Cove Preparation Bit

Countertops can be readied for cove back splashes in minutes with this new router bit designed by a fabricator in Alaska. Splashes readied with the following procedures can be coved with our Coving Router. Follow these easy steps and you'll see just how fast it is.

Rabbeting the back splash:

Rip your backsplash material about 1/8 wider than you need it to be. Insert the Rabbet cutter into your router leaving the cutter extending 1/8" beyond the base. Lay the backsplash material on a flat surface. Set the routers base flat on the backsplash so that the router bit engages the edge of the piece (Fig.1). Carefully engage the bit into the work piece and run the router the entire length producing a rabbet 1/8" deep and 7/8" wide. Rip cove material 7/8" wide by the length of your backsplash. Using adhesive, glue the cove strip into the Rabbet previously cut into the backsplash and clamp using spring clamps or Dani Clamps (Fig 2). When the adhesive dries the backsplash can be re run through the table saw to "size" the backsplash. Set the rip fence to the exact size of the finished splash (1/8" less than the ruff splash) and rip it with the top of the splash against the rip fence. This will trim off any squeeze out and square the bottom of the splash to the face. The Splash is now ready to either be applied to the deck and routed with a Coving Router or it can be run through a table router and be pre routed using our Stationary Cove Bit.

Rabbeting the deck for the cove:

Once the back of the deck has been fitted to the wall template (you may or may not have fitted your deck to a wall template) you'll need to produce a rabbet in the deck to except the splash and cove strip produced earlier. Place the router base on the top of the deck and rout in a similar manner as the splash, being careful to produce a perfectly flat rabbet (Fig 3). Once made the splash and cove can be glued to the deck. Once dry, the cove can be routed with a Coving Router to produce a perfect Cove backed countertop. The splash can be held in place with Dani Clamps until the adhesive sets (Fig 4). Hint: if you apply a small strip of plywood to the back, bottom edge of the splash with hot melt glue, you can use a spring clamp to hold it in place while gluing. Apply the clamp on a 450 angle extending it from the plywood to the build up on the bottom of the counter.

Rabbeting the deck for the build ups:

You can also use this bit to cut a rabbet into the front edge of the deck to apply your build up. Extend the bit beyond the base so that when the base is set on the deck it will cut 1/8" deep into the bottom of the deck (Fig 5). This will accomplish two things; first, it will provide a small step eliminating the need for glue blocks, and second, it will "skim" off the deck material providing a clean, perfectly parallel surface to glue your build up to.