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THE

BOOK

-

A Complete Guide to the Router and Its Accessories



The RouterBook



Te Router Book

Pat Warner

The Taunton Press



Text © by Pat Warner

Photograp hs © by The Taunton Press Inc.

Ilustrations © by The Taunton Press, Inc

Al rights reserved

The Taunton Press Inc 6 South Main Street PO. Box 556 ,

e-mail: tp@tantoncom

INTEROR DSGN Mary McKeon

A YOUT: Rosale Vaccaro

LLUSTRATORRon Carboni

COVR HOTOGRAP Scott Pillips

NT ROR HOTOGRAPY Lon Atkinson

RARY OF CONGRSS CATAOGNG-N-UBATON ATA

Waner, Pt 1943-

The route book / P Waer.

. m

Routes (ools) 2 Woodwor. I itle

T203.5 W3735 200

684'08--d2

Printe n te United States of America

987

20010279

E-Book ISBN: 978-1-60085-578-8



To my wife, Judy Ann, without whom this work

would still be a pile of dust handwritten folders.

Acknow ledgments

I peny of elp on tis boo Plese let me tn Jrgen A mtmnn

for is engineering expetise; Ntn Deoit for is compter si s;

il Stivers for is excellent woowor in prepring te meis fo te

iny potos; Aln Goosel n Crlos Venito for tei roter bitexperise; Pt Spielmn Sroer y, o Lngson n eff Soltz

of Porer-Cble; Jon recy of Wetzler Cmp; Cris Cson of Bosc;

Bry Rnsrom; rn Kne; Gry Rogowsi; Jon Goff; Dve Kele;

Ricr Wee; n Erc Jonson.

ABOUT YOUR SAFETY

Woring wit woo is inerenty ngeos. sing n or power toos

improperly or ignoring sfety prctices cn le to permnen inry or

even et Don try to peform opeions yo lern bot ere (or

elsewere) ness yoe cern tey re sfe fo yo If someing bo

n operion oesn feel rig on o it oo fo noer wy We

wn yo to enjoy e cf so plese eep sfety foremost in yo min

wenever yoe in te sop.



Contents

ntroduction

Chapter 1 - Introducton to Routng

Appicatons

Types of Routng

Chapter 2 - Cutter Pathway Control

Bearing-Guded Cutters

Colar Guides

Edge Gudes

The Subbase

ool Shank

he Crce Cutter

Other Gude Options

Chapter 3 Fxed-Base Routers

Router Basics

Lea ding Fixed-Base Routers

Department Store Routers

Best Fixed-Base Appicatons

Chapter 4 - Plunge Routers

Basic Anatomy

Power as an Asset

Addng Stablty

Helpful FeaturesBest Uses for Plunge Routers

PorterCabe 7529

DeWat 625

Chapter 5 - Laminate Trim Routers

Guide Systems

Other Features and Applications

Bosch 608

2

6

7



Chapter 6

-

Router Tables

Router Table Basics

The Fence

Protection from the Cutter

Depth of Cut Strateges

Cimb Cuttng

The Miter Gauge

Router Table Safety

Chapter 7

Router Bits

Evauating Performance

Cutter fe

Materas

Shank Diameter

Cutter Types

Sharpenng

Chapter 8

-

Router Accessories

Gudes and Bases

Router Table Acessories

Chp Collecton

Chapter 9 - Simple Shopmade Jigs

Right-Ange Tempates

Sot Makers

Shopmade Moriser

Tenon Maker

End-Lap Tempate

Adjustabe Tenon Maker

Crce Maker

Router Horse

Pn-Routng Jg

45-Degree Beve

84

84

91

93

95

98

99

100

106

107

11

12

14

14

121

122

122

127

130

131

31

132

133

134

136

136

138

138

40

140



Chapter 10

-

Router Safety 1

Hand-Router Safey

Rouer Table Safey

Clmb Cuting

Stock Preparaion

Cuter Surprises and Risks

Heath Concerns

Chapter 11

Common Router Limitations 1

Risks and Probems

Weight and Ergonomics

Chapter 12 - Starting Up the Router 1

Preparaion and Seup

Router Table Seup

Chapter 13 Template Routing 1

ools and Maeras

Template Uses and Types

Making Basc Templaes

Resources 1

Index 1



Introduction

Wt I lie most bot roting is e bility to mnge is

now wi e rigt cttes j igs nd ixtes cn

remove te ig mont o wood in te igt pce e biity to do

tis does not ppen overnig oweve. rcice espec o te mte

i tention o cte dynmics nd good ixres ll ply pt

Roes e e big time pobem solves o te powe too ingdom

ey ve more pplictions tn ny singe cting ool ey pply

temselves wel in jo iney, decortion nd in imited wy, millwor

Moe n 1,000 cters nd conless j igs re yo disposl olmos ny oing ob.

Nevereess, oing does ve is imittions Spend some time

wit tis boo nd yo will discove te prcicl limits nd lso te

stengts o roting. Js eding te boo won't me yo ino n

expet roter se, b o o pctice will. Expec to inis is text

nd w wy wit te ndmentls o te crt ow to coose ct

e nd roter wen o pply tem, wen to conside n lenive,

nd ow o se te oo sely



oters hve wored themseves into the premiere spot mongwoodworng power tool nly drills otsell them mong portpower tools. Its even frly ommon for woodworers to own

smll fmily of roters n different sizes nd shpes Bt the sheer size ofroter fed n me the job of hoosing the right too seem dntng the vst nmber of essories on the mret oers fest of hoes thprovides nother hllenge o nvgte ths se of hoes nd fnd sond strtegy to inorporte ths tool in or shops, we might thn bowhy we se these toos to begn wth nd wht mes them so spel



The auo's mortising jig uses a pair of edge guides and a pair of jig stops so it can be

adjusted to rout vrualy any mortise.

Rouing is basically the hgh-speed removal of stock from a workpece;

hnk of as the measured wasing of maeral. Al sorts of maerals can

be routed, but solid wood may be the most common And whe the oo

has many uses oher than woodworking, most router bts are designed pr

marly for use wth wood and plywood However, medum-densiy fber

board (MDF), pastic, solid-surace maeral ven rock or mea<an be

roued given enough power, the right setup, and approprate tooling Buhe majorty of us work wth wood most often

Many woodworkng processes, ncluding routing, are subtractive I

can' think of an example where routing adds anyhing o a workpece n

many forms of art, such as ceramics and godsmihng, the materal is

reformed and added to he whole, hus conservng materias No so wth

wood: We chop, saw, sand, drl, pane, ont, and rou mos of our resource

away And routers are the preeminent stock removers They can remove

stock on he edge, on he ends of a workpiece, or anywhere n the mdde

And they can remove stock in nearly any profile, from a thin slice aong

the edge for jointing, to complex shapes for rased panes, cope-and-stick

joinery, or decorative deails Depending on the power and size, hey canremove the iny burr of plastc lamnate while trimmng a counertop or

hog out a mortse n hard maple So as we invesgate router choices in

subsequent chapers, a major consideraion wil always be he scope of the

work and the power requrements

Rouing is rarely done o rough stock Routers normaly are used after

the onter, planer, and table saw operations That s one of their distinc-

Introducon to Rou



6 Itoducto to Rotg

tons ey cano souln'tcopete wit ools tat pepae sto

Tey ae ntene o pecson wok is will e taken into accoun

we iscuss te vaious coices

But outes unlike any an oos nee gs, ixtues, ences an

oles to apply teselves Ege an cola guies custo suases

vaious kns of eplates ae vey useful But even oe potant a

te igs fixues an pafos ta povie a way o o pecise oineTe oute is seiously anicappe wtout its accessoies. You can

wi eaing-gue pofle cuttes wout uc ao, u viually a

Tis smbl is not ca by any sttc but for a iftm w oodworkr ty wil l cmost routing callngs. From lft DWalt 621 ung routr PC-690 md-ang fix

routr 31 OPC trim rotr PC-7518 fxd bas routr

Flutn g wtr on fat stock or mountd on a at is on of t routs im ortant



Fnis carpentes typically use routers to morise fo inge s on c stom door instalations

Trim roters may get tei eaviest use in c ountertop farication . Here pla stic lami nate iseing flus-trimmed after eing glued down on te particeoard sustrate

Itroducon o Rout



PES OF ROUTING

oer ct (witot earngs) will reqre soe g, fxre or exernal

ge Anoer conseraton ten, s te roter's aity to work we

wit a varey of gs an fxres

Becase of eir grea an vas otental, roters are aor woow

ng role solvers No oer oo fins its way nto so any facets o

wooworking Roters aly teselves wel in te oinery an ecor

of yor work, excel n aking igs, fxtres an telates, and

veneterey can sally e yo ot of a a Tey are it's re e

ent on a assive array of otenial igs fixtres olers an cters

tey also e solve neary every wooworkng roe No oter too

ofers so any ctng an saing ossiilies. An no oer oo r

ves qte te sae callenge wen i coes to soring trog al t

coices o get te rg toolng o ac yor ariclar nees

Applcations

So far we've talke aot te roters se for a variety of wooworking

s relationsi to oter ools, its array of accessories an te way it ca

reac any art of te workiece L es ake a nte an talk aot te

ortant criteron of e all e roter's secifc alications Te

as tree aor areas of alication: ecoraon onery, an lwork

Type Decrpto Dty Cycle Power Demad (hp) Roter

Lghtm Fush tm Sho < Tm oute

amnae/venee.

Shaow, sma

cutte outing

Decoative tim, ightduty edge Shalow edge cuts 060 minutes Y2 Medum

up to in x in fixed-base

Volume, ogees, beves, oute

ball beang decoato

and empate cuts

Punge Insde mutisage wok, Can be long 2 wi be unge

age excavations; accepabe fo oute

castng must be most wok

suppored fo punge

Moises, cices

and aps.

Table A saionary wok. No me imt + Fxed-base

o punge o

(moe com

Heavyduy hand oute Edge and tempate A day3 Bg fxed

fu-hickness cus. base

Templae atem wok lne , No me imt 1-3 A oues

faconal o u and abes

thckness cuts.

8 Itrodcto to Rotg



DECORATION

Categorically te greatest nmber o roter bits are or trim an ecora

ton Catalog nventores say excee 50 ercent n ecorator ctters

s is strange in a way becase ecoration as so ittle to o wit ract

caity; yor esk jewery box or be wi srvive j st as well wtot eco

ration Neverteless inising an ecoration are two o te most imor

tant crteria in wc woowork is jge It wo inee be a mistake tooverlook tem

JOINERY

e ower o te roter is n it s joint-making caability Neary al o

Western joinery is ossible wit a roter wit te aition o ts ctters

j igs an yo It as ts limitations ike bre joints an ee sknny ove

tas bt it can aress an enormos nmber o bot orinary an secia

joints Bt te roter snt erect an tere are many occasions e to

xtring ctter esign an so on tat a jont s comromise Yo may not

excee or even meet te caacties o a an joiner bt o exect to make

mortses an tenons; tonges an grooves; as; gle jonts; trog bin an slng ovetas; slines; lock miters; coe an stick; box joints; an

varios combinations

Tis scrw-drivn ror fnc moys a dia indicaor o aciv accracy in ou

sands of an i nc rang

Applcat



0 Itrodctio to Roting

Ti s atform jig uss an ovrsizd bas and a ball baring rabbting bit to form a sq

tnon on nd of a workc

Routing nds itslf wll to a wid rang of joinry calngs

MILLWORK

Roer work ha oesn' all no he ecoraon or onery genres c

mlwork hs s no he mwork assocae wh shaers an moeRaher, s work ke rmmng anes o engh onng menson

an sqarng sock I also se he roer o make gs an reqeny

make shor rns o gs an xres or hose o yo who raher woo

work he laorms an her wnows are say emlae roe

sqare ences asabe slos an rabbee sos are also roe



Wid glu-ups pos srious dimnsioningprolms A jigsaw routr, and tmplatcan usd to squar off t nds

T nc on t work o ldr can adjustd paalll to its work dg. Wit t curoundd y an MD F straigt fnc you ca joit and macin to widt in on opr

I nxpnsiv rout ts can pr oduc a vaty of traditional pro fils

Appcato



2 Itroductio to Rotng

Types of Routing

I wo e a misake o hink ha all of hs applcaion can e eno

wih s one roer can' e one here are some cngs ha if

o fll eph will reak he cer someimes he roer s s oo sm

an nerpowere for he o Cerain cs p he work or he opera

risk wih he wrong roer here are prolems of scae ha may req

he roer ale Sma os may e eer sie for a rim roer anmlisage work shol e one wih a pnge roer However, roin

versaile an here are sincons yo shol know ao

LIGHT TRIM

Freqenly, rae work calls for very igh an shaow cs in woo m

or pasc hese cs are of shor raon, an reqire lle power o

p complexiy Yo may no nee a fll-size roer for hese cs Exa

incle he morsing of hnges, chamfering, an small ronovers B

mosly 'm alking ao he cing an rimmng of plasic laminae

(Formica) woo veneers fierglass an hn amnm his work salways ligh y, shaow one wih ony !4in ool shanks, an only

rim roers

T PC-310 trimmr and offst su bbas ar a good matc to trim (bvl) ts dgs

work can b sn troug t astic bas wil t routr is kt flat on t work.



Sli din g dovetails ae geat fo locking legs and ails Sockets ae made on te oute taleand te tenons wit te and oute

Bead and utte tim (cove) cuts eqi e ao t a sap ctte, and a med um weigt ixed ase



4 Intoducton to Routn

HEAVY-DUTY HAND ROUTNG

Ip

h h



PLUNGE ROUTNG

Roters esigne to alow canges in et witot stting o te

macine ave come to be cale nge rotes. Te base incoroates a

mecanism wit a series of stos so tat te rote can be owee ince

mentay e esign allows yo for examle to qicky ot a ee mor

tise in a nmber of smaler stes tat only remove 4 in or so of material at

a time t also allows yo to start a ct anywere in te mile of a workiecean it is esecialy sefl wen oting on anels

Altog it's ossibe to lnge" a fixebase rote into te wok it's

an inerenty nsafe oeation becase te base isnt sorte ring te

oeration lnging is simy not safe wit a fixebase roter. Te nge

Mortiss and tnons rquir fixturs for quality and rpatabliy A good fit lik tis mposs a lo t o dmands on t j igs

Half-laps ar salow and larg n ara prct fo t pung outr Ts ar mad i atplat jig udr t work

Type o Rotn



1 6 Inroducio o Roui

oter is expressly esigne to fnction in yor hans wth the a of g

ty ts springloa moto hea tret stops pstop hanle gips motor

an switch are all sitate fo yo to slie the too to its estination w

the ctter retracte an motor on Now with yo at the contros yo

safely change the epth ner power an waste woo n stages

The pnge roter oes ts est wok plnging" Plnging is best

ie ot an sometmes only possble when the rote is completely s

Tongus and goovs of all sors can mad on t rotr tal wit straigt its.

Stod on mortiss ar safly don on t outr tal



rone y sstrate. Pnging wt ony a o te casting on te wor

can tp te roter over or, n some cases arrest te pnge acton atogeter.

e saest arena or pnging ten s on nse cts e mortises at s

not to say tat pnge rotng cannot e aong te eges an ens o te

worpiece It j st means tat te ase casting as to e on soi gron to

spport its pnging nction an reative top eaviness Cttngs tat are

eep an wie or oterwise mpossie wt a singe-ept setting soe one wt a pnge roter Pnge cts too angeros or a ixe-ase

roter aso nce insie in excavations were te ctter mst e

ner power an extene to egn te pass

TABLE ROUTING

ae roting essentay trns te too nto a stationary macine wit a

ence tat wraps aron te ctter an spports te worpece Unie

portae rotng operatons, te worpiece moves past te ctter instea

o te reverse More tan 80 percent o a rotng can e one on te

roter tae. ere are restrictons to ts se sc as very arge wor an

ong stics on en) t te majority o roting is on inva worpecesan qite manageae on te tae

Roter tae wor more oten tan not, emans a ot o power

ere s no singe roter taiore excsivey or te roter tae. ig

motors, resistant to canges in momentm an oa, are reqre ere

ong-grain, cross-grain, enctting an some insie cts are posse on

te tae Joinery an tempate wor are aso common Ony se very

ong ctters over 1 /4 n. ese ctters reqre at east a 3 p motor an

wor est wit variae spee contro.)

Complmntay tmlat oiny is about t on ly way to join wood alo ng cu vy l is. Onsaml is a la lft, on is glu jointd m idd and t ot is tongu and goov to.

Type of Rout



1 8 Inroducton to Routig

I use these templates to make the platfom fo the tenon-make S nce the instctions

already caved" into the template, you ca't make a mistake.

TEMPLTE ROUTING

Tempate roting aows yo to rot mtipes of neary any sape by

a patten tat's attae to te wokpee an ries against a ge pin

ote refeene srfae. Tempates an be se fo jo inery, making opmotsing saping, an mang parts fo jigs. Most repetitve rotng

an be expeite by a tempate.

y fa te most popa type of tter in my oter oe s te pa

ten bt wit a beang on top. Tese ome n many iameters an eng

for se in a variety of stations. Te art of tempate oting emans a



THERE RE OS O CCESSORES avaiabe o exed he capabie oyor roer. There are, or exampl e aermarke bbae made rom

cear plaic a lower e above) ha wil alow greaer viibiy a

yo re makg a pa wih he roer Ao avaabe are bbae wih

a oe deg pper e) ha provide greaer coro becae more

o he bae i o he workpece a yo work.

Aoher caegory o acceore i he edge gde, whch ac mch

lke he ece o a able aw ad rde aog he edge o workpece

pper rgh) . The wo a op are hop-made edge g de he b ack

gde i he mddle a aermarke edge gide made by Mcro Fece

ee eorce o p.

There are alo a varey o collar gde lower righ) o i mo popar

roer. The colar gide i o he bbae ad rrod he bi provdg a way or he c o ollow a empae.

nerstanng of a orms of rotng gie systems, campng pocees

j ig makng, an basic wooworkng Tempate otng can be one on te

tabe or on te benc wit pnge or xe base t is te essence of rotng

st as no singe knie w work n te kitcen no snge roter wi

sice or a rotng appicatons yng to cover a bases wit one roter

wi ave yo overpowere n one sitation an at isk n anoter

peraps emptyane te roter is te p in te roter tabe st as

te jigsaw raia saw, tabe saw, an bansaw aess yor sawng neesso o te trim, pnge, meim an eavy fixebase roter cove yor

roting nees

Type o Rot



2

Cutter P athwayControl

HOW we yo onro e paway o e roer i eermineqaiy o yor ress. Tere is more o roing an er ro wio i yo ave noing. Cer qaiy, maeri

preparaion ee rae, sep an aenion o eai a pay a par in qaiy o yor ings wio onro o e er paway ynever ge o praie e iner poins o roing.

roer an move in a sraig ine or on a rais as roe r

ing in ree axes a e same ime Sooping air seas or making gono an easy ask wi a roer, an very sopisiae engineering an

ring is reqire o o so. Han onro o e roer, weer in a

or sraig pa, in one pane a a ime, an e esaise wi er

ings, oars, pivos, ege gies empaes, an varios ominaions

s menione roers are vey exie oos an an, nike a a

an saw, operae as easiy in e mie o a workpiee as on an ege.

roer i an ener rom any srae eier ae any ege eier en,

aong e rais o a rve Te an e in, ener rom e ege a

sop insie a-in), or pass rig rog i Tis m reeom o

reqire preise gie sysems, is may no o e as aning as i

appears roer gie an e as simpe as a oar ampe ono e workp

Tere are many ways o onro e roer Tese vary rom e i-in

ros an asi ege gies o miromeer-onroe ire gies an ev

omperize posiioning evies a are osie e sope o is ook

or isssion prposes, i's proay es o sar a e ener o ings

e varios ways e i ise an gie e work a an



Bearing on Top

Topbeainggided ces, or paten bs,

are always sed wih a empae -

Templae Workpiece

Bearing on Bottom

End-bearing ces ypically oll

aog he wokpece

Wokpece

Collar Guide System

A ypical col lagide sysem uses a empae

ad a smalle b so ha he cig pah is

offse fom he empae

emplae Wokpiece

Sank

Cue

Beang

Cuter Pathway Cot



A consumr-grad gspd sl utiity t lik t og is guidd of t stl ilot on its

nd. Tis inxnsiv ool is for sor-rn s only

Som of t nd-arin g cuttrs can sd wit tmlats tat ar acd undr work

sots of roe its se a earings on te en Many ae ecorative

poe ctters t a few are se o join winow sas, make raets, sot o

s trim ey are easy to se an won't n te stock Most often tey

ae se for ong on eges an en-grain, or w a tempate.

t oesn't take mc sk to o wi a eainggie cte: Yo se

te ep of c ock te moto egt an p te roer inoar o get

te earing to engage e wok. ese ctes are essentiay se on te

Bearn-Guded Cue



work so at no time is a roter ase stting on 50 percent of its footprint

40 percent s more typca wit ess tan 25 percent at te ens of te ct.

ny ctter mst reac maxmm spee efore t toces te stock so r

ing part of te ct te ase casting s sifte even more off te work For a

1 n iameter ctter in a roter wt a 6nameter casting tere s

ony 37 percent of te footprint on te work on startp an tat isn 't a

ot of staity. earnggie ctter simpifies te roting process eminates te

nee for more compicate gie systems incng te roter tae, an

provies te cance to work on assemies tat migt oterwse not e

rotae sc as instae anrais or contertops

On te ownse earings foow ege efects cattere or rog

ege wi yie a cattere profie. earings, wen pace on te en

effectivey engten te too it an te more stant te earing is from

h si d prssur from a baring can b so h ig that i mars th

work If hs is a problm , somims two barigs can b usd

earng-Guded Ce



TE RS NUER N EC CHR ery i he bore he hoe) o he bear

g he ecod mber he dameer. he widh hicke) o he

bearig varie b hey are coa whi a ize her mber

are o pariclarly impora Bearg bore ca be dimhed wih

lmi wih mal precio preedo rg Thi i a precie machie

hop pracce ad m be doe wih care rror baace or a rig

ha p o ca be hazardo.

