I'm looking for some reasonably priced and durable materials from Home Depot that are close to 3/8" and 1/2" in width. I plan to use strips of this material as spacers to help with routing dados using 1/2" and 3/8" bits. The idea is to create an offset for a straight guide so that when I replace the spacer with the material that will fit into the dado, the router bit will be positioned correctly to cut the dado to the right width. I know that standard plywood is typically slightly less than its listed thickness, so I need something that matches the bit diameter closely. Would MDF or Plexiglas be good alternatives? I just need materials that are available in 3/8" and 1/2" thickness. Thanks!
4 Answers
If you have a table saw, you can just cut a strip of hardwood to the exact width you need!
How about making the spacer strips out of hardwood? You can plane them down to achieve the desired thickness.
What goes in the dado? Solid wood or plywood?
Yeah, plywood varies a lot in thickness even within the same store. If you're cutting dados, some pieces may fit while others won't. It might be easier to look for undersized router bits designed for plywood, making your life simpler.
I get that plywood can differ, but how would those undersized bits help with this method? My main goal is to find a spacer that matches the bit size, not necessarily what's going in.
For now, it's plywood. But it won't matter, as the spacer has to match the router bit size to ensure the right fit when routing.