3mm groove?

[Steve Bullman]

i need to get some nice straight lenths of hazel to make a frame for a sign. the sign is 3mm thick and so on a 1" diameter length of hazel i am going to need a 1/2" deep 3mm groove cut along the length of it. whno would i be best going to for something like this? and how thick is a circular saw blade?

[Stephen Blair]

i would take your sticks to justins steve, rob d will be there and hopefully someone will answer this and bring a gadget with them

[Steve Bullman]

need them before then...well actually i need them for the show itself

[Stephen Blair]

it will be a nightmare trying to put a groove on a stick mate, well it would be for me because i am hopeless with that kind of stuff. do you have some nice thick bits of hazel?cold you split them completely then glue it back together and sandwich it together, i know a carpenter will read this post and shout NO NO NO!!but its justa thought

[Steve Bullman]

if i had to go to those lengths i probably wouldnt bother mate.

[Stephen Blair]

what are the sizes mate?its a shame my old man is on holiday, he is good at his kind of thing, he has routers and woodturning gadgets, ha even has something for making grooves for window sills in his workshop. a joiner would be your best bet if no one on here can do it

[Yve_Clark]

Would a picture framer be worth talking to? They have all sorts of routers etc............

[Rob D]

I can imagine that you are going to have the pieces of hazel as a border for a sign. The best way I think would be to use a table saw with a retractable blade so you can control how far the grove is onto the wood... these would only leave a 3mm or so groove...

 

I have a table saw but virtually zero proper carpentry skills! But someone you know nearby must have one - it would only have to be a DIY type one.

[shillo]

my circular saw blade is 2.5mm not sure if you can get different widths, but that would involve spending money on a new blade, i do have a 3mm router bit but trying to route a groove accurately in a round uneven stick is going to be tricky especially if you need all your fingers, a chippy with a table saw would be your best bet, if i had to do it i would clamp the stick in a workmate with the stick flush with the surface of the workmate then clamp a straight edge parallel to the stick to act as a guide for the router.

 

good luck

[tommer9]

Steve- get your hazel rods and plane one edge flat. That will be the edge that you groove. This means you will want thicker rods. Not a problem, as you will want thicker ones anyway as if they are too fine it will look weird. Once you have planed the straight edge then get the groove put in with a table saw or router table. You will have to do it like this as you will only have one straight edge(the one you planed). If you take your sticks to a joinery workshop they will be able to do it all for you in about half an hour. Sliding table saws have pretty thick saw blades, but a router in a table wouold be ideal. The only problem with it all is that for a circular saw or router to give a straight groove the wood has to be run along a fence parallel to the directin of cut. Using a hazel spar and only planing one face will not give you a straight edge to run along the guide fence though......so you will need to plane a second straight edge, detracting from the effect that you are trying to achieve. Perhaps if you framed the sign in a standard wooden frame and then attached a half round piece of hazel to the front face (pu glue or tacks etc) you would achieve the effect you are after. Hope that some use.