As a woodwork beginner I really appreciated your relaxed and modest approach. Your simplicity of guidance made me feel welcome to the world of woodworking. Thank you
This is what I like about your channel, you experiment and not everything works first time. I am 67 years old and only started woodworking after retiring I have learned so much from you. Thank you very much.
My way of dealing with it on my commercial FJ plants is to set the cutter height so that flipping a piece after profiling results in a perfect match. Also, not discussed here is that in order to get a strong joint, the length of the fingers needs to be very carefully set so that you can take full advantage of the wedging effect of the two profiles when they are pressed together... The fingers should not "bottom out". They should not be too short that they leave voids on the end of the fingers though. You need to experiment to get it right though it differs with different densities of wood.
Nice video. I liked how you made some cuts and figured out how to correct it. That helps so others don't make the same "mistakes" and to take a little more time to think it through and get it right the first time.
I just bought one of these at a garage sale, from a lady who was selling off her late husbands tools. I've been anxious to try it out. Thanks for or another great video!
- Colin, thanx a million for demoing how to "figger it out." It would be very helpful if the bit companies would give basic 'how to' leaflets on these newer, exotic bits that make terrific complements for wood. Thanx again.
Loving the videos! Would love to see your experience and common-sense approach applied to those of us trying to do woodworking in small shops or garages that need to go back to being garages when done. Keep up the great vids!
Ha! Exact issue I had! I ended up making a couple keys after I nailed it down so I can quickly adjust the bit and match it up. But I think you’ve got a better idea here if I can find the correct thickness material.
hello from France, Switzerland border. In French this is what we call " fer à entures". Check those words on RUclips and you will find some videos, in French for sure but you will understand drawings. That is what we use for example to link several boards to get long boards, before to glue laminate them. We build glue laminated structure up to 25 meters long in my workshop.we won the universal building exhibition in Milano in italy last year, for the French building. This kind of joint add a huge resistance at the end of each boards increasing the surface for glue.
I recently bought a bench that has what i believe to be a maple top. The pieces were joined using finger joints through out the kit. I'n not sure that I'd use this method, but it's worthwhile knowing about. Thanks!
Very good video Colin. Try running two boards threw the bit in the same direction, then turn one over and mesh the two of them together. In a factory where they finger joint off cut blocks together the second block is always tuned over.
When using finger joint bits, raise the cutting bit so the highest tooth's center is flush with the top of your 1st board. For flush joining 2nd boards, lower the bit to the center of the valley between the 1st and second tooth. you should now be cutting flush nicely jointed boards without the need for the plastic.
Jigery pokery! Love that. Also, for the plastic lift, have someone 3d print it. I have several 3d printed pieces of exact thicknesses. They have saved my bacon.
What an excellent way by placing a board to raise the height instead of adjusting the bit! I have this bit but actually I bought it by mistake thinking that it was used in making joints on boxes.. .
I have seen this finger-joint system used to connect and glue beams together. I have them supporting my roof of my house in germany. The carpenter told me that they used to cut this by hand. And is strong as the beam itself
I bought one if these to turn two 8' boards into one 16' board to repair a garage door. Close examination of the original door showed they used finger joints. The bit car said 'just flip it over', but as you discovered that doesn't work. Thanks for providing a solution. Follow-up. After viewing your article, I found I could set my router 5\64th of an inch up to cut the second piece. I also tested moving it 5\32 of an inch down to cut thicker boards, and that worked also. I have to use a router with an edge guide because I can't really run an 8' board with the cut edge against the table fence without making a pretty substantial jig. Since I only have to make two finger joints, the edge guide should work fine.
I used to work with my old man at a timber laminating plant, we used a finger jointer to create the required lengths for the beam work. The joint router was a big old machine with 3 cutting heads on it, 2 of them faced the end of the boards to square it up, then the finger cutter would pass over one board end, scooch over to the other board (there was a board end in either side of the machine) and cut that, the clamps would open, you'd fire the board through and repeat the process. It'd then be passed over to the rammer machine, where the ends are filled with melamine based glue, pressed together (with pneumatic rams, not hydraulic) to the required lengths, cut, then left to cure until the following day, when they get their first dressing through the 4 sider.