Beaig are gr od o very igh oerace. Th e hardware ad c

er geomery or edocter bearg ch ha hey hod alway

occao hey may be dic o ide oo he hak, however,

ad may reqre a pre i a hak i oo mal eavg ome pay

o he bearig o he hat he aio i hazardo ad he bearig

hold o be ed A bearg hod have ome reace o i i

o he hak ad hod be ixed wh a hak colar

SANDAD EAING AND SHANK SIZESDmss pv a s b st,

f by th uts amt.

d-Moed Bearig

n. xn

n x n

n x n

hakMoed Bearg

X n x n.

X n x n

X n x n

n x l n

n x n

J n. x n.

J in x n

n x 1n .

A routr with pattrn bis and a tmpa can han d c rvd join ry wth tight tuns

Bean-Gded Cue



28 Ctte Pathway Contol



T bai nggu idd straigh bit wll prod c a copy of th tmpl at profil

exape) Too uch cutter extension s aways hazardous In response to

this dea PR (see sources) has designed a set o cutters or any prac

tical thckness o teplate (/ to /4 in ) and workpiece thickness to li n

The syste uses ive cutters two o which have a / in oset ut into

the so the inal pass with the lush trers w e soother with a

constant / n overhang

The negatives o the endearng its also apply to the topearing

its ut a ltte ess so (They still have relatvely short ves and transitteplate edge deects and wear on the router) On the other hand the

earings are right up against the colet so there is less stress also earings

or shanks are igger hold ore lue and last longer

Two other positive points wth these cutters incude their access to the

work and their ality to otto cut ore than their diaeter A teplate

can e paced anywhere on the work which eans that edge end inside

ind through and halind cuts are possile wth these cutters Also

ecause the otto o these toos are ground to otto cut they can exca

vate an area greater than their diaeter

Collar Guides

Teplate coar guides ike pattern its are essentially used ony wth

teplates hey ehave siilarly to pattern its as they surround the

router t j ust like a earing There are our sar types o collar systes

Coa Gd e



30 Cutte Pathway Control

Coll ar guds ar usd with mplats for oinry li k cutting this half ap

Th co lar gu id and cutt r sstially act lik a pattrn it wit a arig o topshow a lft

Porter-ae he olde and ot popular ha a two-piece ring and naey hat faen o the uae. och ha a ayonet faening y

( like the lene of oe caera n whch you ner the colar tha lo

into place) that aten to an acceory that crewed to the uae

Mwaukee ha a collar hat crewed drecty o the plaic uae A

there are other hat faen to the ae catng. (Alot all router a

facturer ake acceorie for the Porer-ale yte a we a ther



Coas coe n a vaey of daees and lenghs soees fo vey

specfc obs

he engh o he coa shold wnd p js shy o he hckness o

yo hnnes epae I se �_n o hcke epaes, so I've hacksawn

y collas o n

Th PortrCabl collar gud systm hr on its 42193 offst routr bas provids a simp way to us a varity of bus hing sizs on th sam routr. T y ar intrchangabl andfit n t ing assmbly.

Thr of th most common coll ar-gu id systms: (lft to ight) Bosc h PotrCabl andMilwauk.

ola Gide



Dbe Dty frm C la rs

Route-bt gu ie colars are so

ceap I usually buy te pars

Wit te sae iaeter colla r i two

ieret routers you ca o bot

roug a s work wit te sae

setup. Wit two ifeet iaeter cut

ters you ca let te irst router o te

irty work a let te seco router

wit a slgty bgger cutter a set

sligtly eeper cea up a fiis te

job T is way tey ast loger so you

ca get ore leage out o te.

32 e Pahway ool

A colar-guid systm cuts a path thats offst from th busingso yo nd to takinto account wn dsign ing tmplats

On dsadvantag to collar systm is tat t colla r s aways

an cttr i sronds s mans tat t mplat ct s mag

on osd adi and smallr wt concav crvs Tis dscrpancy is

cad by sbtractng t radis o collar rom radis o t

Mak yor tmplat smal or larg to accont or tis drnc

ollar s s nv as prcis and prdicabl as bainggidd c

A collar mst b witin 0.001 in o cntr o so o it o b pactica

concntic o t ctt Ts rarly appns and is not ncommon

a ct to b o om cntr by n or mo T osc slcnt

collar sysm s said to b adjstab to witin 000 n o cn To

miz ro casd by t ccnticty, don' roa rotr as y

gd it against t tmpla Kp t andls, or xamp in s

orna ion to t work as yo mov t otr in t c

T colar as a spcia saty advantag in a yo can always

xtnd jst rigt amont o ct or job Any xcssv c

byond sbbas sold b minmzd Fo ll icknss cts pro

t bit / in byond t maia tcknss

On t down sid, maximm xnsion o any ctr is comp

msd by s o coas; amost all o t collt nts on al rotsit som pat o collar collar is not sd, cttr may b

xtndd rr ttr xnsion and lng, mplat sbbas an

workpic ticknss a aways n conct wit barings and colars

rl t pactcal and sa lmit o llticknss cs wit baingg

ro cts is 2 n bt 1 in wn collars a sd ck stock

b otd bt pobably sold b workd on a sapr ts larg

� in will not ntr bo o most coas



Also collar gds ik dg gids and patrn its wi allow th

ct to transr tmpa dcts to th work

Edge Guides

hs accssoris s a par o ods that it nto h ror's as casing

providing a way o astn a smal nc that gids h or paral oth workpc dg h advanags incld contnos adjstailiy and

th larg conac srac which tnds o vn ot mnor imprcions in

h dg and provid a smooth ct

Edg gids do imi h travl o th or o a lin parall o th

dg o th work whth cvd or straigh hy conss o thr compo

nns h pair o rods a ody and a nc Th nc can stragh or

radisd o mach crvd work. Each gid s dsignd xprssy o its

ro hogh an atrmark vrsion th Micro Fnc is availal o i

all poplar ors Typical cs a aong h dg across h nds or

across h width o stock Edg gids don' hav h wok accss o a colla gd and mplat and hy a snsiv o wokpic siz For xam

p narow stock lss than h radis o h as casing dos not prsn

nogh srac o th stailiy o th otr

Edg gids a latvly nxpnsiv don't mar th work and ar

continosy adjsa cas th ody/nc can posiiond any

wh aong th rods hs lxlity is prcisly what maks hm s

spcialy or th shop-mad morisr Oddy I nd thy work poorly on

most ohr jgs hy ar saly sd drcty on h work

A edgeg de sysem ses a pa o ods and a n

adjsabe fene a sides again s e wopee.

Wokpiee Cte

Edge Guide

Base asi g

Edge g ide oa wh wo Edge gde

Edge Gid



his ommad dg g id is mad from hardwood, aumnu m barand sl rod.

his afrmark dg gu id from Mic ro Fnc uss a m icromsyl adjsmn fo prcsion

34 Cuter Patway Cotrol

dg guids can b asily adjsd o vary wdh of a cu A n bi, for xampl,mak a in.-wid rabb

Sinc dg gids corrspond to t fnc on t rotr ta, t

can sd at tims in t asnc o on, t nr as a sstittWit simpl, smalld iamtr cttrs yo can mak raisd pans for

instanc. Tis is mssy t t cttrs ar small and ts saf to s in

tis way

Edg gids ar cmsy; dont xpct to work on of ts prfctl

yor irst try Not tat t nd of a ctting pass can a prom c

only a o t fnc rmains in contact as yo finis t ct nlss



pacic png a sma poion in conac w wopic,

o will pvo and spoil c a simlanos ncions

o yo o conol old-in, oddown, and slid-aong On an insid c,

any dviaion o nc om dg o wo wil l in c . On

an dg c yo j s c wo a pnaly nc says om

Th atho r's mortising jig mploys d g gu ids and stops to confin th cttr pathway toa squar or rctagular h ol

Kping th whol stp flat is mpoant whn making a raisd panl

Edge Gide



Ofset Sbbase for Added Stabiity

All routers ae ustable we al

or less o te base castig is o

te work A oset rectagula r su b

base ca overcoe istability a

we use wit a straigtege, pro

vie a secure a accu rate gu ie

ecais Wit oe se o te sub

base loger ta te oter its uc

easier to apply pressu re over te work

piece a keep te router ro tppi g.

A squar suas provids a vry

accurat gu id s urfac. If you workth sam dg of th as againstth tmp lat and ocat th tmplatin th sam plac all similar cuts will th sam.

36 e Pahway onol

A round suas is not a prcis guid for outing Any rotation of suas ca causwidning of th dado caus cuttrs ar rarly pfctly cntrd

wopic An os sbbas, sc as t PotCabl 2193 can co

a aning fnctions an sotn yo laning cv

The Subbase

sbbas itsf can b s as a ot gi wi a cv tmpa

staigg It is t last acca b qickst o st p Yo clamp

stick own on t wo, o t ot against it an ot its fas b

nv picabl o pcis Ctts a nv wlcn to t

of a on sbbas, so any otation of t o ing t ct wi

xpss in a lsstanpfc ct (Plng o bas castings com

many sapsconsqntly t g can b s as a gi to n

cnt)

poblm of giing icty of ot bas isn't limit t

cn anomaly" owv Roting ictly on t wok against a

clampown staigtg will cas t o to viat as cip flo

boncs an collcs btwn ot an t gi Moov t s

taot an cip accmation n t ot wi inf wit its an slt in vaiaions of ctting p Caly, oting wit

casting o sbbas as a gi sol b a ast sonot a fis appo

An avantag o sing t ot bas as a gi is at yo can

any ct an to is maximm pt a no baings to ngag

collas to fsat t ac of ct iscov tis by acc



wi trying to mak a ong tnon ct wit a sort cttr and collar wit a

tmpat. T sqardg sbbas garantd a straigt ct at a constant

dpt and t m xtnd t sort cttr to its maximm dpt or t

lngt o tnon ndd

Tool ShankLik t ixd-pilot sat on t nd o t tool t sank o t too can

aso b sd as a gid bt ony or sort drations wit smadiamtr

bits Yo sold nvr s t sank as a gid i t tool's ctting diam

tr is gratr tan t sank is is stricty a smal straigt tool proposi

tion, and a tmplat o som sort is ssntia .

Yo can s a in straigt bit or xampl rom t insid o a sris

o drawr opnings covrd wit pastic laminat. Yo' pnc trog

t plastic aminat and tn alow t sank o t bit to rid against t

solid wood tat ssntially orms t pattrn wic amonts to two opra

tions at onc ( t ctot and t s trim) Onc in a bl moon, mays t sank o t too wn making compmntary tmplats rom a

mastr to minimiz t ost I av also sd t sanks o sort in

sol id carbid straigt bits to gt into tigt cors o tmpat mortiss In

any vnt t sanks gt ot and t tmpat ( nss o plastic aminat)

Just as th nd of th tool can b usd as a gui d so can its shank h ctig damtr ofth too must b ual to or lss than h shank diam r his practic shol d b confin dto small ( lss han in . d iamt straight bits and l m itd o vry short d ty

oo Sa



38 Ctte Pathway Coto

Compar th radii of h cornrs of hs moriss Obviously h small cutr cus a

sqar corn.

gts won qicky, so ts is mo o a ciosity tan a viabl and impo

tant mtod o ot patway contol

The Circle Cuer

A ot astnd to a stick wit an adjstabl am o wit jst a ol

in it o a pivot, can ct t cicmnc o a cc Ts is an nt

ng mtod o patway contol T ot as now to go bt in a

cic, and t cttings a xcnt Yo wi nd a small plng o

to do tis say It is mssy, as tis is a lldiamt ctt patway, b

t a sva png ots wit vacm attacmnts tat will co

t cps

t is intstng tat t a so w owtc lowskill pocsss

oting tat a so pcis and asy T a lips maks tat wok

w also bt asd om cicls sgmnts o ccs, and ipss, don

know o any ot ss o a ot ttd to a pont o points. It sm

t sold b mo Wtot mc ado, I can mak a cc w

000 1 in o its intndd diamt wit a $ 1 00 plng ot a $ 0 bt

dola's wot o mdim dnsity ibboad, and a pvot stick, al in

w mints.



Th author's crcl cutt confns th cuttr pathway to on fixd adius.

This sotmaking jig lmits th slot lngth with a stop Th slot width is on cuttr dia mr

caus th collar cant squiggl i its slot

The Circle Cue



Templates Go First

When making disks or rngs, hav

ing a template at hand removes

vrtualy all the risk. The procedure s

to make the tempate (%in . or 1-in .

medum-density fiberboard) trace its

circumference on he work, bandsaw

the dsk leaving 1 n outsde he l ine,

clamp the te mplate to the work and

rout o pattern wth a patern bit. Thereis no need o poke a hoe in the work

or the pivot.

40 er Paway onol

Other Guide Options

Usually on guid sysm p opaion s a tha is ncssay. Fo xam

pl a colla guid s usually not quid whn a aingguidd cutt

pay ut i can us suas stops and dg guds o conol th c

pathway whn makng motss and also us a suas stop and colla

guid with my slot mak to din th lngth o th sots it maks h

poin is tha th a mutipl options o al you nds

Fhand unguidd outng s awok You can lan to cav and

wast hand u it will ak tm Smal light outs wih los o

cut visity (P , DWal 6) will giv you th st chanc

signmakng is you hing wok wih ig ts a shallow dpths Sha

cuts a ssntial Highspd s can gound o a shap dg

than caid; t may h t choic i you hav th gindng skil

to kp shap



Fixed,Base

Routers

In Unid Stats ixdbas ot as bn dominant

ot dsign o o al a cnty tool is simpl wit w

moing pats and in my iw is sa tan a plng ot o mos

opations moto campd imy (ixd) in its bas casting as a

simpl dpt adjsmn bt i mst b stoppd and st btwn cts

T plng o ocoms tis disadanag and is t tool o coic

o dp motiss tat mst b ct in sal passs (s capt )

A fixd-as routr lft is st applid in sng-dpth dg cttings Th p lug routr

rgh, is dsign d for succssiv dpth chang s ndr powr and is bst fo multi stag

insd xcavations lik mot ss.

his 1 960svintag

Black & Dckr modl

442 is sti l l nnig

chapte



Fixed-Sase Router

_

42 Fixed-Base Rouers



44 Fixed-Base Routers

CASTINGS HANDLES, AND SWITCHES

Base castings vary and ae quite distinguisable All have windows o

good cuter visibiliy, oug mos base plates are black and ide te

surace. DeWalt and Pore-Cable will supply accessory transparent su

replacemens. A router at can readily sand upside down or bi cha

is a nice convenience. Porte-Cable, DeWalt, and Milwaukee ave

accounted o this Te Bosc model has a adius on te moor cap ocomfor, but at some expense for upside down stabiliy

Te knob or andle assemblies o most fixed-base ouers are pla

low on te macine and provide sability Plastic , wood, and metal a

ypical mateials, and mos people will have ei own opinions on w

ae most comortable. I use an oset subbase on all o my fixed-base

outers, and control te tool wi one and on e base casting and

oer on the oset base. Tis coniguration allows maximum contol

cially aound te cornes and along e edges o te work. Howeve,

should be aware that the position of te two casting knobs supplied w

roue is well toug out. So give em a good try before consideing

changesWie ses are eite two- or hee-conductor depending on ow

tool is insulaed. Double-insulated tools will ave two-prong plugs wi

he gound. All commecial oues use rubbe jacketed wire sets but

ae dieent lengts I am 6 . tall and always use an exension cord

I would like the plug to emain on e ground and or me tha means

O-t wie se.

The DeWat 61 0 shown here can be supplied with a cea plastic, round replacement

base for col lar gu ide use . he flat head provdes a sable base fo trn ing it upsde do

bit changes.



Th mapl knobs on th Bosch subbas gt yo as clos to th work as any outr

h Portr-Cabl mod 690 bas casting is th prfct siz for my had I'v got th samcontrol on his rotr as th quaback has on th football

Switcs ar slid, oggl, ock or tigg, and tr locatons vary

wold not slc a rotr basd on t switc; t's a good ida to clariy t

o posiion so yo know t ool is o wn yo plg it n t away

Also, prpar yorsl or a qck stop and kp yor ands in a convn-

Rouer Basic



46 Fixed-Base Roues

For addd safty th autho r hi gh lig hts th off dirction on h switch

int ocation o itting t o btton asily Yo nv now wn

camp may slip o somting ls go awy

POWER

Fixdbas ots in t commcia class ang om abot 1 to 3

Wigt and appopiat applications scal p wit t pow xpct

o 8 ponds dinc witin tis pow ang Mo pow also mmo mtal and consqnty t capacity to soa p at A ot

avy s can at p and i t at xcds t cooing ans capac

tn t ot gts ot to t toc Howv t long it tas top t ss lily it wil ba down om ovload So i yo ot

consistnty ot dc t load o gt a bigg ot

Potabl as vy pow ang covdom k p to 3

DWalt's only nty is 1 5 p osc as mods in p and 2 p aMiwa in 1 li p and 2 p Ryobi Maita and Sas/atsman al

av ixdbas ntants o vaios stngts, bt Maita is t ony

commcialgad too wit two ntis at 1 p and 13k p Pota

as an xclsiv in t sstaind allday pow class (518, and t

no ot ixdbas ots o its siz (3 p )



-HANLE ROUTERS

T Dandld rotr is t last poplar fxdbas dsign and t most

costly t dos noy a imitd nic mart, owr. ts adocats caim

safty and control bcas a pistol-styl switc is grppd to start t

rotr To stop yo j st rlas. Wit t switc n and yo can st

down qicky bt n my w tat safty margn is mor tan ost by a

loss of control A Dandd rotr is always ld t sam way and asss stability as yo fnis a pass at t nd of t workpic. Moror, t

oblgatory D-andl n lin wt t tra of t rotr intrfrs wit

cts mad wit dg gids and colar gids.

h D-handld sy of routr provids on-andd control which is oftn convnint for

rptitv work

T PorrCal 691 D-hand casting

Roue Basic



Poer-Cable 690

Weght

Speed

Amps

Sof sar

Horsepowe

eght adjuster/mechansm

Colets

Basepate dameter

8 bs

Singe 3000 rpm

10

no

1

Contnuous, motor ws

Y4 n. Y2 n

. ,

n

& metrcs opton

5% n



squat casting shown with pgradd lock lvr and accssory offst bas povids somch cotro that t ca lik an xtnsion of your hands

Leading Fixed-Base Routers

There s no snge perfec roer Mos have some exceen feares,

mae compromses n oher mporan areas Some are o esgns ha s ll

or el l ohers offer ne soons o some s cy prolems he DeWa

610, for eampe, s a uay oo has een n proucon vral ly

unchange for over 30 years (frs as a Blac & Decer ool an Elu oo)

On he oher han, he Bosch 161ES s a relavely ne oo h some

nnovave feares. Each of he roers has s on personaly an s onse of srenghs an eanesses

TH E DEWALT 61 0

As menone aove, he DeWal 6 10 esgn s a leas 30 years ol an

essenally unchange A rac an pnon gear rases an loers he moor

n he housng I can e ajse, le he 690, o zero a any pon n s

Weght

SpeedAmp

Sof stat

osepoe

eg aduse/mecansm

Coets

aseplate damee

DeWalt 61 0

3 bs

Sge pm

no

1 .

Rack & pno

% n & n

6 n (sho h an accessoy

oset base)

DeWat 610

eading Fxed-Base Roer



50 Fixed-Base Roues

The three moor pack projections add anoher 1 n of travel to thi s DeWalt 6 1 0, whi ch

also show with ro nd collet n t and co la

ravel and is depth ring is indicaed in /4ths A wing nu is sandard f

ightenng he casting around the moo, bu a shor lever s beter (a

ool, KHB- 1 , for exampe) . The casting is not sawn through as on Po

Cabe; raher a /4in. srap (band) of the casting is cinched on the mo

on he rack sde of he base he gip is not as sure compared wth thePoter-Cabe, but he moto never slips

Two postive changes in he DeWalt 6 0 that warant prase ae i

collet nut and moto barel exensions. The collet nut has been milled

fi inside s accessory collar gudes The closer he collet can ge o ts

template, the less deflecion there s wth he cuttera nice touch h

610 (and its ancesors) have never had much up and down moor rav

and used o be quite popular n he outer able neverheess. When h

tool cared the Eu and Black & Decke abes, s moor pack was

redesigned o accep a longer ack fo is deph pinion gear. his cleve

change added anothe 7 in of ravel fo a ota of about 1 3/4 n Howev

more tave is at he expense of securty. If the /4-n deph is exceede

the base casting's grip on the moo pack sn secue.

The 610 hard-sat, 1 -hp rouer is moe sensiive o cutter mbal

han oher outers its s ze. 's fine with small , squaty pofile cutters ik

ogees roundoves and beves, but t vibaes more han like with lon

( � in ) cuters of equivalen dameer his gets more pronounced w

beaing-guded route bts he moor rests well upsde down fo cue



hanges an requres two erent sze wrenhes to unlo ts ollet

hrough the sueeng years ts astngs have eteorate soe an sef

tappng subbase srews have eplae through-hoe ahne tappng

Whle uner the Eu label the 610's olet was at ts best: eght-slotte

an self-eleasng. Uner the DeWat abe the olet was splfe to a

sngle sl t noneleasng esgn. ts shot length (4 n ) probaby on

tbutes to ts vbraton senstvty Nevertheess t oes grp the utterwel an utters o not st n the ol let

he 6 10 aepts few aessores but DeWalt oes have lea roun

an oset subbases for ths tool n ther atalog Wth ts short stabe

geoetry ts abty to proet the olet nto a ollar gue an wth ts

tanspaent aessory subbase the too s patualy well sute fo ove

tal an bo-ont teplate wor. It s just as stable along the ege of sto

wth eoator utters he early Bla & Deer toos wth essentally the

sae esgn wee esgne to go ght ba to wor after a 6-ft. op to the

loor. he swthes ast foeve but the wre sets see to have about a two

year l fe span f use egularly.

