Cutting a Tongue & Groove Joint | How to & Tips/Tricks
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
- A tongue and groove joint is very versatile and useful.
In this video we go through how to cut a tongue and groove joint on your router table.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments section.
Thanks as always and be safe,
Josh
Northwest Craftsman
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Products Used*
Router Kit, Bosch 1617EVSPK: amzn.to/2HE72Kk
Router Table, Bosch RA1181: amzn.to/37OY0W6
Multigage, Router: amzn.to/37P0MKW
Router Bit, Freud 3/8" Up Spiral: amzn.to/2TvEcyp
Router Bit, Starter Kit: amzn.to/3jAoLj9
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Audio Credits:
Room for Two by Dan Lebowitz (Licensed by UA-cam Audio Library)
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My husband gave me the same Bosch router and table that you have. I really appreciate your videos on set up as I am new to routing. Thanks!! I look forward to the how to videos!
Thanks for your kind words and support! We have a lot of fun videos in the works 😄
You make it look easy and I appreciate you explaining that tolerance too.
Glad you found it helpful!
Very nicely done. You are an excellent trainer.
Thanks George! I appreciate the compliment!
I got a good laugh at your demonstration of the loose joint at 7:55 haha. Very cool project!!
TheFordGuy78 thanks! 😂 it’s a super useful joint! Excited to use it in my projects.
Excellent video! Explained a lot of my questions. Thank you!
Glad I could help!
I like the idea of using T&G for drawers. I like no-hardware builds. Thanks.
Of course! Our older house has a sliding dovetails for most of its drawers and they work great.
Thank you so much for the succinct and clear instructions. Very useful detailed tips. You have a fabulous set up and tools. Thumbs up. Best of luck.
I appreciate your kind words! 😊 good luck with your work!
Thanks for the tip. 👍🏾
Of course! Glad you found it helpful!
yo man i have to do this for my wood works class and this vid helped lot, also i like how you replied to all the comments keep it up man 👍
Thanks for the compliment and I’m glad you found the video helpful 😊 there is an even easier way to do TnG joints though using a TnG bit. I didn’t have one at the time which is why I did it this way. For larger volumes, I’d recommend a TnG bit. I’ve also done this on a table saw, very similar math. Good luck in your class! Thanks for the comment 😊
Thanks. Great explanation, now the attempt! 😊
Good luck! I will say, Freud has tongue and groove bits that take much of this thinking out.
Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. Some people, like myself, appreciate all the little details. A lot of times I don’t check out a video because I feel it’s too short in duration to explain something thoroughly. I learned a lot rom this video. Thank you!
Thanks Kai! I’m glad you found this helpful!
Happy Woodworking!
Josh
Northwest Craftsman
Great work! I have the same router table and I appreciate your tips. I’ve learned a lot from you.
Thanks! I’m glad you’ve found the channel helpful!
Very nice
Belo trabalho...parabéns my friend!😊
Obrigado!
If I was to do this again, there is an easier way using Freud’s tongue and groove bit but this works well for the basic joint 😊
thanks!
Thanks! I’m glad you found it useful!
Not too technical for me. This is exactly what I needed to see so I don’t screw up $ 2K worth of rough cut cedar and needed to know how to properly tongue and groove the wood. For us hobby woodworkers this was wonderfully presented! Thanks! 👍👍
Thanks! If you have a ton of boards to do, one of the issues you can run into with this method is variability in the tongue thickness and groove placement. This stems from variability in board thickness. If your boards aren’t *exactly* the same before cutting this, they’ll be off.
Also, there is a new bit I’ve purchased from Freud which could save you a ton of time as well. It’s their tongue and groove bit. Much less room for error.
amzn.to/3lFItRH
Good luck with your project!
Josh
Northwest Craftsman
@@NorthwestCraftsman thanks Josh, I will purchase the new bit. I bought the 2 speed Dewalt DW735 planer so I will ensure all boards are played exactly the same. But I’ll still pick up the bit because I want to make this as simple as possible. If I am using the cedar tongue and groove panels for the boards which are only going to be 24 inches running vertical, would you suggest a tighter or looser connection? My wife thought looser because of moisture and expansion during cold and warm months, but I would love your opinion! I will be staining and sealing the wood prior to assembly. Thanks again!
