# Routering a one inch wide, one inch deep slot the length of 4x6x8 treaded posts



## frascati (Jun 20, 2020)

Hello, 
Building a fence. Would like to slot the 1×6x8 deck boards horizontally into vertical 4×6 posts.

Simply put, looking to router a 1×1 inch slot the length of each post on two sides.

I'll never do this again. Probably 5 8ft long slots total.

Home depot does not have a 1" carbide router bit. I can run a 3/4 bit twice, but it involves resetting guides on already not perfect posts and will be tricky as hell to get the width consistent. And a 1" carbide bit is going to be 50 dollars or more and I'll never use it again.

What I'd like to do, and I'm fully prepared to be flamed for safety here but I'm 100 percent confident in my ability to do this and stay 100 percent safe, is to cut short a two dollar 1 inch paddle bit and collet it into the router. I have a good sized Milwaukee router so power is not a concern. Grind off the lead point/screw on the bit. I could hone the bit between 8ft runs. It would probably last just fine for five of those cuts. Plenty of time to go slow.

Has anyone resorted to this and what was the outcome?

Thanks so much.


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## WhyMe (Feb 15, 2014)

I wouldn't even try it. Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. I'd use a proper router bit and make several passes.


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## Splinterlicker (Jun 19, 2020)

You'll use that bit again. All slotting bits get used again eventually. Once you have it, you'll find uses for it.

Paddle bits aren't meant to cut with their side, all you'll do by putting one in a router is fling one or more pieces of either it or yourself across whichever ocean you happen to live next to.

Posts don't need to be perfect to get a good cut, just reference off of the same side each time, that'll keep your width consistent, and you only need to reset your guide once.

Oh and uhh… Just gonna remind you here… It's a fence….

I built literally hundreds of miles of fencing of all types as government contracts once upon a time. I promise you, the only person who is going to notice if your slot is 1/8th inch off center is you, and you're going to stop noticing roughly a week after the project is finished and you stop mooshing your face up against the rails to check their moisture content.

They're all going to be shaped like hockey sticks in a year anyways if my experience with Home Depot's deck boards is anything to go by. You better have a ruthless method of locking the ends down to make sure they don't get pulled out.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

> Has anyone resorted to this and what was the outcome?
> - frascati


In my 35 years as a professional woodworker, I've both seen and heard of some crazy ********************…but this ones right up there.

Predicted outcome…
At worst, a trip to the hospital with a broken spade bit embedded in your guts.
At best, you ******************** your pants after the spade bit bends, then breaks as the router base detonates, all in a micro second.

Make no mistake…bad things will happen.


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## clagwell (Dec 20, 2018)

A lot less than $50









 
Amazon

Or search "Freud 12-172" for more choices

I might use a circular saw and chisel rather than a router.


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## JIMMIEM (Feb 5, 2016)

How about a mortising guide with a guide bushing that would let you make your slot to desired width. You indicate the posts are not perfect so you would need a guide system…couple of parallel boards clamped to your post with an appropriate sized gap that would accommodate the guide bushing to clean out a 1 inch wide groove. With a guide bushing you wouldn't need a 1 inch wide router bit.


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## OLCHIEF (Feb 4, 2020)

I presume your posts are pressure treated. Also if those deck boards are Home Depot bull nosed decking, are they not 5/4? I have a lot of experience with milling pt wood projects out here on the ranch, I will share my thoughts. I doubt the modified paddle bit will hold up to router speeds. I have a 3.5 hp plunge router and it would have a tough time running a 1" bit 1" deep through a PT post. I would not use a router unless you intend to make multiple shallow passes to get to the depth, and then I would use a 1/2 inch bit and move it over to get the full width.. PT wood is high moisture content southern yellow pine and will be inclined to bind your router bit if you try to take too big a bite. It is also going to shrink over time as it dries. In your situation I would instead make multiple passes with a circular saw set to the depth you want then break out/chisel out the waste. If you can run a circular saw in a straight line no need for fences, edge guides, or makeshift router bits.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

I'd use either a circular saw and guide, or a dado stack in a table saw.


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## marc_rosen (Sep 9, 2009)

Hey Frascati,
It might benefit you to use a combination of tools. Score the edges of the slot with a circular saw. So what if you need to readjust the guide. Another way to "adjust" the guide is to screw a narrow piece of wood against the guide for scoring the opposite edge of the groove. And if you score the waste in the middle it will make your routing experience less arduous.
After scoring your posts go ahead with a half inch (1/2) router bit, not three quarters (3/4), making the guide adjustments with the screwed on narrow piece. Again, your effort will minimized with the smaller bit and your scoring steps will have decreased the width of the waste.
And like Splinterlicker typed, "it's a fence", not a piece of furniture.
.. ... Marc


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

I would not slot the posts. As stated above, the horizontal boards will change shape as they dry. I would nail a stop board on one side and screw a removable stop board on the other to make changing hockey sticks possible. Your insurance deductible is more money than the router bit.