This is a useful bit for joining long lengths of wood to make planks or especially wide continuous wood with woods that are generally not available. This goes for wood that is especially varying in widths. The biggest problem with the shim is that, in the way you used it, long cuts won't work. You have to reset the bit height.
These are great for gluing up boards from planks. And with a bit of math they are amazing for reinforcing a mitre joint. And it makes them look really neat. Though given what bits like this cost, I'd say that for the hobbyist it's a better idea to spend the little bit extra and buy a spindle with a set of cutters and bearings. The extra flexibility is so worth it.
in a visitors centre in kent uk there some large structural beams made from short boards Ieach I think of 300 mm in length and 100 mm width and 20/25 mm thick in horse chestnut with fine finger joints end on end these were then lined up vertically side by side with about 10 rows of similar sized boards all with finger joints so beam was about 200/250 mm in width each joint was staggered much like brickwork . then at at least 3 identical sized rows of finger jointed boards of 100 mm width were laid on top in the vertical effectively providing incredibly strong structural beams of 400mm high by 200/250 mm wide and of lengths up to 10 metres bolted or glued to together ??. These beams are curved for architectural purposes. from a distance they look like a single beam cut from a huge tree but really close up you can see the fine finger joints . Absolutely amazing .obviously engineered on an large scale but had me thinking of what one could do with scrap wood and finger joints ...
We use these finger joints where I work. We do long structural beams 60 feet and more depending on the job, and the joints are very strong. Obviously we don't use a router bit like this as our machinery is rather large. The entire finger joint line is about 400 feet long from start to finish.
My friend does edging on hardwood lengths with that bit. He does the whole length, then puts on on a contrasting coloured wood and trims it so you have a striped edge. Looks like plywood made of different coloured wood. Kind of cool looking.
I actually just repaired a futon that that had the long members spliced with this joint. Except it was about 1 in wide interlocked. I'd say its reasonably strong but the wood did separate on the joint exactly. So my initial impression is that it is not as strong as an actual unified piece of wood. As I think about it, it does seem like its essentially endgrain to endgrain since you cut both sides at an angle. Whereas a straight finger joint has smooth sides for a solid gluing surface.
Hey colin, nice video. Really helps out to understand the orientation! I was wondering though would it be possible to set the router bit in such a way that you have the cutting teeth hitting the board on the first pass with the upper bit or lower bit halfway on the board and halfway off the board and then when you flip and run the second board in reverse positioning those two staggered patterns will then be aligned without having to move the height of anything? Just wondering... Thank!!
Lowes sells boards that are made from scraps put together with that cut. They are glued together to form longer, wider boards. My thought is that this can be used in a similar way to build "bricks." If all the pieces are the same length, you can alternate contrasting wood and glue different board you make side-by-side until you have a 'brick wall' look.
To set height of bit - roughly center the bit in test pieces of wood with the same thickness to be joined. then cut 2 pieces of wood on the router table, mark the upside of the wood. flip one piece and insert the fingers with the upside on the right. If the flipped piece on the left is proud, lower the by 1/2 the thickness of the proud if the upside piece on the right is proud, raise the router bit.- cut the ends off the boards and finger cut the 2 pieces. Continue this process until the 2 pieces of wood fit together and are flush with each other. once you have a good cut, measure the height of the bit on the router table using a height gage (preferably in metric)- then write this down on a test sample and keep. You can then use this setting to make future set ups easier. Even if the pieces of wood will not be the same thickness you can mathematically calculate the new target height. Another wrinkle - if you have a thickness plainer - and you are thickness plaining your wood, plane the wood slightly thicker than needed. make your finger joints and glue the fingers together . Then thickness plane both sides to have a perfectly flush piece of wood.
