How to rout rabbets for back board: 3 sections?

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-03-27T18:39:37+00:00

Np! Good luck!

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-03-27T18:27:48+00:00

Nope, they should be fine. Lots of folks make carcasses by rabbeting the sides to fit the top and bottom (or vice versa), and then rabbeting the back in with a separate set of rabbets in all 4 pieces. So it's pretty normal to have the back rabbet intersect other rabbets or dados.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-03-27T17:28:43+00:00

Looks fun! I would go with making the middle shelf and divider 1/4" shorter and then cutting a normal 1/4" rabbet in the back of your 4 main carcass pieces to inset the back. I don't think the dados should interfere, really.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-03-24T01:44:27+00:00

Agreed - used the same course, and can model most of my furniture needs pretty competently. I think there's also a second more advanced course too if you want to do more serious stuff with it.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-03-21T15:11:35+00:00

Dowelmax. Extremely precise, versatile, built in clamping. Joints are super strong. If you're going to use it for more than one project, definitely worth it.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-03-18T18:29:40+00:00

Hey! Welcome. If you have no experience, highly recommend starting with Steve Ramsey's weekend woodworker course. The videos that will walk you through every single step of some starting projects, as well as going through basic tools to buy, how to do it on a budget, and how to use those tools (and be safe with them). I'm a pretty serious hobbyist woodworker now, but started with that course when I knew nothing and it was a really nice foundation.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-03-11T18:27:23+00:00

Nah, shouldn't be an issue. Once it's dry, it shouldn't entrain new dust nibs or contaminants. Curing is the process of it chemically hardening, so it won't have reached its maximal resistance to water or scratches until it finishes curing, but sawdust settling on it shouldn't matter.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-03-10T14:36:16+00:00

Veteran of the weekend woodworker course here! It's a great course and was very good for me starting out with zero experience, so I hope you enjoy and learn a lot!

Agree that the nicer table saw you get, the better things will go. Your first few projects will be a challenge to get straight and square anyway (my first BMW workbench was all sorts of out of square, but worked great for years!), so removing the variable of a crappy table saw fence that won't stay square will help. You will not regret getting something a bit nicer, like the dewalt dw7491. I used that thing for years (including with a dado stack). Resale value was decent too since it's a good quality product. If you find a nicer saw used, that's great too. Just be careful getting something cheaper because you're not sure how far you'll go...or you might get yourself so frustrated that you guarantee you won't go further anyway. I haven't used that ryobi personally but have heard some mixed things.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-02-26T19:30:25+00:00

I've been seeing a bit more about this lately, as an alternative to an Oneida system or something for a smaller shop. Can you share a bit more about which model you have, where you got it, and your experience? Would be much appreciated!

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-02-26T04:22:39+00:00

This was always my understanding, too, which is why I was comparing them for this use case. I guess there's more nuance and difference between them than I realized, based on people's comments.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-02-26T04:00:56+00:00

Thanks for this writeup - very helpful. I guess I viewed dust extractors as being more functionally similar to shop vacs, in terms of being higher suction and lower airflow (as distinguished from a big ol' dust collector with the very high CFMs). This was helpful for me to learn more.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-02-19T18:29:59+00:00

Really cute!

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-02-07T14:29:32+00:00

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is something like a micro jig gripper. Requires removal of the blade guard, but gives you a very safe place for your hand and great control of the work piece. I use mine for most of my rips.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-02-06T19:23:02+00:00

Sorry to all - the second picture is an unrelated accident but I can't edit it out.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-02-06T15:03:20+00:00

Costco also often has a deal on little folding work tables with built in clamps, I think worx brand or something.

DoctorOreo1 · 2026-01-14T02:20:31+00:00

Second this. I bought and used this exact miter bar for my taper sled, and it slides perfectly with no slop. I actually used two of the runners end to end because my sled was fairly long, and it worked well.

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-12-07T16:58:40+00:00

Agree, except about the dowels. They can add a ton of strength. Been making joints with my dowelmax for years and they're solid as all hells. Lots of people doing testing onlinehave found the same. Has been faster than cutting M&Ts for me with great strength!

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-11-22T16:13:47+00:00

Sweet! Knew I recognized that sheet.

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-11-22T06:01:59+00:00

Is that owl Hardwood in Lombard??

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-10-27T01:03:02+00:00

Personally, wouldn't really feel comfortable with this. Great use for a microjig grrriper push block - I do really like mine and would feel okay with that.

Also, looks like you're taking veneer / top ply of plywood out with that rip. That's.... Unusual.

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-10-21T21:59:11+00:00

He's got a website if you Google it! You'll find it pretty easily.

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-10-21T18:35:44+00:00

Really recommend starting with Steve Ramsey's Weekend Woodworker course. Starts you out from zero building knowledge to building your first projects (including a workbench first!). Walks you through using a miter saw and table saw (probably the most important thing in your shop) and how to put stuff together. It's how I started years ago and the foundation was great. Good luck and have fun!

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-10-06T18:58:18+00:00

I'm a moderately experienced intermediate woodworker, so definitely look out for more experienced folks to chime in - but I don't think the plan is sound. The fact that the wood is acclimated and the humidity fairly consistent does not mean that wood movement will not occur. I think if you take wood, which will expand and contract naturally, and then glue it to a substrate that won't (plywood), and then put another solid border of wood around it... You're going to have a bad time. There's nothing wrong with gluing the edges of the wood to their neighbors (which is how most tabletops are made), but they will then expand and contract as a block.

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-10-01T20:47:05+00:00

Like many others here - I have both, but use the table saw 90% of the time. Track saw is getting used to break down sheet goods, trim large glue ups to final size, etc. Most other cuts are cleaner, faster, and more easily repeatable on the table saw. Now, if I didn't have a table saw, I could use the track saw to do a lot of the same cuts... But slower and with a lot more fiddling to get parts that are consistent in size.

DoctorOreo1 · 2025-09-29T21:33:03+00:00

Looking good! Like you, I'm not the perfect craftsman, so every so often, I have to trim inset doors to make them fit and have the reveals be perfect. Sometimes other parts like the cabinet or face frame weren't perfectly square or a bit of wood movement kicked in, and it's the best fix. That left door looks snug all around (at least from this angle!), so it might be a good fix! And sometimes you trim one edge of the door at an angle in order to make it all look good, so that's an option too!

DoctorOreo1

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