Cutting grooves and tounges has a significant role in wood crafting and woodworking. Before the power tools were introduced to the carpenters, they used to get their jobs done with hand plane tools. Now with so many power tools available to us, carpeting and fine woodworking are on its pick. As the power tools are in the job, making grooves is way more comfortable to use with their help for sure.
However, it’s not mandatory to have a router to make nice grooves and get things done! If you don’t have a power router, I will get you the different ways on how to cut a groove in wood without a router.
What is the purpose of a groove in woodworking?
Grooves (Also known as joinery) play multiple roles in woodworking. When you are trying to make a tabletop, an architectural paneling, or a door, you need to make grooves in the workpiece. Grooves and tounges are together made the work happen; they work as holding points. They help you hold that bottom bed of the drawer box and aligns the grain with each to another fence of the drawer. Dadoes, rabbets, and grooves serve almost the same purpose; they hold on the pieces together. People give extra strength to the grooves by adding some glues in between two pieces before snapping them together using the groove cut-outs.
How to cut a groove in wood without a router?
One thing to mention, before getting into cutting the grooves, wood comes in different types and forms. Make sure you are choosing the right wood to cut a groove in. You can use two different methods to cut your groove on the wood. You can use the traditional hand carpenter system, or you can go with a table saw if you have one.
Hand carpeting to cut grooves
You will need some things in the process of cutting grooves without using a router. The list includes Sharp knife/blade, Chisel, Hammer, Measuring tape, sandpaper, masking tape, Wood spacers, Pencil, hand saw, and the workpiece itself.
- Mark the wood: Before you start cutting the groove in the wood, you need to mark the area on the workpiece. Take the measuring tape and measure the width you need from the joint piece. Then mark the groove area with the same dimension, use the Pencil to do so. You can use a knife to thicken the marks that you can use as your guide while grooving.
- Make a spacer: Take a scrap piece of wood and make a spacer with it to fit in the workpiece. Take the workpiece and cut the scrap wood with the same depth you want in the workpiece. The spacer will help you hold on the workpiece tight and cut your groove with the perfect length. You can clamp the spacer on the workpiece and take the saw to start cutting.
- Use a hand saw: Now you can make your first cut with your hand saw. Clamp the spacer firmly with the table following the right depth measurement on the piece. The spacer will work as a fence are at this stage and give you a better grip on the piece.
- Cut the other sides: Once you’ve cut the main depth, you don’ need the spacer for the others. Cut the workpiece with the width of the joint piece. Repeat the same process within these two cuts several times to get the whole area cut open. Now you can clean out the groove.
- Use a chisel: Start using the chisel following the width measurement of the joint piece as the depth for the groove. You should keep it even from one end of the groove to the other end. Once your chiseling is over, there will be some harsh left-over to clean up in the groove.
- Sand the Groove: As you are not using routers, it will be harder to make the groove with a clean cut. So, after making the groove with your chisel, you need to polish it clean. Use sandpaper and sand the grooves thoroughly to clean out the left-overs.
Use a table saw to cut the grooves
If you don’t have a router, but fortunate enough to have a table saw, use it to cut the groove. You can make deep or shallow grooves and channels in wood using a table saw. All you have to do is adjust the blade depth according to the depth you need in the groove. After setting the depth of the blade, put your workpiece on the table, and use the saw fence with the depth on the workpiece. Use an external pusher to push on the workpiece and make several cuts between the two primary cuts of the groove. Once the cuts are complete, use a chisel to clean out the waste in the groove.
Cons of not using a router
A router is by far the best tool to cut grooves, rounding the edges of on a workpiece and many more. It’s not necessary to use a router to cut grooves, but it helps you make it perfect. Routers have designable bits and many types of stylish groove cutters as well. You can easily cut clean grooves with routers without having any left-off or waste.
The process is simple, take your router, pick the right bit, and make adjustments to the depth you want and start digging in. You can cut grooves with much less time and far more accuracy using a router. You can get the best wood routers for the money with a very low budget for cutting grooves. However, if you are digging into higher depth and do a lot of professional jobs, getting a high-end router will add more value.
Final thoughts
If it comes to the argument of the possibility of cutting grooves without a router, the obvious say is, it’s possible to do so. You can cut grooves using the fundamental woodworking tools just fine. Routers make it more professional and time-saving, that’s a huge value addition to the competitive market.
No matter which way you use, your safety comes first, make sure you have your safety precautions before working with power tools. Hope this article will help you with how to cut a groove in wood without using a router. But if you have any queries, let us know through the comment section. We will love to help you.