TH E BOSCH 1 617 EVS

Bosh s the frst to poue an a-new outer sne the Porte-Cabe 690

osse ove fro Rowell. t s however a stanar-loong router an

requres lose nspeton an a few pate uts to be appreate

he base astng s equppe wth a two-stage epth ajuste. t s by

no eans a oeter but sall ontnuous epth hanges an be ae

by tunng the srew auster whle the otor o s sengage. he

oto has thee sall retangular nothes on -n enters le nto t

or on opposte ses he epth auste engages a noth for ts rough pos

ton an the verner s use for the fne ajust. he total otor travel sabout 1 n. ts not a goo ea to eee that If the otor snt

engage wth ts epth ajuste asseby the lo syste wont wo prop

erly. One nterestng note he oto an be nserte n two aetraly

oppose postons wthn the astng so that you an easly aust the

swth poston for ease of operaton

Wg

Spd

AmpsSo sta

ospow

g adst/mchansm

Colts

Baspat dam

Bosch 1 617EVS

bs

Vaab 8-25, pm

1 2Ys

2

T n ncmnts

wh sconday connos mco

n in & % in.

6 n.

eadig Fixed-Base Roe



52 Fixed-Base Routers

A sprng lock egages a notch in the casting for the ough �-n changes on the Bosch 1

Bosch designed ths too with vaable speed double insuation an

soft stat. The castngs ae magnesum, and with its 2hp motor it's as

as the DeWalt 61 0 Hgh power and ight weight don't usuay go toge

You might expect the tool to run away from you ke its 1604 sngle sp

predecessor On the contrary the 16 7EVS s a delight to out with.

The colet seat s med ight into the end of the armatue; there

no coupngs. Ths, aong with its precision bearngs algnment ama

design, and balance make ths the smoothestrunning motor of all the

outers I know of

Bosch has solved the moto lock problem that pagues some other

routers. The base casting is splt though its height on one side and ha

vey usefrendly overcenter lever ock much lke a togge camp It

adjustable for wea and stretch and is designed for a close ft between

motor and the base castng

The base casting s dilled for its own subbase, and has the same t

hole pattern used for the Porter-Cable 690 specialty accessory subbase

route tabe The design of the interior of the base casting and its subb



allows the gue coar to get wthn 000 n or better o center The

16 1 7EVS s useful or al feepth cuttng wth a 2 hp router. t has

unque avantages n cose quarters an ts orgvng soft start wll prevent

an unwante c nto an uncut area Moreover ts feebac electroncs

start the tool graualy (soft start) an prove a new easure o saety

not oun n harstart tools. he 16 1 7EVS can aso absorb netc acc

ents such as an unepecte g nto the uncut atera f ' nto eperenta wor Ill choose the 1 6 1 7EVS for ths reason because routng can

be cey In ornary wor the otor behaves le a sngespee tool but

there s an nstantaneous overoa ths s the router I want to be usng.

It also has an atonal 4hp ratng over the sngespee 6 1 7 for ths

purpose

MILWAUKEE 5680

he M wauee s a 2 hp sngespee harstart coercal grae router

that has reane essentally unchange for ts lfete o over 20 years.

The otor heght s ajuste wth a pastc rng engage n a spral

groun aroun the outse of the otor he otor s hung" n the castng by ths rng so the echans oesn't wor when the router s upse

own t's not a great choce or the router table. heres aso no way to

zero the vertcal poston n the router. A epth changes are thereore

reatve to the last reang o the epth rng. he otor travel s about

1 n after that the castng begns to ose ts grp on the otor

Mlwauee s crete wth the rst utsplt selfreeasng coet ts

1 n overall length an eghtse nut s a cobnaton not to be oun

n any other router. The otor has a very lat an arge hea or easy bt

changes upse own

he Mwauee 5680 s one of the nosest an toughest of routersesgne to flop aroun n the bac o a pcup truc an has long been

the stanar for carpenters an outse traesen he 5680 s we bal

ance an ergonocally acceptable but the nta cbac on startup

has got to be the ost powerful o any 2hp tool. Its squat heavy otor

helps eep the tool flat on ege cuts

Milwaukee 5680

Weight

Speed

AmpsSo start

Horsepowe

eig adjuse/mechanism

Coets

Baseplae diamee

85 Ibs

Snge 26 pm

1 2no

2

Ringng moo twist ng

Y in . Y n & in

6 in (sown wh an accessory

ose base)

Prevent Accidental Goug

Apowerul router especialy

wtout a soft-start eatue

lu rc we you irst lip t e swit

elp prevet cotact wt te wo

piece keep te router a ull oute

iaeter away fro te wo rk at

Leadg Fixedase Roue



54 Fixed-Base Roers

h Mi lwauk 5680 has th ony ig h-sidd col n t and is on o h fist with an

slottd slf-rlasig collt

The M wauee caing are beter han o bu ill need oe

debring n y view thei pli-bae cating deign hold the oor

bu ther wng nt aebly for ightening i too all Ive repaced

with a et cew and n The niqe crewon colar gide yte a

otor travel and high power of thi roter ae i paticay ueful

doveai/bo oint tepate wo all edge cting and pattern ct

TH E PORTER-CABLE 7518

he PorterCable 5 1 8 i he arget fied-bae roer Boch and Blac

Decer ed o copete in thi nche but the 518 i now aone in th

cla t not ofen thi happen upect he reaon for th pcing

he econoe of cale; neverthele thi i ju a lot of outer at a price

PoerCable 7518

Weig

Speed:

Amps

So sta

osepowe

Hegh adjuste/mecaism

Coles

Basepate diamee

145 Ibs.

Vaiabe 5 speed

10,000-2 000 pm

15

Yes

3.25

Contiuos moto ws

X n , Y in . % n.

& mercs opo

7 i (sow w accessory

ofse base)



With its lon g motor barrl th Portr-Cab 751 8 has mo up and dow travl tan anyroutr fxd or pl ng.

that can't be beat This heavy-duty achne s the ost poweul ied-base

us. router at 10 volts and 3!4 hp Eveything about this route is big t

weighs n at ore than 1� ties 5 lbs) its closest rva. t has at least asuch up-and-down oto travel as any oute It has the lagest base cast

ing ootprint o any outer. And it has an overa height o ore than a

oot. One would epect ths achine to be hard to han dle and t can be

with bg cutters but it is deceptvely tactable in noral use

The otor its in twin spials within the base castng and one otor

revolution transates nto 1 in o cutter height change he tool is doube

nsulated sot start and ncreentally vaiable in steps o 3,000 p

Leading Fixed-Base Roue



58 Fixed-Base Roes

Basic notchs a anothr strong point of th fixd-as rout r

his stp and rpat dcorativ cov can managd w with a fxd-as routr agu d and an offst suas Mak su to p ull th coll ar firmly against th tmp latdviation will spol th whol pattrn.



Fixd-as tools ar th st choic for tmplat-dg cuts. Thy hav a low cntr o gravity and ar lss likly to tip than a plng routr.

pnge roter cs wth a cter fly eended ay case a roter to tp as

yo psh the tool aong, especay wh a shortbase fooprnt n the drec

on o travel. ( Pnge roters don't generally have rond sbbases ) Al l

edbase roers have rond sbbases that beter spport he ool nder

these condons

The fedbase roter s a necessary roter or the lee woodworer

or hobbyst. Nether a pnge nor fedbase roter wll cover all ypes of

rotng saelyso plan on ownng one of each

Bes Fixed-Base Applicaio



6

The plunge router which has been around for about 50 years

rom a ixed-base tool primarily with the ntegration of the m

with the rest o the tool and the ncorporation of a pair of tu

that provde the mechansm for controlling the up-and-down motion

whole assembly is designed to unction as a sngle unit and doesnt co

apart for bt changes or anything else

Al l plunge routers all comprised of a base casting and the two po

shed tubes or the motor to pogo" (move up and down) on A stop tis a common feature and used to regulate the depth changes. An up-s

is often used to set the motor head at the same starting point Also st

dard on most plunge routers are motor locks handles swtches edge-

accessores depth gauges and split self-releasing collets. Some other u

features sometimes found are: a sot start so the machine doesn't jump

when yo ip the switch; variable speed; two-step saety switches; vac

funnels for chp collecton; spndle locks; protective bellows for the p

tubes; two-stage mcroadjusters or precse depth control; and electrc

braking

Plunge routers are desgned to be used in your hands with the aid

gravity; they arent really meant for the router table where many of th

are found today (The issue of ust what makes a good table router wil

dscussed in chapter 6) In my view the plunge router can be utlized

ever use of the ixed-base seems rsky or is clumsy o be sure a plung

router can be modifed jigged or ixtured for nearly any cut that a fx

base machine can do but ths doesnt always make sense Simple s be



his squard-off as casting is a typcal plung routr configuation. Fixdas castings

ar rond h polishd ts and plu ng arings in th DWalt 621 provid th tool with

a smooth pung action

Th pstop on this PortrCa 6931 can sd with a fin-adjust kno for continu os

adjstmnt It also can st so you kno w th cuttr is clar of th work whn th had is p

The pnge roter's essental advantage is its abity to star p with

the cter retraced and stab into the worpiece in a controled ashion.

Thereater t can remove the remaning sock in eqal passes changing

depth, and ceanng p its mess ( in many cases) all while its motor is

rnning. Wha cod be sweeter?

Pluge Roe



62 Plnge Roes

Spee selecor

Pge lock

p-sop l nge poss

Coet -

Buon epesse

will lock armare.

Turret stop

Base casn g

MOTOR HEAD



Th RT-1 00 pl ug ou fom in i s h nws of a las g h 3-hp mach ns I hassof sa, vaiabl spd and a 3in p lun g sok

Th DWa 621 igh, has is moo lock in h lf-han knob Spin i o lock o unock hPo-Cabl moo lock, lf, is on" in is dfaul posiio A wis of h lv unlocks i

PLUNGE TUBES

All oto heads are astened to oced on, and pogo on a pai o plnge

tbes. They ae hardened, sally pol shed and soeties covered with

protective bellows If a wench sips o the collet nt, it will dng a tbe

and spol the sooth tavel o the oto head (Soe achines now se

one o the tbes or chip coection when attached to a vac.) The

idiosyncasies o the tbes ae not reason enogh to accept or reect a

Basic Anaom



Some pl unge routers wil l jam if you

plunge down on only one handle

which you can l ive wth. But if com-

pession on both handles does not

resut n a smooth up and down g ide

of the head to t s fu l extremes, that

router should be eft aside

roue bu ther nerplay wh he oto head and colun beangs

You should caefully chec for a sooth acton when consderng a

puchase

he spngs hat pogo he roue on the posts shod be such hat

pc he oto head p to ts sop n a easured and nearly boyant f

on An ovespng otor headhat s one wth too uch sprng

pevent a sooth plunge acton

BASE CASTINGS

The base casngs of plunge routers are all deen szes and shapes. T

eason for such dvesty s control The desgnes of hese devces ass

hat a stagh secon on a base castng cod be sed aganst a gude

ore conto and accracy. n pactce he subbase/castng s the leas

accuae and ost roublesoe ethod of gdng a roue. In fac th

truncated castngs aong wth the eevaed oor head are the reason

plunge routes are so unweldy. A round base castng s the bes cop

se he Poter-Cable 7 53 9 has the bggest; the DeWat 621 has one

the worst whch w addess later. Large cear plasc stably" subases are avaable for soe plunge roters.

The castngs eceve the pnge tubes; povde a eans for collar

gude subbase and edge-gde atachent; and suppor the urre so

They are soetes also used as funnels fo the vacu systes. The

vac syses do wor bt he hose can get n the way. Durng pro

ton he hose s soees sppoted fro above the woer.



T DW 621 as long een te oute o coce n

midweigt plunge outers Tis 2-p variale-speed

sofsta 9l macine as an egonomic design

and an excelent plunge action ts plunge stroke at

2% in s a it soter tan some outes ut sustan

tial noneteess

Te DeWalt as a two-stage dept adjuste on a

ackandpinion gea Te fine adjuster s a screw

penc" witn te coase aduste Adjustments to a

few tousandts o an inc ae posse oweve a

ock to pevent slppng wile outng woud e an

mprovement

Also standard wit te 621 is ntegated cp

colecton capailty Te ase castng vacuum funnel

and ts exaust tue (douing as a plunge tue

were engineered as a package not an afeougt

Te system woks very well on nside cuts te main

arena fo te punge route aulng a ose as you

DeWalt 621

9 lbs

rout is not great un ut its ette tan getting M

n you eye

Te 621 as a spindle ock so only one wenc

needed to cange its ut tis as ts dawack

Te outer must e on its sde or te cutte can

wil not st upsde down t is easie to accdental

as one o te punge posts wt a sipped spin

wenc tan if you ave two wences gasped

and opposng one anote

Te doulensulated outer as an 8ft wire s

tat's sor for a 6 person Also its sor su

axis s n te directon o travel so tat te tool ca

easiy tp i te cutter s deeply engaged in te w

An afemarket lagedamete suase is avala

te 621 tat wl elp keep t at on te work

ne common featue tats ackng n tis plun

outer is a stop to limt te upwad tavel

Weght

Speed

Amps

Vrbe rpm

Soft stt

osepowe

Colles

Bseplte dimete

Pge stroe

Power as an Asset

Yes

4 in & in

/i x 6in ctte

hoe oset2

I think plunge routers do their bes work on inside cts dong ulistage

work ike orisngjobs hey were desgned or A pnge router can

approach an inside cu nder power, no tip and wase away sock in

stages o an in or so in seconds. Three or for quick passes and yore

n to 4 in deep A ct hat deep would break a ot of rouer bits in a

fied-base ool. A -in -deep ct wth a -n- or 4-n -diaeter sraightbit and a -ap tool is a cakewalk wth a pnge router. Wih ore power

you can do t faster and take deeper cts b not ch ore; the cters

cant take i. Consequently, or a lot of plnging uch ore han 2 hp is

wased.

Power as a Asse



CHIP COLLECTION CAPABILITY

negraed vacm collecion sysems are a good idea. he DeWal 62 1

and 625 and he PorerCabe 7529 (and oher PorerCabe roers) are

vacm ready Afermare vacm accessories are becoming common

Chip and ds coecon are no ony imporan for or heah b he

qaliy of wor can improve oo. A rec chip wears on he cer and

fols he fooway n gh qarers especally wih emplae morisingCoars and bearings ransmi edge and empae defecs ino he wor. f a

bearng rolls over a chp can case a bmp on he wor. he vacm

hose s roblesome b beer han a chaered profile Some wor espe

caly wih plascs wl reqire ehas rgh a he cer

REMOVABLE HANDLES

or hand conro grps are essenia or roer able se hey are nnec

essary he DeWa 625 and red 2000 for eample have removabe

handles for easer nsaaion he Hiachi plnge roers all have handles

ha pivo.

220 VOLTS

he only pnge roer wh vols is he Bosch 165 and is soon o

be phased o he 2hp Bosch 617 (fedbase) has a vo opon.

Roers wih 10 vols are capabe of heavy wor b hey are no prodc

on oos Someimes hey are sed in prodcion wor b he eqiva

en operaon s sally done on he shaper if hors or shfs of he same

operaon are called for Shor very heavydy cngs are ely o brn

o a sandard roer he vo oo will rn cooler onger whch is is

essenial benef.

Even if shaper power and drabily were availabe in a roer he

presenday n shan ools coldn sand he sress. he power o aea deeper c a a higher feed rae s nce b he lming facor is he c

ers which are liey o brea

SPINDLE LOCK

Spindle locs are fond on mos plnge roers n my vew he wo

wrench sysems are easer and less iely o case accidenal harm o he

roer and o he sqeezer. sspec her presence on plnge roers is

more for mareng prposes han pracicaiy How else can yo eplan

heir absence on fedbase oos?

COLLETS

Al roers have coles A cer seizing in he cole sed o be an ordi

nary eperience B oday essenialy a roers se mlispl self

releasng designs. hey al e go of heir cers handy on demand and

hold he cer igh No mch can be said abo coes ecep eep

hem clean ( inside and o) and hrow hem away every 300 hors o

500 hors or so or mmediaely if a cer slps in one.

Pvnting Thft

Some sops use a 220volt

as a meas to prevet te

teory tat most potetial tiev

wont ave te igt electrcal o

use te tool

Hepl Feae



68 Pge Rotes

his offst su bpla can b usd wit Pot-Cabl colla gu ids.

Ths co lts a sim la Mak tm so you won't accidn tally put on i n h wong

Sinc h collts a captud on thi nut, thy pul out of t amatu and nv sti

th out

Best Uses for Punge Routers

Cearly, a plunge router can e used wheever the fixed-ase route can

the fixed-ase route poses soe riss to the operato n applicatons w

the punge router does ts est wor We have aleady estalshed that

plunge oute is handicapped doing edge wor, so what can t do est?

MORTISING

Mortsing with a fixed ase is arely pactical o safe A plunge sta wi

fixed ase and cutter extended ay cause the route to self-feed or e

the cutte. A plunge outer is the est too for otses or speed and

accuacy a g shoud e used wth an edge guide on oth sdes of the

and jig (see chapte 9) Motise depths to aout 2 n are the practc



70 Plunge Routers

You can ou fom boh sides of he wo wen making a disk o hole. Obviously use

same pivo hole. If you eave a in membane, you can jus sna p i ou of he bla

Full-hickness slos ae mulisage cus. The wok is clamped below he window whe

colla guide s siing. A sample is show on he j ig Thee is p eny of plafom suppo

he oue



CUER-BREAKING TROUBLES

Bes Uses fo Pluge Roue



72 Pnge Roers

Th us of this :i-radius roundovr bit imits th am out of bas casting on th wdu rng startup to lss tha 0 prcnt, so I scrwd an ual thicknss stick to th caor sup port

oute in this uti ity" function wihout hesitation its instail ity notw

sanding. Moeove any cutting eo fom he staight i wil e com

pleey eased y he dovetail it Fo the es dovetail cutings ty to

plow with the next smale doveail it ahe than a staigh it

ROUTER TABLE USE

Plunge outes ae poaly the most popula choice fo ote ales,

especialy fo heavy use his is mainy ecause hee ae moe choicein the 3 -hp ange than with fixed-ase oues hey'e also eaively

inexpensiveas 3-hp oues go

But he choice does pesent sevea polems Since the plunge o

moto head is insepaale fom he es of the oute you can't change

i easiy if the oo is olted ight to the aletop. Consequently, mos

fos compomise y ataching the plunge oute to a ig piece of plas

meta tha's inse ino the aletop. The whoe assemly is emoved fo

changes

n my view this compomises the outing pocess as well as he ta

top integiy and flatness. Inevitay the top wil cup up slighty and will he pastic inset Expect inteuptions as the wo umps into h

tansitions whee he pastic meets the op Moeove, expect the pas

defect as you pess the wo down and against the cutte Cose wo

e fusated when a tale has the inset consuction 's not so muc

plunge oute eing in the ale it wil wo, u it is he inset and i

insaaion hat ae polematic pefe a fixed-ase oute oled di

to he undeside of the oue tale op



Porter-Cable 7529

Weight

Speed

Amps

Sof sar

Horsepower

Collets

Basepate diameter

Puge soke

Porter-Cable 7529

1 1 bs

Varabe 10,000-23000 rpm

1 2

Yes

y in , i. , % n ,

& metrics opio

6 .

i

he Pote-Cable 7 52 9 plnge ote is new in the us aet and

designed to copete with the best of the

o openes the Pote-Cable has a hefty pnge stoe ( 2/ n. total)

and a age, stable base castng wth a ond sbbase. he Pote-Cable hasan p-stop that does doble dty as a ll ange icoadste in both

diections of tave he 7529 also has a spinde lock, bt the copanys

standad pai of wenches can aso be sed.

his doble-insated 2-hp, vaable-speed soft-stat too also has an

electonc bae an ipotant safety feate t has a eatively qet and

well-balanced oto, with a 10-ft powe cod.

he aoed egonoic gips ae cose to the contols. One conto,

the depth stop can be adjsted with the left hand while hoding the gip

a the while aintaining contol of the ote, a Pote-Cable ecsive.

Th PortrCab 931 lng rout

T h o on h Por-ab

an b work whil or lf ha

i l l on gr a mart af m

Poe-able



DWalt 625

74 Plnge Roers

Pote-Cable has also desgned the base astng as a vauum funn

wth a onneton fo a -n vauum hose Colletos ae also avalab

o edge tmmngs whh ae hade to pk up.

The vaable-speed seleto s saely out o the way, but s dul

otate The tool has two swthes wth themal oveload poteton, b

have touble wth the tgge swth oodnatng the two steps to lo

on The plunge glde s aeptable, but the head wll am downwadpessue s only appled to one knob The tool s heavy at 1 1 lbs and

wde than t s thk, makng t unstablebut less so than most

Anothe plus s that Pote-Cable has desgned ths tool fo oute

table o hand use wth a mehansm that povdes fo ontnuous adju

ment ethe upsde down o ght sde up

Pote-Cable also has two othe plunge outes The 693 1 plunge

oute s essentally the 69 fed-base oute wth a plunge base The

and 7539 ae plunge vesons o the Speedmat 3 -hp fed-base ou

DeWalt 625

The ndusty standad n the heavyweght lass s DW-6 25 omely t

Elu 3338. Lke all outes, t s not peet but deseves ts poston as

best bg plunge oute. ts ontols ae well stuated and funton sma

The plunge glde, as on the DW-62 1 s as good as t gets The mam

plunge depth s 2 n Its eatues ae othewse unemakable eept

ts onspuous upstop. t lmts the up-tavel and untons as the fn

adustment knob.

The 625 s a double-nsulated, 3-hp, vaable-speed, soft-stat, 3

tool t has a spndle lok o one-wenh utte hanges a two-stage

depth adjuste, and a tgge swth wth a lok. It's a good toolt sues fom the usual plunge oute nstablty poblems beaus

base s so small, but an oset subbase wll keep the tool at on the wo

Also, ts base astng s tunated and the utte openng s so wde th

an snag on the ones of the wok. Anothe mno poblem s that t

aton of the up-stop quk elease button s stubbon

Wegh

Speed

Amps

Sof stat

Horsepower

Colles

Basepae diamete

Plunge stoke

DeWalt 625

133 Ibs.

Variable 8,000-24000 rpm

15

Yes

3

Y4 in. , Y in . & % in.