You will find this joint on a lot of hardwood furniture that's bought from furniture stores. Usually its covered over with dark stains and high polish finishes to hid the fact that the wood is hundreds of off cuts. The furniture looks and works fine but i took the finish off an oak table recently and found that the table designed to sit 10 was made from sections of oak no bigger than your test pieces and they were all jointed together with finger joints. Totally agree that there are lots of cool ways you could use those bits though.
the undesirable offset that you experienced on the first couple of tries can be remedied without a piece of plastic to gauge the cut, just by raising or lowering the bit on the end of the wood (adjusting the bit or router motor up or down)... raising the bit slightly will bring the fingers HIGHER on the end grain, and as you are running the second piece of wood thru it UPSIDE DOWN, the fingers on this piece will be LOWER on the end grain, which can easily be seen when its rotated back to the mating position... the trick is to get the bit in the correct spot so that you can mill the ends of BOTH at at the same time, and then when you flip one of them over, it will make a perfect fit..... if you are doing a one off joint, the way you have shown is acceptable, but if you are doing many pieces to make longer material, getting the bit in the right spot so that you can run several ends thru the cutter all at once will make short work of it....
If you mark T for top on one piece and B for bottom on the other. You can tell what way it needs adjusting after you've made the cut. If T is higher then the cutter needs to go up code versa for bottom.
I've seen finger joints in husky bench tops and all over IKEA where there's any hardwood. It seems to make building large panels more cost effective for mass manufacturing
A friend worked at a window manufacturing plant, back when they built the frames out of clear fir. They would finger joint the frame material so there was no waste. They could make them any length, no cut off pieces, basically and endless board.
Great video video.The solution with the piece of acrylic is genious and simple at the same time. Thanks for sharing. This is exactly what I need! Well, not really exactly. The price is far beyond my financial possibilities at this moment. And it has a 1/2" shaft. I need 8 mm (about 1/3"). I wonder what the strengt of such a connection is. The cut outs are rather short. Locally I buy Makita router bits. Just today I ordered a T shape router bit because they did not have it in the store. Next week I'll have a look for a finger-joint router bit.
It's a good example of those bit types. Surprising it did not solve the alignment as perfectly as I had anticipated when you displayed the shim you would use. Were the pieces slightly different thickness?
With the cost of materials skyrocketing during COVID I think I’m gonna try this bit. What if you finger joint narrow boards then stagger the joints to glue up a bigger panel?
Seems like it would be good for edge-joining boards for panels. More surface area for glue, and it would maintain alignment in the glue up similar to biscuits or dowels.
Its a very strong glue joint as the glue suface is 3 or more times the width of the original surface, finger jointing has been used in the furniture buisiness for many many years, as its invisible inside setees and armchairs that uses hardwood for their constuction..
Looks like fun with some interesting design possibilities. How about using a nice piece of hardwood for your push block as well as a setup block. One portion of the needed alignment on each end. Of course, then you would need a box with finger joints to store your setup/push block and fancy router bit in! :~) Love that router table Collin!
I think you should adjust fence so that shank carbide sticks at least a bit. That way it will ensure that all fingers are of exactly same needed length to fit well. I mean why would they be putting expensive carbide on the bit if they are not expecting it to cut?
Yeah, he's messing up the cut every time once the end of the board gets past his fence. He should be using a miter fence and insuring the entire end gets cut, including the "valleys" of the bit.
