Thick Wood Pattern Cutting

[James McCarthy]

I am making a credenza that will be approximately 65 inches long and twenty inches wide. The base is 5 inches high and will be made of 1.5 inch thick white oak, plain sawn. I want to make a rudimentary cloud lift pattern so that you can reach under the finished furniture. To that end I have made the pattern out of quarter inch MDF but the question is, what now. Can I cut this with a straight bit that has a half inch shank using my big Bosch 1611 router? Do I use a Sabre Saw/Jig Saw and follow Sinatra's advice of Nice and Easy Does it every time? Slice the 1.5 inch thick spanner/base in half using my band saw with a king re-saw blade and then attempt to re-glue. Or, follow Fred Astair's advice and call the whole thing off and go with a straight base.

Thanks for any advice.

Jim
PS The reason I am going with such thick wood is that I do not want this credenza to sag.

[Patrick Kane]

Hey Jim, I just did some pattern shaping on 3.25" thick walnut a week ago. That was on a shaper with a helical head and bearing, but i first cut very close to the line at my bandsaw. Typically, i trace my template with a sharpie, and cut to the edge of the sharpie. This should leave you with no more than 1/8" oversized than the final pattern. If you are nervous about taking the full 1.5" thickness in one pass, use a bottom bearing router bit and do the template routing in steps.

[glenn bradley]

Cut close to the line with a decent jigsaw. Template route at the router table to a depth of about 3/4", remove the template and use the first cut to guide the top-bearing template bit till you run out of capcity. Flip the blank and use a bottom bearing bit to finish the profiled surface. Hope that made sense.

[James McCarthy]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I am going to buy a compression router bit with a bearing and use the flip method suggested by Glenn, if needed.

Jim

[Warren Lake]

originally posted by someone else, nice hat always good to wear safety gear :)

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[Mel Fulks]

Warren,thanks for that foto !
I have some bearings for sale like the ones shown. Nominal 4 and 1/2 inch diameter. All slightly different size to
get knives in precise spot in corugated shaper heads.

[John Ziebron]

Years ago I made a pergola with patterned ends on the cedar 2 x 6s. I did a close cut with a sabre saw and then used a pattern bit on a hand held router. Don't remember the brand but the bit was 3/4" diameter with a 1/2" shank and just over 1 1/2" cutting length. It worked perfectly. Always better to cut your pattern in one pass without flipping if possible. There are plenty of good quality long pattern bits on the market.

[Mel Fulks]

Warren ,that model of safety hat was known as The Fiberglass Fedora; "suitable for church, work, card games ,and door
to door salesmen". If I remember right.

[Steve Jenkins]

I try to avoid straight router bits whenever possible. I use either spiral or shear bits. Much less tear out.

[Stan Calow]

CMT makes a straight bit with a 2" cutting length.

[Alex Zeller]

Something wrong with that picture. He's not smoking the mandatory safety cigarette.

[roger wiegand]

William Ng sells this huge pattern routing bit (https://wnwoodworkingschool.com/product/big-daddy-pattern-bit/)(made by Whiteside) for exactly this kind of work. It works spectacularly well for G&G style furniture parts. It was painful to pay for, but has proved to be invaluable. The spiral cutter and large diameter leaves a near perfect finish.

As others have said, bandsaw or jigsaw close to the line, then finish it with a pattern bit. Unless, of course you want to go the route of the fellow pictured above.

[Jon Grider]

Something wrong with that picture. He's not smoking the mandatory safety cigarette.

Probably has a pack of Pall Malls or Camels w/o filters in his shirt pocket and a Zippo in his pants pocket.

[Mark Hennebury]

Great photo Warren! But where are the two foot long push sticks?

[Warren Lake]

Shirt with a collar is good. Couldnt find him smoking but found his doctor and then his president.

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[Warren Lake]

cant see my post if I log on but since you asked about push sticks this one always didnt sit right.

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[Warren Lake]

I took a few shaper jigs from an auction years ago that were destined for the garbage bin that were very tall and high. Didnt get what they were doing or the set up but the hat guy answered the question. Be nice if it was stopped to see what the head was in there. Hope there is more lead in on the front of the jig than the trailing end, seems short and where is his left hand going when he exits, I guess to the back piece.

[Mel Fulks]

The good spring hold down is what makes it safe. I would not do that type of job without it. The pattern is wide enough to
provide stability.

[Bradley Gray]

and where is his left hand going when he exits

exactly what I was thinking.

what could possibly go wrong?

[Mel Fulks]

Because of the hold down ,you just go to the finished end and just drag it out.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Cut close to the line with a decent jigsaw. Template route at the router table to a depth of about 3/4", remove the template and use the first cut to guide the top-bearing template bit till you run out of capcity. Flip the blank and use a bottom bearing bit to finish the profiled surface. Hope that made sense.

I used Glenn's recommended method recently to shape a curved drawer front. The only difference is I cut it near the line with my bandsaw.

[Warren Lake]

Makes sense Mel top and bottom bearing more than ive had plus the spring hold mentioned. I done nothing close to that height wise, not needed so far.

[Mark Hennebury]

Must be a teacher.



cant see my post if I log on but since you asked about push sticks this one always didnt sit right.

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[Warren Lake]

you are like Kreskin.

Yes, teacher by day, on weekends he is a bull fighter.

[James McCarthy]

I splashed out on a Whiteside Compression bit that is a little over an inch in length. I am still thinking of flipping the piece as it is 1.25 inch wide after I remove a lot of waste with a band saw or hand held sabre saw. However, I might have to bit the bullet and plane the board to a little over an inch wide; but that is not my first choice. I will keep everyone informed on the out come.