Filling the Gap

After the unfortunate “Bit Slipping Incident of 2013” I was inspired to a solution by some time away from the problem, and found great confirmation in my online, woodworking brothers and sisters.  This gap can be patched and the box side saved!

I marked the corner of the groove with a Sharpie to emphasize the grave nature of the dilemma.

 

To size the patch correctly I used blue tape to form a pattern of the side wall of the groove so that the shape needed could be transferred to the replacement stock.

I then applied the pattern to an extra piece of the salvaged Oak.

Using a gel pen, I traced the pattern onto the side of the piece and marked out the length and width needed on the face.

After ripping the part to width on the table saw I made the final cuts to add the mitered angles and bring the piece to the final length.

A little fine tuning on my “cordless” sander…

…and the patch slips right into place.

A little glue and the deed was done.  After curing overnight, the piece was ready to be re-cut at the router table.

Given the sour reputation of the Hitachi M12V and it’s 1/4 inch collet insert sleeve, I opted to install the DeWalt DW621 in the router table.  The 621 is actually my favorite router (not sure why they stopped producing it) however, I’ve had the Hitachi in my router table for so long that I didn’t think to switch it out.  I was reminded of one of the features that make the 621 so special.  While re-cutting the grooves in all of the box sides I ran a vacuum line to the dust port on the router and the cuts were virtually dust free.  With the exception of running larger profile bits, the Hitachi may not see much duty in the router table for a long time to come. 

Sorry Big Green…

…but Ole Yeller gets the nod.

 

Pete