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View Full Version : Stepped miter joints



davidallen
11-05-2001, 09:50 AM
anyone tried the stepped miter joint that was shown at B.P.'s camp shopbot? I've tried several but success seems to either be dependent on the wood or I've got a variable error in X/Z alignment.

my first attempts were with an upcut bit in some scrap Catalpa. seemed to work fine so I tried to make a box from some pine. got a lot of 'fuzzies' on the steps. switched to a down cut bit and the fuzzies went away, but the steps don't align across the joint. if I line up the steps on the inside of the joint, the outside step is off by a good 0.010".

I'm wondering if the compression of wood fibers by the down cut bit would be sufficient to cause this error. I've checked calibration on the X and Z axis and over several inches, they appear to be accurate.

the only other issue I can think of is the accuracy of the X axis in small steps (.125"). I've noticed that when I'm trying to align a bit, that movements of 0.005" may or may not make a noticeable movement in the carriage. generally that's not a concern, but if I'm only moving 0.12" when I should be moving 0.125", over several steps that could add up to the error I'm seeing.

da