How to Make Tongue and Groove Joinery 2 Different Ways!

Tongue and groove joinery has been around for a long time. For those of you that do not have the proper blades , do not think that you are out of luck. There are many different ways to accomplish the same goal and in this video / blog I will show you how.

Set Up the Blade Height and Depth of Cut

First, I will show you how to make tongue and groove joinery that will be used for long grain to long grain joints to make large wide panels. Set you fence where the blade is just off center. You will also need a flat bottom grind saw blade to make consistent flat grooves. The blade height will be 3/8” high.

Cut the Groove (negative)

Install a feather board to keep the board up against the fence and keep kickback to a minimum. Make two passes through the blade by flipping the board 180 degrees to center the groove.

Set the Blade to Cut the Tenon

For every negative there is always a positive. So pretend the groove is the negative and the tenon is the positive. Using the existing pieces as your gauge will always give you good results. Now set up the fence using the groove board as your gauge. The blade will be even with the edge of the groove and the blade height will not change from the last few cuts.

Make the Shoulders of the Tenon (positive)

Set the blade height to just clear the left over pieces and set to the depth at the base of the kerf. This will make the shoulders of the tenon as you pass over the blade on both sides.

Fine Tune the Tongue to Fit the Groove (optional)

If necessary, like it was for me, sand you tenon to fit snuggly in the groove

Cut the Groove (negative)

Now I will show you with the use of dado stack how to make the same type of joint on end grain to long grain. Set the blade height back to 3/8” and the fence to off center the work piece. Make your cut once and flip end for end and make another.

Cut the Tenon (positive)

Using the groove board as a gauge, lower the blade to the height of the pieces to remove. This will create the shoulders as you pass them over the blade.

Now Employ the Results on Your Projects!!!

It will take a few passes to get the height and depth just right but once you have it set you can make all the batch cuts quickly and easily.

Now get out in the shop and give it a try. Thank you for dropping by and remember to always be safe in your shop. As always, BOOM!!!