How To Cut Angled Slots In Wood

4/4/2022admin

I’m working on a new woodworking project that involved cutting through-slots for bolts in a couple of boards. The two boards will act as adjustable arms to hold a dowel handle for a garden cart. I have cut shorter and narrower slots using a table-mounted router for a coin bank. These bolt slots were considerably longer and 1/4' wide so I was. I need to make a couple of floor registers. I can easily make the blanks from pieces of the hardwood flooring that I laid, but I am not sure how best (and safely) to route the slots in the registers. They need to be in two groups of 5, roughly 4' long. If they were vertical, that would be fairly straightforward to do, but they need to be at roughly a 30 degree angle. The stop blocks will prevent you from cutting your slot too long. First set up the edge guide or straight edge with the appropriate offset for your router base, parallel to where you want the slot. With the router unplugged and the bit almost touching the wood, position the router bit where you want the slot to start.

How To Cut Angled Slots In Wood Dowels

Cutting an angle on wood is commonly referred to as making a miter cut, because a miter saw is the type of saw that cuts wood at an angle. A miter saw, also known as a chop saw, is basically a circular saw that's mounted on a frame and that can make very accurate angle cuts between 45 and 90 degrees. More sophisticated compound-miter saws can cut more angles and are mainly used when cutting bevels. Miter saws are mainly used for cutting wood, but can also be used for cutting plastic. They're portable, so you can take yours with you to any workplace. Miter saws must be handled with care as their blades are very sharp and can swivel around [source: Kelleher].

Here's how to cut angles on wood for molding using a miter box:

Set the first piece of molding in the miter box and hold it in place.
Put the saw in the appropriate slots, setting the angle.
Cut the wood carefully, without rushing.
Place the second piece of wood in the miter box and hold it in place.
Insert the saw in the slots, so that the second cut you make will complement the first.
Cut the second piece of wood.
The two moldings should now fit neatly together [source: Silva].

Remember, measure twice but cut once. Work slowly and be meticulous, otherwise your cuts will not be precise and the mitered corners won't fit together.

How To Cut Angled Slots In Wood Dowels