How do I make a stopped groove in a dovetail?
Hi guys.
I want to make a small tray, 10x13" and 2 1/2" high. Will join the sides with through dovetails. I want to use 1/4" thick material for the bottom. I want the bottom to ride in a groove on all 4 sides.
No sweat - got out my plow plane and cut a groove on the tail boards. The end of the groove wont show. But if I groove the pin boards all the way to the end, it WILL show. So I tried to cut a stopped groove with the plow - can't get a uniform depth because the skate is longer than the groove.
How do you cut grooves like this?
Thank you.
Fred
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A very repeatable way that worked for me
I tried a few of the ideas suggested above, and again thanks to everyone who responded! The approach I came up with is a close relative of what Jim Koepke was doing with his #45s. Because the LV small plow only has one depth stop, I couldn't use just that.
So what I did was make an auxillary fence to install on the other side (see pics) of the skate. The bottom of that fence is flush with the edge of the skate. I advance the blade every pass. When I clamp a stop to the bench, the plow will cut stopped grooves all day long with no muss or fuss. Minor cleanup with a chisel on both ends. [Edit: In case it's confusing, the second picture really is a top-down view - I just turned the depth stop upside down to get it out of the way.]
I think it is important NOT to bear down on the aux fence, because it is riding on the fence rails and you dont want to distort/damage those. So I put most of the pressure on the "real" fence and the tote. If anyone sees a flaw in doing it this way, please point it out so I don't trash this wonderful tool. Otherwise, I think I've got a good approach here. See what you think?
Best wishes,
Fred
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