Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I need to cut a slot in plywood thats 1/4" in from the edge, 1/2" wide and somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" deep. My test cuts are fine going with the grain but when I go against the grain I get a lot of splintering. I have a couple of ideas to try but instead of reinventing the wheel I thought maybe you all can point me in the right direction.

Thanks again for all the help. I think I'm within a few weeks of having the outside sealed up well enough to go camping. I can "rough" it on the inside for a while.

You can try covering the area with tape, they do that when they cut a piece off the bottom of a door..... and you can score the ply with a knife where you are making the groove. That will stop it from splintering.

Victor Star,

What kind of plywood are you using and are you using a carbide bit?
There are a couple of things you can do.

1. score the edge of your cut with a sharp knife then route your groove, I have done this for dovetail joints.
2. lay down masking tape on your edges of your groove before routing
3. you can clamp boards, 1/4 inch thick is all you need, on the edge of your grooves to give the top layer of your plywood support. this is a sacrificial board
4. I heard of folks laying on a very thin coat of finish I have not tried this one so results are not proven.

Like John said...tape off the area...and I'm assuming that you are using some sort of template and a collar in your router if you are wanting to do curves...a straight line is a lot easier as you can just use a straight edge on it's own against the outer edge of the router...really important however...make sure your bit is sharp, a dull one will burn and cause tear out and in the end, a crappy fit up...and don't crowd it when going cross grain...also make sure the rotation of the router helps hold it against the template or straight edge...if not...it may pull/wander and get away from you into the other material...just my thoughts on it...others may vary...Doug

Thank you all very much. That's the type of info I need. Today was my first time using a router so test pieces were used.

Carbide bit, brand new. I got the Skil router/table combo on sale for $79.49 at Lowes. Not bad if anyone is looking for one. Thanks.

I got me feet wet using one on my build. I have a little more routing to do before it's all over. I could have never cut the cabinet face in my cabin without it. I've also used it to cut dados for my slide-out stove shelf and ice chest shelf.

With some practice, routers are very versatile tools. A lot of the guys swear it's their favorite power tool and I can see why. My only complaint is that it generates a ton saw dust (or router dust).

Joanne

Victor Star wrote:Thank you all very much. That's the type of info I need. Today was my first time using a router so test pieces were used.

Carbide bit, brand new. I got the Skil router/table combo on sale for $79.49 at Lowes. Not bad if anyone is looking for one. Thanks.

I belong to another forum...........yes I don't spend all my time here...

It's a router forum, with the Router Workshop guys Bob and Rick......there's tons of info tips etc there...There's info on woodworking in general, not just routing

http://www.routerforums.com/

Joanne wrote:
With some practice, routers are very versatile tools. A lot of the guys swear it's their favorite power tool and I can see why.

Routers are the best power tool ever invented.