Beveled Grooves in center of Plywood

greg faulkner

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I am needing to cut several 1/2" wide grooves, 8" long but with a 45 degree angle, through and through 3/4" plywood.
The grooves would be need to be clean on each end....something a table or radial saw can not do, as they both leave random extended 'slices'.

I need, clean cuts one both ends of the 8" groove.

Routers???

Thank you.
 
so they are going all the way through (just top be clear). do you care about tear out and chips or doesn't it matter for this project? I did this with a router and straight edge clamped to the ply wood. But its only for holding a fan. the panel with the slots can be taken off , turned around and lowered so it can be used as an exhaust fan thats 36" off the ground in the doors way. . (that doesn't help you any. just figure I'd say was it is lol) I had the 1" holes drilled first and then aligned my straight edge so the router bit would go through the center of each hole. I think I remember 3 passes with the plunge router. this didn't chip much (see picture) But it is soft wood with a thicker top ply compared to birch. That thin birch veneer chips some.
I have done similar with birch and I used painters tape and It really did help stop chipping. just make sure the surface is dust free of course and use wide tape. but if its not for showing and just for working I doubt it will matter much. If chips matter do a little testing first and see how you like it.
 

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Plunge router with an appropriate bit. For repetitive cuts, a template collar and a template.
Excuse my ignorance Glenn, but what kind of bit makes grooves at 45º? I would think that the base of the router should have a raiser on one side to incline it at 45º, and use a cylindrical bit. Or am I misunderstanding something?
 
A router with a wedge-shaped base is probably the best bet. Keep in mind it'll leave rounded ends. Clamp the plywood down to a sacrificial piece to prevent chip out on the opposite side.
 
If a straight bit with the router motor tilted at 45º would do it (?) then Makita makes one for their compact router. You would still have rounded ends, but they could be cleaned up with a chisel. There are probably other types of tilting bases including some aftermarket models that probably work on larger routers. But I'm wondering if you can find a bit long enough to do the job. Tilting the motor is going to call for a long reach to the workpiece. I guess another possibility would be to drill holes at the ends of the needed cuts and maybe use a tilted jigsaw with a straight edge to remove the waste.
 
Maybe I don't understand exactly how this cut needs to be made. I envisioned a stopped slot cut cut at a 45º angle all the way through the workpiece.
 
is the top of the angle 1/2" wide or the bottom? I guess I'm asking if the top of the bevel 1/2" wide and then gets narrow as it passes through the plywood or is it wider at the top? and is the bevel on each side or just one side? I didn't think about this things with my first reply. a jig could probably be made to do what Fred suggested. If the bottom is 1/2 wide then you could cut a 1/2" slot and then cut the angle with a long bit and the router on the 45deg angle jig maybe?

wait. isn't a chamfer bit 45 deg? I think they make different degree ones. would that work? just popped into my head.
 
Excuse my ignorance Glenn, but what kind of bit makes grooves at 45º? I would think that the base of the router should have a raiser on one side to incline it at 45º, and use a cylindrical bit. Or am I misunderstanding something?
I think I may have misunderstood Toni. I thought Greg was asking for this.
toni-1.jpg
But now think he is after this.
toni-2.jpg
A picture is worth a thousand words in a post like this.
 
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