In Mozaik, the PAC Shiplap Panel Library from Phill Anton Consulting (PAC) adds shiplap panels whose grooves you control directly on the panel. Installing it takes about a minute and a half: unzip the download, copy the folder into your Product Libraries, and restart Mozaik (you must be on Mozaik 14). Each panel then lets you set groove width and depth, switch between quantity and distance, choose a starting edge, and add a front groove plus a back notch so panels interlock.
What is the PAC Shiplap Library and what's new in version 2?
It's a Mozaik library of shiplap panels from PAC. This guide covers version 2, which adds upgrades over version 1 — most notably the ability to choose which edge the grooves start on (left, right, both, or none) and to add a front groove and back notch so adjacent panels physically receive one another. Version 2 is what makes these panels behave like true shiplap. If you already own version 1, it keeps working unchanged, and Phill sends version 2 for free to existing owners.
How do you install the library?
Install is quick — about 1.5 minutes:
- Find the downloaded zipped folder (the icon with a little zipper). Right-click and choose Extract All.
- Extracting reveals a folder — this is the one you put inside your Product Libraries. Copy it.
- Go to wherever your Mozaik libraries live — your Product Libraries directory. Right-click and paste it in.
- Restart Mozaik. You'll then have the library with all six files inside it.
Version requirement: make sure you're on Mozaik 14 — v2 was updated to 14. If you drop it into an older version it's not the end of the world, but you'll have to delete it and update.
How do you control the grooves (width, depth, and the tool)?
Turn on the 3D viewer to see the parameters take effect. On each panel you can change the width of the groove and the depth of the groove — for example, set it to an eighth inch. One important caveat: this is a true groove in Mozaik, so Mozaik looks for the largest dado tool it can fit to cut it. (There's a follow-up technique for getting Mozaik to use a V-groove instead; by default these are square grooves.)
How do you switch between quantity and distance?
The panel can place grooves by quantity or by distance — both modes ship in the product:
- Distance: specify the spacing, e.g. 2 inches between everything.
- Quantity: specify how many grooves, e.g. 8, or select 6.
The math can look off when a front notch is also on the panel, because that feature occupies space at the edge (see the start-edge and front-groove sections below).
How do you set which edge the grooves start on?
This is the headline version-2 feature — the groove starting edge, which v1 didn't have. You can start the grooving on the left or the right, set it to both (a groove on the panel edge on both sides), or set it to none. After zeroing things out, choose left (for example) and the panel grooves from that edge.
How do you make panels interlock (front groove + back notch)?
With a starting edge chosen, you can add interlocking features so one panel receives the next:
- Front groove: add, for example, a 1-inch front groove. Mozaik will make it at least 1/8 inch (.125") deep, and you can go deeper — up to about 3/8 inch (.375") — so the neighboring panel can truly receive it. The result is extra width that the next panel slots into.
- Back notch: add a back notch — for example 1 inch at .375" — which overlaps the adjacent panel.
When the starting edge is set to none, a separate setting lets you tell Mozaik where to put that back notch: left, right, or both. Between start edge, front groove, back notch, and the notch position, there's a large number of combinations.
How do you view or reuse the built-in dados/operations?
Open Edit Operations and scroll through — the product has roughly 100 grooves/dados programmed. You can study the math to learn from the product or build your own variation. You can also copy and paste operations into your own products — but one key reminder: copy the user parameters along with them, or the pasted operations won't have the values they reference.
Get it done-for-you
You can set this up by hand (above). If you build these regularly, the PAC Shiplap Panel Library from PAC has it ready in Mozaik. → phillanton.com
Full disclosure: Phill Anton Consulting makes this product.
FAQ
How do you install the PAC Shiplap Panel Library in Mozaik?
Unzip the downloaded folder, copy the inner folder into your Mozaik Product Libraries directory, then restart Mozaik. You'll see all six files inside it. You must be on Mozaik 14 — the v2 library was updated to 14.
Do I have to repurchase the PAC Shiplap Library if I already own version 1?
No. Phill sends version 2 out for free to existing version 1 owners, and version 1 keeps working unchanged if you'd rather stay on it.
How do you control the grooves on a PAC shiplap panel?
Each panel exposes groove width and groove depth, plus a mode that's either quantity (e.g. 6 or 8 grooves) or distance (e.g. one groove every 2 inches). You can also pick which edge the grooves start on and add a front groove and back notch so panels interlock.