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I’m making a large octagonal chandelier for a family member. It’s about 5’ across, and each side is a piece about 24” x 4” x 3”. I’m joining them with a finger joint. Here’s a previous thread about the project with a rough sketch: https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f9/wagon-wheel-light-fixture-218085/
Here are photos of a test piece I did this weekend; it took all day Sunday. I have to do eight of these joints.
My stationary tools are limited to a compound miter saw with a 18” crosscut capacity, and a shop-made router table with (almost) parallel tracks and a massive fence. I have plenty of hand tools.
I’ve got a workable jig for the mortise.
The mortise on the test piece was labor intensive, because I’m removing a lot of material and it takes a lot of cuts. But it came out very clean and precise, and I’ll be able to replicate the mortise exactly the same on each piece.
For the tenon, I can rough the joint fairly easily on the miter saw (though the rip cuts are very hard on the saw).
But I’m struggling to clean it up with precision and repeatability.
Part of the problem is that the router table is narrow, and the large workpieces hang off the edge, making them hard to stabilize. I think I’ll need to make a sturdy sled, but in these days of quarantine I’m working with limited materials available in the shop. I don’t have any material to make sled rails for the tracks in the router table. I was trying to use the fence as a guide, rather than the tracks, but cant find a good way to make that work.
Ideas? Suggestions?
(Edit: thanks to Gmercer for fixing the photo orientation!)
Here are photos of a test piece I did this weekend; it took all day Sunday. I have to do eight of these joints.
My stationary tools are limited to a compound miter saw with a 18” crosscut capacity, and a shop-made router table with (almost) parallel tracks and a massive fence. I have plenty of hand tools.
I’ve got a workable jig for the mortise.

The mortise on the test piece was labor intensive, because I’m removing a lot of material and it takes a lot of cuts. But it came out very clean and precise, and I’ll be able to replicate the mortise exactly the same on each piece.
For the tenon, I can rough the joint fairly easily on the miter saw (though the rip cuts are very hard on the saw).

But I’m struggling to clean it up with precision and repeatability.
Part of the problem is that the router table is narrow, and the large workpieces hang off the edge, making them hard to stabilize. I think I’ll need to make a sturdy sled, but in these days of quarantine I’m working with limited materials available in the shop. I don’t have any material to make sled rails for the tracks in the router table. I was trying to use the fence as a guide, rather than the tracks, but cant find a good way to make that work.
Ideas? Suggestions?
(Edit: thanks to Gmercer for fixing the photo orientation!)
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