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## tmasondarnell (Jul 2, 2013)

As an alternative, instead of cutting the slot into the post, could you build it out by ripping some of the fencing boards 
or other stock) to 1 or 1 1/14 and attaching them to the sides of the posts leaving a 1" slot in the middle? TOu could using the fence boards as a spacer so you would get a tight fit.

Actually, I think this would be much easier then trying to route the slot in a PT post that is going to be a twisted mess.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

Pattern and a pattern bit. I have to do something similiar to my deck to insert rope lighting.


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## WalkerR (Feb 8, 2017)

Am I missing something here, or would this accomplished with a few passes on the table saw with a dado blade?


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## OHYESYOUWOOD (Jun 21, 2020)

I am with EVERYONE that said dado blade and table saw.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

> Am I missing something here, or would this accomplished with a few passes on the table saw with a dado blade?
> 
> - Walker


You are….he said with a router..


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

> Has anyone resorted to this and what was the outcome?
> - frascati
> 
> In my 35 years as a professional woodworker, I ve both seen and heard of some crazy ********************…but this ones right up there.
> ...


All for 50$.

I can barely buy a meal or 2 for the family for 50$.


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## AndyJ1s (Jan 26, 2019)

A spade bit is intentionally designed NOT to cut with its sides, otherwise, it would wander like heck when trying to drill holes.

Therefore, it will not cut worth a darn sideways, even after you remove the center and edge spurs. At best it will be a scraper, which will be very slow and tough going.

Spade bits are not designed to be spun very fast in a drill, let alone the lowest speed available in even variable speed routers. They are not balanced, and will vibrate excessively.

The shortened shaft may or may not fit a collet available for your router.

If you try this, it will not end well, at least for the workpiece, if not for you, your router, and possibly anything else nearby.

But if you do try it, be sure to video it!


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## frascati (Jun 20, 2020)

*In my 35 years as a professional woodworker, I've both seen and heard of some crazy ********************…but this ones right up there.*

Well It's good to be recogngnized for something . Too bad this time it's for being an idiot.
....you guys are rough But I accept. I take too many chances.

Thanks for the ideas. I don't have a table saw, but as was noted here this is not precision cabinetry. I have a 4×8 sheet of thick plywood in the garage rafters that is slotted out and drilled to accept my milwaukee circular saw and I just throw it on a couple of saw horses for rough work. I also have a dado stack. That sounds like an excellent option I had not considered.


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## LeeRoyMan (Feb 23, 2019)

WOW, people come on and try to help you, because obviously you're not smart enough for your own good, and you call them an idiot. I guess you just don't realize how dumb your idea is.

Please use the paddle bit!

Edit: yeah, use the dado stack on your circular saw, no argument from me.


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## WalkerR (Feb 8, 2017)

@LeeRoyMan I think Frascati was accepting that he was the idiot this time, not Tony.

Frascati, I've never heard of a dado stack the fit (or was safe) in a circular saw. But you could use a regular blade for the circular saw, make a cut on each side of your 1", the make several cuts down the middle, then use a chisel to remove the waste. If your blade is 1/8" thick, you could also make 8 separate passes to clear it all out, but that might take longer.


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## torus (Apr 8, 2017)

> ... and you call them an idiot….
> - LeeRoyMan


He did not do this… Please re-read his post….

PS. frascati, sorry, it is just misunderstanding…. People here are good people


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## LeeRoyMan (Feb 23, 2019)

I did re-read it, but with my education, or lack of, it was still hard for me to tell. 
A lot of things go over my head.
If I did read it wrong, then I apologize to frascati. (I just don't know why he quoted Tony's comment.)


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

I really wanted to participate in this discussion. 
I'm still trying to figure out what frascati is trying to do and why.
Must be my nap time.


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## torus (Apr 8, 2017)

The fence like this :









will require slots in the posts. I would use circular saw with a guide. Will be faster than router.


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

> The fence like this :
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I might be my vivid imagination, but when I enlarge your picture I think I see nail heads in the "post". I am wondering if the "post" is a decorative batten to cover up the ends of the boards with some other means to support the fence. Perhaps a 4×4 with the horizontal slats nailed on and then the verticals nailed over that.

Check out the right hand "post" it appears that it does not reach the ground. Looks like a concrete footing is down there probably holding up the hidden post behind the fence.


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## torus (Apr 8, 2017)

Picture is from the google search. And yes, I agree with you. In this case it is not a post, but decorative batten.
And I think it is right way to do this kind of fence, not a slot in the post.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Okay now I see why I could not understand. That's a really bad design.
Cedar fencing should be run vertical.
Trees grow vertically and so should privacy fences.

