A little later than planned or as promised but here is a series of pictures showing the arrangement that I have come up with for cutting the notches in the teak grating that I have been making. Although it is not all that elegant it does get the job done and seems to work fairly well.
A you can see I made a jig from a couple of sections of scrap three quarter inch ply wood into which is cut a slot which is exactly the same width as the notch that I required in the grating.
Off set to one side is another section of wood glued and pinned in position which slots onto the the groove already cut and thus gives the correct spacing.
To prevent breakout it is essential to back up the cut on both sides. On side is supported by a back fence screwed and glued to the template and the front is supported by another scrap of wood which is simply held in place as the strip is cut. Finger pressure is sufficient but obviously keep your hands away from the cutter.
In this shot I am holding the bearing guided cutter to illustrate how the whole system works. Of course normally the cutter would be held in an inverted router on a table and I used the one that I made some time ago.
The job is noisy and very dusty so ear defenders, safety glasses and a dust mask are essential. Use a sharp carbide tipped cutter, teak is very abrasive and will dull a HSS steel cutter in no time at all.
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