The information many commenters are asking for, which is the distance Freud's 99-037 bit (used in this video) must be moved up or down in a router table to cut the second (mating) piece, or, alternately, is the thickness of the shim needed to raise the second piece for cutting (without adjusting the bit) is .0804", which is half the pitch (.1608") of the bit's "fingers." Annoyingly, Freud has never updated its documentation for using the bit, either in the bit's packaging or on Freud's website; they both include the incorrect statement that all you have to do is "simply rout one piece face up, and the mating piece face down." Baloney. The only circumstance in which that statement is true is if the thickness of both pieces is exactly equal to any multiple of the pitch (.1608") of the fingers, plus an additional one-half (.0804") of the pitch of the fingers. For example, the material thickness nearest to 3/4" for which that would work (involving, in this example, four fingers) is .7236" (i.e., four times the pitch, plus an additional one-half the pitch: 4 x .1608" + .0804" = .7236"). Other thicknesses for which "first piece face-up, second piece face-down" approach works are .402" (two fingers), .5628" (three fingers), .8844" (five fingers), 1.0452" (six fingers), 1.206" (seven fingers), 1.3668" (all eight fingers), etc. (Yes; none of us measure wood to ten-thousandths of an inch, but the math for determining multiples should be calculated to four places before rounding up or down to more practical dimensions.) Using one of these thicknesses will also allow you to concentrate on adjusting the height of the bit during setup so that your "production" cuts do not create delicate feather-edges instead of robust, full-profile fingers at the top or bottom of the resulting profile.
I was wondering after watching this video after you do the finger joints that you did can you do the same thing side to side. Might be a fun video to find out if you can. I have a project comming up that if possible would solve some problems for me thanks for any imput you might have. AND LIVE THE Channel keep it up Thanks Tom
People are asking how strong.. I have a 96x30x1.75 butcher block slab that I am using for a desk made out of maple. Looks fantastic and is very strong, about to make some shelves that will be over 2ft with this bit.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
As a woodwork beginner I really appreciated your relaxed and modest approach. Your simplicity of guidance made me feel welcome to the world of woodworking. Thank you
You're welcome, Richard! Thanks for watching.
This is what I like about your channel, you experiment and not everything works first time. I am 67 years old and only started woodworking after retiring I have learned so much from you. Thank you very much.
Neil Dunbar it's never to late. I'm in my 30s and thought it was too late.
Az1 13 2222
como diz o ditado, vivendo e aprendendo, nunca é tarde para o saber.
Exactly the same applies to me Neil Dunbar!
My way of dealing with it on my commercial FJ plants is to set the cutter height so that flipping a piece after profiling results in a perfect match. Also, not discussed here is that in order to get a strong joint, the length of the fingers needs to be very carefully set so that you can take full advantage of the wedging effect of the two profiles when they are pressed together... The fingers should not "bottom out". They should not be too short that they leave voids on the end of the fingers though. You need to experiment to get it right though it differs with different densities of wood.
I really enjoyed learning about this bit with you Colin. Thank you for the great video.
You're welcome, Mark!
Nice video. I liked how you made some cuts and figured out how to correct it. That helps so others don't make the same "mistakes" and to take a little more time to think it through and get it right the first time.
The Bob Ross of woodworking videos! Another great one. Thanks!
You're welcome, Bruce! Thanks for watching.
Thankyou you have solved the problem I was having when I was using the finger joint bit
Raise the bit half the distance and leave the plastic for the ocean. Thanks for the great demonstration.
I just bought one of these at a garage sale, from a lady who was selling off her late husbands tools. I've been anxious to try it out. Thanks for or another great video!
Probably suggested long ago, but I’ll add my tuppence. I’ve seen this joint on bread boards and chopping boards, very elegant. Great job as usual.
- Colin, thanx a million for demoing how to "figger it out." It would be very helpful if the bit companies would give basic 'how to' leaflets on these newer, exotic bits that make terrific complements for wood. Thanx again.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching.
Great video Colin & I like the way you get your viewers involved in "learning together". Keep up the good work that you always do..................
I'm glad you like it Steve ... thanks for watching!
Sounds good. Great video. If I can find one I will give it a try.
Thanks for this video, you have solved my problem. You are a wonderful craftsman
Loving the videos! Would love to see your experience and common-sense approach applied to those of us trying to do woodworking in small shops or garages that need to go back to being garages when done. Keep up the great vids!
Collin Knecht is teaching us how to connect boards lengthwise. This is priceless.
Hello Mr. Knecht
Thanks for great tips.
I learn a lot from them. Thank you
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Excellent video Paul. Very interesting.