5 n. x 6': in

2716 in.



La minate Trim

Routers

Lainae ri roers are essenialy sa roes designed or lgh

dy hores. They have 4-n. oes range ro � hp o 1 hp and

generay weigh 3 lbs o lbs hey spn as (25,000 rp o

30,000 p) b se sho r ers Wih a sal diaeer o ah

he shan sze hese ers don' genealy have baane pobes a his

high speed.

The eld has gown o he pon where here ae qie a ew hoies,

inlding Poer-Cabe DeWa Bosh, Hiahi, Maia Ryobi andFred Pore-Cable has hee deren odels, so hee are a leas nne

hoies. he DeWal, Bosh and Pore-Cabe riers an be spple

ened wih lng o ose-base asings hese wil l alow spealy

operaons sh as sribing a onerop o a wall wh he oner in

plae. The Hahi sandard base wi i 0 o 5 degees.

Guide Systems

In a way he variey o anae ng syses is a bi sprsing They

range ro sipe ba-beaing gides o aeae iroeer-ype syses sh as he Mio Fene gde wh preison roee adjsen.

he bal-bearng-gded ri e ay be he spes ehod o

ng ainae lsh o s sbsae. The sandard sh-ri b has

he bearng a he boo o he er b he op-oned bearng s

5



76 Laminae Trim Rouers

This Bo sch Mod el 1 609A offset trim router

has he cutter off to one sde so it can tr im

closer to an i nside corner and scribe the

wall profile onto a countetop or back

splash

The ti tingbase Htachi Mode TR6 t

router can be used when the edges o

sub strate are at an ang le . I can aso

used with an edge gu ide and straigh

bevel wih a straight cutter

Top-bear ing pattern bits used wth tr im routers are excellent for temp late rou ting jobs

as small hinge motises.

inceasngly popula. The Achilles heel of the ball-bearng trm route

the bearing Small bearings at high speed just don't ast very ong. Yo

get as ittle as an hour o so of cumulatve use befoe the bearing runs

of lubrication and fas to spin propey



all-bearinggUided bits can be

expected to rim about 1 ,200 ft

off couterops at a feed rae of 20 ft

per miute. That's about 120 average

legth coutertops.

78 Lamnate Trim Roues

Most trim routers have these accessory roller gu ides availab e. S ince the bearn gs d

spin at the rate of the route, they last a long time

Solid carbide bits can trim and bevel si multaneously, and ae surpris ngly inexpensiv

However they leave skid marks o th e edges of the work

SOLID TRIM CUERS



EDGE GUIDES

In place o (o n addon o) ball beangs soe anufacues ae s

pe plasc edge gudes ha fasen o he subbase he edge gude has he

advanage of connuous adjusably and he sde pessue s ansfeed o

he casng o subbase nsead of he cue o aaue. hps can ap

heselves beween he edge-gude surface and he wo and scach

Edge gudes can aso be ade o nes n cuved suraces Wh an edge gudeyou have oe cue choces bu cabde s essena wh pasc lanae

HE PRER-LE 30 HS G

hed its ostio as the idstry

stadard i tim oters t has

bee odctio fo ove

25 years eviosy der the

ockwel ame his qet

(27000 rm, 4am, 3 .75-b.sqat oter s hadsized ad

the east toheavy of trim

mes. Wth its sral god

motor ied by the deth rig

ctte height chages are easy

ad tavel greate tha 1 i

is ossible. The rod moto

lock kob s ot great bt

accetabe.

itig ad osetbase cast

igs ae o oger avaiabe fo

the 310 A two-wrech colet ock (o sidle lock s ather coveiet. I'd recommed a arge trasaret ofset o rod sbbase fo

ths ote.

As edgeoy toos all tim oters are stabe, ad the 310 s o

exceto. ts sde switch s exosed ad verabe to a accideta

start tte vsbily is from oe sde oly becase ts moto is cetered

i its widowed castg ad is ot cateveed like the Bosch ad othes.

Poer-Cable 310

Weigt

pee

Amps

ft strt

Hrsepwer

Height ste/mecnism

Cllets

Bsepte imete

7 bs

inge spee: 7 rpm

4

N

Abt

Rg hung twist rng t

1in+ rnge

in

4n sk

Gude Sysem



Other Features and Applications

Trim roues are indeed ouers es we foge. They accep oue bi

guides, spin a abou 2 5 000 rpm o 30 ,000 pm and can rou he sam

maeria as big rouers. As such a im ouer can be used or genera

and nonerous meawor. Howeve I woud never epec indusria

ouer service fom a rim roue.

A trim router can be used for hardware mortisig emplate cutters like this one have

mou nted bearing s to follow te pattern

he transparent sub base accessory will accept the two-piece Poter-Cable col lar gu d

assembly.



This roudove it is perfect for knocking off the sharp corners rom the planer or jointer

You can template-out shallow excavations usng top-bearng-guded

bts Also, ts handy that both the PoteCabe and DeWat trim routers

wil accept PorteCable colla guides or tempate wo Smal poile

cutters ae also good or oundoves (up to a adius o X in.) , bevels, and

Vgrooves. But d eep the depths o cut very shallownot more than

the euivaent o /6 n square

I now a carver who wastes shallow reie rom hs blans beore

using his chsels. Wth an edge guide and straght bit you can mae wide,

shallow, decorative abbets here isn't much depth adustment with trimroutesmaybe 1 n at most Remembe, these tools ae designed or trim

mng, not o timbe-rame oney.

STABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

You woudn't thn one-handed tools would have stabity problems but

they do. he suat designs ae moe stable but the tal Tom Collins"

tumbler desgn is more precarious A 3 -in.- or 4n.d iameter subbase tim

route with a -in. cutte has less than 2 sq. n o contact on the wor

piece as it rounds the coner. t wi ll tip A lager subbase is recommended

Also Ryob and Mata have clear see-through subbases all the rest

have blac bases, and the cutter vsibi lty s poor

Oher Feaures and Applicaio



Mke ife Esier

Use wo wrenches o change he

bis on rim rouers so you don '

have o srugge o hol d on wh ie ry

ing o urn he wrench.

82 Laminae Trim Roues

The author's offset subbase provides increased control for edge work, especially arou

turns ad on ends.

SPINDLE LOCKS

Th spndl loc is sots pasd as a good fatu fo out-it chan

I would ah us two wnchs A spndl loc on a i out is unwi

th otos a so sall that you can't hold th whn using a singl wn

Howv cus an't changd that oftn n th t out

DEPTH OF CUT CHANGES

Th cut dpth whn ng plastic lana s no citica Plus o

nus n. is asy toal and quid to distiut th wa ov

lngth of th fut Sinc h sn't uch dand fo a pcis dpth

cut fancy dpth changs a not found on os ti outs h on

xcpion is th Pot-Cal 3 0 which you can adjus vy accuat

Th oo s hung on a dpth ing hat vnly suppots t. A un of th

calatd ing aiss o lows th it in a pcis and asud way.

Cantlvd oto/castng dsigns wih scw lfts tnd o ja unss

suppot h oto with you f hand as you chang dpth st ings



Wit

Sp

Aps

So sta

orspowr

t ajust/hans

Collts

asplat iar

Bosch 1 608

Bosc 1608

35 Ibs

30000 p

5.6

o

Abou 7/

Srw-n vs s, in an

n

%-in x - in anl

he Bosh 608 tri router a 5 6 aps and 3 5 lbs , is ight and

powerfuand wih is shielded swih you an aidentally fire i s

upanddown ehanis is better han os wih Ip in of srew-driven

depth adjustent. The ole is spli three ways and holds its uters wel

is tighened with one wrenh, while the arature is hed wih anotherwrenh near he top of he tool ts retanguar subbase asting is stabe,

bu no ore so han a round one. The oo ould beneft fro a larger or

oset subbase he oor is interhangeabe wih oset, iling, and under

sribe bases.

BOSCH608

Bosch 0



8

Router Tables

Aouter table can hande ost routing procedues, but not all

the safely and efficiently he router table has a big advant

whenever its boad conto sufaces (fence and top) are requ

The table's ost efficient use eploys the wide surfaces to support the

worpiece for edge routing. he ost difficult operation on a table is

ing on the ends of ong, narow stics ie stiles and ails. But even di

cult jobs can often be safely accopished by using jigs and fitures

designed to securely hold the wopiece and eep you hands safely awfo the cutte. But it's aso ipotant to reeber that a handheld

outer can be the best solution, especially for age or awward worp

And, as with a route operations, neve forget that the spinning

ter is unfogiving and provides no second chances.

A route tabe can range fro the siple to the idiculously cop

ost ae over-engineered Fo soe peope, a poduction-ade pastic

ainate tabe wi do For othes, a handade, jobspecific contraptio

bette. To be sure, a good table with basic features does tae tie to

well if you build you own.

Router Table Basics

The outer table has lots of appications, but it does have its liitation

You can rout short or odd shapes otherwise unsafe to rout with the ha

router, but you can't rout big, wide, long stics or anything so big it

tip the table over Edges and faces of narow worpieces are easily rou



The authors router able has an MDF top that's suppoed by a seres of ribs underneathHe us es a fixed-base router so he can permanently attach the casting and emove the outermotor for bi changes

bt a table isn appopriate for woing on the ends ornatey in those

cases where the rote table is not sitabe a hand-held roer wi do the

ob. Neverheess 70 pecent o 80 percen of al obs can be safey and

accrately roted on the tableTable roting is ofen more efficien than hand roting Most of the

wo needn be camped o wored wih a fixte; a fence with a vacm

sysem will eep he able clean Adjsments ae easy and setp is qic.

he same stic or pane can often be roted on is edges faces o ends

with no changes in setp An enclosed roter able is also relativey qiet

Since he wor can be fed j st as easily on its edge o face a cte

may have moe appication on he roter table than in the hand roter.

Roue Table Bas



Usng a fence with a cutte allows you touse more of the cutting surface. he balbearing desgn esticts cutting to a smal

portion of the edge By rasing ths cutterand positioni ng the fence can use a section o the cutter that has not yet seenany wood.

86 Roe Tables

made this fence for chamfering the edges of round subbases he work rolls on twobearings and th e depth o cut is determined by raising o r lowering the cutter.

A 30-degree beve cutter for exaple, can produce a 60degree beve

the work s fed on edge. The fence and cutter height can aso be adju

so any part of the flute can be used to better dstrbute the wear he s

p ioted cutter in the hand router wil wear out its flutes near the bear

eaving shap carbide near the shank.

A router table can be a patform for routing with piloted bits and

lars or you can use the fence. Most cuttngs on the table use the fenceand as such no ball bearings are needed on the cutters. he sae cutt

without a bearing is often saller and safer but not necessarily cheape

When cutter bearings are absent and the fence receves all of the hori

tal force fro the work, the router and bit are under ess stress and las

longer. Moreover when bearngs are not used edge defects are not

teegraphed back into the profe and in general router fence cuttngs

crisper, wth ess chatter.

A typical router table has a stand top and fence. The stand's essentia

functon is to bring the heght of the work up to a cofortable level

should aso provde a eans for supportng, fattening and attachng t

top. Materia (usuay MDF) and rgidity w inhibit vbration and co

noise. A stand ade fro in plywood and in by n egs will su

port a router But a stand with 2 in by 2 in egs -n by 2 1in ra

and 5�in .thick MD will be stronger and support the coponents n

subassebles



A outer stand should e le the stands or jonters planers and and

saws: no drawes or storage, aye an access door, and a place or eect

cal equpent. t shoud e stong enough to e puled around wthout

cong apart a not opposed to casters ether peranent or detachale

have a we wnde n ne as well as an -n . straghtedge and a -n.

shoulder olt to loc a set o spacers on the top to t the wor to vaous

heghts n reaton to the t

A 5amp rocker switch bued in a mortise pevents accidental startps but s easy to

shut of

he wire wnder can hold about 8 ft of wre here is a 6in disk beneah the 0-n o ne

yo see . he straightedge at left comes n handy for setups

Rouer Table Basic



Y

OU can use t he adstabe table of

a drill press to detemine the

most comfortable router table height

Try clampi ng a straghtedge (to simu

late a roter table fence) on the d ll

press table and run pie ces of varous

szes over the setup Try the proce-

du res at heights from 36 in. to 42 i n

and bi ld to th e height that woks best

Safety note: Do not out on the d rill

press, just go th ough the motions

88 Router Tables

The router table box rests on four 1 -in . ball casters that are screwed no theaded bra

inserts Two Lexan brakes keep the 8D-lb bo x fom rolli ng away.

use a 2-ft.-wide by 2-ft-deep by 3 9-in .-high stand can just ma

a hefty 6-f. board whch is aso my physical lim so wouldnt need

bgger sand he bgger these things get the heavier hey getand th

more likey hey are to warp.

Rouer work is not lke chiseling or oher common woodworkng

aciviy You should not epect mos shop furnture to be at the optm

heght for rouing m 6 f tall and al my rouing surfaces are high

about 38 in. o 44 n

Obvously he sand s used as the support for he top As such yo

shoud put some framng nto he upper rals o suppor and connec i

able has si upper rails that strugged to ge ino the same pane Thprovide the means to keep the op fa so he top iself can be as thin

pracical.

he maerial, desgn and thickness of the op depend somewhat o

the router able design and whether a fed-base or plunge router s us

But before address tha would lke to presen my case for a fied-ba

router n the table. Usng a fied base simplfies the op and mproves

rouing accuracy

FIXED-BASE OR PLUNGE

Alhough both types of oos are used n rouer tables prefer o use a

fed-based rather than a punge rouer. One reason for tha is that t'spractical o bolt a plunge router o the underside of he tabe. ts moto

permanently fasened to he casting so cuter changes upsde down ar

complicaed Most people screw the plunge rouer to large metal or pl

subbases which in urn are nesed nto rabbeed wndows wthin he



Wth ths arrangeent cutter an epth changes can be ae snce the

router can now be easy etracte. Nevertheless that one aneuver

brngs about one coprose after another. or eaple the tops the

seves get overy coplcate wth teeolngs or lanatons of fber

boar pywoo or partceboar The wnow has to be a precse atch

or the large subbase an the absence of a thr of the top (for the wn

ow) wll spol ts ntegrty an proote cuppng an twstng n whats left

Moreover the eges where the nsert plate an tabletop eet becoe

ust colectors an nee constant cleanng to prevent the work fro hang

ng up. Precson work wl be ore fcut because the pastc nsert can

ben wth ownwar pressure causng sa changes n epth o cut

Every te you pul l the router an nsert out of the tabe you nee to

leve an nspect the rabbet seat an nsert for a goo ft A ebase

castng bote recty onto an MD top has none of these probles. You

spy reove the router otor fro the castng to change the bt

Spc ty agan s always the best opton. Ths oes lt your router

choces however. or serous router table work such as rasng panels youay nee a 3-hp achnean there are any ore avaable as plunge

routers than as ebase routers However the PorterCable oel 7 5 1 8

oes fll that bl. or lghteruty router tables there are a host of a

chnes n the varous power categores.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-router-book-a-complete-guide-to-the-router-and-its-accesories-pat-warnerthe 98/19690 Router Tables

TBLETOP MTERIL

Given the fxed-base opion, then, the material o choce s MDFth

(k n.) MDF f you table s stessed wh enfocng rails Cabinet-gr

MDF (such as Mede brand) is fnish-sanded to a unifom hicness

untreated surface will wea and scratch easly Howeve wo o three

of Watco will mpar a Masonite-le oughness to t and do no harm

wll no be as tough as plastc lamnate but i wll esist wea and last

long time What could be easer?

I would not expect to use cute-hole nsets or the same reasons

wouldn't use a baseplate nset A 2-f by 2-f by 5k-n MDF slab s a

$2 so its bete to mae a spae than degrade eithe one with an nse

Mae one wth a hole fo you biggest cute and one wh a cuter ho

general use exchangng hem as necessary

MDF can be boled down on a table frame wthou dimensional c

quence; no allowance is necessary o changes n humdty o tempera

I would mnmze overhang though as unsuppored suface can cup

hi p h n hndd f h f ing wih w Fn ng h Gph min wihin 0.002 in



A dial ind icator on a routr tabl fnc may b ovrkill , but or prcis joinry it can sav

prcious tim.

The Fence

he fence s the ost citcal eleen of a oute tabe dealy shoud

be staight and squae o the abletop A stic on a pvot wil do bu fo

speedie adjusens a spl fence wth a scew-dven adustent s be

e Also note that ang a pecse oue fence s uch ease if you

aleady have a fence So you ay wan to find a good staigh boad to use

fo a sate fence Moeove even he os copehensve and sophsti

caed of fences ay no be copatibe with all cues. Fo eaple it ay

no ae sense to ove-coplcate he design of you fence fo the occasional use of a 3 -n-daete panel bi Insead you can ae a second

uch spe fence wh a 3 -n cutout fo hat opeaton.

The oue fence has wo essenal functons: One s to gude you

sc by the cute and he ohe s to eguate the hozonal depth of cu

The gudance functon as pled, is no tha dffcut o desgn no the

The Fenc



92 Route Table

A rot tabl fnc can b as simpl as a pivot stick and a copl o clamps

Th auhor's rout tabl nc is drivn with a machin scw T 1 -in alum inu m binto ways ct into th bottom of th fnc so that it tracks straight and dosnt twist

fence; a wel-ointed stick will do hat. he deph-o-ct fnction is a

easy to manage, b it is more o a challenge and is oten ovelooked.

Roer bis, horsepower and the natre of wood ae sally in sc

conic tha the desired l depth of c is not possible in a singe pa

(the easies way to manage this poblem is wih an adstabe ence) . know of three methods o moving a fence: the tap and clamp, the piv

and the scew drive. he first and simpest ence is camped o the a

and tapped with a hammer fo adjstment s nsophisicated nep

able, and rstraingb is the most common mehod. he second

tem ses a sick wth a pivot so only one clamp is needed (Stops and

screws can be sed to advanage hee. ) he thid mehod and the ea



coon incorporates a eadscrew to drive the ence. My own is asse

led on a carrier throgh which a couple o clap levers secre the whole

thing. he leves are coped to teenuts eneath the top

Protection from the Cuer

A roter it is an nfogiving ctting too One of the safety eatures o aote tae is that ost o the tie the ctte is uried in the stoc or

ehind the ence so you are protected ro it. I your ence is spit its

good practice to iniize the ctter opening to redce the cutter epo

sre. When roting ll thicness alow only 6 in or so o cutter aove

the stoc again to hide as uch too as possile. Pastic cutter gards are

vaale in soe cicustances and yo shoud se one if yo need ore

protection. or e if thin a pastic cutte guard is necessary then

now ' at ris and wor ot an aternate roting strategy to iniize

it. f the wor is too narrow short or peculia or pts y hands too cose

to the it ll uild a holder or a specia tility enceA roter ence has a ner o uses esides the usual fnctions such as

giding the stoc hiding the ctter and controlling the inandot depth of

cut. Its also handy for pacing a variety o stops and oers a plator for

dst-collection equipent. My ence has a vacuu port right ehind the

ctter and does an ecellent o of picing up the chips Pastic vacuu

accessories or router ences are coon (see Resources on p 1 80 )

Usi ng a saightedge an d sh ims the author adjusts te outeed haf of the fence for a

O.020 i -deep cut he cutter line s up wth the outfeed ence to make a full thick ness pass

for a jointed edge

Protection from the Cutte



94 Rote able

Wheher your ence s spit or no you can use i or o nting ope

tions and making other ull-thickness cuts With a carbide stragh bit

can oin plasic wood M pywood, and some nonerrous metals

However, MF and plastic will ruin HSS onter knives he oueed

ence should move in and out abou /4 in., and you adus it parale

the need ence and n line wh the highes pont o the cutter i wi

uncion lke a onter. I t wil l take a thin slice rom the u thickness the workpiece. You can do the same thng with a one-pece ence by

ataching some hin (0 0 10-in o 0002 - in.) meta shims on the enc

beyond the cutter A straghedge placed on the outeed side should u

touch he high poin on the cuter

Open mortses and other sopped" cus are easy to do on the rou

tabe Oten hese cuts are ony 2 n or 3 in in length so the outeed

ence can be posiioned slghy rearward and ou o the way I made a

with a slo to slide and lock on the oueed encea nice convenienc

designed o stay above the table so it won't accumuae a pile o chips

here are more hings you can add o a ence Several small comp

nies are even makng a busness out o it Jo inech, Wood Haven anIncra or eampe make ences and accessories or dovetails and bo

onts . Nonetheess, your ence mus always be straight and square to t

tabe o be accurate My ence aces are uninished, so I can sand scra

and true them up I keep hem a to plus or minus 000 in.

The 1 -n p lastc tube is a DeWat 61 router accessory (3859-00) that comes in hfor chip col lection on a router table. A brass (crome-plaed) 1 -in drain tube s alsogood coice



A deep, pen mise ike this ne i f attempted in ne pass will break the cutter r sta themtr Rutng n %-in. ifts slves te prblem; remve ne fr each depth change. The

sul der lt keeps the l ifts frm slidi ng

I se an 1 8- in Starrett gru nd straightedge t verify the straghtness f the fence haves. AO001 5-in feele gauge cannt get unde the straightedge.

Depth of Cut Strategies

Maeria o be cu on he rouer able mus be la, uniform n hickness,

sraigh and square. ha s no a peculary; all woodworking machnes

require . If your work is cupped, bowed, or oherwise disored your cu

ng resuls will vary. Gven suiabe maerial a good rouer able will cu

o plus or mnus 0.002 in o cu hs cose you need a good fence and a

a abeop f any of he hree (sock op, or fence) legs of hs riad is

less han accepable your resuls will vary.