Fantastic! That’s the same planer I have and that’ll be perfect! Man that’s going to smell nice.
Your wife is spot on, I’d leave a little bit of slop in the TnG joint so the wood can both move around and because assembly will be easier. How are you securing this to the wall?
@@NorthwestCraftsman I purchased plans from a company. According to the plans I will be making a frame out of 1 1/2” x 5/8”cedar (inside frame) and secured with 1 3/16” brads. Then once knee boards set in place against the frame, then will use 1” x 1/2” trim top and bottom which will sit flush with frame.
I hope that makes sense to you, because it’s all new to me and I’m just reading what’s in the plans. Seems straightforward for someone like me with no experience. Making this should be pretty therapeutic for me. And the wife smiled when I told her you agreed with making the T&G slightly loose for expansion and contraction. :)
Makes perfect sense! It’s really nice to have a set of plans just ready to go. Simplifies things a lot in the shop and allows me to relax more 😂
Glad I could validate her thoughts 😂 my wife is right quite often 😂
ty
Of course!
Hey quick question, I have red cedar planks already cut is it necessary for me to do the tongue and grove for the ceiling and walls? This is gonna be for a bus I’m currently building
Great question! It depends what you’re looking for. T&G or ship lap joints will help to keep all the faces coplanar but aren’t necessary for structural integrity. If you’re securing each board well, you could leave them as is.
I could have saved about $65 if i would have watched your video first. I just bought a Freud 99-036 Adjustable Tongue and Groove Bit Set. Looks like your way may be a little faster also. I'm gonna still try your way while my bit set is on the way. I'm new to woodworking. Wonder how much more i can do with those straight bits?
I have yet to get a tongue and groove set! Let me know how it works! And it can be faster but depends very much on your bit diameter and board thickness. I love the up spiral but, honestly, I use it for almost everything!
Thanks very much for your work with this video!
I have a question regarding recommendations for cutting tongue and groove on thicker stock. My boards are 1 ¾" by 5 ½". I'm processing a lot and wondering what the most efficient way to do this. It seems like a tongue and groove router sets are the way to go, but i can't seem to find one that works for stock this thick.
Glad you liked it!
1-3/4 is pretty beefy, however, it should still be totally doable. You’re right that normally a TnG bit set would be the most efficient way to go but my normal go to from Freud only accepts up to 1-1/4in. Is 1-3/4in the final thickness of your boards? Or is that before jointing and planing. If so, you may be within range at that point. But assuming you’re not, I’ve had some really good luck with using my table saw to cut the tongue and then pop a dado blade in to cut the groove. It’s still more manual than a bit, but it’s even easier than what I showed here. Out of curiosity, what are you using those behemoth’s for?
❤ As a DIY beginner is easy to understand and followed. Can I use tongue and groove on a horizontal fence project? o is only for indoor used?
So glad you found it helpful! You can totally use TnG outside but one thing to keep in mind is that outside the wood will expand and contract more because of the larger swings in temperature and humidity. Because of this you’ll want a looser fit on the joint.
I am about ready to repair several pieces in my gazebo that are tongue and groove, and this video is extremely helpful. Can I make the groove in one pass. My lumber is 2x6 cedar, and each groove will be 1/2", and the tongue also will be 1 1/2". Thank you
Hey Steve! Glad you found this video helpful! To make sure I’m interpreting what you’re saying correctly, the tongue/groove width is 1/2” and the interface depth is 1-1/2”?
It’s possible to do it all in one go but that’d be a very heavy cut. I used this method on a pine headboard/footboard with about 14 2x6 boards and a 1/2”x1/2” T&G. My nice upspiral but was fried by the end, I think from the speed I had it running. I’m on the verge of getting a Freud tongue and groove router bit set which would work even more smoothly than the method in this video and I’d recommend if tongue and groove joints are going to be used on any more than a few boards.
Freud Tongue & Groove Bit
amzn.to/3yC16Hp
@@NorthwestCraftsman thank you for getting back to me so quickly. My mistake, the tongue/groove width is 1/2", as is the depth, that being 1/2", and not 1 -1/2".