Ha! Exact issue I had! I ended up making a couple keys after I nailed it down so I can quickly adjust the bit and match it up. But I think you’ve got a better idea here if I can find the correct thickness material.
hello from France, Switzerland border. In French this is what we call " fer à entures". Check those words on RUclips and you will find some videos, in French for sure but you will understand drawings. That is what we use for example to link several boards to get long boards, before to glue laminate them. We build glue laminated structure up to 25 meters long in my workshop.we won the universal building exhibition in Milano in italy last year, for the French building. This kind of joint add a huge resistance at the end of each boards increasing the surface for glue.
I recently bought a bench that has what i believe to be a maple top. The pieces were joined using finger joints through out the kit. I'n not sure that I'd use this method, but it's worthwhile knowing about. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this video with us, I appreciate such i now learned that there was A Router cutter. To do finger joint on wood
Always wondered how to use those bits. Thanks for showing how it worked...
Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas and talent keep up the great work.
Jiggery pokery. The most important tool in the tool box!
Great explanation really helped me!!
Very good video Colin. Try running two boards threw the bit in the same direction, then turn one over and mesh the two of them together. In a factory where they finger joint off cut blocks together the second block is always tuned over.
I'll give that a try Ray! Thanks for watching!
When using finger joint bits, raise the cutting bit so the highest tooth's center is flush with the top of your 1st board. For flush joining 2nd boards, lower the bit to the center of the valley between the 1st and second tooth. you should now be cutting flush nicely jointed boards without the need for the plastic.
You stole my thunder LOL I was going to say that.I have the adjustable one from Lee Valley
MrFunkapotamus was gonna suggest something similar but not so many words.lol Great minds think a like;)
Seems to me that Colin's method is faster and requires a lot less fidgeting. Even with a router lift Collin's method is more repeatable.
repeatable yes, but his cuts will always be wrong unless he sets the bit height correctly for the first pass.
MrFunk - I don't see how that is a problem so long as he uses a shim that is 1/2 the cutting tooth's width and is consistent.
Thanks. I think a setup block that is the correct offset would work perfectly with the depth stop on a plunge router to do this.
Jigery pokery! Love that. Also, for the plastic lift, have someone 3d print it. I have several 3d printed pieces of exact thicknesses. They have saved my bacon.
As always, very informative and interesting. Thanks Colin and G'day from Australia!
You're welcome and thanks for watching Robert!
What an excellent way by placing a board to raise the height instead of adjusting the bit! I have this bit but actually I bought it by mistake thinking that it was used in making joints on boxes.. .
Thanks for watching Kim!
I have seen this finger-joint system used to connect and glue beams together. I have them supporting my roof of my house in germany. The carpenter told me that they used to cut this by hand. And is strong as the beam itself
I bought one if these to turn two 8' boards into one 16' board to repair a garage door. Close examination of the original door showed they used finger joints. The bit car said 'just flip it over', but as you discovered that doesn't work. Thanks for providing a solution.
Follow-up. After viewing your article, I found I could set my router 5\64th of an inch up to cut the second piece. I also tested moving it 5\32 of an inch down to cut thicker boards, and that worked also. I have to use a router with an edge guide because I can't really run an 8' board with the cut edge against the table fence without making a pretty substantial jig. Since I only have to make two finger joints, the edge guide should work fine.
THANK YOUUUUU I was confused on how I can make those cuts 😅
I used to work with my old man at a timber laminating plant, we used a finger jointer to create the required lengths for the beam work. The joint router was a big old machine with 3 cutting heads on it, 2 of them faced the end of the boards to square it up, then the finger cutter would pass over one board end, scooch over to the other board (there was a board end in either side of the machine) and cut that, the clamps would open, you'd fire the board through and repeat the process. It'd then be passed over to the rammer machine, where the ends are filled with melamine based glue, pressed together (with pneumatic rams, not hydraulic) to the required lengths, cut, then left to cure until the following day, when they get their first dressing through the 4 sider.
Yea the whole time I was thinking GlueLam beams
Thanks Colin. I've wondering if I should get that bit and you have answered a few of my questions
I'm glad I could be of help. Thanks for watching!
