Tips

Topic: Woodworking.

Router table sled for short end grain pieces.

The classic joint for a raised panel door is the cope and stick joint. Here you can use a shaper or router table. Since these doors are 13/16" I use the router table to cut these joints. The setup I like to use is shown below. It is by far the safest, fastest and easiest one that I've ever used.

I clamp a piece of scrap to the table tight enough to allow an MDF "sled" to slide freely, I then clamp the piece to be coped against the sled. This reduces tear out on the pieces by providing a backing while shaping. This also allows me to adjust the depth of cut without ever moving the fence! The first pass takes about 3/16" and the second finishes up the cope.