Shopsmith Forums

I am going to attempt a face frame on a plywood box cabinet carcase using splines for strength and alignment. I am having a hard time getting my mind around how to cut the groove into the ply edges.

One of my thoughts is to stay in horizontal mode and route (using the PP/Mark 7) the groove using the 520 table and fence supporting the plywood horizontally. Am I thinking wrong?

Any help would be appreciated!

Just when I thought I was figuring this stuff out?

How big are the plywood pieces ?
Paul

A better description with a picture would be beneficial .

JMO

Bill

rjent wrote:I am going to attempt a face frame on a plywood box cabinet carcase using splines for strength and alignment. I am having a hard time getting my mind around how to cut the groove into the ply edges.

One of my thoughts is to stay in horizontal mode and route (using the PP/Mark 7) the groove using the 520 table and fence supporting the plywood horizontally. Am I thinking wrong?

Any help would be appreciated!

Just when I thought I was figuring this stuff out?

That would work, but a small straight bit running at PP speeds would lake a loooooooong time to cut full-length slots.

Consider a real slotting bit, in drill-press mode. 10K RPM should be just about right for the larger ones.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s ... er+bit+slo

The cabinet carcase (box) will be 12 1/4 x 22 x 39 1/2 inches.

Sorry Bill no pics as I don't have any panels cut yet. I am trying to figure out how/what I am going to do.

Dennis, that was my first thought, but, since I don't have any experience with ply, I didn't know if the ply would just explode or not LOL Edit: BTW, why not under table like a router table?

Thanks for responding!

I've used that process for my kitchen cabinets, a bath vanity and other projects. I purchased a tongue and groove router bit set (they're matching cutters from Sommerfeld Tools). The plywood cases have a tongue cut on front and the face frame has the matching groove on the inside. Pocket screws were used to draw the face frame to the case, except in places where they'd be visible where i glued and clamped the units.

Both tongues and grooves were cut on a router table. I used Ridgid Flip-Top extensions to support the long stock. (The matching cutters and the process Mark Sommerfeld suggests allows a tongue and groove bits to be swapped without changing the height of the router. At the time I purchased a video tape, that's how long ago I did this, that explains his building technique.)

Here's a couple of pics. The face frame is laying on the floor and the case sides sitting in the face frame grooves. Hope this helps.

The last table top I made I did some thing similar , instead of using floating tenons or biscuits to glue the top ,,,, I used a hard wood floor bit set for the router.


It seemed to give me what ,,,,i thought,,,,, was a stronger more stable glue joint .especially for the bread boards.



JMO

Bill

I assume you were wanting to do a tung and grove .

this is a table top I made for drawing or working leather or sewing or about any thing but cleaning fish.


It is all tung and grove oak the drawing square is cherry and ash
I was care full not to go all the way to the end with the tung and groves so they wouldn't be seen.

A piece of tape used for marking the cuts on the saw and the stock helps so you dont cut all the way through to the end if thats what you have planed ,,,,, then clean up the ends with a chisel .



If that gives ya any ideas .

You are correct about cutting horizontal , you can also do it on the table saw with a dado blade.




Hobbyman2

Great ideas! My initial idea was to double rabbet the ply panel AND the face frame so they marry flush on the outside and have a full face frame facing out. Similar to what Barry did with dado groves, just a rabbet(s) instead.

Like this: I still may do that, and would probably be easier. It will just be an open box with a dadoed shelf in the middle and doors mounted to the face frame.

I will go buy some ply and build a prototype or two and see what happens.

Thanks guys!

rjent wrote:The cabinet carcase (box) will be 12 1/4 x 22 x 39 1/2 inches.

Sorry Bill no pics as I don't have any panels cut yet. I am trying to figure out how/what I am going to do.

Dennis, that was my first thought, but, since I don't have any experience with ply, I didn't know if the ply would just explode or not LOL Edit: BTW, why not under table like a router table?

Thanks for responding!

Because I forgot that you could do that with a PP!

Personally, I've had excellent success with Rabbet & Dado joints. Easy, strong, and it makes assembly a piece of cake. On various projects, I've mixed & mingled hardwood and plywood, and either feature has worked fine on either material. I once even used it to help make a high-school science-project insulator out of sheet-foam insulation.
In the photo below, I have the dados cut into the side panel of a large plywood bracket. The back of the bracket will be plywood, and the bottom solid oak.