Tongue and Groove Joinery

With the bottom edge of the tongue and groove joint assembly cut square to the sides, you can now trim the remaining three sides with your table saw to the final size your woodworking plans require.

Begin by adjusting your table saw fence to the height your assembly requires. Place the assembly flat on the table and the square end (that you cut in the previous step) against the fence, and cut off the opposite end of the assembly.

Next, if you need to make any cuts off of the sides to get your assembly to the proper width, adjust your fence accordingly and make your cuts parallel to the joints. It is a good idea to make a cut on each side (taking an equal amount of stock off of each side) rather than removing the entire amount off of one side. This is in the event that, if any of your joints show after applying your finish, the assembly will look balanced.

With the assembly cut to size, move on to sanding. Start with a relatively coarse grit in your random orbital sander and work up to finer grits until the entire assembly is flat, smooth and looks like one solid board before applying the finish of your choice.