The third of our scrap wood projects is, again, super easy with the right equipment. In this case, a table saw with a dado blade. The slick thing about our design is that it only takes 2 setups to get all the fancy dados cut. If you’re new to using dado blades, this project is the perfect way to get in some practice. Plus, the resulting trivets will make lovely gifts this holiday season. But enough of the yammering; let’s get to it.
The supplies we used for this project include:
- a table saw with a fence
- dado blades
- 180 grit sand paper
- a scrap of 1″ thick oak bigger than 8″ x 8″ square
- measuring tool
Step 1: Cut that scrap wood to 8″ square EXACTLY.
Step 2: Set up the WIDTH of your dado blades to 1/2″ EXACTLY.
Step 3: Set the DEPTH of your dado blades to 1/4″.
Step 4: Set up your table saw’s fence to 1 and 3/16″ EXACTLY.
Step 5: Pick a ‘top’ to your future trivet and run the board through to plow a channel.
Step 6+: Give your trivet 1/4 turn and run it through again. Do this 2 MORE TIMES.
When you’re done with all four cuts, your trivet should look like this:
Step 7: Set up your table saw’s fence to 2 and 7/8″ EXACTLY.
Step 8: Repeat steps 5 though 6+.
When you’re done with step 8, this is what your trivet will look like:
Step 9: Hand sand and hand sand some more. Take your time, go gently, smooth everything out (including all sides of the channels), and take down all the sharp edges and corners.
Done: Total time from construction to sanding to putting the trivet to use took about 1 1/2 hours, the bulk of which was sanding.
Now, go forth and dado, my children.