Good Luck


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## frascati (Jun 20, 2020)

@LeeRoyMan I think Frascati was accepting that he was the idiot this time, not Tony.

..that's right. But I understand the confusion. I'm trying not to rub anyone wrong here with my very first post. I should have thought some more things through before jumping in with questions. A dado stack on a circular saw? Of course not.










This is exactly what I'm doing. But I'm using alternating 1×4 pairs and 1×6 pairs. 
This was the inspiration. 








Designing it and building it for a neighbor. On his property. He pays for materials. I'm just enjoying designing it. 
I want it to be seamless looking from both sides without fasteners showing. I'd tie it in from the top, to trap the horizontal facing boards in my 1" wide slots with a 2×6 board across the top of the posts. It would finish it off nicely visually, and in this way the only fasteners actually visible to anyone, on either side, would be out of view on the top of the fence. 
I know that's a bit excessive, but after slotting out the uprights to accept the horizontal face board, the rest is just easy assembly.

"_I am wondering if the "post" is a decorative batten to cover up the ends of the boards with some other means to support the fence. Perhaps a 4×4 with the horizontal slats nailed on and then the verticals nailed over that."

I think you are correct on that. There is a small gap at the bottom of each batten between it and the concrete. Looking closer there are four sets of three nails on each batten as well.

That would certainly be a tempting option. Considering the second image above, it would be much much easier and I shouldn't be so concerned that the fastener heads will show. I'm Just being a perfectionist.

The slot could be done, as suggested, with two passes in each 4×4 with a thick circular saw blade. Another two in between those. And a fat chisel in the kerfs ought to snap the pieces out rather than trying to chisel lengthwise from the side.

Do most of the members here have a copy of Sketchup or at least the Sketchup Viewer installed on their computers?
I could post a link to the .skp in Sketchup Warehouse.

I'm not much of a woodworker so forgive all the beginner's terminology.


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## JohnMcClure (Aug 24, 2016)

This was a fun thread to skim through.
100% dado is the way to go. If you are very patient, and it's just 5 posts, you could make many passes with the skillsaw. But I think the TS is much easier.
Two kerfs and a chisel to cut out the waste is also a fine option, considering how few posts you need.

Best of luck! Thank you for having thick enough skin to benefit from this thread.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

Router is pretty easy. With the pattern it would follow the pattern.

It's how I would do it. If the post is cupped or bowed in anyway the table saw dado isn't consistant…router is more consistant…


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## WalkerR (Feb 8, 2017)

>


That's a very west coast design, not so common elsewhere. It's a nice look though. Is there one like that in your area you can sneak a peak at and try to figure out how it was constructed?

I googled "horizontal fence" and then "slotted fence post" and "H fence post" and lots of results. There appears to be a few manufacturers that make a composite or wood product that's exactly what your looking for, one even at HD. Seems you could also make this in a constructive, rather than destructive way. Start with a 2×2 and nail in some 1x material to the sides to make the "H" shape. Although, I realize you're trying to avoid the fasteners showing.


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## JohnDon (Mar 14, 2015)

Am I missing something, but why not just get a 5/8" bit, and set up an edge guide attached to your router base? Make two passes: one down one side of the post, the other up the other side. Your final groove will be automatically centered. and you only need to adjust the guide once to get your 1" wide groove. (5/8" just to give some overlap; a 1/2" bit perfectly adjusted would remove exactly 1/2 of the groove with each pass).


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

> I'd use either a circular saw and guide, or a dado stack in a table saw.
> 
> - Dave Polaschek


Yeah i would have just gone the dado stack route and not even considered using the router lol.


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## frascati (Jun 20, 2020)

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/user/7978d4d8-f03b-4d88-ae09-b63d42473845/brad-A

Tell me if you are able to view this?


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## LeeRoyMan (Feb 23, 2019)

Yes it opens.
I prefer the 2-5 1/2, 2- 3 1/2 layout.

A hint that will make SU easier for you. Learn to use components.
Draw 1 board, select the whole board, then turn it into a component. That way it doesn't try to attach to every line you try to move. Makes it easier to make multiple copies, and/or to edit them.
Every part you draw, when your done drawing it, make it a component. Trust me.
For being a dick to you earlier, I will help you if you need it.


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## frascati (Jun 20, 2020)

A few new touches. I went to my neighbor's house and gave him a thumb drive with Sketchup Viewer and links to 3dwarehouse.sketchup

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/user/7978d4d8-f03b-4d88-ae09-b63d42473845/brad-A

LeeRoyMan thank you. And no need to apologize. I need some reining in occasionally


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