Raised panel question

[Jeff Monson]

I'm having problems getting my center panel to come out right when cutting my raised panel, I'm using a 3 1/2" freud ogee with a back cutter, a bench dog router table with a 3 1/2 hitachi router, I use feather boards to hold my work and make 3 small cuts.

The problem is my corners arent consistently coming out nice the height on my end cuts doesnt seem consistent with the sides so where the 2 meet I dont get a nice beveled 90 degree ogee, is there a technique or trick to making these come out right all the time?

I've had this issue with 3/4 oak and maple, the wood has been face jointed and planed from 13/16 stock.

[tod evans]

practice.....02 tod

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Couple of ideas: Are you using featherboards to hold the panel tightly down to the table? Is your panel perfectly flat before routing? I find these two things to be very important for consistent results.

[Donnie Raines]

I was going to echo the same thing as Allen. My first impression was the panel is not truley flat...that would do it every time.

[Mike Goetzke]

Could also be the table support, long side -vs- short side supported on the table. Plus when I make raised panels I usually blend the corners while sanding - a sharp intersection just doesn't look right.

Mike

[Dave Richards]

Is it possible that the insert plate isn't flush with the table and your panels are narrow enough to drop down onto a slightly lower plate?

[tod evans]

jeff, sorry if i sounded condecending:) try raising a piece of mdf, that should tell you whether or not it`s stock or technique..02 tod

[Ed Bamba]

I did four raised panels on a table saw using a jig on a Biese fence. One came out as noted by the OP, the others came out pretty well. My thoughts on the miss cut one is that the panel may not have been square prior to raising. Haven't tried raising panels with a router, but my guess is that the panels should be very square in order to have excellent results. Just a thought from a newbie WW.

Take care,
Ed

[Jim Hager]

I'm having problems getting my center panel to come out right when cutting my raised panel, I'm using a 3 1/2" freud ogee with a back cutter, a bench dog router table with a 3 1/2 hitachi router, I use feather boards to hold my work and make 3 small cuts.

The problem is my corners arent consistently coming out nice the height on my end cuts doesnt seem consistent with the sides so where the 2 meet I dont get a nice beveled 90 degree ogee, is there a technique or trick to making these come out right all the time?

I've had this issue with 3/4 oak and maple, the wood has been face jointed and planed from 13/16 stock.

I have problems with that too sometimes when the panel is not truly flat as a flitter. Seldom are panels really good and flat unless like Tod suggested using a piece of MDF. I raise my panels using a power feeder on the shaper and it helps quite a bit to hold the piece flat to the table. If you are using a router table setup you will have to (again as Tod said) practice in making sure that the panel is right on the table at the cutter. The pressure point you use needs to be directly over the cutter to insure that the panel is on the table at the point where the cutter is working. You will also have to watch out for cutting too deep at the corner too when finishing up a corner because pressure in the wrong place will cause the panel to tip in some where the adjacent edge is already shaped. When I have a panel that is not good and flat I will be sure to shape the panel with the high side down on the table so that I can rock the panel as it is being cut to keep it cutting at the proper depth.

[Jeff Monson]

good input guys, I'm pretty sure its not a stock problem and my technique or setup is where the problem lies, its usually my wider panels that I notice most, and those I cant face joint as they are too wide, so I just plane them, after glue up.

[Michael Gabbay]

Jeff - if you are hand planing the panels before you run them throught the panel bit, check with calipers to see if one edge is slightly thinner than the others. That may be the cause of the unequal cut.