Tonge and Groove pine

[Rob30]

I want to do some t&g panneling in my house. I have access to affordable pine lumber.
What would be the most best tool for making the paneling? I know I could use some planers, shapers, or a router with a table.
I am leaning toward the router, becase it is the most versitile machine.
Has anyone made very much of this stuff?

[T-Bone 369]

Well a shaper would be the ideal tool for this job but a router in a router table will also do the job. Use featherboards to keep the wood in good contact with the fence and go slow as not to overload the router. If your going to purchace a new router for this I would get a pretty big one and use 1/2" shank bits. It's going to cost a little more upfront but will stand up to the job better. Sounds like a fun project.

[alleyyooper]

With a good Dado blade in a table saw you can make some real nice tongue
And groove on lumber. Of course they will be square in shape but that should not be a major problem as they are hidden once installed.

A decent table saw will have the HP to handle the job too. As with the router use feather boards to keep the lumber tight to the dado blade and fence.

Al

[Cabin Fever]

We have both T&G and shiplap boards in our home. To tell you the truth, I prefer the shiplap.

I agree with alleyooper, it would be simple to make shiplap boards using a dado on a decent tablesaw.

Here is a typical shiplap joint. With this joint the two boards would be flush. Our shiplap was made so the tongue stuck out a bit farther than the groove so there'd be a gap between the boards...which we preferred.


One of our sealed shiplap walls:


One of our painted shiplap walls:

[unioncreek]

I would use table saw first if you have one, then a router with table and last a shaper. I'm going in the order of expense and usefulness. I would also buy a drum sander, if you want the pine to be smooth.

Bobg

[Blu3duk]

What you need is a shaper and as you can see they run the gabit from a $120.00 table top model that is for things like toys and very small projects to $5000.00 for an industrial strength shop model and a whole lot in between, though for home use and the project you are talking of I suggest looking at the1-1/2 HP model or the 2 HP model are the best for the home hobbyist and small shop production. there are other brands out there on the market but as far as quality goes, I personally think grizzly cant be beat on most of their products..... yes there is always an exception to the rule... they have 10 T&G cutter heads

about the only thing extra you would need for those two machines is a roller table in and out to support your boards to keep the profiles looking crisp. and maybe a heavy duty roller stand to put it on to be able to move it smartly around your sop out of the way when not in use..... ok and the shaper book they sell [see the all accessories link ]the push boards and eye googles and..... any other safety gear you may need.

Pine is a fairly soft wood with the exception of the knots, so the smaller unit would probably do you just fine for this job, but you may want to profile a thicker or less forgiving wood in the future and then the 2 HP unit would be a better purchase.... my opinion.

William
Idaho