Dept of Cut Stategie



e adjusted y he rouer or he fence should e adused y one or the

other (not oh) for a gven cuter Changng oth wl easy doue your

chances for a screw-up ortunately he choce of whch o manage for a

gven cuter s easy o mae.

HORIZONTAL DEPTH OF CUT

Large-dameer ts are usually shor often ntoeran of vertca depthchanges and are used on he edge of stock; o sage-cu wh hem you

move the fence o do ths set the vertca depth" to ts fnal poston n

ally and move the fence n equal ncremens. The dameer of the argest

avalae router t s around 3 n.and 'k n of that s usually for a

earng. hat eaves l 'k n. for the profile so hree or four -n fence

changes wll complete the cu Usng spacer lfts and fence changes at he

same tme should e avoded. If you fnd yourself dong oth you shoud

consder movng up to a shape

The sample on the eft has a pretty good sde wal but the outside edge of the corner istorn The sample on the ght as been climb cut (fed eft to ight) but only about Y2 i n

Depth o Cut Strategie



98 Rouer Tables

I se this sled holder i he work is too narrow or too deep to work safely I hold the the toggles.

Climb Cuting

Th convntional an saf wor-f irction on h rotr tab is f

right to lft as yo fac th cttr In this way th f is agains th

roaion an as sch h wor is safy pll into h nc covrinth bit Li planing agains th grain th rotr bi can cas taro

h wor is f against th cttr rotation. Sharp cttrs an spira fl

sign can a this ss of a probl bt xpct so arot sp

on iicl woos ing h wor fro lf to right h clib ct

arly rc taro bt at sbsantia ris. h clib ct is so n

bcas o th tnncy for th rotr or wor to pl (or clib) as yo

to f vnly h wor is constanly bing pl fro th hans an

away ro h nc. This ct is chily s for ificlt woos in wh

th grain changs irction is ss fficint han othr cts an as

or orc is rqir o conro th wor This is risy bsinss. ortnatly hr ar conrasrs

h ain s for h clib ct is as a vry light scor" a as a

initial pass h ight in. ph of ct hlps prvn th svr cli

acion. No ha yo shol a a habit o pacing th wor in a h

that ps yor hans wl away ro h cttr for clib cts Using

tchniq witho sch coonsns proction is xtry ang

h ony ti to s a clib ct withot a holr is wih worpics



ae so lage ha you hands ean wel away o he cue. In any case,

don ae off oe han a !z in o a sngle pass.

An MD wo holde is pey heavy and esisan o powe ansfes

fo he cue in a clb cu Even if an acciden should occu, you

hands ae on he jig and canno be pulled ino he oue b.

inally sae cib cung can always be done wih a powe eede.

Bu you shoud noe ha a oue able should no be consdeed a poducion oohe vey eason o a powe eede he seup s aso echnque

sensive and you oue abe has o be a qualiy one The feede wil

pess down had on he op and agans he ence. If ehe shoud delec

you cungs wi l vay.

The Miter Gauge

he ie gauge can be useful on he oue abe, bu is no y favoie

choice I jus can hold he wo on one and eep i o slipping.

Moeove os iegauge cus ae acoss he gain and subec o eaouas he cue es he wo A bacup wase piece is alos always

equedconfoundng handing even oe. A ie slo in he face of

he able can weaen i o cause ohe ino pobles f a ie gauge is

needed a bee souion s o use wo epoay peces o in. MD o

ap he blade of he gauge ahe han cung ino he op Wh hs

saegy he fence can eain n play fo added wo suppo. A bee

soluion ye is o build a sed fiue wih sops and ogge caps o hod

he wo (see he phoo on p 1 00) . Welldesigned fiues ae ipeaive

o good wo educing accidens and injuies.

wo piec es of %-in MD clamped to the table provide a temporay pathway or the mitergauge blade. h is method doesnt co mpromise the router table by ctti g into it or agroove

Te Mite Gag



00 Rouer ables

It takes a major calamiy to kick this jg o t of my hands Work held in a fxure away

machines well

Router Tabe Safety

It is cear that hghspeed spinnng ctters have two possible reslts: o

to ct the stoc the othe s to ct yo There are other theats on th

oter table, bt none as foridable Safety s an atttde that when fo

lowed wll ipove yo effciency and ctting reslts Once in a wh

there are genine sprises bt ost eegency roo visits are de to

essness. A shoddy setp, diclt wood, infeor achney, and a fgh

pilot entaity are soe of the factos This boo can help yo wth th

nepected, bt not yor disposition And frany, if yo are clsy, adent prone, and patent, yo shold not be a woodwore The ato

obe indstry has done a yeoans job of potectng yo fro yose

and others: air bags, seat estants safety glass, and so on. oweve, th

woodwong ndsty is a wo-safety dsgrace Start to beeve that, a

yo wil be a conscentios woodwoe

CUER SAFE

Edge otng s the ost coon tabe oting practice Yo can ot

whoe edge or part of t. Ether way, there snt ch ctter eposre

ecept at the end of the ct. Roting narow stcs ( Z n or less) cascay becase yor hands are paced near the ctter for best reslts

Whenever possible, pess down and aganst the fence beyond the ctte

Shod yo have a slip, yo hands will dash away fro the ctter Wh

paying attention to that anever, prepare fo the ctters sdden app

ance at the end of the wo



When edge-rouing the full hcknessoining for nstanceprojec

ony I/6 in of cutter beyond the work Any more is unnecessay and rsky.

For bes results, mach the ute lengh o the hickness of the wok

Push stcks are always acceptabe, but hold-ns, hod-downs, and

feaherboads can pesent thei own dangers In my vew, they get n the

way, upse the uniform tavel of he work, and present some risk them

seves To me, they signa tha trouble is near; the work is too narrow, tooshot, too long, or oo awkwad

I'm the fis to act when t comes to safety. f you see the need fo a

hod-down or featherboard, hen start lookng for a ig , fxture, holder, or

an alernative method. It coud easily be hat what you're tying o do s

no a able-ouer opeation at al Some dangeous ouer table cuts are

uncomplicaed when done wih a fixture and a hand router And ust

because you've seen an operaion n a book or a magazine, don't assume

it's safe If you resuls are inconsistent, you don't lke doing it, or you are

otherwise uncomforable, you ae pobably at risk and should consder

another method.

Always push own and against the fence beyond the cutter when op eating a router table.

Router Table Safety



2 Rote Tables

TRAPPING THE CUER AND THE WORK

Because outes geneate so uch toque, t's cucal o eep he cutte

fo getng tapped. he wo can be tapped beween the cute an

fence o unde the cute. he bi can aso be tapped n he wo o

in the side of the stoc. hee of he fou situations should be avoide

altogehe The fouth s essential to outng and quie coon, but d

at a is you should now abouappng he wo between he fence and the cute s abou as b

dving on he wong side of he oad The quesion isn whethe an

dent wil occu, bu when Neve set he fence so tha the wopiece

sandwiched beween i and the cute Any sght devaton in stoc t

ness wi j a the wopece and ( vey lely) pul you finges into h

You can aso ap the wo unde the cute his is fa ess co

but the hazads ae neay he sae. hee is less s of he wo sef

feedng, bu i wil liey un he cute and the wo Be awae: if th

happens, i is the esut of unsafe pactce.

An inside cut ie a slot o dado again taps the wo between th

e and the fence. A bad feed o an ill-pepaed (pooly jointed edge)

wopece w un the cut, ay bea he cutte, o ic bac the wo

Ths s coon pactce on tabe-saw dovetail and box-join jigs andeason fo caution when usng a fixtue fo such a cut. he cute si

has no pace o go in the event of an accden except nto an aea of

wo you didnt wan to ou

The same size dovetail s possib e on different thicknesses of stock if both cuts are re

enced from te same side o the work But tis strategy shod be avoided; it is very



A tongue pr oduced thi s wayboth cuts referenced from the same face of the stockis

high-risk woodworking f your hickness plane is welltuned, there s never a need fo r this

If tere s a safe" method of widening sots it is on the ou ter table Bu beware of the sur

prise climb cu Wih the work tapped between the fence and the cuter a bad feed may

brea k the cutter and jettison te work. he safe feed di rection to widen t he so i s always

against the cutte rotaton (eft to right in this case)

An accdenal clb cu can aso occur whle wdenng he pahway

on nsde cus you gnore he cuer oaon Wdenng he so as

shown n he phoo above wh a rgh o le hand eed s a clb cu and

wll n all lelhood p he wo ou of you hands A eed ro lef o

rgh s no a clb cu bu any devaon n worpece ravel can spol he

cu neveheless

Rter able Safety



104 Rouer Tables



Soe cterssch as those for sotting and oring gle oints

are bried in he wor or nora operaion. ha is to say, i yo lit he

wor while roting it, yo wi spoil the ct. Again, yo can brea a cter

this way and the wor can ic bac Yo need to ae sre yo never

ift the wor while sing hese cters. Moreover, i the wor is bowed,

twisted or cpped, is trip down the roter able wil be tippy and it cold

a and y bac at yo nteritenty pressing and relaing he force down on a bowed worpiece wil increase its chances for a icbac A

hold-down ay nepecedy tip the ends p on sall wor he best

defense agains sch a caaiy is good stoc preparation wih at sraces

and sqare edges.

BLIND-END TABLE CUTS

As enioned, there are penty o nsafe bt relatively coon wood

woring practices he roter has is shareaybe ore so than the

jointer and able saw. Blindended cts are those cts hat begin and end

inside the stoc and do not eit or enter throgh the edge t is possibe

to do this on the roter tabe, bt clearly the cter is trapped in the worhe heroics go ie this: the daredevil irst claps stops down on the

roer table top, trns on he roer, bts he wor against he sop, tits it

p, and drops i down on he trning cter Net, the operaor slides he

wor to he oher stop and its i off he table. f sccessfl, said craftsan

eeps his aternoon bngee p appoinent.

he above procedre wi brn the wood at boh ends o the pathway

and the s ighest waver will rin he c on both sides. B the proper

alternaive is obvios. t is he epress prpose o a plnge roter o

facilitae blindend cs hey shold be done with the wor in a ig or

fire and roted wih he porable plnger and edge gide, never onthe roter able

Route Table Safey



Router Bits

It s nterestng to note that the purhase of 10 o 5 oute bts a

easy eeed the doar value of he ost epensve rouer These

hghly engneered arbde oute bts an stand fou o s egrnd

even hough ost hobbyst woodworkes raey shapen he

But despte hs duable aeral, a new utter an and w ea ou

break ou or hp out a peetly good staght-graned pee o wood T

ute shapness or geoety doesn ae nearly as uh as a sold u

standng of whh bt o useand how o use the bt one you'e there

A few premium cutters can often exceed te price of the rote they're used in These or abou t $7enou gh t o purchase nearly any -hp router



The cer is a crical facor he sep and he ype of oer are he

oher wo pars of he big pcre. All hee facos play ogeher n he

cing process he wrong roer, an l-conceived sep, or a poorly cho

sen oe bi can n he work. Workng wh hese vaiables does ake

eperence, b a coser ook a cers can ceranly hep he opeaor

ake soe nfoed choices

Evaluating Performance

Manfacrers have a lo o say abo roer bs Soe of he ore co

on bzzwods are sper cro-gan, faige-poof seel, spn balanced,

ankickback, precison grond, op hook anges, and efon coaed

B he boo ne s perfoance, whch can be prediced fro spe

nspecon or even knowledge of ong. A single anfacrers ces

can vay in qaliy, and dsrbors don always carry a anface's

enre nvenoy, so selecon can be peplexng.

As in oher prodcs, a anfacrers repaon and ongeviy n hebsness are reasonabe consderaons. Vey cheap bis shold be sspec,

since yo will "ge wha yo pay fo A good le of hb s o selec one

or wo ces and evalae her perfoance he folowing wi show

yo how

FINISH

he fnish ha a new cer eaves on wood shod be nearly flawess.

Rogh grnding will elegaph self ono he work When sed properly

yo shold expec ile or no earo, no brnng, and an ohewise

sooh and glassy fnish Use he oe able o evalae hs; i s he

leas sensve o echniqe.

Any grindng dfct on a carbid bi wll show up plainly on th work.

Evaluating Peormace



108 Router Bits

To check fo vibration in a large bit, stat it at the slowest of speeds and ncrease the

a notch at a tme. This PR trimmer s the longest of all commonly avalable router b

Vibraion s your wos enemy Clamps loosen, scews unwind, ences

squiggle, cuers slde up he coe, and he work can resonae agains

cuer In he wors case, he cue breaks or comes ou o he coe

Mno vbraion of he roue b, once uncommon, seems more a

more fequen. Bu any vbraion, in my vew, is unaccepable o es

cue vibraon, use a variabe-speed roue and sa he oo a is s

speed. Hold he rouer n he ai and advance he speed seleco a se

ime f you ee vibraon, sop he rouer befoe gong o he nex sp

(Wih a hard-sa oo you don' have hs luxury)

Cues whose diameers and lue lenghs are less han % in. shospin o 25000 rpm wihou vbaion Bigge cuers are fa more likey

vibrae even hough hey are supposed o be in baance beyond 30000

Be suspicious of all new big cuers and all newly reground cuers A b

colle w make mos medum-szed cues vibae, balanced o no

Beaings, good or bad, may make a bi vbae, oo, so o ule ou he c

as he soe vibrao remove all bearings and screws from he bi

Jus how cose does he manufacurer grind o he saed specificaion

as radius and diameer? Mos makes hod he shank diamee o anexeme olerance o pus or mnus 0.00025 n, bu he es of he oo

may vay For decoraive bs, ovolos, beads, and oundovers, or exam

i doesn' maer much if a radus is of by a few degees, bu joinery c

shoud be moe precise he fi rom ongue-and-groove oos, gue-jo

cues, cope-and-sck bis, and doveas s vey sensiive o ginding

eros.



Adjustment for Bit Wobb

Make some trial cuts n he

ed material and adust you

to accoun for the cutter's actua

fie. If your spacing between dov

actualy measures say, 0.76 in.

cause of cutter deflectionand

want exactly :4 in-adjus the sp

on the t empate to reflect the pa

error (n effect, 001 in. closer)

Evaluating Performance



1 1 0 Roter Bs

The overall easureents o the outer bi ae soewhat dficu

establish pecsely without eaborate equipent op dead center can

dicult o ind; he cuter needs to be paced in a specal holder o j

specal easurng gauges ae equired. A ore pracica stategy is to

ure the wo cu by the too. your seup is good and your ling is

cse it will be easy to easure your cuting resuls Fo exaple a da

Making a tes cut and measuri ng the results with a set of calipers i s a sure-fire way t

check the accu racy of a router bit.

Straight cutters come in three primary styles: spiral bts, frst and second from left o

shear; and standad staight cutter. he s pia and o n-shea r bits ct more clealy tha

straig h bt



Cose i spection reveals the cutter wear

in e on the work. The s ight step wi l rus

trate or prevent a close-fittin g joint

1 1 2 Roter Bis

Shaper cutters, whic h have holes for the arbor, cut the same profles as router bits

as te straight cutter at rghtbut will outlast them by a factor or 10 or more.

wth one cter and fnshct the eanng 20 percent to 30 percen

wth a new tool a fll deph n one pass Unfor, lght cts ay excter fe three to fve tes

Yor cte s ready for a regrnd when t stars bnng stock, nee

ore handfeed pressre and shows wear lnes on he work Jonery c

(gle jo n rabbet, stragh, or dovea) sed for exended peods at

deph w show wear lnes at anoher depth. f yo n 50 ft. of a n

4n abbe on MDF and then ake a 6n sqae abbe, the /4n.

lne wll lkely show p For a decoatve pofle ct, he wear lne a

ater; bt for a doveta and socket, the pars ay no f properly Bcters wl sll ct, bt hey ae effectvely dead sodes.

Roter bs vary n atera SS sed o be the cheapest and os co

only avalable B os roter bts for he sall shop ae now ethe

cabde weded ono stee or sod carbde Poycrystallne daond s

anoher opton, b s sed n prodcton work only

HIGH-SPEED STEEL

HSS s good atera, and capable of vey sharp edges that can be shaened by he end serbt doesn't hod p nder proonged se W

SS expect ony 1 0 percen to 20 percen of the nnng e of car

Its vae today s fo the vey shorrn, csto profles o pehaps for

expeent. f yo're wondeng abot how the acta profe of a $35

bde ogee gh look, an $8 bt wl gve yo the answe And t gh

even seve fo the shor rn n a gven poject.



Another advantage to HSS is that woodwoes silled in too gind

ng can make ther own custom poiles HSS outer-bit banks are avail

abe or this purpose especiay e HSS bits o mortisng, since they are

oten ground to plunge better than a carbde-aced stee bit, and a mortise

un o a piece o urnitue is usuay a short run

CARBIDECarbide on steel ( the most common mateia and design) w outlast HSS

5 times to 0 times. ts actual le wl vary, but t s cearly the best com

pomse o router-bit lutes both economically and pactcaly he mate

ral can be egound (but never as well as the actory setup) shap enough

to un nearly as ong n my view, hand damond honing is agey symbol

ic, and proessionas should grind carbide or results and saety

Cabide s the god standad in too-bit materia today, athough t

does vay in hadness durablity, and density Some cabide bits are

selected or their duabity n speciic mateials; one gade does not t

a occasons

POLYCRYSTALLIN E DIA MON D

Polycrystalne diamond (PCD) is vey had mateial, unnng 50 times to

100 times onger than carbide. his is sticty producton mateia, mosty

custom-made and designed to un o hours or days in materals ie MD

iberglass and aeospace composites. But cutters ae vey expensive, start

ng at about $200

his Wis consi n Knife Works cutter has an over-center gind i n the e nd o the flute for better

p unging.

Material



1 1 4 Router Bits

Shank Diameter

Shank diamete n the Unted State ae /4 in 5/16 n 3h in. and in

metic ize ae common in Euope Lage hank povide moe uface

fo the collet to uound and ao geate tiffne. Conequenty -

hank ae the mot popua. Fo a gven too geomety thee often le

machning equied fo a -n tool than the in equivalent

Conequenty they ae about the ame pce. The advantage to male

hank tool i thei mal adii fo coe inide cut, o whee it j ut m

no ene to ue the lage hank. Tim oute ue ony /n hank.

Cutter Types

Thee ae many way to caify oute bit They nclude poted (wth

beaing) o unpoted bottom and de cuttng decoative pofile and

jo iney bit a wel a vaiou combnation. Hee a ampng with p

featue you hould know about.

BEARING BITS

The beang ued to guide a cutte can be paced on eithe end of the

oute bt o between a et of cutte dependng on the intended ue.

cae they lmt the cutting depth. Cutte with beang on the end o

too typicaly o ll aong the wok and ae often attached to decoative

file bit. Beve ogee oundove cove and bead ae the typca cu

They can be ued in the hand oute o on the oute tabe Eentiay

they cut vaiou pofile. Thee cutte ae plentfu cheap competitiv

and pobaby the mot popula of a oute bt They emove a ot of

woodand ome ( aedpane bit) ae enomou Often they ae of kickback deign

Solid carbid bits last long than th sam-sizd bit wit brazd-on carbid tips, l ft

Unfotunatly fw cuttrs ar soid carbid



he Amana Nova Ctter System has replaceable carbide ctters that lock into the arbor

assembly Their carbide not havng to be braed, has been selected fo its keen edge.

Bearings come in a variety of sizes and can ft above below, or between ctters

he an -cbac tool has a lot ore stee n than a convenona

b an runs soother because of s greaer ass an even balance. Thecuter esgn s such that t can ony chop at he rate of 1 n. o 3/64 n per

revouton. The guets of these bs are shallow an soc oesn get

caught n the hey on't c bac the wor ust a that he cu

quaty at 20,000 rp s nstngushable fro hat of a sanar cutter at

tha speean tha both wll ceranly cut you.

Cuer Types



1 1 6 Route Bits

The sa ndwich of temp late-work-templ ate shows two beari g and ctter optons for

the same r eslt The topbearng pattern bit is easier o set p ad there are mo re

cutter optios

BEARING IN THE MIDDLE

A few bis have beaings sandwched beween wo cues op and bo

The beang ainans he space beween he cuers and povides a

o li he sideways deph of cu I is sange ha he os popular

hese he ral and sile ses use a bearing a all This s a roue abe

only and os doo wor is sraigh-line and should be woed off he

fence Noneheless hese ses are supped wih bearings ongue-and

groove cues and a few oher isceaneous bis are suppied wh cu

o bearings sandwched beween each oher

BEARING ON THE TOP

Sraigh bs wih a beang ouned on he op ae os ofen used w

eplaes. They roll aong he edge of a eplae for an eac ransfe

he desgn o he wopece he praccal and safe ii for full-hic

eplae cus is abou l n Longe cues are coon bu should b

avoided You can howeve use nceena seps o each deeper f a

2-in -hic pece of wor fo eaple is roued wih a - n rie

can use he achned surface of he soc o copee he cu Essen

al op-beaing ools ae used wih he eplae on op of he wor. U

a epae below he wor equies a rier wh a bearing on he e

DECORATIVE PROFILE CUERS

Mos cuers ha decoae do so aong he edges and ends of he wor

They are iporan and occupy one-hrd o one-haf or oe of os

e caaog invenories. These cuers usualy have bal bearngs o l

he deph of cu o abou one adius. Moeover he bearing-guided o

wee designed piarily for he hand-hed rouer Ogees beves beads



coves and so on are generally suppied wh R3 bearings (0. = n

1.= 3/6 in.). f he wor is anageable and he cuer won coe apar

hese profiles should be roued on he abe whou bearings hese cu

ers produce a lo of wase ha can be easiy coleced, and he wor is

ore ecien when guided o he abe fence here is also less operaor

rs han wh he hand rouer.

or exaple a 6in.daeer rouer (he ypical base casng daeer) aways has less han 5 percen of s fooprin on he wor while edge

rouing f a ndiaeer ogee bi is n he rouer hen on sarup here

is only 38 percen of he rouer on he wora hazard indeed When he

bearing ( say an R-3 ) does fnaly engage he edge of he wor, ha nuber

ncreases o 6 percen. Bu as he rouer urns he corner o rou he ends,

less han 25 percen of he base s fuly suppored his oenary insa

bliy is a bg reason ha burnng and icbac are so liey a he ends of

a worpece hs doesn' happen on he rouer able

BEARING ON THE BOOM

Flushri bis are designed o ri a worpiece o he sze of he eplaeor underying subsrae. These cuers are ypically used wih he hand

rouer, bu can jus as easily be used on he rouer able. Wh a rouer

able ore e and sill are required o ae he epae and safely fas

en he eplae o he wor. is reaively easy o jus cap he e

pae o he wor on he bench and use he hand rouer.

