Problem T Moulding Slot Cutter

jerryspaghetti

jerryspaghetti

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Anyone help me with a link to a suitable t moulding slot cutter and some advice on how to use one correctly?

Standard cut for t moulding seems to be 1/16 thickness but will need an arbour too. Are these adjustable to depth and position?

Cutting into 18mm thick particle board but also have a project with 15mm ply coming up so prefer to buy one and be able to use it for both.

Will probably look on youtube also for guidance but thought i'd ask here first.
 
Mr20to5

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Hi pal. Happy to talk you through whay you need, how to do it correctly with best results and a couple of tricks to boot.

Right now I'm watching the youngest captain his footie team, so will be later tonight.

All easily doable though, even if it is a bit heart in mouth at times....
 
jerryspaghetti

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aeroflott said:
Real men do it freestyle with a Dremel.

@Mr20to5 I reckon is your man for this.
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Mr20to5 said:
Hi pal. Happy to talk you through whay you need, how to do it correctly with best results and a couple of tricks to boot.

Right now I'm watching the youngest captain his footie team, so will be later tonight.

All easily doable though, even if it is a bit heart in mouth at times....
Click to expand...
Cheers man. I have a router. Looked at some YouTube so know that setting the height is adjustable to get the cut where it needs to be on whatever thickness of side panel.

So need to know if 1/16 is the go to cutter.

Don’t use different sizes bearings to determine cut depth or just different size cutters?

Any tips you have beyond that would be great too!
 
Mr20to5

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jerryspaghetti said:
Cheers man. I have a router. Looked at some YouTube so know that setting the height is adjustable to get the cut where it needs to be on whatever thickness of side panel.

So need to know if 1/16 is the go to cutter.

Don’t use different sizes bearings to determine cut depth or just different size cutters?

Any tips you have beyond that would be great too!
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Sorry. Last night did not go to plan.
Will tell you all you need to know later this morning. Just need to box some meetings first.
 
Mr20to5

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@jerryspaghetti

Ok, so here we go. It's not technically difficult but a lot can go wrong without the right preparation.

To answer your question, the standard width of the t-molding barbed centre is 3/32", however you want to cut a 1/16th slot to ensure it has enough of a hold, once pushed in. So that is the thickness of the slot cutting bit you want to buy.

Also when you buy the cutter bit, it usually will NOT come with the arbour shank, so you need to order one of these first. You will need to know whether your router accepts 1/4" or 1/2" bits.

In relation to your question about depth, the cutter bit will/should have a ball bearing guide attached to it. This is your depth guide essentially, as it will allow your router to closely follow the edge of the wood around all the curves etc. Technically you can change the size of the ball bearing to alter the depth, but it really doesn’t matter, your groove will be deeper than you need but that's fine, as long as it is deep enough, which it will be.

Ok, so preparation. Firstly as said already, depending on how much you have used your router previously you need to be fairly confident in this. The slot cutter is a large bit, and can really pull/bite if you get it wrong, causing a load of damage to either the cab, or worst, you. So wear bloody eye protection. The router bit circles in one direction and you need to move the router in the opposite direction. Get a bit of scrap wood and try it with a straight cutting bit. One direction will feel right, the other will want to kick and speed away from you, this is wrong.

Once you are happy with that you need to accurately measure the thickness of your cab sides, then get a spare bit of wood of the exact same thickness. Then spend a bit of time setting the height of the cutting bit in your router to be exactly in the centre of the spare wood piece. Most router have a slightly different tolerance from when idle to when spinning at a billion revs, so don’t just eye it up, actually try cutting a slot on the spare piece of wood. ONLY when you are 100% happy with the height, lock the height setting into the router.

Depending on whether your cab is old or a new build, will decide on whether you have to deal with swollen sides, which might be thicker in places etc. There is little you can do about this, but to limit how this might draw the eye, before you fit the molding, a good tip is to paint the edge black (or whatever colour your molding is going to be), then if there is an instance where you are slightly off centre or the wood is swollen, you don't see the bare brown wood, which is enough to keep the casual glances from seeing it.

Glasses on, and time to bite the bullet. It is best to do a whole side in one continuous go. Rather than stop, you knock your router and the height changes etc. So make sure you have enough space to walk around the whole cab, on it's side; that the cord is long enough to go around the whole way, and that it won’t snag on anything. If it does, it will pull the router and the bit will catch and tear out the cab side.

Oh and it will make one hell of a mess with sawdust you either do it outside or when your Mrs is out!!!!

All this makes it sound scary stuff, it kinda is, but also isn't when you do it properly.
Good luck and anything else, just shout up.
 
Phils Arcade

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What @Mr20to5 is golden.
Another wee trick. After cutting the slot on a scrap bit of wood, turn the wood to the reverse side and check that the cutter still slots into the groove it previously cut. Don't force it. If it glides in then the groove is centred, if the bit taps against the edge or feels tight, then make an adjustment and try another cut.
Some T-moulding folds under the bottom of the cab. You can tap a panel pin in there to stop it from coming out, or if not, I tend to put a spot of glue at the start and end, again to help give it some extra support.
 
Mr20to5

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Phils Arcade said:
What @Mr20to5 is golden.
Another wee trick. After cutting the slot on a scrap bit of wood, turn the wood to the reverse side and check that the cutter still slots into the groove it previously cut. Don't force it. If it glides in then the groove is centred, if the bit taps against the edge or feels tight, then make an adjustment and try another cut.
Some T-moulding folds under the bottom of the cab. You can tap a panel pin in there to stop it from coming out, or if not, I tend to put a spot of glue at the start and end, again to help give it some extra support.
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Yep, both points very valid. I knew I would miss something out. Thank you.
 
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