This is a useful bit for joining long lengths of wood to make planks or especially wide continuous wood with woods that are generally not available. This goes for wood that is especially varying in widths.
The biggest problem with the shim is that, in the way you used it, long cuts won't work. You have to reset the bit height.
These are great for gluing up boards from planks. And with a bit of math they are amazing for reinforcing a mitre joint. And it makes them look really neat.
Though given what bits like this cost, I'd say that for the hobbyist it's a better idea to spend the little bit extra and buy a spindle with a set of cutters and bearings. The extra flexibility is so worth it.
Not sure if you woodturn but making segments with that would make them really strong and look great.
Thanks Colin !
Another informative video.
I always learn something when watching your channel
in a visitors centre in kent uk there some large structural beams made from short boards Ieach I think of 300 mm in length and 100 mm width and 20/25 mm thick in horse chestnut with fine finger joints end on end these were then lined up vertically side by side with about 10 rows of similar sized boards all with finger joints so beam was about 200/250 mm in width each joint was staggered much like brickwork . then at at least 3 identical sized rows of finger jointed boards of 100 mm width were laid on top in the vertical effectively providing incredibly strong structural beams of 400mm high by 200/250 mm wide and of lengths up to 10 metres bolted or glued to together ??. These beams are curved for architectural purposes. from a distance they look like a single beam cut from a huge tree but really close up you can see the fine finger joints . Absolutely amazing .obviously engineered on an large scale but had me thinking of what one could do with scrap wood and finger joints ...
We use these finger joints where I work. We do long structural beams 60 feet and more depending on the job, and the joints are very strong. Obviously we don't use a router bit like this as our machinery is rather large. The entire finger joint line is about 400 feet long from start to finish.
Great video. Thank for sharing.
Here a suggestion I do: after cutting the first board, lift the bit sitting so the board fingers touch the bit fingers then it will match perfectly. 😊
My friend does edging on hardwood lengths with that bit. He does the whole length, then puts on on a contrasting coloured wood and trims it so you have a striped edge. Looks like plywood made of different coloured wood. Kind of cool looking.
That's a great idea! Thanks for watching!
I actually just repaired a futon that that had the long members spliced with this joint. Except it was about 1 in wide interlocked. I'd say its reasonably strong but the wood did separate on the joint exactly. So my initial impression is that it is not as strong as an actual unified piece of wood. As I think about it, it does seem like its essentially endgrain to endgrain since you cut both sides at an angle. Whereas a straight finger joint has smooth sides for a solid gluing surface.
Hey colin, nice video. Really helps out to understand the orientation!
I was wondering though would it be possible to set the router bit in such a way that you have the cutting teeth hitting the board on the first pass with the upper bit or lower bit halfway on the board and halfway off the board and then when you flip and run the second board in reverse positioning those two staggered patterns will then be aligned without having to move the height of anything? Just wondering... Thank!!
Nice bit I like the idea of cutting boards.
As always great video, I love the way you explain things, just revisiting your videos you gave a talent, God bless you!
Nice work man
As always Colin...thanks you 4 another brillant video!!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching.
awesome video... ..carpenter from malaysia..
Thank You!
Lowes sells boards that are made from scraps put together with that cut. They are glued together to form longer, wider boards.
My thought is that this can be used in a similar way to build "bricks." If all the pieces are the same length, you can alternate contrasting wood and glue different board you make side-by-side until you have a 'brick wall' look.
Thanks it was very helpful
To set height of bit - roughly center the bit in test pieces of wood with the same thickness to be joined. then cut 2 pieces of wood on the router table, mark the upside of the wood. flip one piece and insert the fingers with the upside on the right. If the flipped piece on the left is proud, lower the by 1/2 the thickness of the proud if the upside piece on the right is proud, raise the router bit.- cut the ends off the boards and finger cut the 2 pieces. Continue this process until the 2 pieces of wood fit together and are flush with each other.
once you have a good cut, measure the height of the bit on the router table using a height gage (preferably in metric)- then write this down on a test sample and keep. You can then use this setting to make future set ups easier. Even if the pieces of wood will not be the same thickness you can mathematically calculate the new target height.
