# How to make board and batten siding?



## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

I wanted to make some board and batten siding using a dado blade. I know some of you have done this. How do you keep moving the wood along to make the spacing of the battens even ? I was thinking about having to move the table saw fence a fraction of an inch, make a cut, move another fraction of an inch, etc. That sounds like too much room for error and a lot of work moving the fence (unlock, measure a fraction of an inch, lock) for each dado cut.


Do you use a special tool for moving the wood over after each dado cut? Any tips on how to make this board and batten siding easier to make?


----------



## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

Yeah that's it. Slow and steady. Measure twice, cut once. It helps if your board and batten works out to an even increment like 5/8" and write down the increments before hand. Do all your boards at the same time.
You could slotted jig but that would probably take as long. 

-Brian


----------



## sheepdog (Jan 2, 2008)

I use 1/4 or 3/16" thick scraps as temporary spacers to quickly set the fence away from the blade. 


Then I run the piece in both directions (rotate 180 deg.) to cut two groves with one setting. 

Need to do a little math to get it to come out right.


Craig


----------



## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

This is where a radial arm saw works great. Set the saw to the desired height above the table to plow out the amount of stock you want with the dado blade. A slot cut into the fence along the table at the appropriate distance allows for inserting a drop down stop to catch on the batten you just cut to permit cutting the next one. By advancing one batten at a time each "board and batten will be equal size and distance from one another.


----------



## njp (Dec 6, 2008)

I tried the same thing you are asking about. I tried using a number of boards, the thickness of the batten, between the fence and the stock being cut. The idea was to remove a board to increase the gap and cut another batten. I never got it to work right, but it would have if I’d kept at it.. You need a large stack of uniform, smooth spacers.... Instead, I attached a 1/4-20 threaded rod to the head of my radial arm saw. Every 6 turns of the rod equals nearly 6 inches of saw movement. Relock the saw head and make another cut. This works great and is quickly and infinitely adjustable. Nick


----------



## wildbill001 (Feb 28, 2008)

One of the original Incra jigs would be perfect for this. Even the newer ones would work but they are usually pretty pricey. You may be able to find one on evil-bay

Another thought would be a dremel with a router base.

Bill


----------



## Richard Weatherby (Jan 3, 2008)

I use a 3/8 inch dado and 1/8 inch batten. This means you move the fence 1/2 inch each time. 1/2inch increments as as easy as it gets. This is the very reason I bought the DeWalt table saw with a rack & pinon fence. You can try 1/2 inch spacer sticks but something may slip and then the whole thing get messed up. I cut 16 square feet of B&B in a couple of hours. That is a lot of B&B.


----------



## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Richard Weatherby on 01/24/2009 6:25 PM
I cut 16 square feet of B&B in a couple of hours. That is a lot of B&B.





That's becuz U the man, Dick!










-Brian


----------

