I'm building something with this joint but i'm not sure how to make it (see attached, also: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/203084264423658791/ ). I was going to drill large holes through the middle and pair out the rest. Would it be easier just to saw it?
If you have a router, this would be the most appropriate way of doing it. Alternatively you could use a table circular saw with the wood piece vertical, passing over the blade and against a fence set to the right distance from the blade. You would need to be able to cut a depth of around 180mm, which is a big saw blade, so quite a tall order. If you have neither a router nor a large table circular saw, then just use a good sharp hand saw.
I have a router, I'm not sure how I would cut this joint with it though. The depth isn't enough I thought.
Install a standard straight router bit, like an 8mm one. Set the fence on the router such that the router bit cuts the hole the correct distance from the edge of the post. Lay the post on its side. Run the router along until your full length marking. Depending on what your wood is, how sharp your bit is, and how powerful your router is, you'll most likely need to do this in multiple passes until you've gone down to a depth of about 1/2 of the width of the post. Do this against the other side of the same face of the post. If 8mm on the one side + 8mm on the other side hasn't removed all the wood, set it to take out the middle bit that remains. Do this on all four faces. Trim off the one leg to the length shown in the picture. Again, this can be done with a router and a clamped fence. Your 'grooves' will now have rounded corners, so you'll need to deal with the corners of the post with a saw, or rather just round the rails with a rasp/file. Ideally the rails will be recessed slightly so their 'overlap' hides the joint ... unless you want to make a feature of the joint.
You'll struggle to do that accurately with a hand held router unless you have enough timber so you can extend the slots to give you a longer surface to run the fence on, and then cut the ends off to length, but it's a doddle on a router table. If you haven't got a router table, then perhaps just saw it out and chisel out the waste.
No idea what to do now. I only have a hand router. I was thinking of attaching something long and flat to the router guide to make it fence-like. I'm not sure what you mean by extending the slots, or why that would make it easier.
Ok, in the absence of a router table, and armed with only a hand router, fence guide attached to the router, and the appropriate router bit, do you have enough length on your 95x95 posts to spare a bit to cut off after routing? If not, then you'll have to mess with your extension guides, but if so, just use the extra length of the wood as your guide and then chop off the excess. A router is going to do a more accurate job than a saw, give it a try with some scrap wood. You'll be surprised how accurately you can do this ... provided you know how to use your router correctly ... but that's a whole other thread.
Bloody routers and the likes, old chippies will be turning in their graves. Use some skill and cut it out by hand. Even i could do this and im not a chippie by any means.
The real key to this joint is starting with square straight wood. Then mark out the joint only using a marking gauge set on one setting for both joints. A rip saw would do the long grain a coping saw in the bottom.a lot of chisel work. Looks japanese
What tools you've got will dictate how doable this is. Ie 1/4 router is useless for this. Even a s*#t bandsaw would make this difficult! My favourite and dirty way would be on the table saw with a stop block at the back then finish by hand! I guess there's a negative of this as well?
What skills you have will dictate how doable this is. - Come on, a sharp saw and some decent chisels are enough. Mark it up. Saw out the bulk of the material just inside your marks, and then clean up the slots to the marks using hand tools. In order of accuracy, in my book, its 1) router table, 2) hand tools, 3) hand held router/band saw/anything else Really? often a lightweight hand held 1/4" is easier to control than a kicking big 1/2". If I had to make this with a hand held 1/4" I would machine slots from each face taking a couple of passes, and machine into a much longer piece of timber, so the slots were closed at each end, then just cut one end off to expose the bits you want to keep.