# New Guy needs advice..



## Router Bit (Mar 27, 2009)

I'm starting on a small pine bookcase, about 3'x3', 10" deep.
I'll be working from horses, and feel confident I can do the daddos
and the edge finish. I don't now how to put a rabbet cut on the
back of the bookcase. I have a workmate table, some clamps, and
horses with an old hollow core door for my work surface. So how do
I set up for rabbeting that will receive the thin plywood backing
of the bookcase. Hope I wasn't too wordy, and thanks for any advice...


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## Woodnut65 (Oct 11, 2004)

Hi William: Making a dato for the back is fairly simple. After you have the top, bottom, and sides marked for left and right and top and bottom mard the sides also top and bottom. Clamp the side with the inside surface up onto your bench or what ever you use.
put a rabiting bit in the router and run it down the back of the sides. if the sides are 3/4"
and the back is to be 1/4" you can make the rabit 1/4 deep and extend into the side to about 3/8ths, this offers a little mor room to nail the back on during assembly.
Hope this helps. Woodnut65


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

A couple of fine points to add. The rabbets can be cut with either straight bits combined with an edge guide on the router, or with rabbet bits that have edge bearings. In either case, it's best to rest the router base on the inside surface of the work pieces. With the edge guide, the dimensions of the rabbet is a combination of the guide placement and the depth adjustment on the router. With the specialized rabbet bits, the bit and bearing dimensions control part of the equation.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

William, a rabbeting bit will make the cleanest cut as viewed from the front side of your bookcase. It is worth buying a rabbeting bit with multiple bearings that you change for different depths of cut. If you do not want to lay out the cash here is a method which uses a straight bit: Clamp a board across your work to act as an edge guide for your router. Not all routers are round so it is worth checking the measurements from the center of your bit to the edge of your base. Use a 1/2" bit and make your cut about 3/16". Make a second pass at 1/8". This will give you 1/16" clearance for the back and reduce the likelyhood of tear out.


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