Cutting a horizontal, thin slot in edge molding

[daniel lane]

Hi, all -

I'm looking to build an art table for the kiddos and one plan I would like to incorporate would be to slot the edge molding to allow paper to pass through (to feed from a roll). I'd really like to avoid the "screw down a batten to hold it" option, and instead put a thin slot level with the table top into the edge molding (which will be proud of the surface to help contain crayons/etc.).

So far, I've come up with two or three options, I'm hoping someone has some better ideas!

1. Plunge- and stop cut with the TS or a CS
2. Rip a strip and use shims
3. Maybe use one of those multitools to plunge cut after installation...?

Anyone done this before or have a better idea? I'd like to avoid 1 due to safety concerns, 2 due to elegance concerns, and 3 due to lack of said tool. And as I'm writing this, I'm thinking maybe the router would be an option, but I'd have to plan out everything carefully or build a jig in order to get it lined up right. Anyone?


daniel

[Jerrimy Snook]

My first thought is a slot cutter like this one from Whiteside: http://www.amazon.com/3-wing-Slottin.../dp/B0012JCVKU

One concern would be strength of the molding above the slot. It seems that it would need to be fairly thick or deep to withstand a leaning child.

[Sam Murdoch]

As long as you are building an "art " table my choice would be to rip your molding in half (nice and safe) then apply a center spacer of a colored laminate or some other brightly colored core material that is 3 thickness more than your paper. Clamp and glue your assembly - you could use epoxy to hold the disparate elements together without compromising the bright color of the laminate (color core of course).

[Myk Rian]

How about putting the slot in the table top, and feed the paper from underneath?

[Peter Quinn]

I'd feed the paper from the back side like a plotter. If the table has some tilt forward like a drafting table there is a natural space to hold a roll of paper, you could attach a strip of thin aluminum with some thin shims at each end to stand it of a bit, perhaps sharpen the bottom edge to act as a sort of cutter (the edge held captive to the table which can't be touched by small hands). I'm not sure any wood thin enough to act as an edge molding would tolerate such a long slot being cut so close to an edge. Perhaps if the leading edge were a strip of aluminum, you could affix this strip to a board wide enough to support a router, then use the slot cutter shown above to make that narrow stopped slot, and use that as your pencil retainer/paper feeder? But to me it really makes more sense to feed the paper from the back edge.

[Pat Barry]

I agree with Sam, but if you don't like the colored paper idea then use your router to remove some material for the paper to pass through and reglue the two pieces together.

[daniel lane]

Thanks, guys. I'm going to take a look at thin aluminum strips to see about both supporting the thin section above the slot as well as consider the edge as a cutter (thanks Peter). I may install it per Pat's comment, which I hadn't thought about - rip, rout, reattach (without shims). Myk, that's not an option because this will be sitting on top of a coffee table - it's a long story, but basically we have a square coffee table with a hinged lid and we want to cover it both to protect it and prevent the lid from squishing fingers. The paper will have to feed from the side.


daniel

[daniel lane]

For anyone interested, I finished this without ripping the wood. I decided on a 1/2" lip around the table, and I used a router table and plunge cuts to cut a 1/8" slot centered 1/2" down from the top. That left a 1/16" gap above the table surface, and pretty near a full 1/2" piece of wood. It's stronger than it looks; it definitely flexes, but for someone to pull it off will take a crowbar, and we put those out of reach of little hands.

So here's what I ended up with:

table 1.jpg table 2.jpg table 3.jpg

The paper fits nicely through, I didn't need to deal with aluminum strips, and it's strong enough to tear the paper off, as well. Voilà!


daniel

[Sam Murdoch]

Well good! Nicely done.