You don't necessarily need to lower the board onto the blade. You could also raise the dado stack up into the board. You'd just need to know how deep to go ahead of time.

 

If it was me doing it, I would use my router taking light passes until you get to your desired depth.

 

I'm not a fan of cutting stopped grooves/dadoes on a table saw. I would definitely opt for the router. Yeah, it'll take longer and make a mess but it won't take that long or be that messy

 

No way would I make stopped grooves with the table saw. However you could make a through dado and then fill the ends with matching wood. It would not be invisible, but light fixtures are up high enough that they don't invite careful scrutiny.

 

Yeah, I'm probably going with the router but was interested in other ideas or if I'm missing a thought process. The router can take a bit, but it can be therapeutic to some degree as well…

Bondo, I agree on them typically being up high enough and not getting much scrutiny - but I failed to mention this is going in MY kitchen, so I'll know that I could have done it a different way that would have been invisible.

 

If I'm reading your post correctly, you want the cavity 1" wide by 6" deep? An 8" dado stack won't give you that kind of depth; max of around 3" or so. I'm also not sure where you would get a router and/or bit that will give you 6" cut depth.

Do you have a band saw? I'd give some thought to resawing the board in half (cutting along the 2" dimension), laying the halves down, and using a router to take out the 1/2" of material you would want to remove from each side. Then, glue the two halves back together to make your box.

When you resaw the boards may move, but I would think when you re-glue them you should be able to straighten out.

Another option may be to use an drill bit (auger, spade…) that will give you 6" reach and drill deep holes where you need them. You can then use a router to cut a recess the 5' length at a depth that will hide the wires; probably wouldn't need more than an inch or so.

 

If I m reading your post correctly, you want the cavity 1" wide by 6" deep? An 8" dado stack won t give you that kind of depth; max of around 3" or so. I m also not sure where you would get a router and/or bit that will give you 6" cut depth.

Do you have a band saw? I d give some thought to resawing the board in half (cutting along the 2" dimension), laying the halves down, and using a router to take out the 1/2" of material you would want to remove from each side. Then, glue the two halves back together to make your box.

When you resaw the boards may move, but I would think when you re-glue them you should be able to straighten out.

Another option may be to use an drill bit (auger, spade…) that will give you 6" reach and drill deep holes where you need them. You can then use a router to cut a recess the 5 length at a depth that will hide the wires; probably wouldn t need more than an inch or so.

- jmos

John, it's the other way around… 1" deep by 6" wide… So shallow, but wide and long.

 

If I m reading your post correctly, you want the cavity 1" wide by 6" deep? An 8" dado stack won t give you that kind of depth; max of around 3" or so. I m also not sure where you would get a router and/or bit that will give you 6" cut depth.

Do you have a band saw? I d give some thought to resawing the board in half (cutting along the 2" dimension), laying the halves down, and using a router to take out the 1/2" of material you would want to remove from each side. Then, glue the two halves back together to make your box.

When you resaw the boards may move, but I would think when you re-glue them you should be able to straighten out.

Another option may be to use an drill bit (auger, spade…) that will give you 6" reach and drill deep holes where you need them. You can then use a router to cut a recess the 5 length at a depth that will hide the wires; probably wouldn t need more than an inch or so.

- jmos

John, it s the other way around… 1" deep by 6" wide… So shallow, but wide and long.

- BFamous

 

I'd personally do stopped dados. That is if you've got a helper or an outfeed table that provides support. I've done them many times, just plan the work.
Another option could be to just frame around a 2×6 with some 1" thick material to make the box??

 

Along the lines of what jmos/John said, I'd be inclined to do it similarly to how you make a bandsaw box. Cut out the section that you want hollowed out, then flip that piece & cut it down to the correct width - glue it back up & you'll never see the seam.

 

Doing like a (very large) bandsaw box is an intriguing idea.

 

Why not build it out of 3/4" stock with mitered corners. Then you won't have end grain showing.

 

Why not build it out of 3/4" stock with mitered corners. Then you won t have end grain showing.

- summerfi

I had considered this, but I have what I consider a pretty neat piece of old barn wood that I'm intending to use. So it's more about the specific piece of wood than just the desired look.

 

I seriously question how you will mount the wood as a light fixture. If the light source is behind the wood, there would be some spacing to allow the light out. A 6 ft. oak board will be heavy, even with a 1" x 6" section removed. I would not mount that much weight to a standard electrical box.

 

I seriously question how you will mount the wood as a light fixture. If the light source is behind the wood, there would be some spacing to allow the light out. A 6 ft. oak board will be heavy, even with a 1" x 6" section removed. I would not mount that much weight to a standard electrical box.

- Phil32

Phil, I'm mounting it the same way I'd mount false beams of a coffered ceiling… I'm going to screw two 1"x1"x5' runners directly to the ceiling joists, running parallel to each other 4" apart (outside width would equal the inside width of my hollowed space). Then I'll place the board over those runners and screw it into them horizontally through the sides using finish screws, countersunk, so they are as least visible as possible.
I'll have 3 pendant lights suspended from the board, with their cords going into the singular electrical box (actually, I'm consulting with my electrician neighbor for the best way to do the connections from a code perspective. But that's not important from a weight perspective).
There actually be no weight placed on the electrical box itself. All of the weight will be placed on the runners and handled by the screws going into the ceiling joists (which my houses are actually 12" on center, so I should be hitting at least 4 of them per runner)

 

You are hogging out a lot of nice wood. Instead, I would save that piece of wood for another project and build up the profile you want using dimensioned lumber.