If course! Perfect then on the depth and width, that’s exactly what I had on the bed frame. If you’re only doing a few boards then the method shown here works great, I’d do some research on speeds and feeds for cedar at that depth so you don’t burn out your but like I did mine. If more than a few boards, I think the tongue and groove bits would be a worthwhile investment. 👍
Let me know how it goes! And email me photos if you’d like. I love to see the projects subscribers are working on.
Really great video, thanks for the explanation!
I've got a project where I want to do a tongue and groove of sorts, but I'm not sure how thick to make it. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Basically I have a tray thats 3" wide incl. The sides (each a 1/4" thick), and I want the base to slot into a rail on either side - sort of like your example with the drawer, except rather than one tongue and two groove edges, it will be one tongue and one groove edge - the bottom of the box this whole thing goes in will act as the second. The groove would look something like this:
_T_
What I'm not sure about is thicknesses - will 4mm (yes, I'm mixing mm/in) deep & tall grooves be strong enough for the T to stay in place, or would I need something closer to a 1/4" (about 6.35mm) be better?
Sorry if that doesnt make sense, its kind of hard to communicate over text :)
Hey! Thanks for the message! Glad you liked the video and that sounds like an interesting project! I think I can visualize what you’re looking at and unfortunately I think the answer is, it depends 😂 what kind of wood are you using? For softwoods, even 1/4” is probably too small, plywood you may be able to get away with 4mm but 1/4in would be easier to source, and hardwoods, if clean, could probably handle either. I’d say go with the largest your design will allow, it’ll help with tolerances and in making the whole thing more robust.
Your bits will lasts longer and you'll get a cleaner cut by taking multiple passes. Nice video.
Good to know! Thanks for the heads up. At hand fed speeds, how deep would you recommend in a pass for pine?
@@NorthwestCraftsman I am hardly an expert and I work almost exclusively with hard woods. I like 1/8th inch passes in general. Much depends on the bit size, bit speed, the material you're using, and the type of cuts your trying to make. That's not much help, I know. I think a person could literally spend years learning the ins and outs of this glorious tool. Looking forward to more of your videos. Be well.
I’m wanting to put a 1 1/4”groove into my 7”x3”x 9’ fence post and run my fence horizontally. How would I accomplish the groove without a router table? I have a router, but no bits yet. Any information/suggestions would be appreciated.
Hey there! That’s a cool project!
On something that large, I wouldn’t even like it on a table, pretty unwieldy to move on its own. I’m not sure if your router has this but the Bosch router I have has an edge guide you can use (link below). If yours has something similar, I’d do that.
Bosch Edge Guide
amzn.to/4c9mOq6
What bit did you use for the 1/2” groove? Is it part of the set or can it be purchased separately? Great video! Thanks!
Hey Karen! I believe I was using a 3/8” but the entire time for this one. You can do a single cut at 3/8” or offset the centerline by an 1/8” to get a half inch groove after two passes. I also just got a tongue and groove set from Freud which I can’t wait to break out. I have links below for both of those bits plus the 1/2” if that fits your needs better.
3/8” Up Spiral: amzn.to/3FPxtqn
1/2” Up Spiral: amzn.to/3MfftbB
Tongue & Groove Bit: amzn.to/3Leizv1
@@NorthwestCraftsman thank you!
is it possible to make panel wall with this joint on boards? Thank you!
Sure is! You may have an easier time with a half lap joint though
V panel t&g is gorgeous for walls and ceilings, and looks way better than ship lap.
New subscriber here….with respect to the tolerances between the tongue and the groove, I’m conflicted about which I like better, the 7 or the 15 of a thousand. I’m curious about the possibility of the difference being dependent on soft wood or hard wood. The seven thousandths could become an issue for expansion or contraction of the wood. I’d soft wood more susceptible to greater variations or, would hard woods be more at risk? Should greater than 7000 be given for that change?
Liking the channel and I’ve seen only two episodes!! I can see where taking a lot of notes, or screenshots, may be helpful!!😎
Final thought…”o” is a letter and zero, is a number. When referring to settings, it is zero five zero, not
“O” five “O”. 😎 it’s one of my pet peeves, and I drive my wife crazy about it! 🤣
I had have other pet peeves, but that’s a rabbit hole we don’t need to dive into!🤣🤣
Great show!!
Haha, yes, you are correct about the letters and numbers 😂 probably just laziness on my part since “O” is much easier to say than “zero.”