Another wrinkle - if you have a thickness plainer - and you are thickness plaining your wood, plane the wood slightly thicker than needed. make your finger joints and glue the fingers together . Then thickness plane both sides to have a perfectly flush piece of wood.
great! I learned something, thanks
thanks - held of buying one, but will now
Thanks, I just spent $100 on a CMT bit and thought I was going crazy
Making me want to take out my finger joint bit and try it again!
Awesome you just corrected it wonderful
I think it can be used for flat piece glue ups (cutting boards, etc.) To extend material and create variety and design
You will find this joint on a lot of hardwood furniture that's bought from furniture stores. Usually its covered over with dark stains and high polish finishes to hid the fact that the wood is hundreds of off cuts. The furniture looks and works fine but i took the finish off an oak table recently and found that the table designed to sit 10 was made from sections of oak no bigger than your test pieces and they were all jointed together with finger joints. Totally agree that there are lots of cool ways you could use those bits though.
Interesting! I've never seen that before ... but I also don't look at much new furniture. I've keep an eye out for this now!
NEW SUBSCRIBER - Thanks for great content! What brand/model router table?
Очень приятно видеть людей увлеченых любимым делом.
the undesirable offset that you experienced on the first couple of tries can be remedied without a piece of plastic to gauge the cut, just by raising or lowering the bit on the end of the wood (adjusting the bit or router motor up or down)... raising the bit slightly will bring the fingers HIGHER on the end grain, and as you are running the second piece of wood thru it UPSIDE DOWN, the fingers on this piece will be LOWER on the end grain, which can easily be seen when its rotated back to the mating position... the trick is to get the bit in the correct spot so that you can mill the ends of BOTH at at the same time, and then when you flip one of them over, it will make a perfect fit..... if you are doing a one off joint, the way you have shown is acceptable, but if you are doing many pieces to make longer material, getting the bit in the right spot so that you can run several ends thru the cutter all at once will make short work of it....
THIS is the real " Board Stretcher". The one every newby is sent to find at the job site. Right? LOL.
IKEA makes whole panels with this. They are very strong and stable when glued in a staggering way.
I work for a large hardware company. I've seen finger joints used in a lot of the trim we get. Quarter Round and Base trim to name a few.
Qué gran enseñanza maestro 👍
If you mark T for top on one piece and B for bottom on the other. You can tell what way it needs adjusting after you've made the cut. If T is higher then the cutter needs to go up code versa for bottom.
I've seen finger joints in husky bench tops and all over IKEA where there's any hardwood. It seems to make building large panels more cost effective for mass manufacturing
A friend worked at a window manufacturing plant, back when they built the frames out of clear fir. They would finger joint the frame material so there was no waste. They could make them any length, no cut off pieces, basically and endless board.
Can we do that on the long?
Is thumbs up , agree or you want to know too? Lol
congratulations really very good
That’s a tricky one Colin👍
Thanks for watching!
I like it I like it,, learning more every day,,,,,
Or you're like me and you work with pallet wood and want to make a table...
Very nice video Colin, thank you very much for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Amazing bit of kit!
Might be good for joining boards edge to edge to increase the surface ofnthe joint
Great video video.The solution with the piece of acrylic is genious and simple at the same time.
Thanks for sharing. This is exactly what I need! Well, not really exactly. The price is far beyond my financial possibilities at this moment.
And it has a 1/2" shaft. I need 8 mm (about 1/3"). I wonder what the strengt of such a connection is. The cut outs are rather short.
Locally I buy Makita router bits. Just today I ordered a T shape router bit because they did not have it in the store. Next week I'll have a look for a finger-joint router bit.
Hope it comes in handy for ya. Thanks for watching, once again !!!
It's a good example of those bit types. Surprising it did not solve the alignment as perfectly as I had anticipated when you displayed the shim you would use. Were the pieces slightly different thickness?
