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How To Make A Wine Rack.com - Build Wine Rack Articles

How To Cut Dadoes Properly When You Are Building A Modular Wine Rack

By Celine Yong

When you build a wine rack which is modular, you can do so by assembling the sides, front and back pieces using dadoes. A dado is a groove or channel that is cut across the grain of one piece of wood into which another piece of wood will be fitted snugly. A dado is a very robust and functional method of joining two pieces of stock when building a wine rack, cabinet, bookshelves or drawer.

You can easily cut a dado using a router or table saw using the step-by-step instructions below.

Build Modular Wine Rack By Cutting Dadoes

A) Build A Modular Wine Rack - Cutting A Dado Using A Router:

Items Required:

Boards
Pencil
Scrap wood
Router and wood bit
Clamps
Hammer
Finishing Nails
Wood Glue
Safety goggles

Place the board you are cutting the dado into on a flat surface. Stand the board that fits into the dado onto the board. Mark the dado’s width with a pencil. Use scrap wood to make a guide to ensure a straight path. Clamp the guide parallel to dado mark. Make sure the router bit is centered and the edges of the bit graze both marks. Tighten clamps to secure guide.

Put a 1/2-inch router bit into your router. Set depth so bit goes no deeper than halfway through the board. Dial down the speed of the router. Adjust the depth for more than one pass to avoid burning the bit or the wood. For dadoes wider than the router bit, construct more than one pass with the router as necessary. For example, to cut ¾” sheet of plywood, two passes using the ½” router bit will give you the desired results.

Squeeze a bead of wood glue into the dado and place a board into the channel. Nail through board on other side of dado and into piece slipped into the channel with small finishing nails. Repeat the above steps to continue making the other side of the drawer or wine rack cabinet.

B) Build A Modular Wine Rack - Cutting A Dado Using A Table Saw

Items Required:

Boards
Dado head cutter and chippers
Table saw
Clamps
Wood glue
Measuring tape
Hammer
Finishing nails
Safety goggles

Install a stacked dado head cutter into a table saw. This consists of two 8" diameter, 1/8"-kerf saw blades with a number of 1/8" & 1/16" chippers in between. Add chippers, as necessary, to cut the dado to your desired width. By adding or removing chippers, you can get pretty much any width groove between 1/4" and 3/4". Set the blades to a depth no more than half the thickness of the board. Wider dadoes can be cut by making more than one pass through the saw.

Important Reminder While Building Wine Racks - Do not install a stacked dado head cutter into a circular saw when cutting dadoes!

A stacked dado head cutter set should only be used on a table saw or on some radial arm saws. Remember to check the saw’s user manual to see if your table saw or radial arm saw will accommodate a stacked dado head cutting set.

Clamp a guide to the table saw to run the board against as you make the cut. Measure from the end of the board to the outer dado marking.Use this measurement to set the guide from the edge of the outer blade. Run the board face down across the blades to cut the dado.

Squeeze a bead of wood glue into the dado and place a board into the channel. Nail through board on other side of dado and into piece slipped into the channel using small finishing nails. Repeat the previous steps to continue making the other side of your wine rack.

More Tips On Cutting Dadoes When You Build Your Own Wine Rack:

To prevent weakening the stock, when cutting a dado, try to avoid cutting any deeper than 1/3 of the way through the stock receiving the dado.For instance, when cutting a dado in a 3/4" shelf standard, make your dado cut 1/4" into the standard.
Also, there may be times when a dado shouldn't be cut the entire length of the stock. In this event, it may be best to cut the dado on a router table.
Set the fence to the proper width. Use a pencil to mark the start and stop points for cutting the dado on the fence. After starting the router, slide the stock over top of the head, keeping it against the fence. Ease it down onto the cutter. Slide the stock forward to the stop point. Back the stock up an inch or so before turning off the router. Wait for the cutting head to stop spinning before lifting the stock off of the table.

Always wear safety glasses or goggles when using a router or table saw.

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