up buying a rasp and skinny wood file that fit in the groove. Had to take the good with the bad. The skinny part cracked a little so I glued some Masonite strips to the bottom of the pieces. All good.

[Simon MacGowen]

A bit late. But couldn't you just plane or sand the high spot/thicker portion on the "slide" piece down a tad?
Simon

[Bradley Gray]

+1 You could use table saw or router table to make a shoulder on the dividers.