# Newbie Question: Need help with cope and stick profile problem.



## RickDel (Jul 7, 2010)

Hello, I'm a newbie and trying to dial in a cope and stick profile but running into a problem I can't identify. The beginning of the cut looks pretty good to me, but the end of the board comes out uneven. I'm using a cheap Bosch table and it seems square and flat, so can anyone offer advice??? The test piece I cut is an 18" board and the cut is uneven by almost 1/32 of an inch at the end. 

** I didn't even realize I hadn't used the plastic ring insert (throat plate) until I looked at my picture, but I don't think this is the problem. 

















This didn't look that uneven live. That gap is less than a mm and I'm pretty sure I readjusted and got it perfect before the test piece, but again, I don't think this is the problem either. 


















I didn't use a backer board, but I actually broke the profile after the cut. It didn't come out with the gap on the outfeed side. You can see how off this 18" board looks. The start is pretty dead on, but the outfeed side is almost 1/32nds off each way. 


















This is another test cut, but on a much shorter board so it's not as noticeable. 


















Any advice is greatly appreciated!! - Rick


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

You really need the throat plate to keep the wood flat on the table. The unevenness of the joint might be due to the lack of the throat plate however you likely need to adjust the height of your coping to match your sticking. The chipout in the sixth picture just like you ran it too fast. The coping should be run on the end of the board and you need some kind of jig to cope the ends. I don't know if your router table has a miter slot but you need a board behind it. I do coping and sticking on a shaper and my shaper doesn't have a miter slot. I built a shaper sled to do coping with which has a toggle clamp to hold the work down.


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## RickDel (Jul 7, 2010)

Steve, thanks. I agree I need to run it again with the throat plate, but do you really think that could cause the unevenness? Do you think that if it dipped slightly at the beginning it would continue to climb through the cut. It was a long board and seemed to stay level throughout the cut. Plus, I used even pressure in the center of the board, not the very beginning to force it into the throat opening. So, it just don't seem like that would effect it (but this is my first try and I'll admit I know VERY little). 

Also, that was not tear out in picture #6. I physically broke that being careless fitting it together multiple times AFTER I made the profile. 

Lastly, I realize the cope needs to be on the end and I actually bought an infinity coping jig (still not sure I needed such an expensive one) but I was just making test pieces. I assume that if I can fit a good profile on two long test pieces, then I should be able to easily get a good fit on the end grain. 

Thanks.


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## RickDel (Jul 7, 2010)

Steve, I think you were right! I took a closer look and can now see that my cope and stick are not as accurate as I thought they were. 


















Hopefully I can just make the adjustment and that will fix the problem. 

Thanks.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

RickDel said:


> Steve, thanks. I agree I need to run it again with the throat plate, but do you really think that could cause the unevenness? Do you think that if it dipped slightly at the beginning it would continue to climb through the cut. It was a long board and seemed to stay level throughout the cut. Plus, I used even pressure in the center of the board, not the very beginning to force it into the throat opening. So, it just don't seem like that would effect it (but this is my first try and I'll admit I know VERY little).
> 
> Also, that was not tear out in picture #6. I physically broke that being careless fitting it together multiple times AFTER I made the profile.
> 
> ...


It's hard to say if the throat plate is the culprit but when ever you run anything on a router or shaper everything needs to be tight for an accurate cut. You also need to have some device hold the wood down to the table. Holding it in your hands will never do. The wood will rise off the table slightly and will show up in the joint. It could be as simple as a wooden brush attached to your fence. I have a router table set up on a old table saw with a permanent tongue and groove setup and I use this hold down to run the groove. Then I modified this miter gauge with a toggle clamp to run the tongue on the ends of the rails.


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## RickDel (Jul 7, 2010)

Thanks again Steve. I appreciate your help and advice. - Rick


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

Good advice Steve... and Rick, you might even have a slight bow or flex in your stock that compounds the problem. I use a hand held "gripper" to push down on my stock since that gripper is useless on the table saw.


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