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Ask Smitty |
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SEPT/OCT
2002 DEPARTMENTS What's
New EDUCATION ONLINE
CATALOGS MARK
V INFORMATION LINKS FEEDBACK Copyright
2002. |
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Joining
two long boards together, end-to-end Your best bet would be to cut a half-lap on the joined ends of each board. Set-up a dado blade to make a cut EXACTLT half the thickness of each of your two boards. If you're joining 3/4" thick 1" x 12" boards, set your depth-of-cut to 3/8". Use your dado blade to crosscut a 6" to 8" long half-lap on the end of each board (make the half-laps about 1/2 the length of your board width...a little longer won't hurt). Glue your two boards together and clamp tightly for 24 hours. If you want more strength, add about 4 dowels (or 5/8" long screws if visible screws will be acceptable on your project). This approach is recommended providing this is not to be some sort of structural member that will be required to hold a lot of weight or be under a great deal of pressure. If it IS to be a structural member...or is expected to hold a lot of weight, I would suggest that you start with the procedure above, then glue and screw a 12" x 18" piece of stock to each side of your joint...providing this visible sandwich in the middle is not detrimental to your design. . |
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