With the sticking ran (see Shaper --Learning Part 1) I set up to run the cope cuts. The cutter came with 6 brass shims which from some previous test cut I figured I would need to use a few of them to make the joint fit properly. From My test cuts the tenon was too thin and fit sloppy in the groove. Doing a little research I found that the spindle not being square to the table could cause the groove to be too wide, so I spent some time shimming the spindle to get it as square to the table as I thought I could.
In setting up the cope cut I determined I would need at least 3 shims to get the tenon thick enough to fit reasonably well. After making some test cuts I found that shimming the cutter gave me a thicker tenon, but it also gave me a gap on the cope above the tenon.
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Taking the shims out and running a test cut I got this result with a gap in the tenon and groove area.
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I don't see anyway around one or the other situation and am leaning toward the first joint to get a good fit in the tenon area which I think will contribute the most to the strength of the joint.
Any other thoughts?