A patern bit, et, has to have its entire flute extended for the bearing to engage the tempate he end-bearing flush-trm bt can be extended the m ini mum a mount to engage itstemplate.

Cue Type



1 1 8 Rote Bits

Flush-tri bis are safer han top-bearing-guided oos beause thenot boto ut" and you an always eend us enough bit to do thutng Bu with he shan-bearing tools he whoe ue has to be

etended for he bearing to engage the eplate Moreover these oo

(top-bearing utters) are boto utters and as suh present another

tng surfae where none s needed he end bearing on the flush r

overs up he sharp edge a the end of the oo for additonal safetyush triers are very popular bu due o the poor seleion of st

dard bearngs ost are only in diaeter wih narrow webs of 7hz in

less. What that eans s inreased defleion. No atter how sharp or

who suppies he these tools w dee signfiantly when their flu

are an nh or onger. There just sn suffien eal lef in he ore

he ool to eep it fro bending. The few 4-n uing diaeter (-in

shan) flush triers are very strong however

In spite of its -in diameter this trimmer is pretty narrow in te web, less than V4 in aend of the tool



Bits fo interocking oinery must meet i gh grin ding standards to do their ob Your setup

must also be exact to minmize erors

Though the faces of ths glue joint don't line up the proiles do nest in one another

JOINERY BITSRoers are good a joinery Coon joins incde half lap, onge and

groove orise and enon, cope and sic, scar, inger ge and doveail.

Many cers are precision-grond precisely or he ob; ohers are no

Soe doveail bis are job-specifc; so are he ge join and cope-and-sc

cers. Halap, onge-and-groove, and orise-and-enon bis are non

specic b reqre precson noneheess For he os par, good onery

s qie dependen on good lling and good j igs and resand less on

Testing Joinery Bits

Jonts made with dovetal and

straght bits are usaly quite

gvng, but it is good practice to

lght swipe on the edge of some

or b irch deeper than you ntend

on the oint. If any wear l nes or

telegraphy are evident on the s

expect to have prob lems with th

These defects are never cancele

oppOSite sides of the joint and a

tined to frustate cose joi nery.

Cue Types



Examps of scary potntially angros bits, from f Th 1 0-oz lock m itr's iamt is5\ tim s larg than its sa nk. h rabbt bit is fiv tims g ratr h big ovtail bit haslss han a 76 in. of stl in t wb h HSS spia bit is so flxibl it "zngs whn it cutsAn th cabi Oflt is 1 2 tims l ong r than ts iamt.

Sharpening

A utting toos get dull As they ose their utting edge, thei powe

deand to ut inreases, the tools ae woed harder and duing inreases

at a faste and faste rate A router bit's life is shot, so have developedstategies to inrease it One way to inrease utte ife is to sequene its

use A utte that buns in end grain, for eape, ay be aeptabe on

long gain a utter that won't ut edge gain will burn the end gain, but

you an probably rout MDF with it f it wont ut MDF it ay ut pasti

but not for ong. A utter that won't ut plasti ay abade MDF but

won't eally slie it. o be sue fo the best of uts on any aterial, use a

new utter

Carbide grinding equires sophistiated diaond tooling the stuff is

hard You an diaond hone it a ittle and you an sharpen highspeed

steel But to get the aiu tie between sharpenings, epet to have

you tools professionally ground t is very osteetive Four to sireginds are possibe if the utter has inured no serious fratures It is

ipotant to note that if 80 perent of the utte l ife ( if eground fou

ties) is fo the grinding servie, not the anufaturer, finding a good

ginder ay be oe iportant than finding a good anufaturer.

Sharpenig



22

s mentioned, routers can t do much wthout a gude of some

A cutter wthout a bearng on it w require a router tabe o

accessory to contro its pathway. Even cutters wth bearngs

requre a j g or tempate to guide the too around t so happens there

quite a few accessores for routerssome that are manufactured and s

that you can easy make yoursef Heres a sampng

Guides and Bases

The coar gude is avaiabe from the manufacturer for most routers,

whether fxed-base, punge, or trim These devices fasten to the subba

the base casting, surround the cutter, and with the cutter act ike a pa

bit but wth an offset between bit and guide They are used wth tem

especiay with doveta and jonery j igs The router is pued aganst t

tempate to estabish contact wth the coar. The coar sides aong t

tempate and cuts a swath parae or concentric to the pattern. A 1 i

diameter too bt is about the argest cutter that can be used with a co

nay kits ncude a coar, seeve, and �in.-diameter cutter The seeve

oset the cutter pathway to compensate for diameter dierences of the

and coar f the cutter was ike a aser and coud cut wth no waste, th

and the recess it fits nto coud be created wthout the seeve on the co



Guides and Bases



With an aftermarket offset subbase and a shop-made edge guide, its nearly mpossibspoil this decorative cut

EDGE GUIDES

Edg guids fasn o h rour-bas casng wh a par of ods Na

rous ar dsignd o accp h hough no al anufacurrs a

h for hi rous. h guds povd a ans o cu paral o

dg of h wor. hy ar coninuousy adusabl and gnray usd

wih p olss curs. Add-on or rpacn fncs can b ad con

rc o insid or ousid radii so h who pacag ( dg gud rou

bi ) can ravl aong curvd dgs

ROUTER SUBBASES

Round os squar and ohr shaps of subbass ar avaabl for r

parncy cono and spcaly applcaion Sars DWal Porr-Cab

Woodhavn Vron Aican and ohrs cop in his afa

nich (s Rsourcs on p 1 8)

CIRCLE CUING AND ELLIPSE MAKERS

Plasc pivo subbass a in os caaogs and h all sl and au

Micro nc jig can cu pcsion cicls (shown a righ) Th ig is a

dsgnd o wo wih an llips bas shown a fa rgh whch povan asy way o adus h inor and ajor axs



DER ORIGNA EQUIMEN ROUER COLLS oen would et hei cuters slp

o gue" themselves to he cute Two wrenches, equenty dieen

were and stll are a necessty for

cute exchanges. ewe colets

are asened to he collet nus

raey sip and aways ee hemseves om he bit. tl thee ae

hose who thnk tha is no enough.

Two aemake companies have

been ryng o ceae a market for

wench ess coles he Jacobs

Powe ole s ooless and he

lminato chuck uses only a

T-handled hexkey hey are some

wha outer-specfc but gven su

cen dsbuton hey shoud be

avalable for al outers soon They

are bgger han the ogina coletsand hold their cuttes well bu they

can vibae moe

he Jacobs Power Collet replaceswrenches wth a snap -in system that

reeases and tghtens with a click

Mico Fences adjustable cicle cuting jig fits most routers and can

be tuned to wthin a few thousandths of an inchUsed wit an aftermarket j ig, the Micro Fenc e can be u sed t

rot precise el ipses he mountin g plate and a set of pivot

blocks provde a way to qu ickly set the min or and maor ax

the el ipse

Gides and Bases



L Vallys Routr Bit Jack is attacd to h dpth stop of a plung rout. T tool allows

dpth cangs with a lvr (Photo courtsy Vally)

Router Table Accessories

Routers are essenialy desgned for hand use and as such do no necessary

adjus up and down very we against gravity when underneath a rouer

tabe. Eractng he springs fro punge routers and reroftng the

router with an afterare fine-deph aduser are coon straegies ha

can hep

A coupe of dieren devices fro ee Vaey and Jesse oolCopanies accopish the sae hing he Jesse Rout-R-Lif is a subsi

ute rouer able inser hat carries he rouer in a crankdrven echa

nis The ee Valey Router Bi ac uses a ratchet echans fasenedto a hreaded rod of an upsde-down plunger.

Router able Aeorie



he Jonech fence adjusts contnu ouslyand can be used on other stationary tools(Photo couesy Joinec.)

128 Roter Accessories

he router table fence rom In cra Jig can be used as a standard fence and, wth an atment, for cutting dovetals (Photo courtesy ncra Jig)

ROUTER TABLE FENCES

Incra an JonTech are the ey player n afterare rouer tabe fen

The ncra g fence yte ove a notch a a e on a aw-tooh ra

wth a nob for fne ajuten between op. The onTech ue a

for connuou ajuent hroughout t range. (See p. 9 for ore o

fence)

PIN ROUTING

Pn routng an neretng eplate eho of routng whereby an o

hea pn n lne wh he cuter, engage the ege of the eplate fa

o the wor. he cuter then r he wor even wth or parael o t

teplae ne wor ao poble wth the yte.

DOVETAIBOX-JOINT MAKERS

here are at leat fve oveta jg for han rouer hree of the fve a

capable of box fnger an oher cae-corner jon The On g a

Porter-Cable oo wth any tepae for box, through haf-bn a

ng oveta



he Po rter-Cable O mn i g is an i ndustrial dovetai jig that has

many accessories for various k inds of dovetails, as well as other

joinery. (Photo courtesy PorterCabe.)

he eigh Jig uses adjustable fingers for cutting variabespaced

dovetails and it has become the industry standard for this opera

tio n Leigh offers a wide variety of accessories for other jon ery

applications as wel . (Photo courtesy egh i g)

he Kelle Dovetail System uses matched templates to cut

through dovetals on fixed centers he idea s to do only th

dovetails but do them well and with a minim um of setup (

courtesy Keller Co)

Half-bl i nd dovetai l j igsPoer-Cable 41 1 2 is shownare

mon ly used for drawer constuction he setup s rathe fus

though and can require several test cuts (Photo courtesy

Porter-Cable)

he Kelle ig is a se of epaes ha clap o he wo, one fo

ails an he ohe fo soces o pins he openings in he auinuepaes ae fie so he oveails ae c on fie cenes

Leigh ] ig is he os vesaie of he join aes, capable of vaiable

space oveais, bo jo ins, an ecoaive ineocing joins shape lie

flowes he wo is clape o he benchsuppoe j ig



SimpleShopmade Jigs

Shopade outer jg and ure ue he route to i lit. Thee

jg and ture can be vey iple or ereely cople. Soe o

the itue Ive een are o ophicated tha you'd need o be a

achin to build he.

Router g and ure eentialy erve o hold and nde the wor

a we a provide a guide o a controlled cut. A te the j ig or iure

hold the wor o the cutng can be done on he router able At othe

tie, hey hod he wor o a handheld outer can be ued ealy andaely. Eithe way, g and ure can be thought o a aety device or

pece anageable and contoed ouing.

Right-Angle Templates

Righ-angle eplate are iilar o bench hoo ued a holder and cut

tng guide wih hand tool. Ued with clap they hold the wo and

etabih a pathway o the oue to cu perpendcular to he edge o the

wor. Ue he wth cola guide or paten bit.

ae ine ro -n M The eplate hould be at ea a longa the wor wide and 6 in. to 8 n. wide. Two or thee deent length

are better han one ize or al. Screw and gue a 2in ceat to the bot

o o the eplae. To get the o ou o one o thee quare boh

wong edge o the ron edge o the cea.



132 Simple Shopmade Jigs

Rightangle bech o oks registe r off the frot edge of the work ey can be used w

col lar guid e, as show n. Backup scap is clam ped to te ear of the temp lae to preven

earot and breakou

he adjustabe stop on my fence is useful for cts like open moses.

Slot Makers

Ajsable sops wih sloe ways are qe common n wooworkng

wiho a j ig hey're no easy o make. solve hs prolem y ceang

wnow slo emplae I clamp he work ner he emplae an se a c

ge an plnge roer o make he slo The wih of he slo is sa

one cer iameer an s lengh is reglae wh he sop.

Mae he plaform rom -in MDF an ig enogh o camp o h

workao 1 1 in. y 1 7 n Make he narrow openng js we eno



Sotte mortises require a jg ere the workpiece fits nerneath an the pattern bit rns

in the slot

or yor collar o slp n n s a common collar dameter Make e slo

longer tan te longest slot yo plan to se6 n n my case

Yo'll need some ences nderneat to regster te work, and on

wc o mont a clamp Slot te MOF ences or a par o screws and

wasers so ey are easy o adjs

Shopmade Mortiser

A good morse s essental o qal y jonery ere are many ways to

make tem, eac wt ts advantages and mtatons Gven well-mlled

materal, a good plnge roer, wo edge gdes, and my sop-lt mor

tser (see te op poto on p 3), I can ndex and excavate a mortse p

to 23h n deep n s a mnte or so

A lock o sragt-graned ardwood s te ondaton o te j g

Make t aot 4 n y / n y 2 n and screw on some /- n y

/- n sock o te same speces or more roter srace Add a clea to

te otom o eac sdeone or jackscrews o spport e work, and teoer as a old-down

A se o tree oggle clamps screwed o one o e cleas wll secre

and ndex e work To e sre, a par o adjsale stops on te op o te

jg wll smply te morsng process Poston and slo tem or te

lengts o mortses yo expect to make A g, a waser and macne

screw wll old em n place



34 Simple Shopmade Jigs

his mortisin g g uses a pair of slidin g rods so it can easily adst to make manymoise widths.

This simple tenoning jig uses a abbeting bit with a ba bearing and an oversized ro

base to cut square tenons he plung e mechan ism al ows yo to cut a deeper teno t

the width o the rabbetng bit

Tenon Maker

Squa shouldd, can-acd sagh nons a a snap wh my sho

mad non ( aov ) h wndowd pafom, comnd wh a plu

ou on a wd wood as, a h ky componns o oung pcs

nons h wo s ndxd campd and squad up fom low an

h ong-shan a maks h non chs fom aov Should

wdhs vay as h dam of h and ang dff



Fr the y the j g se /4 n MDF r maple Screws aes an

ange rackets are se fr the assemy Ct a wnw n the tp r wrk

an ctter access Als ct ne n the vertcal memer s the ctter can

access the entre sectn f the wrk

Y can clamp the g t the ench when rtng shrt stck r

camp the wrk n a vse wth the j g campe t the wrk r g an

ng stcksAn ajstae fence that pvts wll permt angle tenns A small

tgge camp n the ence w acltate setp, t at least ne ther

Ccamp wll e neee t hl the wrk saely

Wi this teon make a a alleaing g uieraetig bit you can easily form tenons o teen o te workiece. The winow cutout al lowsaccess o te en wi e the workece is secure

to the ase of the jg y a cla m

T enon Maker

Wiow cutout,

3/4 X 6/4

Route atfor

316 x 8/ X 1 3

3 4

�

Tonge an groovean screws onlatfom to

Camng oar,�1316 X 5/4 X 3

Clearancenotch i sq

MaChie screw

vo in

I

/

Ha ko a ows

qu ck astent_o fece's angle

Austale iexi g fence516 x 3/ X 7, ivots oa machnescrew ivot in.

/

cang oa

Inex-fencelocking ot

Slot is aiuseeative to vo i

Coner racesscrewe o toenforce latfor

Tenon Make



136 Simpe Shopmade Jigs



and roang leve fo connos adsmen The ork s camped o he

fre, hch s clamped o he ench/beam

Make hs one o o ood, almnm, and MDF fo he adsale

emplae Make a ghange assemby as long as he des sock yo plan

o ork pls 8 n o so or a fence a camp pedesal, and a hodfas Yo

ms e abe o he j g o a rgd scre

he emplae shold be 5 n. o der fo peny of roer sppor ravels on a se of n paralel ars morsed no he plaform and he

Screwadjustable platfom gud ed by a ls provides precise positon ing . Toggle campsquickly secue e work

screw

Platorm edgegudes router.

Panhead scew

eeps patformfrom liftingduing travel

J g odingarm

secure ig i na vse

Toggle clamps

Tenn Jig

" 'i.

Moving bocis screwed toplatfom.

I

o

- Paalel rails of steel oraluminum guide platfom.

Pivot screw

Lock scew

_ Fence

lamp pedestalis screwed toL sectio.

Ts adjusable teno n make has a sliding plaform syou can ea sily adjust the thickness of te teon ogclamps o ld the wokpiece vertica and a collar gui drides along the pl atorm edge

Adjutable Tenon Make



0.055

emplae iel. i dive by a crew ha / . i diamee by1 8 head per ich

Two clamp o he pedea ecue he work A fece (pivoig a

degee) quare he work o he emplae he hodfa i 4 . wide

crewed ad rabbeed o he ig

Thi ubbae (above) ha a l dg pivo ick o make cicle o dk

i wih a puge rouer ad a oid carbde aigh b fo be eul.

The hape of he oo i o crical, bu hould be a mal a praca. The bgger ge, he moe lkely i o bag o camp a i

evolve You coud ao ue a paddle wh hoe i , bu a ig wih a

aduabe arm a lo hadie

Make he g fom -i. mape wh a log lo i fo a adua

lde you wa, make everal ide of diere egh fo covei

u a ew hoe he ide fo a pivo p. A flahead machie crew

ee he boom of he lde ad exed hough he lo ad o

u o op o ecue he arm

Mo had-roued work i eiher doe o a aemby or a looe ick

Aembie ae uua y abe eough o rou clamped o he bech w

ou much ado Sick, o he oher had, could ue a f hi ho b

how a lef wa made wih lo of ovehag o ge he work up high

eough o ou comfoably. Nomal 3i o 36 . high aemby

beche ae oo low o ou o



I

27 i n . -

Mae ths 1nthc jg abo 6 in hgh and 36 in ong. A 6-in o

8-in width will sot a 10n to 1 2nwide woiece The oo is

joined n fo laces The oehang on the hoizonal sface is somewha

abay: allow abo 4 in o 8 in. The eical end iece s oehng by

10 in o allow bete so fo woieces held on endThee is no need o comlcae ths; jst hod the jg togethe wih

shaow dadoes and a ltte hadwae The bottom stic is sed o hold the

g down and s inned by a clam. Afte assembly, add a fence to he e

ical anel and agan some handy toggle cams o hold the wo on end

he gh-ange jig can be sed o adantage hee fo maing tenons

o dadoes

Permanet C-Clamps

A

Route Hose



Compared to other technologies woodworkng and machinery

processes change slowly The hazards and risks associated wth

power and hand tools are essentially the same as they were

decades ago. Its a dangerous busness and accidents are common-a

fact that's refected by insurance rates or woodworkers

Workng with wood requires sharp cuttng toos often used very cose

to the operators body. It shoud come as no surprse that butchers use

bandsaws on anmal carcasses, and orthopedic surgeons use hammerschses, circular saws dris knives and sanders on humans.

The rues of ote safety are sim ilar om ma nual to ma ual , b ut it's sti a good dea to

read them.

1



142 Route Safety

Haring protcton and a ust mask ar snsib prcations

Wooworkig machiery is i the ark ages compare to the at

bie as far as safety goes he atomobie istry has oe a thorog

protectig rivers whie the cars they are rivig a rom the o

they may crash ito Seat restrats ar bags hazar ights ABS brak

oor pae gars teescopg steerig coms safety gass a pa

ashboars a protect the rver However efesive rvg skis ar

as importat as ever wooworkig as we i ts st as importat to

a active roe i yor ow safety to ear how to prevet acciets a

practice that sk costaty

make it a poit to rea a roter safety res i texts artices a

roter owers maas hese maas are very poor; bt yo sho

them evertheess becase this book I am gog to omit forma t

o rotg a eectrica storm wearig OSHAapprove saety ga

a the regatios o jewery og hair og seeves a og exte

cors am aso ot goig to repeat the materia o overreach chr

proxmity operator fatge the fece o acoho or rgs orcig

too goo hosekeepg or savg strctos or ftre se wi t

yo abot the thigs that have scare me eary jre me a tak

by srprise These expereces have e me to eveop some precatiothat yo wot f the operator's maa

I sho poit ot that a of my acciets a earaccets we

etrey my fat 've ever ha a acciet e to eqipmet air

wrecke a acre o woo bt 've ever raw boo from a broke t

or a machie fare A as we a kow there are geera heath iss

besies the rect physica agers of rotg.



Hand-Router Safety

Fied-bae and nge oter were fit deigned for right e n the

hand of the woodworkernot to be inverted nder a rote tabe f they

are ed wthn ther degn lmit they are retty afe They are ntmidat

ng and cary bt they are afe

CUTTING RESISTANCE

The amont of ctte engaged in the wok determne it gr in the

tock Ctte tracton increae roghly by the qae n othe word the

area wet ot in a -in by -in ct i nine time greater than a -in by

-in abbet not thee time A ch the ctting dynamic are omewhat

he cuttng procedure for the -i n. by in rabbet eft s the same for the %i by %-n

rabbet r ight bu t the volume swept out in the latter is in e times geater tha th e smalercut Expect substantial chages in handlng as you scale up.

Neglect the motor lock i n the route r table and expect the depth of cut to change like it didwhile routi ng this slot.

