How to make a 5" deep cut??

[rrich]

You've all seen racks for wine bottles. I've been asked to make a rack of the "X" style. Thats where two pieces of wood are notched and then slid together using the notches and forming a series of "Xs".

Here is the problem. A typical wine bottle has about 8" of straight sides and another 4" of neck. The neck of the bottle should protrude no more than an inch or two leaving a cavity for the bottle of 10".

When joining the two pieces with a slot cut in both, the slots need to be about 5+" long. In other words, a cut in a piece of 10" plywood, 5" long.

With an eight inch dado in the table saw at full height, (2-1/8 above the table) the offset between the top and bottom of the cut in the 1/2" plywood calculates to be about 15/16". This offset is just too much to ignore during assembly. (Besides that, it would look very ugly.)

I have to make about 40 cuts, probably more because I'm not sure that I estimated correctly. (I'm estimating 4 cuts per bottle of wine with two cuts shared with other bottles???)

Anyway, how do I make these cuts safely and without too much of a hassle?

[Leo Voisine]

Rich - that is about as clear as mud on a densely foggy day.

BUT - it could be just me.

Can you draw a picture - scan it then post it?

Off the top of me head - I am thinking "band saw".

[Stretch]

Okay, you're talking the offset due to the curve of the blade when you cut the slots with the ply face down on the saw correct? Well, why worry about it? Just make your dado cuts a tad longer, nobody can see the inside of that joint and you're not going to lose a whole lot of strength by not having a flat mating surface inside there. You'll have 5+" of straight glue surface on each side of the other parts of the joint that'll provide plenty of strength, especially for this application.

[TDHofstetter]

I'm having an awful time picturing this one, too.

[rrich]

Tim,
I have an awful time with pictures here. (Don't know why either.)

Let me try this.

----------
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
----------

Now picture the wine bottles stacked in the spaces between the "X" s.

And how to join the "X" s at the crossing points.

[Beamer]

Use a chisel to cut out that little web left by the curve of the blade?

Drill a hole where you want the cut to stop and then clean up the corners?

I'd consider bandsaw if your saw makes decent straight lines (with a fence, of course).

Make a router template and trim up the corners with a chisel?

I wonder if a coping saw would have the reach for that ... maybe just a dozuki to clear out the web?

What about a scroll saw to get that web out? I've seen scrollsaws leave a mighty clean surface sometimes?

[fredbelknap]

I'm thinking a shallow dado and the cut outs wouldn't need to be very accurate just long enough. The blade cut would be hidden.

[sawduster]

If you're concerned about someone looking inside and seeing the joint, I'd just make the dado cut so that the bottom side (on the saw table) stops at the required distance, couple strokes with a hand saw to cut flush to that, then chop it out with a chisel. You can use a square block of wood to insure the chisel cuts square to the face if that will make you more comfortable.

[Doug B]

I think this is a picture of what Rich is talking about. I have been thinking about making a wine rack too, and I like the diamond or lattice look best too.



And here is a writeup on how to make one. They say to use a router to cut the dado. www.ehow.com/how_5480631_build-wine-storage-rack.html

[Joe Lyddon]

Yes, those are Half-Lap joints, going the long direction instead of the short. ;D

Looks like the strips are too long to enable a bandsaw to cut all of them.

I think I'd clamp a guide & use my Bosch Jig saw... and using a super good fine-cutting blade, it would smooth as glass.

[beagles]

Try this idea:

Assume that all the boards going from upper left to lower right are 10" deep.

Cut 2.5" long slots on both the exposed edge and the back edge. The slots in the front line up with those in back.

The pieces that fit in them (going upper right to lower left) are 5" deep and also have 2.5" deep slots...

Edge glue them where they meet 5" into each cavity.

I'd think a single pass on the TS would do each cut...

[rrich]

Jan 23, 2010 17:41:02 GMT -6 beagles said:

Assume that all the boards going from upper left to lower right are 10" deep.

Cut 2.5" long slots on both the exposed edge and the back edge. The slots in the front line up with those in back.

The pieces that fit in them (going upper right to lower left) are 5" deep and also have 2.5" deep slots...

Edge glue them where they meet 5" into each cavity.

Now that is clever! I never thought of that.
I'm going to download the plan referenced and see what that says.

[TDHofstetter]

Ah. Gotcha'. I had been visualizing (at best) two lattices - one front & one rear. Hadn't considered that we were talking about a fully-fleshed-out honeycomb.

Yep, I think Beag's got it. Router'd do the job if it was all ply, but if it's natural-grain boards half the boards could well be edge-laminated in the middle.

[Joe Lyddon]

Hey Rich,

A recent email from Pop.WW'g had this:

popularwoodworking.com/article/egg_crate_shelves/

Very similar to what you want to do...

May give you some pointers! ;D ;D

How are you doing on it?

[rrich]

I've looked at everything posted. Today I found out EXACTLY what a wine bottle rack is, according to my neighbor.

Two boards, with a single joint between them as about a 60° and 120° between them. Not a wine rack at all. Just two boards. Sometimes a lot of things get lost in the translation. LOL

[Joe Lyddon]

;D ;D ;D

OK, how are you going to make your cuts? ;D

What are you making? ;D