Thread: Cutting Dadoes by Hand

Where do you plug that funny looking router in SG?

Nice article thanks.

Excellent article SG.

Well done! A side rebate plane is on my list for sure... One of these days I'll find one or make one.

The blog is very cool... I'm sure I'll be spending some time reading it all

How do you like the old closed mouth router plane? I have the open mouth 71 but I'm thinking the closed mouth would be handy for tennons as it would have more sole to ride on. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by firemedic

How do you like the old closed mouth router plane?

You should be able to close the throat on a 71 - it's got an adjustable shoe that doubles as a depth stop when you turn it upside down.

Thanks fellas.
The router is years before its time Andrew - cordless
The only difference that I can see between the closed and open mouth router is that the latter usually includes a depth stop. Mine doesn't, but for dadoes, it doesn't much matter as the router will stop cutting when the blade runs out of timber to shave. You just have to keep measuring the depth as the blade is lowered.

I have the open mouth 71 but I'm thinking the closed mouth would be handy for tennons as it would have more sole to ride on. Thoughts?

Maybe - I don't use mine for tenons - I generally hand cut them and finish off with a shoulder plane as I have done HERE

I suppose that is the beauty of hand tools - there are many ways to use them.

Happy woodworking .....
SG

Originally Posted by andrewr79

You should be able to close the throat on a 71 - it's got an adjustable shoe that doubles as a depth stop when you turn it upside down.

as soon as I find one!...and a fence. I hadn't considered that though, good idea.

Originally Posted by Scribbly Gum

Maybe - I don't use mine for tenons - I generally hand cut them and finish off with a shoulder plane as I have done HERE

I suppose that is the beauty of hand tools - there are many ways to use them.

Happy woodworking .....
SG

I saw mine as well, I do find the router plane handy for cleaning up the cheeks though. If I have several tennons to make I line them all up with a board clamped as a fence and use a 78 with a nicker and no fence. Pretty quick work of making tennons...

Thanks guys, so happy to find like minded people

Oh, and SG I spent some time on your blog today, good stuff!

After 35 years of teaching woodwork, metalwork, photography and plastics I am glad that I used to say, "There are many ways of doing things. I will show you a couple, but you will find a way that suits you best". Reading this thread, and the associated blogs, has brought this comment back to me as I've
1. known these as Housing Joints. Dado was always the American term. (Don't worry, I also dislike biscuits being referred to as 'cookies')
2. never used a plane to clean up the sides of the housing (Dado). I've always cut one, slid the "shelf" to just cover the kerf and marked off the housing width with a knife. Perfect fit every time.
3. never used a plane to clean up the shoulders of a tenon. I've just lived with the frustration of rarely being able to get the shoulders exactly right, even after several tries with a sharp chisel.
It is never too late to learn and there is always "more than one way to skin a cat"
PS Scribbly Gum. I love your comment about the tenon saw. I bought mine 45 years ago and it is still one of my favourite and most used tools.

Originally Posted by Crunchie

After 35 years of teaching woodwork, metalwork, photography and plastics I am glad that I used to say, "There are many ways of doing things. I will show you a couple, but you will find a way that suits you best". Reading this thread, and the associated blogs, has brought this comment back to me as I've
1. known these as Housing Joints. Dado was always the American term. (Don't worry, I also dislike biscuits being referred to as 'cookies')

To paraphrase the Bard
What's in a name. That which we call a housing. By any other name would fit as sweet.

Originally Posted by Crunchie

2. never used a plane to clean up the sides of the housing (Dado). I've always cut one, slid the "shelf" to just cover the kerf and marked off the housing width with a knife. Perfect fit every time.

I must try that - sounds like less work than my method.

Originally Posted by Crunchie

3. never used a plane to clean up the shoulders of a tenon. I've just lived with the frustration of rarely being able to get the shoulders exactly right, even after several tries with a sharp chisel.

Shoulder planes make life easier for tenons especially. Terry Gordon makes great shoulder planes. I love watching his demos at the wood shows.

Originally Posted by Crunchie

It is never too late to learn and there is always "more than one way to skin a cat"
PS Scribbly Gum. I love your comment about the tenon saw. I bought mine 45 years ago and it is still one of my favourite and most used tools.

Thanks for the kind words Crunchie.
I learn something new every day.
Loved your tip about the housings.

It's pouring rain here and a trip to the shed is not an attractive prospect at the moment.

Cheers
SG

Originally Posted by Crunchie

......
3. never used a plane to clean up the shoulders of a tenon. I've just lived with the frustration of rarely being able to get the shoulders exactly right, even after several tries with a sharp chisel....

