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Box-Joint Jig Router template indexes cuts by Patrick Warner T he box joint is being used less and less today and it's no wonder, considering the setup complications, the danger of holding workpieces vertically on table saws, the indexing hangups and the assembly problems. After studying most of the classical box-joint cutting methods and tools, I decided to design and build a template jig that could be used with a router. (For the table-saw method of making this joint, see Fine Woodworking, Winter '76, page 34.) I've made dozens of boxes and drawers and have found that most don't measure more than 12 in. high and 36 in. on a side. Most stock used for small boxes is in. to in. thick. I made my jig to accommodate these dimensions with no changes in setup. In designing the jig, I aimed for simplicity of operation, safety, rapid setup and indexing, accuracy, precision, repeat- ability, and latitude in box sizes. I built it into a table that's split to allow the stock to be held vertically—the jig is on one side of the split, the press screws are on the other (see photo below). The table is both portable and stable, and has a util- ity drawer, my first box made with the jig. The template, the heart of the jig, is made out of lami- nated phenolic—it's smooth, slippery and strong. The stock should be no more than in. thick, to use up as little of the vertical travel of the router as possible. I had mine milled at a local machine shop, although I first squared up the stock on a

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Page 1: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Box-Joint JigRouter template indexes cuts

by Patrick Warner

The box joint is being used less and less today and it's nowonder, considering the setup complications, the danger

of holding workpieces vertically on table saws, the indexinghangups and the assembly problems. After studying most ofthe classical box-joint cutting methods and tools, I decided todesign and build a template jig that could be used with arouter. (For the table-saw method of making this joint, seeFine Woodworking, Winter '76, page 34.)

I've made dozens of boxes and drawers and have foundthat most don't measure more than 12 in. high and 36 in. ona side. Most stock used for small boxes is in. to in. thick. Imade my jig to accommodate these dimensions with nochanges in setup.

In designing the jig, I aimed for simplicity of operation,safety, rapid setup and indexing, accuracy, precision, repeat-ability, and latitude in box sizes. I built it into a table that'ssplit to allow the stock to be held vertically—the jig is on oneside of the split, the press screws are on the other (see photobelow). The table is both portable and stable, and has a util-ity drawer, my first box made with the jig.

The template, the heart of the jig, is made out of lami-nated phenolic—it's smooth, slippery and strong. The stockshould be no more than in. thick, to use up as little of thevertical travel of the router as possible. I had mine milled at alocal machine shop, although I first squared up the stock on a

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jointer and carbide saw. The slots, in. deep, were milledwith a -in. end mill, leaving pins in. wide on -in. cen-ters. A milling machine will easily hold ± .001, and I suspect± .0025 is tolerable. Job shop time should not exceed 30minutes, if the stock is presquared.

The template overhangs a pillow block, which is tenonedto an oak cross-member. Stops on either end of the templateindex the workpiece. When indexed on one end the yield is apin; the other end yields a socket. The workpiece is clampedvertically against a piece of scab stock, and each side of thebox is cut separately. The router with its -in. outside-diameter template guide and -in. bit traverses the tines ofthe template, as in dovetail-cutting jigs.

The scab stock backup board is especially important be-cause without it the router bit will tear out the back side ofthe panel. One scab board will usually accommodate the fourcorners of one box because it can be used turned upside-down

Patrick Warner, 35, of Escondido, Calif., has been working inwood part-time for four years and hopes to be making furni-ture full-time within the next two.

and backwards. The scab board is located to guarantee the en-try of at least half of the diameter of the bit, and is held snugagainst the template with standard spring plungers (availablefor about $2 each from Vlier Engineering Corp., 2333 ValleySt., Burbank, Calif. 91505).

If the template has been cut well but the first joint doesn'tfit, the outside diameter of the template guide can be turneddown. As a final measure, the router bit can be ground to cor-rect the error in the fit. The router bit should be a -in. car-bide two-fluted straight-faced bit that needs sharpening, so ifit doesn't fit you pay for sharpening only once.

