MarkFaucett Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hi Everyone. I'm trying to recess a flat panel into the back of a wall mounted case so that the edges of the panel won't be visible. I thought making a rabbet on the routing table would be the easiest for a beginner but then realized where the router stops at each end of the rabbet would be round. Short of using a chisel at the ends of the router cuts, and in my opinion ruining an otherwise clean cut, are there any techniques or tools anyone knows of for making this look as clean as possible? Hopefully my explanation of what I am trying to do makes sense. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Either chisel out the corners (Marc's got some videos - it doesn't have to be messy) ... Or round off the corners of the panel to fit the rabbet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodClips Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hello Mark, I think you are on the right track using your router table to make the rabbet. This can be done before or after assembly, but my preference would be to do it before so you don't have to maneuver the entire cabinet around and if you make a mistake you have the option of making a replacement piece. If you take a look at my illustration (viewing one corner from the back), you can see that on a typical joint one piece is rabbeted straight through (the top in my example) and the other piece has a stopped rabbet (the side). The stopped rabbet can be cut by making a pair of pencil marks on your router table corresponding to where the leading edge of the piece will be when you start the cut and where the trailing edge will be when you finish. If you take a look at the illustration, you'll also see that the curved corner that you need to clean up with a chisel is actually hidden from view when looking at the cabinet from the front, so as long as you are careful when you are cleaning it out it shouldn't have any visible effect on your rabbet. Rory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkFaucett Posted January 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Thanks so much for your replies guys. I've been so proud of the accuracy and neatness of the project cuts and joints so far I was somewhat hesitant about using a chisel, it seems so Neanderthal! lol! I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some obvious or not so obvious work around. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Go watch the archived episode of New Yankee that's online now: Even His Normness uses a chisel to square off a round mortise in a tall plant stand. My vote, however, would be to cut the rabbet after the carcase is assembled. Unless this thing is ten feet tall, it's easy enough to lay it on its face and run a wing cutter around the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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