Raised panels on TS

[Jim Dunn]

When cutting raised panels on a table saw what angle is the blade set, normally? I plan to build a jig to hold the panels at the angle I want, might make it adjustable, but wanted to get close before I got any farther along.

Thanks Jim

[Doug Jones]

I'm wanting to say 15-18 degrees, but its been quite some time since I have done it. I could be wrong.

[Mike Evertsen]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=600><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD vAlign=top width=260>Raised Panels on the Table Saw

A router table makes quick work of cutting raised panels. But an alterative to buying expensive router bits to do this is to cut them on your table saw. Here are a couple of tips to make the job go easier, so you'll end up with smooth, clean bevels and square shoulders.

Table Saw Setup.Cutting the bevels on the long edges of a panel is no problem. But when you stand the pieces on end, it's a good idea to have the extra support.

With the auxiliary fence in place, tilt the saw blade (12°) and raise it to the desired height (Fig. 1). (Mine ended up 3/4".) Then using a test piece, you can sneak up on the position of the fence until the shoulder profile is created (Fig. 1a).

Now that the fence is set, you can begin cutting the bevels. I like to cut across the short, end grain edges first. This way, if there’s any chipout near the tail end of the bevel, it will be removed when the bevel is cut on the longer face grain edges.

Sanding. Even a sharp saw blade will probably leave some swirl marks, so after the raised panels have been cut, the last step is to sand the bevels. But there’s one area that needs some extra attention. Since the blade was tilted, the shoulder will be slightly undercut. To square this up, I made a sanding block that has a bevel cut on one edge (Figs. 2 and 2a).

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[Jim Becker]

I'm wanting to say 15-18 degrees, but its been quite some time since I have done it. I could be wrong.

I was going to guess 15 degrees myself. It could be shallower for a very wide bevel, however. If one were so inclined, they could calculate the exact angle using mathmatics that gives the required thicknesses at both the inside and outside of the cut, including compensation for the relief cut that raises the field slightly from the bevel in many panels made this way. Me...I'd just guess and work it out on scraps...LOL!

[Scott Parks]

I've never been interested in cutting panels that have a tapered tongue. I know it's been done this way for thousands of years, but I ask... What happens when the panel shrinks? Does it rattle? Too much for me to calculate. I've made such panels on the tablesaw with a molding head with rabbeting cutters. Using a jig at about 15 degrees, clamped to the table, I was able to cut the panel and still have a 1/4" tongue for the grooves in the rail and stiles. Clear as mud?

[Mike Leone]

this is how I make my panels it takes 4 cutshttp://x.bmpthey come out perfet

[Mike Leone]

I will look

[Mike Leone]

I will have to investigate this

[Dave Richards]

Jim, I did the following jig design for someone else. If you're interested I could come up with dimensioned drawings for you.

[Jim Dunn]

Dave that would be great. It is actually something on the order of what I imagined. But yours is much more detailed.

[Dave Richards]

Jim, if you want to download the free viewer from SketchUp, I'll send you the file and you can look at the whole thing. I have dimensioned views of the parts and you can take a look at all the details.

D

[David Klug]

Mike I'm glad this came up because I'm planning on making some of these doors. What I'm wondering is if the panel has a 1/4" width on the edges and the grooves in the door frame are a 1/4" will the angle on the panel cause a problem when it expands due to climate change?

DK

[Jim Dunn]

David I'm planning on using MDF for the raised panels as I'm going to paint the whole thing white. That said, I would think you should plan on some expanding due moisturetemp changes.

[frank shic]

jim, the angle is TEN degrees. danny proulx has an EXCELLENT explanation in his book "build your own kitchen cabinets". you eliminate the undercutting phenomenon by raising the saw blade just 1/8" and cutting a field 2" in from all sides. screw a wider board to the fence, raise the blade and tilt it TEN degrees AWAY from the fence and make test cuts until you get the desired result. if you're into building jigs, jim tolpin's got a decent one that's adjustable in his book "table saw magic."

here are a couple of other jig ideas:
http://www.knipmeyer.net/Panel%20cutting%20jig.JPG
http://www.woodshoptips.com/tips/041403/images/jigLG.jpg
http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct3.cgi?0101

watch those fingers, ok? :eek:

[Dev Emch]

That varies. make a scale drawing of the cross section of your panel. Measure the thickness of your tonque and measure down to produce the reveal. Measure in about as far as you wish to go. Now draw a line connecting the bottom of the edge reveal and the top of the tonque. Measure this angle. Note that this type of panel is called a featherd edge. Because the tonque is tapered, you need to insure that there is enough wiggle room to accomadate changes in season. Otherwise, the expansion will obtain that wiggle room on its own.

[Ed Blough]

That varies. make a scale drawing of the cross section of your panel. Measure the thickness of your tonque and measure down to produce the reveal. Measure in about as far as you wish to go. Now draw a line connecting the bottom of the edge reveal and the top of the tonque. Measure this angle. Note that this type of panel is called a featherd edge. Because the tonque is tapered, you need to insure that there is enough wiggle room to accomadate changes in season. Otherwise, the expansion will obtain that wiggle room on its own.

That feather edge can cause you real problems. If you make the edge 1/4 inch and the groove it goes into a 1/4 inch before you slide the board in the groove very far it will be snug. If you make the groove wider then the panel bounces around.

I was always taught to make a second cut. After cuting the slope of the raised panel you then set the blade height to the groove depth and held the panel vertical cutting a 1/4 thick lip in the slope. This lip is now a constant 1/4" thick and about groove depth in length, it then could easily slip in the cut groove without binding. It also gave another interesting reveal or shadow line in the finished product.

[Mike Leone]

I have made many raised panels on my table saw with 4 cuts and then rabbiting on the bottom with my jointer. The tongue may need a little cleanup with a shoulder plane. But this is essentialy how they look. The angle of the cut varied depending how deep I wanted the slope to go.
I put my fence on the left side of my blade, I have a right tilt uni for the initail cut the sloped portion then then a little cut at the top of the slope, then the tongue. I've made panels with the raised portion up to 2 inches with no problems. If you have a good blade the rasied part comes out very good with no saw marks, and these need very little cleanup.
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my .02

[Lee Schierer]

At my web site, I have illustrated instructions on how to make raised panels safely on a table saw. http://home.earthlink.net/~us71na/raisedpanel.html A fixed angle jig might have limited usefulness if you want to change the size of the reveal for a particular application such as box lids, drawer fronts or smaller sized panels. As you can see in my instructions, I prefer to make the face cut with a router instead of the TS so you get a nice smooth transition from the surface to the bevel. LOML complained about dust staying in the saw cuts when I made the face cuts with the TS.

[Mark Patoka]

The few I've done are very similiar to Lee's method. I eyeball the blade angle based on material thickness and the height/amount of bevel I want on that particular panel. I haven't had a problem with wood movement in the panel causing problems.

[Garry Smith]

Here's a sliding jig I made. It works great for raised panels and tennons etc.
Garry
see details at
http://www.superwoodworks.com/Projects/TableSawJig.htm

http://www.superwoodworks.com/images/TStenonJig/TableSawTenon2.JPG

or see the compound angle setup for cutting small moldings at
http://www.superwoodworks.com/Projects/ArchedBed.htm

http://www.superwoodworks.com/images/ArchedBed/MoldingSetup.JPG