Cutting Hardwood Joinery on the Wolfpawn

The Wolfpawn can cut repeatable, accurate joinery that's tedious or impossible by hand. Dadoes, rabbets, and simple mortise-and-tenon joints are all achievable.

Dado (Cross-Grain Slot)

A dado is a slot cut across the grain to house a shelf or panel.

Setup in Aspire:

• Draw a rectangle the width and depth of your dado
• Pocket toolpath, flat end mill, full depth in multiple passes

Settings (hardwood):

• 1/8" 2-flute, 9000 RPM, 700 mm/min, 1.5 mm DOC

Fit: Target 0.1–0.2 mm clearance — snug but slides in. Test with offcuts first.

Rabbet (Shoulder Cut)

A rabbet is an L-shaped cut along the edge, typically for panel insets or back panels.

Setup: Pocket toolpath cutting from the edge inward.

Same settings as dado. Run the cut from the edge — climb cut on the inner wall for cleanest results.

Simple Mortise

A rectangular pocket for a tenon.

Setup: Pocket toolpath, size to your tenon + 0.1–0.2 mm clearance.

Critical: CNC mortises have radiused corners — either:

• Round your tenon corners to match the bit radius
• Chisel the mortise corners square by hand
• Design tenon with rounded ends (preferred)

Box Joints (Finger Joints)

Repeatable finger joints are where CNC excels over hand tools.

1. Design the finger pattern in Aspire (or use a dedicated plugin)
2. Profile cut each finger with a 1/8" bit
3. Multiple pieces with identical cuts = tight fitting joints

Fit: Add 0.1 mm clearance — joints should tap together with a mallet.

Tolerance Testing Workflow

Before cutting your real pieces:

1. Cut a test joint in scrap of the same species
2. Adjust clearance if too tight or too loose (typically 0.05–0.1 mm steps)
3. Save the working file for future use