I've seen suggestions in WW magazines suggesting that to cut the groove for
an interlocking joint, it's appropriate to use a dado blade, then a spacer,
then a regular blade. Raise the dado blade up high enough to make the
groove as deep as you want it, have the spacer set for the distance you want
the dado cut from the edge of the board, and you can groove and cut with one
operation. I don't see that what you're proposing is any more difficult
than that. And I'm imagining that most of these magazines are litigation
sensitive enough that they're cautious about suggesting stupid things, but
I'm sure it happens on occasion.

But for something that's only 1/32 of an inch deep, can you almost scratch
that in with something sharp? I'm thinking even laying the board down on
the ground, sharpen up a metal lawn rake, and have at it. May not be
pretty, but you'll rough it up nicely!

BTW, what does a bat house look like? I've heard of them, and thought
they'd be kind of cool to have around (got lots of skeeters up here, and the
kids would be impressed), but never dug into it any further. I know, I
could DAGS, but since I threw in my $0.02, I thought I'd try to get some
value from it!

Clint


"Toller" wrote in message
news
I am building some bat houses, and they need rough wood so the bats can
hold on to it. It is suggested to run a series of 1/32" deep cuts with a
saw, going both ways, but that will take forever.

I was thinking of having the outside blade, a 1/4" spacer, a chipper, a
1/4" spacer, and the other outside blade; so I am cutting three cuts at
once. It will still be work, but only one third as much.

Any reason this will make the dado set explode, or anything else
undesirable.
Any better suggestions for roughing up wood?