And to your questions, it totally depends on the application. Swelling will make a difference and in fact, after letting it sit on my shelf for a few months, the 15thou tolerance is now snug. There are even nicer bits you can use to cut these called, not surprisingly, tongue and groove bits. For sliding applications, loose is better, for assembly, right works better, especially since the latter is usually glued. Again, all depends on your app!
Thanks for the great question and welcome to the community!
@@NorthwestCraftsman ahh, glue up…completely neglected to factor that in. I’m seriously considering an attempt at replicating your build. It’s not rugged only in construction, but in appearance as well!
Let me know how it goes! If you're doing any amount of tongue and groove, I really recommend you get a tongue and groove bit set, they're not cheap but are 100% worth it.
Here is the one I have:
amzn.to/3rmQWfo
@@NorthwestCraftsman I just ordered your recommendation. I’m new to the router which means I’m expecting a learning curve!!😎👊🏻
Im very new to wood working. Is there a reason why you wouldnt, for the tongue cut, stand the board up and run it down the side then flip around and get the other side?
If I understand your question right, nope! It all depends and where you want fine control. On this particular router table I have pretty coarse control over the fence position (forward and back) but very fine control over the depth of cut (up and down). I wanted more control over how thick the tongue was, rather than how tall it was but you could totally swap that.
Another consideration is how stable the work piece is. You want to ensure that your workpiece is very stable as you go through a cut and I felt more comfortable cutting in this orientation.
Great question!
@@NorthwestCraftsman Thank you.
What kind of Router table. And what brand of Router HP. I’m doing my house in pine tongue & Grove. Thanks great video
Evening Jimmy!
This is the Bosch 1617EVSPK Router Kit which is a 2.25 HP router and the router table is Bosch's RA1181, both are linked below on Amazon. This thing is a work horse. My biggest lesson learned on the bed frame I just did was make sure to get a good bit that's sharp and if doing a lot of tongue and groove, I think it's worth the investment to buy a dedicated tongue and groove set, the one I'm looking at is linked below. I ran into problems clearing chips and overheating my up spiral bit which ruined its edge.
Bosch 1617 EVSPK: amzn.to/3hhDm5G
Bosch RA 1181: amzn.to/3bh3UAe
Freud Tongue & Groove Set: amzn.to/3hnbddv
@@NorthwestCraftsman thank you. I really appreciate it.
Not a problem! Good luck!
What would you use if you needed something larger like 1 inch wide by 2 inches deep?
could Ido this with pallet wood ?anyway thanks for the tutorial
Great question! You could totally do this on pallet wood. Your biggest issue will be the uniformity of the wood not giving you a consistent tongue or groove. If you can joint and plane them ahead of this, you’d be golden 👌
Okay sounds like a plane a plan @@NorthwestCraftsman
7:29 are those two different kinds of wood? or are they both pine? sorry for the basic question, they look so different
No that’s a great question! Thanks for asking. They are the same. One is an older for 2x4 so it’s oxidized and darkened more than the blonde one on the left.
thanks for teaching that bit there@@NorthwestCraftsman
Replacement of these joints with same strength and easy to operate and increase productivity ?
Hey Gaurav, just to clarify, are you looking for a different joint that can be made more quickly?
@@NorthwestCraftsman some example like
I have to join 2 wooden planks that have strength to make box replacement of these joints some examples
For joining pieces along the edge without additional wood, a tongue and groove is really the only joint. A butt joint with glue would work as well since glued joints are quite strong if done properly. There are also far more efficient ways to cut a tongue and groove (with a tongue and groove bit for example -> amzn.to/3zgheRo).
There are also more intricate tongue and groove style joints like the one below from Freud.
www.freudtools.com/products/EC031-IC
Quick pointer, it’s easier, less chance of wood splitting, so much easier on your router and bit to do a few passes instead of clearing all that material at once.
Duly noted! Thanks for the heads up. That’s probably why I blew through my router bit making my bed frame.
Can you show how to do this on a table saw?
Sure! That’d be a pretty easy one. I’ll get that queued up!
Hey Mark! I wanted to let you know that your suggestion was WAY easier than I expected. Tomorrow's video will be featuring this technique.
You make this way too technical...
Apologies, that’s not my intent. Which aspect of the video was too technical? I’d like to make sure all the info is accessible and clear.