To make the table frame for the jig, I used clear kiln-driedfir: 2x8s yield three pieces about in. wide. I mortised andtenoned all frame members, which measure in. by in.in cross section. I mounted the working parts of the jig on anoak member for stiffness and dimensional stability, thentenoned the member into the table rails. The four pressscrews that hold the work against the stock have custom-madehandles so I could locate the nuts on -in. centers withoutthe handles interfering. Wetzler Clamp Co., 43-13 11th St.,Long Island City, N.Y. 11101 made mine for $7.50 each.

Make dimension A as best fits routerbase, at least times greater thanhalf the base diameter. Dimension B,and the number of pins, depend onthe size of the largest box desired.

Box-joint jig

Page 3: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

A Stop for Every JigSimple, versatile stops are crucialto accurate machining

by Sander Nagyszalanczy

Setting a crosscut is a breeze

with a flip-down stop. The cursor's

cross hair of the T-track-mounted flip

stop lines up with the desired mea-

surement on a self-adhesive measur-

ing tape stuck on the fence.

M ost things that we do in oureveryday lives have limits: themaximum speed you're sup-

posed to travel on the highway; the mini-mum age you must be to buy a bottle ofliquor; the most books you can check outof a library at one time. The world ofwoodworking is no different, except wecall the limits measurements. We strive tomaintain the exactness of measurementsto make parts fit more precisely together,so the joinery will be strong and look

clean. Some measurements are set on ourmachines, such as the depth of cut of a ta-blesaw or handplane, and some must beregulated by eye, as when chiseling downto a pencil line. But we regulate a greatmany limits—measurements for the lengthor width of parts, depth of grooves andholes—by using stops on our jigs and inconjunction with our tools.

Regulating the distance between the endof a part and the point where it's cut tolength or machined is a basic function of

Page 4: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

stop devices. As with other types of jigsand shopmade setups, there are many dif-ferent kinds of stops to choose from, eachappropriate for a particular range of toolsand applications. The simplest stops aremerely wooden blocks, clamped orscrewed to the machine, jig or the work it-self. More ingenious stops revolve to ad-just or change position. The right stop canincrease the accuracy of an operation, aswell as save time when making repeat cutsbecause parts need not be marked indi-vidually. This is why production shopscan't do without the use of stops.

Length stopsLength stops are used mostly for crosscut-ting or shaping across the width of stock,but they are easily adapted to work withother machines in a variety of applications.Length stops are commonly used on table-saws, radial-arm saws, sliding-compound-miter saws and both powered miter sawsand nonpowered (handsaw) miter boxes.Length stops are also welcome additionsto fences used with miter gauges, drillpresses, mortising machines, sliding cross-cut boxes and other sliding carriage jigs.

While the stops described here are shop-built, there are several high-quality, com-mercially produced stop devices on themarket, such as the FastTrack stop systemcomponents including the micro-adjustingFastStop (available from Garrett Wade, l6lAvenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y.10013; 800-221-2942). Also, the ProScaledigital readout (available from AccurateTechnologies, 11533 N.E. 118th St., Suite220, Kirkland, Wash. 98034; 800-233-0580)can be added to many of the shopmadestops described below.

Adjustable flip-down stopsProbably the most useful kinds of stops forbasic crosscutting applications are ad-justable flip-down stops. A flip-down stopis more useful than a simple stop blockclamped to the fence because it quicklyflips out of the way when it's not needed.This allows one end of the workpiece (aframe member or molding) to be squaredwith the stop flipped up. The part is thenrotated end for end, and the stop (set andlocked in the desired location) is flippeddown to cut the part to final length. Thetwo basic types of flip-down stops pre-sented are illustrated as applied to a radi-al-arm or other crosscutting saw; however,they can be used as adjustable length stopson many other machines as well.

Basic flip-down stop—The flip-downstop shown in figure 1 will work with just

about any wood or metal crosscuttingfence, and the stop can be set to any mea-surement, limited only by the length ofthe machine's fence. The channel-shapedbody of the stop should be about 6 in. to8 in. long and sized to fit not too snuglyover the fence. A threaded insert driven in-to the back of the channel takes a studdedhand knob, which locks the stop to thefence. The flip stop itself attaches to thechannel with a wraparound-style cabinethinge, located so the hinge barrel is be-hind the front face of the channel (see theend view in figure 1 above). This keeps theflip stop completely out of the way whenit's up. The edge of the channel face andcorner of the stop are chamfered to keep

sawdust from misaligning the workpiece.In use, the stock to be cut doesn't actual-

ly contact the machine's fence; one endbears against the face of the channel whilethe other bears on a short block the samethickness as the channel that is screwed tothe fence next to the blade (see the topview in figure 1).

