# I Can’t Cope!



## Nickbee (Nov 9, 2007)

So I’m working on my 1st rail / stile / panel project. A plant stand (show and tell to follow once it’s done). After cutting all the groves in the rails I started cross cutting the tenons using a coping jig as seen here:










While the results were ok it was a pain to get the clamp pressure just right. Too loose and the piece would move mid cut, too tight and the piece and/or backer would not sit flat. 

So today I decided to re-do the rails and make a more robust “sled”. So after a quick trip to my local Woodcraft (an hour and 15 mins away) I came home with a few toggle clamps and threw this together. 










The two outer claps hold the work piece and the center one holds the backer. 

I’ll test it our tomorrow when I start cutting the tenons on the 2nd set of rails. 

Here’s a sample joint from the 1st batch:










Unfortunately they did not all come out that precise (due to the movement of my 1st jig) but practice makes perfect right?


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## challagan (Feb 7, 2006)

I would say you got that fixed up right now with the new jigs. You should be able to cope just fine! Nice job!

Corey


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Nickbee

Looking good 

May I suggest one more way, that's quick and easy to do..


1st. you'er put horse b/4 the kart so to speak. 

Start with some wide stock ,lets say 5 1/2" wide, this should get you 4 legs or uprights/railes, then chuck up a T & G bit the one that puts in the male (tongue) once you have it in the router table zero out the bearing ( note **most T & G bit sets put in a 7/16" deep slot and you may not want to go that deep,just set it to cut 1/4" deep) (The sommerfeldtools set is set up for the 1/4" deep by default, note the over size bearing in the snapshot, they also come the standard bearing to put in the 7/16" slot ) once you have it set do the COPE cut on the ends of the stock.

You don't need a sled ,the norm when doing it this way, once you have it done take it to the table saw and rip the stock to size ..once you have them ripped go back to the router table and change the bit to the slot cutter type (female) now put in the slots to match the cope (tongue)

Use some feather boards or some boards calmped to the table top to hold it place and to the fence...now use a push stick to get it by the bit, make your legs just a bit longer than you need just in case you get a end snipe on the end of the pass...

You don't need to use the the sommerfeld T & G set but it's the best one I have found for doing this type of job...

You can stack the bits and do the same thing like in the snapshot below..but it needs to be able cut more on one side than the other to get the offset...

Two Piece Tongue & Groove Set
http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_tongue_groove.html

This set comes with 2 arbors that are longer than the norm so you can stack them up..to get what you need ...  and make up two T & G cutters, one female and one male...you can also get it in the 1/2" shank size.
http://cgi.ebay.com/11pc-1-4-Shank-...2334106QQihZ003QQcategoryZ50386QQcmdZViewItem

You can also get the OVERSIZE bearing form MLCS that filt almost all the 
T & G bits plus many more,,, see snapshot below...


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## Nickbee (Nov 9, 2007)

Thanks for the recommendation BJ. A T&G set would save time with the multiple passes I’m doing with a simple slot cutter. One of those sets will be in my future. 

But for this project the cool thing is all the pieces can be cut with one bit (in this case a biscuit slotter) and one fence setting (1/4” depth). More details to follow in the show and tell.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi NickBee

You'er welcome and I'm looking forward to your show & tell..

The real trick is the ripping of the stock after the router bit has done it's job..

You will not have any rip out on the back side of the router bit pass and if you do the table saw will take care of that error..  plus you don't need the sled and all the parts will come out just right...

You can also use a standard 1/4" bit to put the slots in, because you are only going down a 1/4" deep.. with one pass and then just reset the fence and make one more pass on the other side of the stock...plus you can use stop blocks unlike the slot cutter...

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Nickbee said:


> Thanks for the recommendation BJ. A T&G set would save time with the multiple passes I’m doing with a simple slot cutter. One of those sets will be in my future.
> 
> But for this project the cool thing is all the pieces can be cut with one bit (in this case a biscuit slotter) and one fence setting (1/4” depth). More details to follow in the show and tell.


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## Nickbee (Nov 9, 2007)

The issue with this project is a funky ply thickness. I'm using 1/4" walnut ply from here:

http://www.woodnshop.com/hardwood/WALNUT_PLYWOOD.htm

The actual ply thickness is about 3/16". Using multiple passes of my biscuit slotter allowed me to "fine tune" the slot thickness for just the right snug fit for the ply.

The great thing about this hobby is how there is always more than one way to do things!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Right on NickBee

Like adding 1/16" vernier walnut to get it to the right size. 

A Rockler.com stock item..

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2214&filter=vernier walnut
http://www.rockler.com/search_results.cfm?filter=vernier+walnut&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

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Nickbee said:


> The issue with this project is a funky ply thickness. I'm using 1/4" walnut ply from here:
> 
> http://www.woodnshop.com/hardwood/WALNUT_PLYWOOD.htm
> 
> ...


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## Nickbee (Nov 9, 2007)

Good stuff. I saw those pieces are 36” long but how wide are they? No mention on that page at all…

Strange…


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Nickbee

Not very wide the norm ,but it can be from 4" to 12" sometimes more but because it's cut off the log like a roll of paper they keep it small...but you can joint them up to get it wider..they are cut true most of the time..but with a sharp knife and a lay over cut it's hard to see the joint/seam. 




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Nickbee said:


> Good stuff. I saw those pieces are 36” long but how wide are they? No mention on that page at all…
> 
> Strange…


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## Nickbee (Nov 9, 2007)

Took the new coping jig for a “spin” tonight.










1st part of the tenon was cut clean and precise. Confidence is high!


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Nice looking setup Nickbee.


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## Nickbee (Nov 9, 2007)

Thanks Doc..

BTW I have a general R/S/P question. If you look at this pic:










you'll see I'm setting the panel back 1/8" from the front of the rails / stiles. Does this 1/8" "lip" have a technical name?


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## Nickbee (Nov 9, 2007)

Tonight’s progress…

After a few more passes with the new sled a bottom rail is ready to go:










And the fit:










Needless to say I’m happy with the results so I kept going and completed the center rails:










And the fit:










I’m looking forward to starting the glue-up in a few days!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Nick

Looking good , it's always nice when it fits  and that's the fun part of woodworking and taking the extra time to do it right  it's one of things in life you can say I made that with a smile... it's hard to get a pat on the back all the time but it's always nice when you know you did your best and you can touch it and just hold it in your hands...and smile from ear to ear...

I'm almost sure 10 years from now when you look at the project you will say that's great I recall making that with the router and it was fun... 

The JOY of woodworking 

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## Nickbee (Nov 9, 2007)

All of what you said is very true Bj! And also taking a look at the project knowing I’m building something with something I’ve built! Makes the experience even better!


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