Well a good shoulder plane can be a big help, too, Crunchie, but we were taught by our woodwork teachers back in the 50s, to saw close to the scribe line then clean up with a wide chisel. The chisel needs to be desperately sharp, and the cuts overlapped, to get a really clean shoulder. It works well in woods that cut crisply, but not so well if the wood is the type which likes to crumble & crush no matter how sharp the chisel. I've illustrated what I'm talking about in my bed-build, here:
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f187/m...ed-wip-149815/
Cedar is often a very 'crushy' wood, & I often have problems trying to cut it cross-grain, but the bits I was working with on this job were all well-behaved, bar one. That's when a shoulder plane can save the day.

While shoulders can be a chore, I think getting the cheeks dead right on wide tenons challenges me most. For the tenons on my bed-daed, I sawed the cheeks well outside the scribed lines & cleaned them up with a 78 rebate plane. I find this to be the safest way, though I do use the table saw or even a router, at times...

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Crunchie

....It is never too late to learn and there is always "more than one way to skin a cat" ....

There are certainly many ways I've seen to cut a tenon! I guess the 'right' way is whatever works for you & produces a clean joint consistently.....

Originally Posted by Scribbly Gum

Maybe - I don't use mine for tenons - I generally hand cut them and finish off with a shoulder plane as I have done HERE

Happy woodworking .....
SG

Same tenon saw for both the tenon cheeks and the dado SG?. What's it filed as?. Just curious because I've struggled with a crosscut for the cheeks and so I've got a second tenon saw in the restore pile that I'm planning to set as about 7TPI rip for this very purpose...

Originally Posted by andrewr79

Same tenon saw for both the tenon cheeks and the dado SG?. What's it filed as?. Just curious because I've struggled with a crosscut for the cheeks and so I've got a second tenon saw in the restore pile that I'm planning to set as about 7TPI rip for this very purpose...

Yes, I know, seems odd doesn't it. Theoretically, a rip saw should work best on tenon cheeks. Just like dovetails the cut is made down the grain. However, even though it cuts slower, my S&J works just fine on the tenon cheeks.
It is filed X-cut and has about 12 TPI from memory.
I originally started these dadoes/housings with an Abbeydale tenon saw that I have which is a longer saw at 16 inches. It is filed X-cut and is around the 7-8 TPI.
It was way too aggressive, (maybe it has too much set - not sure) so I put it aside and reached for old reliable.
I actually have a couple of Ian's beautiful saws, and I should show them off I suppose. I am not as used to them, so guess what I reach for in a pinch ....

Kind've reminds me of my first plane - a Stanley 4-1/2. I did everything with that plane, as it was all I had for many years. After I bought a block plane, I still instictively reached for the 4-1/2 for chamfers and aris work.
Habits die hard don't they ......

Cheers
SG

Originally Posted by Scribbly Gum

Yes, I know, seems odd doesn't it. Theoretically, a rip saw should work best on tenon cheeks. Just like dovetails the cut is made down the grain. However, even though it cuts slower, my S&J works just fine on the tenon cheeks.

Cheers
SG

If it ain't broke...

There was this interesting episode of the woodwright's shop where mr Scwatz showed handsaw methods - 1st, 2nd and third class cuts. From memory the tenon checks were 1st class, where both apparence and accuracy mattered, and the cheeks were 2nd - only accuracy mattered. If I recall correctly he cut them with a panel sized rip saw...

Back to dado's - there's a depth stop for a tenon saw design in Bob Wearing's "making woodwork aids and devices' that I think would be beneficial for your method, for the rest of us anyway since you seem to have it nailed. His method called for holes in the saw and used wingnuts but I've got a couple of rare earth magnets lined up for mine.

Originally Posted by firemedic

How do you like the old closed mouth router plane? I have the open mouth 71 but I'm thinking the closed mouth would be handy for tennons as it would have more sole to ride on. Thoughts?

for tenons, whether the router is an open or closed mouth model shouldn't make a difference.
The technique I was taught is to use an offcut the same thickness as for the material in which the tenon is being cut. Then the sole of the router is then supported on both sides of the tenon.

Originally Posted by ian

for tenons, whether the router is an open or closed mouth model shouldn't make a difference.
The technique I was taught is to use an offcut the same thickness as for the material in which the tenon is being cut. Then the sole of the router is then supported on both sides of the tenon.

Your right ... We'll just call it... Oh whats the word im looking for... ahhh... Oh yes: laziness, lol