With the cost of materials skyrocketing during COVID I think I’m gonna try this bit. What if you finger joint narrow boards then stagger the joints to glue up a bigger panel?
very nice job
Thanks you!
Something new! Thank you.
You're Welcome!
Seems like it would be good for edge-joining boards for panels. More surface area for glue, and it would maintain alignment in the glue up similar to biscuits or dowels.
Yes, I plan todo more test with it soon! Thanks for watching!
Its a very strong glue joint as the glue suface is 3 or more times the width of the original surface, finger jointing has been used in the furniture buisiness for many many years, as its invisible inside setees and armchairs that uses hardwood for their constuction..
Colin it really makes my day to watch you, I love it because,,’you are fallible’,,Just like me,! 👍👍👏🏻👏🏻🇬🇧
I make mistakes all day long David, no worries! Thanks for watching!
Looks like fun with some interesting design possibilities. How about using a nice piece of hardwood for your push block as well as a setup block. One portion of the needed alignment on each end.
Of course, then you would need a box with finger joints to store your setup/push block and fancy router bit in! :~)
Love that router table Collin!
I love this video.
Can this be made somehow into a box joint? Instead of dovetails, finger joints?
I think you should adjust fence so that shank carbide sticks at least a bit. That way it will ensure that all fingers are of exactly same needed length to fit well. I mean why would they be putting expensive carbide on the bit if they are not expecting it to cut?
Yeah, he's messing up the cut every time once the end of the board gets past his fence. He should be using a miter fence and insuring the entire end gets cut, including the "valleys" of the bit.
The information many commenters are asking for, which is the distance Freud's 99-037 bit (used in this video) must be moved up or down in a router table to cut the second (mating) piece, or, alternately, is the thickness of the shim needed to raise the second piece for cutting (without adjusting the bit) is .0804", which is half the pitch (.1608") of the bit's "fingers." Annoyingly, Freud has never updated its documentation for using the bit, either in the bit's packaging or on Freud's website; they both include the incorrect statement that all you have to do is "simply rout one piece face up, and the mating piece face down." Baloney. The only circumstance in which that statement is true is if the thickness of both pieces is exactly equal to any multiple of the pitch (.1608") of the fingers, plus an additional one-half (.0804") of the pitch of the fingers. For example, the material thickness nearest to 3/4" for which that would work (involving, in this example, four fingers) is .7236" (i.e., four times the pitch, plus an additional one-half the pitch: 4 x .1608" + .0804" = .7236"). Other thicknesses for which "first piece face-up, second piece face-down" approach works are .402" (two fingers), .5628" (three fingers), .8844" (five fingers), 1.0452" (six fingers), 1.206" (seven fingers), 1.3668" (all eight fingers), etc. (Yes; none of us measure wood to ten-thousandths of an inch, but the math for determining multiples should be calculated to four places before rounding up or down to more practical dimensions.) Using one of these thicknesses will also allow you to concentrate on adjusting the height of the bit during setup so that your "production" cuts do not create delicate feather-edges instead of robust, full-profile fingers at the top or bottom of the resulting profile.
I was wondering after watching this video after you do the finger joints that you did can you do the same thing side to side. Might be a fun video to find out if you can. I have a project comming up that if possible would solve some problems for me thanks for any imput you might have. AND LIVE THE Channel keep it up Thanks Tom
Nice!!!🤝🤝🤝from indonesia
U nd to adjust the router half the distance of the discrepancy. Glue joint bits are the same.
great board strecher!
Yes!
People are asking how strong.. I have a 96x30x1.75 butcher block slab that I am using for a desk made out of maple. Looks fantastic and is very strong, about to make some shelves that will be over 2ft with this bit.
i'm now wondering if you could use that to make a 45 degree mitre
How about edging with hard wood to cover up the plywood edges?
Thanks a great idea! Thanks for sharing it!
How's about experimenting with a corner joint
Thanks for information how to make finger joints