Cutting Dados
Dados are grooves cut into wood that is used as paneling. The panel is typically used to make a decorative look to a wall in a room. For instance, when a wall in a room is painted or wallpapered on the top half and the bottom half has paneling, then there will be dados in the paneling. The panel cut is rectangular on the side of one board so that another board can fit into it at an angle. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Have the right equipment. You can use a router or a table saw, depending on the amount of room you have to cut the dados. If you have limited space, it is best to use a hand-held router. You can clamp down on the wood and move the machinery instead of using a table saw, which requires you to move the wood (see Resources below). Each piece of wood would be about 30 inches long.
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Make test cuts. Have several pieces of plywood to test how deep you will cut your dado. Using a table saw will differ from using a router with its adjustments. Become familiar with the tool you are using. For example, the router will not be able to be adjusted and it relies on you measuring correctly, whereas the table saw can be adjusted to the inches and angles you want.
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Determine the thickness you want for your plywood. How thick you want the paneling to be and how far you want it to stick out from the wall will determine how thick you will want your wood. It is recommended for the best appearance to go with 1/4-inch thickness.
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Decide on the depth of the dado. You can choose to have the dado 1/3 or 1/2 inches deep. The deeper the groove, the higher the risk of a weak spot in the panel breaking. Once you choose the depth, adjust the table saw to cut that deep in each panel of wood. Be sure to cut at an angle so that the next piece of wood will be able to fit tightly into it.
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Place each piece of wood into dados. The first panel will need to be nailed into the wall, leaving the dado available to place the next piece of paneling into it. Continue this process until the wall is finished.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to wear protective gear in order to protect yourself from wood chips flying up or back and hitting you. Be sure to wear goggles, a rubber apron and gloves.
