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I have a wooden frame like this with some LEDs powered by a battery. enter image description here

I'm looking for a way to create a hole (4mm*4mm*80mm) to hide the wires from battery to LED on the back.

Anything, including the name of the tool to do that would be appreciated.

PS. Yes, I'm a rookie

Nikita Neganov
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  • I think we might need a bit more detail. How big is the electronic hardware? How do you indent to mount them, and where? Are we talking just a few LEDs or hundreds of super LEDs drawing many mA (which would require different sorts of wire gauges). Typically, if you were just running wire for a few normal LEDs you'd route out a slot in the back of the frame. –  Jan 14 '19 at 16:36
  • Possible duplicate of How to make a recess in a board – Graphus Jan 15 '19 at 12:14
  • @jdv It's about 2m of not-so-powerful LEDs, so I have just one 9V block battery. And yes, I just want a slot in the back – Nikita Neganov Jan 15 '19 at 12:45
  • I'm ok with this being a dupe, though it occurs to me that the OP was searching for the word "recess" or "groove", and so would need to know that before finding the duplicate... otherwise, not much unique here in terms of woodworking techniques –  Jan 15 '19 at 14:44

2 Answers2

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It sounds like you want a groove into which you place the wires. These are probably the most common ways to do it:

  1. Glue it up - instead of removing material (usually harder for novice), just build the frame piece out of 3 pieces, with two smaller pieces separated and creating a channel on the back side.

  2. Table saw - this is a ripping operation. You can use either a dado set or multiple passes with a regular blade. This is technically possible with a handheld circular saw, but to do it you'll need to mill out the groove before you cut the frame member off a wider piece of lumber.

  3. Router or router table. Similar to table saw operation.

  4. Using hand tools - plow plane. Easier to do if you create the groove before sawing off the frame member from the wider piece of lumber. You can do it with a router plane, but it will be a long arduous process.

aaron
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  • is a great idea, but it looks like all the wood is cut & stained, so it's a bit late for this project. 2) As a complete rookie, OP may not have a table saw to do this job (but it's an excuse to get new toys, er, tools!). 3) Is a great option and routers are much cheaper to purchase than a table saw. 4) There's another hand tool option - a simple saw. It won't be easy by any means, but some careful work it is doable. Added bonus - it's on the back (I presume) so if it's not perfect, nobody cares.
    • – FreeMan Jan 14 '19 at 14:22
  • I would personally go with Option 3, because you can choose a router bit that is exactly 4 mm diameter. With a table saw, you'd be limited to a groove the thickness of the blade. The blade width and the resulting cut are both called the kerf. It is usually 1/8" here in the US but depends on the blade. I'm not sure what the standard sizes are in other parts of the world. Also, with a router you can do a stopped cut - the grooves don't have to go all the way from the front out through the back of the workpiece like they would with a table saw. – Katie Kilian Jan 14 '19 at 16:27
  • @CharlieKilian A normal table saw blade is under 4mm (1/8" is 3.175 mm) so you can make a groove exactly 4mm by making two passes. If you're really particular you can use a stop-block and feeler gauges to make the .825mm fence move, or you can just bump it till it looks right. I'm pretty sure this would be faster than setting up the router table. Although on the router table you get a perfectly flat bottom and you can make a stopped groove. – SaSSafraS1232 Jan 14 '19 at 17:28
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    you can use an existing piece if you have a table saw or router... saw out a rabbet (a rectangular chuck of the section) then glue on a narrower piece to form the channel. sort of an ad hoc version of #1. – aaron Jan 14 '19 at 17:52