What is a rebate joint?

Answer 1

Assuming you are referring to a "rabbet" joint, the method is quite simple. Depending on your skill level and the application in which you are using this joint. A rabbet is a groove cut into the edge of a board to accept 1) another board (such as a drawer, small box, etc) or 2) a piece of glass, backboard or other material (such as the back of a bookshelf, a picture frame, etc) The rabbet can be cut using a rabbet bit on your router or can be cut using a stacked-dado blade on your table saw. The easiest method would be the router. Insert your rabbeting bit into the router. Be sure to have a bit with an attached guide bearing. If you do not have a router table you can clamp your piece to a work bench and clamp a scrap piece of wood to the top of your finish piece. (Measure the distance from the edge of the base plate to the center of your router. Then add 1/2 of the thickness of your bit) This measurement is where to set your scrap block to act as a "fence" for your router. After clamping your wood piece to your work bench, set the depth on your router to 1/3 or 1/2 of the thickness of the board. 1/2 is the Maximum. Keep the base of the router firm against the fence as well as flat against the piece being cut. Move router steadily across the edge of wood. If cutting a rabbet to fit into a dado, the same process can be used, except the material cut away should only be 1/4 the thickness of material, and should be cut on both sides of the piece, as well as both ends. Hope this helps. - wynncarpenter-

Answer 2

A rebate joint is a grove cut into the edge of a piece of material, usually wood. It is a two-sided and open to the edge of the surface into which it is cut.