Cutting a square hole

[erikfsn]

I'm cutting out these notches in the legs of a future small table to hold a turntable and amp with a Bosch jig saw and although it sort of works, it would be nice to be a little more precise without spending a fortune.

The material is 4/4 Ash. Any ideas for a better way to cut these out?

 

[justinmcf]

a drill press with a mortise chisel is all i can think of. maybe someone else will have a better idea.

regards, justin.

 

[Holzhacker]

For notches like that I use a hole saw the size of the overall hole and then chisel out the 4 corners square. I draw the square, center, drill and then chisel to my lines. Works pretty quick and easy. I prefer the hole saw over a spade bit, keeps the hole cleaner and straighter. Good luck

 

[Neill]

Erik,

What about drilling out the hole as far as you can and then using one of those corner chisels to square it up.

Neill

 

[ForumMFG]

I think everyone has mentioned the least expensive options except for the mortise machine.  Those can get pricey.  Invest in a chisel.  OR, if you don't want to spend any money at all and spare more time, just glue it up that way.  Then no machining is needed except for your cuts.

 

[erikfsn]

Thanks for the ideas, I think the first thing I'll try is to use a sharp chisel to clean up what I've done so far.