Hand-Route Safey



144 Rote Safety

npredctale Dn epect e same cntrl wen dlng te ct

yre n dt make dep canges n sma ncrements e dffere

are especay ntceae n end gran were e fers are a rg ang

te ctng drecn Epec mre eertn n endgran r crss-gra

cts lke dades

SPONTANEOUS DEPTH CHANGES

On ccasn, a mtr may spntanesy sf n te casng r a c

may lsen n te clet A plnge mtr may as mve n ts pss

nt gtened dwn eng Te cnseqences can range frm a mn

msap rned wrk

t s yr respns lty t make sre e mr n a fedase t

des n mve nder pwer ey rarely d, t eeve wng-n l

levers sld e repaced w lnger levers fr mre gtenng prc

Plnge levers sld as e pstned s tey dn rn f tws

trave efre ckng p te mtr Al pnge ck levers ave an ad

ment fr s

INSTABILITY

Rters can nepectedly tp wen nder pwer ey can e awkwa

se and dffct ld secrely as y wrk Fedase tls are sm

tmes sed n narrw edges, r w less tan alf er aseplates n

wrk In eter case, a le can case e cter t dg nt te w

even reakng r endng te ctter and reslng n kckack Often

rer tale s a eter cce fr narrw sck ecase t allws mc

ter cnrl Y can als se se rer ases, as swn elw ta

fr mre cnrl y makng t easer t press dwn drecty ver te w

pece. n s case even an verszed sase can make a g dfferen

The locking lever of this PorteCable 690 router has been replaced with a long er ver

The extra length provides more torque for easier locking



Addig an ovrsid sbbas to a plng otr, shown at owr lft, can add a lot ofstabi lity to th too .

cttr is loos ly trappd bwn two sticks o qa l thickn ss st to t maxim mintndd dpth for th ct st wih a 5- lb or 1 0lb psh t o s if th tool is n stab

A plnge oter nde sl ar condtons can aso p e andles are

wdey spaced and oten g p on te poss. a ong ctter s engaged n

a deep c yo and-eed orces ay tp te too over

VARIABLE SPEED AND SOFT START

Vaable speed s a elatvely new eae n roes and a good one

especaly o sowng down agedaeter ctes. Also all varabe speed

tools ave sot (ap) star a nce saety eate evereess sowspeed

otng can be rsky. A slower speeds ctng ecency s redced and

Dry Rn o Te Setp

Eve though you wo't be c

stock ts a good idea to g

eel o a pl ug e cut beore you

the moto Smulate the cut wit

motor o ad the cutter at its m

mum depth Move the router a

get the eel o it ad to make s

opeatio wil go easily ad sm

For diicult cuts, it's aways a g

idea to do a test cut i scrap st

Hand-Route Safey



takes more hanfee force to move the work or roter As a rest, th

risk for pening the roter increases an aeqate campng s essen

Before rotng at sow spee, psh an p on the work ences stops

ege gies to check ther secrity: yo be sing more force than s

f yo o start a ctter spnnng an engage t in the work beore

reaches maxmm ctting spee, yo may break or ben it A softstar

too has tte rotationa kinetc kickback on startp so the keihoothe ctter samming nto something beore t is at maximm rpm s es

a probem Conser a softstart variabespee too to be the eqvaen

a shock absorber in yor car ths making accients sch as bt grabbn

en grain ess terrifyng Withot ths eatre, the knetcs (reaction

forces) rng ctter jams an bobbe are spontaneos an mch more

frightenng.

S RE DE H FERRKE SEED CONROS ae as good as he

vaable-seed eedback microrocessors i ew roes. my vew

that s o tre ad some oomakers wi ot guaratee ther oos w

aemake devces i use.

Vaiableseed cools o outes ae ot aticulay accessble

ad o good reaso eed-corol devces ae sed o sow dow

lage-dameter ools; a hgh seeds hey reset moe sk. I he

seed cotro s vey accessbe, t could accelerae wth a accidet

bum thus causig a accidet

I ay case i you use oe o hese roec om a accidetal d

chage. aly advertsemes showed the cotato o he oea

o's beta vey sae actce.



Wit this template on a sight i ncl ine you can ou a grip into the side of this box

KEEPNG THE ROUTER HORZONTAL

Tere w be occasions wen roting wit te roter sidewas (sndle

oriontal) ma look like a temtng solton to or woodworkng rob

lem I wod resist tat temtation ot on w o get cis in or

face and air, bt te dnamics of te oeration are so ecliar tat it s

nvariabl dangeros Rotng on an angle, owever, is safe as long as te

ange is not stee enog to make te roter easil t

Router Table Safety

As a roter table woodworker, o sod kee a few tngs ermost

n or mnd Most basc of a s keeing te roter secre n ts casting

wie monted sde down in te tabe Fare to tgten te cams

can also ave obvos drastic conseqences And cearl, or roter tabe

mst be secred we o work Aso ke is wirng a swtc nto or

roter table so tat o can qickl trn t off

Wt tese basc recatons, te roter table s rett safe most of te

tme, bt tere are some rsks n general, o sold se a sit fence forsafets sake o can more easil tre fence alves and sde te alves

left and rgt to crowd te ctter, ts exosing te mnimm steel

Vacm colecton and a sod means of secring te fence are essental

Witot a secre fence, a sl cod make te roter grab te work, or

o cold lose or baance.

In corporating a switch in the outsrouter table base provides safety by alowing for q uick s hut-off in than emergency he switch is mortican't be accidently struck

Rote Tabe aety



148 Router Saety

This pair of nlong levers at 6 n from either end of the fence securely lock then p ace he levers lock nto nuts under the table

Dont do this Sl idi ng the work down the fence onto this spinn ing cutte s done at coerable rsk f the fence moves you can lose your grip on the work; or i the work is byou can break the cutte

SMALL WORK

Work ha i oo mall for he han roer can e ale roe a

ale an ence are no reaon enogh o ge yor han cloe o he

er Avoi nneceary rel iance on ho-in an holown wheneve

ile hey ocre he cer an hiner conrol of he workpiece.

work eem hazaro enogh o e holown i hol e he ig

ha anoher kin of ig or ire i reqire o nee a fire ig

enogh o keep yor han away from he cer an ry enogh

erve a a plaorm for op an clamp The j ig may no e eay or q



to mke t yor eslts wll e ettern mch cheper thn n emer

gency room visit .

DOUBLE-BLND ENDED TABLE CUTS

Dropping the wok on spnnng ctter is ngeros t s common t

rsky prctce. Selecting the en ponts o the ct s gesswok chngng

epth o motises {n other cts} is iclt, n hnlng the work sprecros. Any elxtion or momenty loss o control s crtins"

Expect chttere ws n ns t the ens o the piece s yo revese

rection Yo'll kil the ctte premtrely n this is n nse prctice

The hn pnge roter ws invente to ccommote these lin cts

so yo shol se i t

THE HDDEN CUER

t' s common when workng on oter tle to hve the ctter e

mch o the tme rng ct only to hve t ppe nexpectely t the

en t's impotnt to sty let yo mst ply n ctive prt in yor own

sety. The sen ppernce o the ctter is jst s thretening s ctter tht s wys in yor ce

ROUTING CUR ORK

Fo roting on cve the sl strtegy s to se erngge ctters

with strting pin o to the sie so yo cn ese the workpiece nto the

spinnng ctter Withot one the work is kely to kick wy rom the ct

te. Even with pn it s possile tht the ctter wi ctch the strting co

ner n whisk the wok ot o yor contol Wheneve possle lit

tle scricl mteril to the en o the wok or n esier stt n ny

cse yo shol ee the mterl gnst the ctter rotton

Two-Sep Cting

For thck stock o r an nderprouter it sometimes heps t

a trim ct in two passes Use a

bt that has a larger beaing tha

ctter for a initial pass, the f

that up with a fina pass sing

tr im bt .

cutter wih a be aring bigger thctter diameter will lig hten the cload for the first pass secondwit a pattern bit flush wth the

will leave a smooth srface.

Makin g the groove is so effoless o ne may forget thee i s a cuttersoon to emerge as the work passes over it

A staring pi al lows you to start the wok in a controled wsafety essential with curved work

Rote Table Saety



150 Route Safey

BIG CUERS

Feed Direction



Climb Cuing

T saf androing fd drcion sold f o rig (agains

cr roaion) on osid of work On an insid xcavaion

fd dircion sold clockwis aso agans cr roaion is is

a good r fdng agans cr roaion sal cass som

aro T ffc is smilar o copping agans grain w a cisl

w moving cisl in dircion of cop I s vr ffcin

cr can gra and ar o som sock If ror is fd rig o

lf on mos rcalciran of marials will ar o onl ral

incniv o clm c

Tr s som rsk in fdng w cr roaon ror can

sffd T cr ransfrs is roaonal forc ino a forward pl and

nds o pll awa from work as sffds. Tis dosn appn wi

sandard c cas opraor is psng agains a forc B

wn or psing ror in sam drcion as is sffding

ndnc s mc ardr o conrol Howvr lg cs w smal is

ransfr vr il forc ack no ror. Clim cing wi m israv saf T iggr cr grar powr ransfr T

prolm also gs mor srios on ndgran wr crs av

mos racion.

On ror al cm c can ransfr a lo of nrg no a

raivl lig workpc s vr as o os work wn fding f

o rg And onc workpc sars o sffd or fingrs can

plld no cr a dsasr indd f o av work n a oldr

a as som addional mass likood of a sffd s rdcd and

o can kp or ands saf awa from cr A workpc no

hese toggles not ony press the work down on fiberboard but ae comfortable enough to

se as handles.

Climb Cuting

Reversing the ou te's feed d rection

eslts i the risky c lim cut-son

ecause the roer bit tends to pu

cli mts way aog te workiece

Climb Cuig



152 Rouer Safey

THE ACCIDENTAL CLIMB CUT



maeria o relieve sress ad e wor ages sape e i ba sel

eedig, or or igs a be expeed

Cutter Surprises and Risks

Roer bis or desroy mos igs er paway eve eyre dll

ey a eve ge o ad br yo ey a aso brea espeiay ieyre smal i diameer Mos o e ig ad ore o a er a wor

is a e ed o e b Te lever (disae) rom e ed o e oo o is

weaes poi a be log eog o brea e ool modes worig

odios doveail bis are oorios or is o mimze breaage we

o oer er wi do, se soid arbide or ae e sages wi a

plge roer Also oe a a soppy sep ireases e lieood o

breaig e oo. Keepg a er oied o is paway elps sa e

odds i yor avor

No oermeasre wi preve all aides Cers brea or

aely ers a brea i sde s lose er ie eergy lyagais e wall o e ad ey are say rapped ere by e

over o e sbbase ey are rarely dageros A er breag aog

e edge o so is a rea, b rare ve eard orror sories b i

yore more liely o ge by lgig a a balsi oo b ve p

i osads o ors bed roers wi all sors o ersew, sed

experimea, balaed, regrod ad so oad ave ever broe

a er wie edge roig ve aso ipped a o o arbide we ig

ails os ad embedded ardware b ve ever bee by er

srapel.

his table leg, ou t of squae wil rot diffeently on the router table dependi ng o n wichface is against the fence. If it s too far out of squa re, it co ld b reak the cutter.

Ce Srpses ad Rss



Let your collet fll up with a resin ous messfrom a softwood routing s ession an d the

next cutter in the collet may not be secure.Colles should be immacuate if teyrenot you'l l see a loss of hold ing power

154 Rote Safety

This slot cutter is engaged i n the work Lif up the work while routing and anything chappenusually what happens is not good

THE TRAPPED CUTER

A rappe cter s any bi tha will esoy the wok if yo lift he ro

hese ince sot cters, keyhole bts an oeail bs Any of he

wil rin the wok if yo ip or lft he roter f the cter s in the ro

able an yo lif the wok yo also rin the c Yo may also nw

tingly isoge or pll he ctter fom the collet an change s ctin

epth, casng boh angeros an nexpecte resls Thee s no myo can o abot ths bt pay atenion

OUTOF-BALANCE CUERS

Bent, sefshapene regron, big ong, singe-te an een ornctters can be ot of balance Diry o worn coes can sen a we

balance oo ino a esonant frenzy, oo Wth any of the aboe, test

he tool n a arable-spee oter for baion fis o the moto

wih both hans with yor thmb on he o swich Acceeae a ste

a tme an sht he tool own he nsant any ibaton is fel Opea

the bi only a spees beow resonance (make ibration) o no at

rankly wol ern an ot-ofbaance bi for a refn or eplacem

Unfortnately, I hae seen new ctes fom most sppies hat haesome ibation



Health Concerns

Routing is a dirty, dangerous, noisy business Eye protection is essential,

and goggles that won't let a chip in anywhere are cheap Ear protection

should not be overlooked Routers are noisy, and with a vacuum they are

douby noisy Noise suppressors safe to NRR: 25 dB minimum should be

worn at all times when routing, as sound-energy insults are cumulative

and can lead to noise- induced hearing loss

Every reasonable eort shoud be made to colect the dust and chips

from a router to prevent nasal and lung damage The router tabe is very

easy to set up with dust collection equipment, and you should use this

whenever possible Repeated exposure to wood dust is a recognized heath

hazard, so you need to minimize exposure. ( For more on this, see Woodshop

Dust Control by Sandor Nagyszaanczy, The Taunton Press)

POSTURE

Most shop furniture is too ow for routing, not only for inspection of the

work but for your posture For me the best height is around 36 in. to38 in high for table routing, and about 40 in for hand routing. Select

the best height using the adjustabe height of the drill -press tabe as an

experimental surface Theres no sense in stooping and tiring before youre

ready to uit

Hearing protectors, safety goggl es and dust masks el p prevent long-term heath damage

from frequent router use.

R

outing can produce very sh

cornered w orkpieces-sha

enogh o cu your hand. Altho

routing with goves can have its

hazards, I do use rbbe gloves

me o time for protecon. Be ca

tious hough If a cutter caches

gove it can pll your hand with

winding up he glove n a second

Health Concerns



Du l cutters, or even new cutters, if lef to coninue beyond the ir cuttng t imes ( tme t akes

to rot the cut) wll brn the wood.

Risks and Problems

've menoned he nheen nsaby of roers and ha hey ofen have

oo vsby becase of back or oaqe sbbases Roers aso rodce a

o of wase fo he ar, and can even n yo hearng f yo fa o se

roecon The cers ae obvosy vey nforgvng and hey can

qcky weck a wokece f yo ose cono They aso w case sevee

njy f any ar of yo body ges n he way

s aso ossbe o beak a oo b evey now and hen and have a

ece of mea whng hogh he ar (ahogh hs s ae snce bokenbs generay ose he enegy rady agans he wokece sface)

Pehas he mos common coman agans roes s he endency o

rodce earo n he workece Panes chses, and saws have he

own obems b hey don ear ke roer bs do

Roes can nexecedy ose he deh of c As oned o , he

moor may s n he casng, o he ce can sqm n he coe (ese

cay wh dy o worn coes o f he oo shank has been scrached o

dnged) And, of cose, worn roe bs can aso bn wood

PRODUCTION WORK

Neay a of he obems menoned above show more feqeny whhghe and hghe odcon aes he sandad 1 10vo oer can be

oveworked when made o do heavy cs sch as ased anes n nea

connos-dy condons Yo shodn' exec hs odcon efom

ance fom a -vo oe Sho-rn med odcon can be done

wh wo roes havng smar ses Le one oo do mos of he dry

wok even f he cer s won o ched and e he oher oer wh a

Risks and Problems



nly h right cornr w l ar on this crosscut so a spoi l boarcamp on th g wil pvnt tarout. Th cuttr spins in toth work g on th ft an cant tar

T up-spiral bit lavs a fuzzy surfac

Th floor o tis abbt shows th slig ht swirls of th cuttr tp h wall is typcally muc hclanr than t bottom cut.

Roer echnology hn een perfeced o cheve gre rel forh oom poron of he c Roer e degned prmrly de

ce. Coneqenly he oor of mny profe my no e wee

he wl c from he me ool. Thee n mch yo cn do o h

lgh core c n. o o) cn elmne lo of ero long he

oor/edge coner nform feed e commenre wh he cng re

nd chp eecon w prodce he e c

h cut on th ft was pr-scorY-in pass. Th cut on th right w

Risks a Pobems



ry usi ng a pattern bit with a top

mou nted beari ngthey're fre

que ntly arge in d iameter and stiffer

instead of a flush-trim bit. The pres

sure on the top beaing causes less

deflection Collar g uides also have the

same effect

160 Common Router Limitations



close enogh o joney with any of the DeWalts xedbase eado is

accate to 4 n , bt nealy iossbe o ead and its acandnion

gea eacts too qicy to adjst o sa changes

Mxng eic and Englsh nts on the sae indicato only confonds

the oble osch and De Walt boh have nealy indeciheable ndcaos

Weight and rgonomics

Rotes do the shalow-deth wo of chisels saws oding anes, and

othe hand tools hogh they do he wo vey wel, they can also be

awwad o handle They ae geneally egonocay designed o basic

bench wo, b they can be difcl to hande de o thei weght and

the act hat he ctte is not a diect extension of the tool, as on a chsel

o hae head. thei adatabity aes the sefl in ess-than

dea cicsances Moeove, becase he ctting oo is ess han e

cent of the achne by wegh closeness and contol ae coosed. A

wallo o a allet on a chse on he ine is a ety staightfowad execise t conoling the cte athway o a ote wth two oosng

nobs and 0 lbs o coe, steel and aln beween the taes soe

acice Fotnaely as with bcycling exetise wil coebt sets,

igging, and sch will ae tie acice is the essence of otng and

woodwoing

Weght ad goomcs



Starting Upthe Router

Ror nq and sp ar qi indvdal Many if no m

woodworrs arn by ria and rror rar an rom a orm

ors B w mllions of ror ownrs o r nd

rainng is ovrwlmng. Aog ror niq old asily ill

anor boo Ill ma a fw sggsons o p o nov

To do a propr roing job yo nd o prpar marial s

wor and s p ror T aa rong nq is sraig

forward b wil dsrib wa wors for m My niq s basd say iny rsp for qipmn and so and o ors

qaliy rs

Preparation and Setup

Roing sodn' b don on rog nprpard so. Jigs frs a

ror gid sysms ar all snsiiv o sap of yor wor and ma

ral prparaion. Pronond mll mars rom joinrs and planrs for

xamp w as a baringgdd r o bon and lgrap

irrglar sra ino Edgs a arn sqar wll rgisr dinly n yor jigs. Jons won' f yor wor is poory md.

Qaly woodworng rqirs ara maria prparaon yo

nd is sil o g onsisn rsls wi a ror or any or ool

ms sragn flan nssplan and sqar p on dg of yo

marial bfor yo rn o a ror A ab saw inss planr and

joinr do s ob qiy and araly wn s p propry



Overzealous joi nting may yied too few and often b mpy cts i the

stock. A ball-bearing cutter wil l b ouce o n these m l marks andtransfer imperfections to the work.

There is no reasonable substitte for preparing stock prope

the jointer

To BE SURE N CCENL

startup whie changing a

cute o motor seting

can be a catastope

Because I sometmes

cange cuters 10 to

20 times a day in 5 to

10 outers, unpluggng is

a lot o lost time o me

so don't do it. On the

other hand, aways

ceck the switc position

and pay speca attenton

to ts ocaton so I dont

accdentaly tp it. his s

active and necessary

saety vgilance. But fo

• • •

Sears and some other power cords have red LE Dsin their transpaent sockets indicating they're hot.

This socket also has a clamp in it that holds theplug to 30 Ibs of pul l

novice users, o tose wo only use te tool occasonaly I 'd recom

mend unpluggng Also emembe tat plugs and sockets are not

switches and tey pesent tei own electica hazads. Moeove the

ears powe cords use ave pug ocks tat equire you to press the

ock to reease te plug Foget tat and you uin the socket.

A powe-ndicatng amp on the moto ead woud be a geat featue;

but n te interim actve saety practice is you responsbi lity. D on' t

expect te government, ndustry, o anybody ese to be answerabe to

you safety. f tat means unpug ging the toolten d o it .

Smooth S urfaces

or smoother edge cuts with

router, use a edge gude wh

ever possible istead of a ball-b

guided cutter. The edge gude w

bdge small imperections ad

vent them om telegraphg thr

to the cut

Preparaion ad Setp



166 Starng Up the Rote

Th n rsi o this sloting ji g sown hr, has a st of stops to crow th wor osis an a st of togg cl amps o p i th.

Ths mortising jig fastns to a bam T twocamp nobs go rght thog th bnca st o Tnts on th bac si of th g

SECURNG THE WORK

Clamps o a ll sors wl l mpose nense orce on e work, bu usually

us a small spo For example, and screws exer 200 lbs o 00 lbs,

I-beam Jorgensen bar clamps more an 2,000 lbs and some orged

Cclamps squeee up o 0,000 lbs Een so, oen akes een moe

e local concenraed orces o keep e wok rom mong Frequen



you ll eed o fece it i as we ll as clamp it i place. You'll eed at least

two clamps to out a wopece ats ot feced i

's rarely a good idea o deped o a sgle clamp for a outig opera

tio Two is safe. Templates ad fxtures ot oly old te wo bu tey

also eed o be clamped dow Do't deped o a usecured jig tat c a

slde aoud te worbec as you rout Put a couple of clamps o it, or

fd a way to secure t o te bec or oter wo supporDoublesided ape ad route mats are commo wor olders but

teye ust ot secure eoug I do't use eite. Bads ad ot glue are

safer but stadard idustry practce icludes clamps cams, eces ad

cowdig te wor wit stops. A sigle clamp as plety of local foce but

wll ot preve te wor fom roaig; a worpiece wt two clamps is

very ressat o roaio

ROUTER SETUP

Befoe you set up fo you fis cutg operato brg your ouer to te

bec uplugged wit its collet weces. For a basc fxedbase router

emove te motor fom te base assembly ad uscrew te locg ut oe collet. Iset at least 3/4 of tool sa te colle Do't ser te

bit so far at e flute fillet ( sow below) s te col let ad do't

clamp dow o e area wee e flute starts o fade out ito e cute.

If te sa botoms out te colle lift i up a lttle (about 1/16 i) f

you use collet reduces, e gp is bes we e slos te sleeves ae

led up wt te slos te colle I your tool euies two wreces,

squeeze em i oe ad to abou 5 lbs fo i wreces Adjus te

cute dep ad loc te moor

Cuers wi small cuig diameers ofen requre some gindig io e sak, unlikelargediameer cuers of % in or more on -in sanks Do' cam e colle on efadeou

Saving Knuck les

Removing a outer bit with twwrenches can be hazadous

your knuckles If you're not care

the sudden release o the collet

catch your knuckles in a scissor

bte as the w renches suddenly c

together. You can prevent this b

using the benchtop as a second

Position one wrench so that ts

place against the benchtop and

down with your open palm on th

other wrench.

