Now for the panels. Each panel started out about 5-1/2" wide, 15" tall, and 3/4" thick. I planned a simple single layer linenfold which just needed a pair of vertical bevels on each panel that met in the middle, with the edges about 1/4" thick.
I moved my table saw fence to the left of the blade (it's a right tilt saw), added a taller auxiliary surface to the fence, and tilted the blade over about 7 degrees. Each panel was sawn on edge, so there was no guard. I used a holder and a push stick to keep my hands away from the blade and still keep the panel vertical. The cut worked, but there was plenty of burning. Next, I hand planed the beveled surfaces to remove the marks and get them down to final thickness.
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Before on the right, after in the middle and left.
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I had to get a little creative to hold the panels down.
Next it was time to use the new overarm router to remove the waste on the ends of the panels to reveal the linenfold shape. I made a pattern for panels out of quarter inch hardboard. My initial thought was just to screw it to the back of each panel. The panels were long enough that I figured I could hold onto the far end while cutting the other end. I ran a test piece, and found that I was Gravely Mistaken (tmDr Bunsen Honeydew, I think). The router really liked to grab the panel whenever the pattern wasn't right up against the pin, and I simply didn't have a good enough grip to minimize this. The pin was enough to keep it from destroying the panel, but I was only barely keep it kind of under control. Clearly, this mustang was not a horse to be trifled with.
I felt that screwing the the pattern to the panel was a safe way to go in this instance. What I really needed was more mass to keep the grabbing from going too far, and widely spaced handles to give me plenty of leverage while keeping my hands safely away. In addition, although the panels were the same length, they were also two slightly different widths, so I couldn't just make a drop-in panel frame. The solution I went with was build a holder with a handle, attach the pattern to the bottom, and screw all the way through the two of them to registered panel on the top. The holder is a 2x8, planed flat, with a dado cut across it to hold a scrap poplar 1x2 handle.
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Pattern on bottom of holder.
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Mounted panel.
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Partial cut.
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6 panels routed.
There were some lessons to be learned on this. The router was pretty "grabby" when the pattern wasn't in contact with the pin. I later learned that the pattern should always surround the pin so that if the bit grabs the piece only moves so far. Also, there are better hold-down methods, but this will work.
Anyway, I also did 4 more panels, and then moved to hand carving. More on that later.
Kirk