# Any suggestion for creating a slot?



## Octavius (Sep 17, 2009)

I could drill two holes and then chisel away the waste but there must be a better way, that leaves neater edges. I've the usual assortment of power and hand tools (but not a plunge router).

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Maybe one of those spiral router bits mounted in a drill pres and using cross sliding vice to take shallow cuts?

Cheers!


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I generally do those on the router table.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Id drill it slightly undersized and score the edges with a knife. That should leave you a nice clean edge. Without a router the only way I can see it is with a chisel and drill bits.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

As chrisstef said, score the edges with a sharp knife.
You can drill multiple holes, slightly overlapping if you are using a drill press, or with forstner bits..
Depending on the size of the slot you can clean the sides with a rasp.
An alternate to drilling multiple holes is to use a keyhole saw to remove the waste between two holes.

But even a small cheap router would make this much easier.


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## ZacD (Aug 1, 2013)

I generally do this type of slot with a drill press table that has a movable fence and a forstner bit chucked up. Make a good score down the center of the slot, that way, when you go to position, the point on the bit will fall into the groove you scored, keeping each one lined up.


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

Router table.
Use straight bit or spiral downcut bit of same diameter as width of slot.
Set fence to locate slot side to side.
Use stop blocks to limit movement of piece along length of slot.
Take 1/4" cuts each pass, then raise bit for next pass.
Rinse, spit and repeat…

Be Careful!

Herb


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## Octavius (Sep 17, 2009)

Many thanks for the replies. Good tips!

Let me ponder the options.

(I do have a router (not a plunge type, though) and a router table.
I assume you lower the work piece onto the spinning bit? Seems a bit dodgy.
As you can see from the picture, the work piece doesn't have much width, to slide along the fence.
I wonder if it is feasible to rig up something, borrowing the table saw miter gauge)

Cheers!


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## hobby1 (Feb 10, 2012)

No not dodgy,
with your forstner bit drill a start and stop hole for your router bit to use on your table, or by handheld routing, using a straight edge guide.

Also use a smaller dia. bit for drilling starter and ending holes, and smaller dia. router bit, routing, so you can sneek up on the cut, to final size.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

This is an annoying cut to make quickly without some sort of
plunging router. Depending on how precise you want it,
mark it out on both sides, center punch the end hole locations,
drill with a brad point but to keep the center accurate, 
then saw out inside the lines using a coping saw or jig
saw. Then, for precision, chisel or file to the lines with 
tool angled so there is a slight triangle hump inside. Make
the triangle even and then pare it off.

For a non-plunging handheld router, rig up a pair of parallel
fences somewhat taller than the plunge depth. This will
allow you to tip the router accurately. It can also be
freehanded on the router table using a fence and a 
shallow incremental cuts.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Perfect opportunity to purchase a plunge router with edge guide!
All you needed was this excuse.


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

I'd either do this with a plunge router or on the router table. As much as I like hobby1's suggestion to drill holes at either end, like HerbC suggests: I've also clamped stops to my fence, pushed the block up against one stop and lowered it down on to the spinning bit. Just remember to use push blocks when moving the work piece back and forth; it's easy to lose track of where that bit is going to come through.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I wonder if it is feasible to rig up something, borrowing the table saw miter gauge)

Yes, that is what I would do. Also make it on a larger piece of wood to make it safer to handle then cut it to final size after the slot is made.


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## Octavius (Sep 17, 2009)

Many thanks for the replies - good suggestions one and all.

Still pondering on it but also seriously looking at this:

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f13/home-made-plunge-router-49100/

Kinda worries me though that the builder concludes:

"...It needs a little tweeking…it produced fairly consistant cuts… "

I'll report back.

Cheers!


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

Drill end holes with Forstner bit. Draw and cut a line that's about 1/8 off of the finished cut to remove the bulk of the material with jig saw. Finally clamp a straight edge right on the finished line and use a flush trim bit to clean it up.


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## Woodshingle (Oct 21, 2013)

No one has suggested using a template and router with a collar. That's what I'd do. Drill most of the waste out and then lay the template over, secure and route the rest to a perfect edge.


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## ArgoNought (Nov 5, 2013)

Depending on the size length of the groove, a plow plane may work for you between two drilled holes. That'd give you nice square straight edges…

If you don't have one, maybe borrow?


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## Octavius (Sep 17, 2009)

Firefighter says "...use a flush trim bit to clean it up…" 
Woodshingle says "...template and router with a collar…"

It's only a narrow slot so I think I would need a plunge router that those techniques.

CarlTuesday says "...a plow plane may work…"

That's worth a shot! I do have a nice Record plough plane. It will be across the grain unfortunately but maybe if I score the lines first it would be OK.

Thanks for all the replies folks. All good stuff.


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## dschlic1 (Jan 3, 2013)

I have cut many similar slots using a router and a router table. And yes you can make plunge cuts into the material with no problems. Depending on the material thickness you might have to make multiple passes taking off 1/8" or 1/4" each pass. The secret is not to get too aggressive.


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## sixstring (Apr 4, 2012)

do you have a handheld jigsaw? there's another option i havent seen mentioned. drill the start/stop holes first and clamp guides to keep the cut as straight as possible.


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## sparks (Dec 10, 2009)

Scroll saw or jig saw


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