However where mortise and tenon is used to impart strength and rigidity to workpieces typically connected at right angles a good tongue and groove joint shines at joining parallel workpieces.
Making tongue and groove siding.
To begin making tongue and groove boards you first must decide to use either a table saw or a router.
The tongue is analogous to the tenon and is sized to exactly fit into a matching open sided mortise the groove.
A 1x4 tongue groove pattern is going to create a line every 3 inches while a 1x6 creates its line every 5 inches for the same pattern.
For the tongue move the fence forward so that you re cutting away the edges of the board.
Any rubbish under the wood can cause errors in your cuts.
With tongue and groove planks each piece has a side where there is a groove cut along the length of the board and a side where a tongue runs the length of the board.
Installation is easy making it a great product for do it yourselfers.
If you d like to make these slats on your router table i suggest you use a slot cutter for cutting the groove.
Tongue and groove joints can easily be made with a router when using the right bits on a proper router table.
All products are solid wood precision milled and kiln dried.
This will take at least two passes.
The tongue and groove profile uses the method of fitting boards together edge to edge allowing two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to make a single flat surface.
I chose to install my wall with the tongue side facing up and the groove side facing down.
Make sure your routing table is clear of sawdust and other debris.
Your goal is to leave the same amount of material on the tongue board as you cut away on the groove board.
Once the cuts are made put the boards together to get a tongue and groove joint.
Whenever you re making tongue and groove joints the general practice is to start with the groove and then cut a tongue to fit the groove.
Many designers plan other elements around the sight lines created by wood siding patterns.