Mark Cook
09-20-2016, 3:27 PM
Folks, I'm brand new to the forum and I come seeking help from more experienced woodworkers.
I'm building a roll-around computer cart and am building the sides out of 1" oak (actually 2 1/2" pieces laminated together.) To build the sides tall enough, I'm using tongue & groove to join 3 pieces edge-to-edge vertically. The middle piece has both the grooves. The top and bottom piece will each have the corresponding tongues. This will be the same for both the left and right side panels of the cart, although they will be mirror images of each other. That should be enough design background.
I've cut the grooves on both edges of both middle pieces (left and right side) to my satisfaction (on my router table.) I spent the better part of an afternoon and countless test cuts to get the tongue created properly on scrap oak (leftovers from the 3 actual side pieces), using a 1/2" straight router bit and flipping the wood over to do each side of the tongue separately. After getting a test piece exactly the dimensions I wanted, I held my breath and cut the first actual piece of the project. Once done, I test fit it to one of the completed grooves and discovered to my horror that one side of the tongue was cut too deep. I couldn't understand how this could have possibly happened until I checked my router and discovered that, after many dozens and dozens of test cuts without moving, the router bit had "walked" up out of the chuck just prior to the final cut. This left one side of the tongue at the correct depth and the other side too deep. (I have no idea why the bit choose that exact time to move, but can only assume that I failed to tighten the chuck sufficiently and it just took that long for it to slip.)
Here's what the mistake looks like:
344453
The correct (test) piece is on the right, the screwed-up actual project piece is on the left.
So, after all that exposition, I've got two (obvious, I hope) questions.
1. Aside from my failing to tighten the chuck sufficiently, is there any other possible reason why the bit would have moved and, if so, how do I prevent it in the future?
2. More importantly, how do I fix my mistake? I can't easily start the entire piece over, as it's cut in a fairly complicated (for me) shape which would be difficult to reproduce exactly. Can I glue an oversized shim along the length of the tongue (on the incorrect side) and then re-router it to the correct dimension? From a practical standpoint, that's what I'm inclined to try, but given that the joint will be moderately load bearing, I am somewhat concerned about the strength of the repaired joint. Will it be strong enough, or is there a better way to fix the mistake?
Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.
- Mark C.
I'm building a roll-around computer cart and am building the sides out of 1" oak (actually 2 1/2" pieces laminated together.) To build the sides tall enough, I'm using tongue & groove to join 3 pieces edge-to-edge vertically. The middle piece has both the grooves. The top and bottom piece will each have the corresponding tongues. This will be the same for both the left and right side panels of the cart, although they will be mirror images of each other. That should be enough design background.
I've cut the grooves on both edges of both middle pieces (left and right side) to my satisfaction (on my router table.) I spent the better part of an afternoon and countless test cuts to get the tongue created properly on scrap oak (leftovers from the 3 actual side pieces), using a 1/2" straight router bit and flipping the wood over to do each side of the tongue separately. After getting a test piece exactly the dimensions I wanted, I held my breath and cut the first actual piece of the project. Once done, I test fit it to one of the completed grooves and discovered to my horror that one side of the tongue was cut too deep. I couldn't understand how this could have possibly happened until I checked my router and discovered that, after many dozens and dozens of test cuts without moving, the router bit had "walked" up out of the chuck just prior to the final cut. This left one side of the tongue at the correct depth and the other side too deep. (I have no idea why the bit choose that exact time to move, but can only assume that I failed to tighten the chuck sufficiently and it just took that long for it to slip.)
Here's what the mistake looks like:
344453
The correct (test) piece is on the right, the screwed-up actual project piece is on the left.
So, after all that exposition, I've got two (obvious, I hope) questions.
1. Aside from my failing to tighten the chuck sufficiently, is there any other possible reason why the bit would have moved and, if so, how do I prevent it in the future?
2. More importantly, how do I fix my mistake? I can't easily start the entire piece over, as it's cut in a fairly complicated (for me) shape which would be difficult to reproduce exactly. Can I glue an oversized shim along the length of the tongue (on the incorrect side) and then re-router it to the correct dimension? From a practical standpoint, that's what I'm inclined to try, but given that the joint will be moderately load bearing, I am somewhat concerned about the strength of the repaired joint. Will it be strong enough, or is there a better way to fix the mistake?
Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.
- Mark C.