Pepaato ad Setup



168 Sating Up the Route

To ensure a good tool it gri in te colet squeeze a air of wences i a "andsakg i to 1 5 Is or so.

A safe cut egi ns wit a wid e sick wit two clams on it. e stic k as seen at east tjoi nte r and l ane r; te V4-i raet it (cuting a Vin . y V4n . raet) is extended V4 in

Bgnnrs sh st p f a practic ct with a straght it fr a

/4 in y /in rat n a wkpc clamp t th nchtp nspc

stp an with th t still nplgg pass th tr ang its ntnpathway f y n't snag th wir r rn int a clamp wth th rt

y ay t plg it in Rst th tr n th wrk, t kp th cat ast n cttr ais away fm th g Fr ns cts with a p

rt, kp th it p in th as casting Thn start th mtr an

it int th wrk Dn't am t aganst a aing r stp



he feedig mi hld be eady eve gracef Sdde lrche

ca cae ear ad break cer

Th fir lgh pa a preview c fr me. he fr few ecd

f rg, lear hw harp he cer wheher I have egh pwer

wheher 've e he cer deep, wheher my camp are hldg, ad

he geeral dyamc f he perai

Beger hd pracce a hallw deph crap piece 1 0 20 ime befre mvig he wrk. he impra pi keep i

md are aly wd, perir millg, gd wrk lckp, igh cer

ad mr ad gh eady c

A a r le, edge c are he fir hig de by he vice wih ew

rer ad cer ad hey are meme dffic d we Sice e

ha half he caig alg he edge ad le ha a arer f he f

pr pree a he ed i early impible keep he rer la.

here are afermarke vered rer pae maage hi iabiliy

Ide c ch a mrie ad dade are a mch f a prblem here

becae he bae lid grd al ard he c Y wll hwever,

eed a jg, edge gide, r emplae fr iide c There' away a radeff

Feed d ecton o the oute is

fom eft to gt-conecock

wise aond te wokpiece eed

di ection fo e ote table, ow

eve is te evese ecase te

oute is iveted.

Feed Direction

Wopece

-

.

Safe feed direction

Peparatio and Setup



A straight bt is quite satisfactory for making rabbets on the routertable. Close the fence down so there is 'B in . or so of ai aroundthe cutter. Project the cutter above the top by Y4 i ad move thefence Y n b ack from the 12 oc lock position of the cutter's circle

Always keep the work down and against the fence Walk alongsort stcks and use suppor rolles for long ones These fenceare straight parallel to each other, square to the table, ad flatany o those variables and your cutigs may be in consistent

170 Startig Up the Router

Router Table Setup

he setup for the router table requres a few more steps than for a han

held router Again, you'll want to unplug the router. Remember that

accidental start may eect the motor pack from a fixedbase casting if

forget to tghten it before startng the router The cutter nsertion s tsame You wil need to adjust the height from underneath the tabe

sometimes an awkward move, depending on your router For a 4in b

-in. rabbet you need to poston a fence and bt so that a straight

extends exactly /4 n away from the edge and 4 in. above the tabe.

Before routing press and pull on the router fence to check ts sec

A fence that moves unexpectedy can ruin the work or the cutter Ta

routing is very similar to rppng on the tabe sawbut without nearl

much kckback risk Its easy and safe Nevertheess, take no chances.

only when the process adds up safely in your mind

Once you're ready to go, plug in the router, and feed the work ev

from rght to eftthe opposite of the handhed direction because throuter is nverted Push the work down on the table against the fence

side t steady at a rate of about 10 to 20 feet/mnute Wax the table a

fence for more sip if necessary



Template Routing

T

13



172 Template Routing

Precision ues calper, compass and hardeed-stee squares ae necessary for close

In addtio to ayout you'll need these to solate error, should that ever occur

Founately, making he templae is reatively easy. he echnque

used ae usually ordnay woodworking poceduesnohng fancy In

much the same way, the actual use of the empate s fairy saghtforw

or example, he aveage woodworke can mase he haf-bind dove

drawe-makng templae jig n a few hours

Templaes for makng eraed onery (box joins, doveails, etc )

some of he easies o make Rouers are the idea ools o make these

"comb ype emplaes The ouer simpy cus one cuter wdth in h

emplae maeial and is sepped and epeaed usng a bock or bar tondex subsequent cts; anybody can do hat. Getng the numbes to a

up so tha the acua cuers, bearings, and coas do her job is anoth

maersomethng we don' have space fo here, eihe At any ae,

sisency is cica, and accurae measuremen is necessary

empates sove many of ou mos compicaed woodworkng pob

lems. hey ake much of the rsk ou of pecarous woodwokng The

accuracy alows preview of any operaion on scrap sock befoe sking

he expensive chery, maple, or wanu on he acua projec. You can

un hrough an enire joinery sequence, for nsance, from sar o fni

whout rsking any of the projec sock

Tools and Materials

You choce of maeral depends on s use and to a ceain exen on

skills in shaping i Mea, plasic, fibeboards, and wood ae the ypc

materias Dimensonal sabiiy, ansparency, expense, wea, hcknes



availaity, a woraity al play a rol t coc A sortru tm

pat migt st ma of irc pywoo or ust a scrap pc of ar

woo A prcisio ogrru tmplat migt rquir plastic. Crta plas

tics (Lucit a a) ract to gsp a arigs siig o tm

y mtg Plastc lamiat will tolrat at, ut ts oious ust may

a prolm. Tr ar may factors to cosir

Tr's otig facy aout t tools for maig tmpats Youl a staar assortmt of wooworg powr toos: sars, saws,

joitr, r prss, a routrs aout covr it Goo ayout tools ar as

importat, toug You soul av a st of maciists ruls, grou

straigtgs, a a calipr, a ar squar, a a prciso protractor

for accurat agls Tos tools o't com cap, ut ty av crossovr

possits i fwooworig macitool stup a quaty cotrol

Template Uses and Types

O y fact is tat tmpats ca us a sris of stps to crat asurprisg varity of tais ca gt iffrt typs of cuts from a crc

tmpat, as wll as myria variatios y cagig coars, arigs, cut

trs, a cuttr pt First I j ust camp t is oto t wor a rout

t wor full ticss wit a pattr it I sift t tmplat

ac a ic a cut alf t ticss of t wor Fially, st t tm

plat ac agai a wit a collar a straigt it cut a oamtr

corativ patway

So, a tmplat ca us to sap t tr worpic ticss,

ay fracto of it alog a g, or to cut a or troug s cava

tio Tat muc vrsity is wat mas t tmpat so importat

A ful -ickness fl s-rim med coy of e rofile Sifing e em lae back rous a c rved rabbe

Tempate Uses ad Types



Taking Out the Guesswork

To simplify making straight MDF

templ ates us ualy create only

one straight edgewith two ends

square to the edge on t he maste

stock. The opposite edge is bandsawn

and thu s never mi staken for a work

edge I aways indicate the ps ide

(work face) with a b ig felt-tip pen

Usin g op poste faces of the same

tempate may introduce un expected

error. Becase 'm using MD, se a

machine d edge as the straight edge

and carefly square up the two adja

cent edges o n the table saw

174 Template Routing

All three possibities of the template: ful thckness fractional thickness, and the ine

M aking Basic Templates

A straightedge with two square corners s in some ways the mother o

templates. Wthout it you certanly cant ae much n the way of ot

templates Make one as a preliminary step to makng a basc comb tem

plate (Ths kind of template s used for box jo ints and dovetai ls ) For

bility use MDF for the nitial straightedge. Then two different pattern

are used to mae first a single slot thats 1 in. wide. This serves as a

guide to mae the series of 5-in. slots for the comb template

The key concept used in translating the straght template nto aprocess s step and repeat using an accurate method to step o the n

vdual fngers use an alumnum bar to index one cut from the previo

cut thus mang the seres accurate to wthn a couple thousandths

of an nch

PROCEDURE

Before you begin prepare the MDF materals One s for the simple

straight edge; the second s for the intermedate step; and the third is f

the comb template. I use 3-n.thc MDF for the first and second tem

plate and 3/4-n for the final comb template Whatever size you use sh

be a convenent se for the job at hand. 'll also have the two router b

on hand, one with a 1 -in. cutter and a -n topmounted bearing a

the other with a %-in. cutter and a n top-mounted bearng ( Do t

n stages with a collar guide and a plunge router. A single pass in 3/n

MDF may break the bt.) Use bearng-guded cutters rather than colla

guides to ensure exact centers A collar guide can be o center enoug

mae a dfference You'll also need a pece of 1 V4n alumnum bar sto



Ft, ue e mpe tagedge tempate o mae e eond tem

pate wi a ngle o n i en ue at o mae a et of lo on egula

and exa ente.

e one of e quaedup piee of MDF in. ) and ou te

1 �in.wide ingle lo ung e eang-guided te. Sandw wo

eang eween e two taigt-edge eion to potion tem, and out

a ingle lo tat' quae to te fae Now e imple lot guide to ,ep, and epea unil we ge e fined om templae.

Poiion e lot emplae qae to te font edge of te lan. Now

wi e 5�-in-damete te, o e eie of equally paed %-n. lot.

e two straigt tem ates are clam ed 1 in aart on to of te temate stock used

to make te comb master e stock sould be big enoug so wen it's clamed on te

master te router wont it te clams.

Use te slot temlate to rout te slots in t e master Kee it flus to te e dge of te master

for every cut.

aking Basic Templates



176 Tempate Roung

Wit a 1 Y4in alu min um bar in dexed against te temlate ad a straig edge rout aseries of equally saced slots Remove te ar and side te temae agains te camstraigt edge for eac cut

Mov tmpla on 1 4 n ncrmns w amnm 1 4

bar Car mst b takn vr m o mak a cang I a cp so

g bwn t spacr, mplat angs p on som srac br

or o bmp , o wll tow o wol sqnc, an o mg

wll sta anw Wt caon an concnraton, o can mak a rg

spac orgnal comb tmpla a as onl onosant to wo

osants o an nc o rror n 1 t o mplatwto masrn

CURVED TEMPTE

Nxt, wl mak a smp crv mplat w a vrsng ras aga

sng MDF sock cnal a s o c a sk o o MD an s

bo t sk an sronng o" mara as stang ma

Monng a cv scton o sk ajacn to a crv scton o

ol" cras a ranson rom os to ns as a can b s

(Dpnng on ow xac o n to matc ra o ma n

actal c two skson w a slgtl sma ras tan o

to accon or cknss o k)

st mak a sk 6 n or so n am ot o �ntck M S

ol, as wll b s to mak t ns ras. Now scw

(or part o t) o a Y nck pc o M Tak a scon o o

mpla an scrw own on MDF an p agans t sk Transon om ns ras o t ots mst b mprcpb

o l a bmp o anng otr tan a smoo anson nal

tmplat wll nrt ct



Now wih he wo emplae crewed o a lank head for he andaw

and c off he wae eaing lh in. or le o e flh rimmed Ue a pa

ern i and rm he maer een wih creweddown emplae he ro

ing emplae making (dik, ec) aemly, and andawing ake ime,

he proce eay

Cominng raigh and cred econ n he ame emplae preen

no pecal prolem. ayo and poiioning are ery imporan o he c

ce of he emplae and wil ake ome pracice o maer

Screw e subemaes emlaes used o make e maser down on e maser e

ansiion oiner) mus ave o erceibe defecs.

Bandsaw e wase rom e emlae base before rim mi ng e wo ayers flu s

Get a Dolar's Woth

Most trim mer cutters are 0

to 0004 in or so sma le

radis than their bearngs, so w

accont for this sm al "oset

oded dollar bi l ls (0004 in thi

This makes the window sightly

than the 2x4 Its transer to the

wil redce the m ortse agan-

experimentation may be necess

Makig Basic emplae



TEMPTES FOR A SNUG FIT

2x4

178 Template Roung



Rout a practic mortis though som scra Us a fnc scrwd to th bottom of th tmlat to idx th work cosistntly

Now wth he window emplate od out a home fo he quae na dawe bottom (o whaeve Le ' ut epea th poedue wth an

odinay tk fo a lit e paie ay a 2x

To impify he one fi in he final wokpee, fi ound ove a

fo one of the 2x with a 3-in-adi bi Make he window emplate

ng a /4-in-diamee bit o he adii of he one math up

Sew down ome -in. tagh eion of ap aond the 2x

map" a hown at ef Leave abou 0008 n op between he 2x and

the gide.

Wate the inde of he templae wih a j igaw and then flh ou

even wih he aight tempate Remove the ap gide and ae thewindow ono he wok J gaw o di ot the nde wate amp the

emplae in pae and m wth a h m bt

Making Basic Templaes



18

Resources

Adjustable Clamp Co.417 N. Ashland AveChicago, IL 60622-6397(3 12 ) 666-0640Camps

Amana Too Corp1 20 Carolyn BlvdFarmingdale NY 1 1 735(800) 445-0077Router bits

Bruss FastenersO Box 88307Grand Rapids MI 49518-0307(800) 5360009Steel X-dowes

CMTO Box 4185Greensboro, NC 27404-4185(800) CMBitsRouter bits

De-StaCoO Box 2800Troy M 48007(81 0) 594-5600Toggle clamps

DeWat Tools701 E Joppa RdTowson MD 2 1 286(800) 4-DeWaltElectric power tools

Fein Power Tools, Inc301 9 W Carson StPitttsburgh PA 15204(412 ) 331-2325Electric power tools

Hampton House200 N Brewer StGreenwood N 46 142 -3605(317 ) 881-8601Katie Jg

Hitachi Power Tools3950 Steve Reynolds Blvd.Nocross, GA 30093(800) 706-7337Electric power tools

J&L Industrial SuppyPO Box 335 9Livonia, MI 481 5 1 -3359(800) 521-9520Machine tools

Jesada Toos, Inc3 10 Mears BlvdOdsmar FL 34677(800) 531-5559Router bits and accessories

JessEm Too Co1 7 1 Robert St East, Unit #8Penetanguishene ON L9M Canada(800) 436-6799Rout-R-Lift

Jointech1 1 72 5 Warfied StSan Antonio TX 78216(800) 619- 1288Joinery jigs and templates

Keler & Co1327 StPetaluma, CA 94952(800) 995-2456Dovetai templates

Leigh Industries, LtdO Box 357Port Coquitlan, BC U3 C 4K6Canada(604) 464-2700Dovetail and joinery jigs



Makita Tools1 4930 otham Sta Miada CA 90638(800) 4-MakitaElectic powe toos

Micro Fence1 1 1 00 Cumpton St. #35N Holywood CA 91601(81 8) 766-4367Edge cicle guides ellipse make

Milwaukee Electric Tool1 3 1 3 5 isbon Rd.Bookfied, WI 53005(262) 781-3600Electic powe tools

Porter-Cable Corp.Box 2468Jackson T 38302(800) 368-1487Routes and othe potable electicwoodwoking tools

PRC73 1 -C Paso Robes StPaso Robles CA 93446(800) 238-6144Route bits

Reid Tool2265 Black Ceek RdMuskegon, MI 49444-2684(800) 253-0421ig hadwae

Ridge Carbide595 ew Yok AveLyndhurst, J 07071(800) 443-0992Reginding of oute bits

S-B Power Tool Co (Bosch)4300 W Peteson AveChicago I 60646-5999(877) 267-2499Electric powe tools

Taylor Design Group Inc.PO Box 810262Dallas TX 753 81(972) 418-481 1Inca jig

Veritas Tools, Inc.

1 2 East Rive StOgdensburg Y 13669(800) 871-8158Woodwoking tools, outeaccessoies

Patrick Warner1427 Kenoa StEscondido, CA 92027(760) 7 47-2623Acylic offset subbases and igs

W L. Fuller, IncPO Box 87677

Wawick RI 028 8(401 ) 467-2900Dilling tools

Woodhaven501 W 1st AveDuant IA 52747(800) 344-6657Router accessories

Resorces



82

Index

Ix no pg frncs i ilcs ic phoogph o lusrio.

A

Accssois:

circ/lps cig, 69, 24, 1 5

cor gs, [9, 19 29-30, 1 , 32, 22, 1

ov/boxjo krs 28, 1 9 30

g guids 2, 1

nly kis 22-23, 1

pn ong, 2 8, 1

ortbs 16 27, 1, 28, 18 30, 1sbbss 9 , 19 , 2 , 6, 2

wch lss cos, 1 5

B

Brgg cus, 22-23, 2, 2, 5,

2627

Bvls, 3 , 8 , , 1 1 , 1 1 5 6

Bi�, , 82, 16 07

ccrcy of gid, 08, 19, 0 , 1 1

nickbc

bd ctng, 08, 4, 1 1, -6

bng n h midl 6, 1 1 6

brig o h boom 7 , 1 1 8, 1 1 8bng o h op 6, 1 1 6

bing yp 1 1 , 22-23 , 6 4, 1 1 ,

1 1 5

crb I l , 3 , 1 1

cu if - 2 , 1 1 3 , 1 1

dcoriv po curs 6- 7

ccy, 1 1, I I

shi 7, 7, 1 1 , 8, 1 18

u sign

highsp sl (HSS) 23 , 1 1

jory 9, 1 19 20

mulipc 20, 1, 1 1

oshr

pformnc of 07, 1 08, 18 09, 19,

0 , 1 1 pod, 1 1 22-23, 6, 4, 1 1

polycrysli iod (PCD 3

rgng cus, 2

sk of, 19

squcng s of 2

shnk d, 4

shpnss/shpning, I l , 2

spr groun

srgh 26

rou 89 159

pl oug 8

s cuttg 1 1

vbro 08, 18

Bck & Dc fxbs ours, 0,

Bln cus, 20, 29, 0, 1Bosch:

col g syst 30, 1 32

cu dph usm, 6 , 63

fxbs ous, 5 6, 9,9 , 5 1

5 3

min r routs 7, 6 83, 8

pung rours 66, 67

Box o n s 9, 1 28, 1 9 30

Bng, by cuttrs 2, 1 1 , 3

c

Chrng/cts wh bbrig crs

226

Chip colcing 6, 65 67, 30, 1Circs, 38, 9 69, 38, 18

Clmps/cms 66

Cib cuttg 9 98, 98, 99, , 15 1, 2

Col guids 8 22, 1

Cos 3, 2, 1 5 4, 15

Cop nd sck 9, 1 08, 9

Cfts Ss/Cfsn

Crossgi cug 7

Cutt phwy cool:

biggud 2223, 24, 2, 5

26-27

blin cus 20

cic cr s guid 38, 9

cor gs, 29-30, , 3 , 1 32,

dg gs 33, 3, 3, 5 36

fhd outg 40

gu sysms 1 22

sbbs s gu 36, 6 37

ool shnk s g 37 , , 38



deph cus, 9-9, 97

determnig heght 88, 88

eecrica equipme, 8, 87

feed directin 0, 1

fence 9 , 91 92 ,9 93

ixedbase r plunge 89

hidde cutter, 9, 19

miter gauge 99, 99 00, 1

pteci frm cuter 93 9 9, 9 95

ruting cuvy w 9, 1 9 0

safety 000 , 1 1 02, 1 03, 1 1

0, 4, 17

smal w saey, 8, 18 49

sads 8 , 89

sartig ut, 0, 1 7

tablep materia, 90, 9

rappng the wrk, 02, 1 0 3, 1

twsep cutting 9 19

usg pluge ruters 2

Rutg:

appicatns, 8, 9, 0, 1 1 1

measured wasting f mateal 4, , 5

pwer equirements ,

types 2 9RuRLt 16 2

Ryb rues, 6, , 8

s

Safety 19 3

b g cuers 0, 15

chip clectg, 6, 65, 6, 30, 1

cimb cung, , 1 1 2, 1

cutters beakng 3

dry/w ces 4, 15

dust cn,

eye prtectin , 15

had ruters, 3, 1 4, 1 4, 15

46, 16 , 17health cnces , 15

hearng ss , 15

utbaance cute 4, 15

wers' mauas 1 1 4 2

puggng/unpuggng the rue, 6 165

practce cug, 68, 1 68 69, 1 69

ruter able safety feaures 93, 9 9, 9 95

sarg u n he uter table, 0, 1 7

stc preparatin, 2-3, 1

rapped cutter 4, 15

wrg hegh ad pstue,

Sears/Crafsma:

fedbase ruters, 46,

halfbld dveta jig 30subbases, 24

Shan beaingguded cuttes 26, 7 28, 8

29, 9

Shapers vs. ue abes 96

Slttng, 0, 69, 7

Spdle lcks, 6, 82

Spies, 9 1

Staring up the ruter

changig ruer bs, 6 , 1 67

feed drectn, 69 , 1 69

matera/sck peparatn 0, 1 1 8, 6 ,

165 66

pugging/upluggig, 6 , 1 65

practice cuttng 68, 1 68, 69 1 69

securng he w 66, 166 6

Sc prepaai 0, 1 1 8, 64, 16 66

Sps 0 93, 9, 95

Staight Oints 26

Subbases 36 6 3, 80, 8

Swiches 6, 6

T

eaut 89, 1 9

empae rutig 17 8, 18 9 , 40, 0, 1 7

clar gudes, 29, 32

curved template 6, 1 77

cus wih e template 3, 1 7, 1 7

edap, 36, 1 6wth ixedbase uters 6 5 9

fulthcess cuts 4

maea, 2-3

pin uting, 28, 1

pcedure - 1 7 6, 1 76

shank beagguded cuters, 26, 6

sugfttg templates, 8, 1 78, 9, 1 79

stragh empae

tabe rutig,

ts r mag templates 1 7 3

ons, , , 9, 1 69, 7 71

adusabe en maker 363, 17 , 3 8, 1 8

bts f 9

gs fr 3, 1 3, 15

gue ad gve 9, 1 08, 9

Trim ruting 6 7 2 , 3 , 1

22 0 vts 6

v

Vacuum, 6, 93

Vermnt Amecan subbases, 2

Vgrves 8

w

Wdhaven subbases 24

Wr hders, 66-6

Index



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