I’ve been trying to make some joints with my GF and they are always way too loose - this is because of the width of the cut. How much should I be subtracting from my shapes to make them interlock.
I’m working with non Proofgrade 1/8" MDF - using the medium fibreboard settings.
Or… does anybody have a file I can take a look at that works?
Here’s a little box I made to hold #20 biscuits for my biscuit joiner. It fits together nicely. I apologize I can’t remember what I did for kerf and all that, but you asked for a file, and I do know this one works. I believe I made it using the Tabbed Box Maker plugin for Inkscape found at Github.
In the 1/8" wood/plywood I usually compensate .007" for the kerf. Look at the how tos in the Tips and Tricks for some robust discussion on what to add where in your design.
It’s not so much the “width” of the beam, as it is the amount of material removed (vaporized) by it - so it varies by material, cut speed, etc. As suggested, there’s lots of info here, but cutting a small box out of the material, then measuring the dimensions of the inside of the hole, and outside of the removed piece, gives you a (2x) idea of the kerf for those settings.