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Thanks to all for the prior advice. Based on that and some input from a wood router bulletin board (who knew?), here's my current plan.
1. Use a track saw/plunge saw to cut the grooves entirely through the MDF that will form either edge of the slot.
2. Use a plunge router to cut a hole at each end of the pair of slots to complete the slot, and let the waste piece of MDF fall down.
Or, maybe, have a carpenter do it for me....
Thanks for all the advice; I welcome more.
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......as long as there is no.....slot shaming.......
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I reject your reality and substitute my own!
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Speedy wrote:
Or a cabinetmaker.
.this
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Cabinet maker over a carpenter any day.
A plunge track saw will run you about $500 or more. To make it worse, there seems to be a shortage of them right now. You might have to buy different blade than comes with the track saw. Clamps for the track are sold separately. Note that you won't be able to connect the adjacent cuts with the track saw. You'll need a jigsaw or similar.
Short of it is, that it may be no more costly to have a pro do the work or at least the cutouts.
Another option may be to have someone make a jig that you can use with a plunge router and bushing.
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Why not just drill a couple hundred dozen holes? Easy.
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I agree with macphanatic's approach if doing it yourself...jig with a plunge router and bushing. The jig could most likely be 1/4-1/2" material, spaced appropriately for the slots, glued or end-screwed together. I've done some routing with park sign stencil kits and the template material for those is pretty thin, but I'd be worried about sag across the longer span of a radiator vent slot.
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Bushings tend to be router brand specific. They are a collar that mounts to the router base and follows a template. You want your jig to be a little thicker than the bushing is long to keep it off the surface of the material being worked.
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Have you considered drilling a hole at each end, and then running the router between those two holes? I missed your earlier post about so maybe that was already suggested. I've done that on a pine 2x6 with reasonable results.
I can say that cutting MDF definitely does produce lot of dust, and if you are routing out a channel all the way through there is going to be A LOT of dust. It's not like normal sawdust.
That said, if you can do it outside or in a space that is closed off from any living space, it may not be an issue. Definitely, definitely wear a mask for this, inside or outside. And boy if you are doing that many you're gonna be real good at it by the end!