This arrangement allows you to cut stockthat's bowed and won't set stably againstthe straight fence. The block near theblade also supports the workpiece nearthe cut to prevent tearout. To use this stopwith a stick-on measuring tape, offset thetape's position, so the blade-to-stop dis-tance can be set by aligning the end of thechannel with the desired measurement.

Page 5: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Measuring miters is easy with a

dedicated stop. This flip stop (left)

has been fitted with a 45° block for

mitered ends. The stop's cursor shows

the distance between the inside cor-

ner of the miter and the miter creat-

ed when the member is cut.

Eccentric stop offers micro ad-

justments (below). Fine adjust-

ments can be made by rotating the

stop. The off-center hole makes the

position of the stop shift slightly,

and the screw locks it down.

Track-mounted flip-down stop—Anoth-er flip-down stop, as shown in the photoon p. 67, rides on and locks to a track strip.As shown in figure 2 on the facing page,this adjustable stop setup has four basicpieces: a track strip with measuring tape, asliding block, an L-shaped stop, and across hair and a cursor that allow very ac-curate settings. The solid-wood track striphas a T-slot routed in the top edge and anadhesive-backed, stick-on measuring tapepressed on (see the top box on p. 71). Flat-head screws through slots routed in thecenter of the T-slot mount the track to thetop of the tool's fence. These slots allowside-to-side adjustment for calibrating thestrip's measuring tape to the blade.

The sliding block has a short tongue thatloosely fits the T-slot. A vertical holethrough the center of the block mounts theT-bolt and hand knob that lock the stop as-sembly to the track strip. Another holedrilled lengthwise through the blockmounts the flip stop via a carriage bolt witha nylon locknut (a steel nut with a nyloninsert that prevents the nut from turning).

The stop itself is cut from -in. good-quality plywood, such as Baltic or Finnishbirch, into an L-shape. A notch on the un-derside of the stop holds a clear plasticcursor, mounted with a small flat-headscrew through a countersunk hole (for in-structions on making a cursor, see the topbox on p. 71). Mark and etch the cross hair

after the track strip has been installed andcalibrated. If you do a lot of dado work orchange blades often, additional cross hairscan be added to the cursor to be used withthose blades.

To adjust the stop for different-thicknesssawblades, you can reposition the trackstrip, or remove the flip stop from its boltand add shims (I make these from alu-minum beer cans with a leather punch)as necessary. You can also make up differ-ent stop assemblies, each with a cursormarked to work with different sawblades,molding heads or dado-blade thicknesses.

Multiple flip stops—Because unused flipstops can be set to desired measurements

Page 6: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Rotating stop handles multiple

measurements. This rotating stop

allows you to choose one of four stop

positions. When used on a drill-press

fence, as shown here, it can set dis-

tances between closely spaced holes.

and then flipped out of the way, severalflip stops can be set up along the length ofthe fence. This would be an advantage if,say, you had to cut all the face-frame com-ponents for an entire kitchen to length;stops could be set at all the standard mea-surements and flipped down wheneverneeded during cutout Because flip stopsare fairly easy to make, you may wish tomake a half-dozen or more at one time.Cut stock for the channels (simple ver-sion) or sliding blocks (T-track version) asyou would a length of molding; then sliceoff individual blocks.

Flip stop for mitered ends—Either flipstop described above can be modified tohandle boards with mitered ends. If widepicture-frame molding is mitered and thewidth of a standard stop doesn't catch thetip of the miter, make the face of the stopwider. Alternatively, when making pictureframes, it's sometimes desirable to mea-sure distances relative to the inside edgeof the frame molding. A shortened flipstop with a 45° triangular block screwedon takes care of this situation, as shown infigure 3 on p. 69. A longer cursor must befitted and etched to register the positionthe inside edge of the molding butts up to,as shown in the top photo on p. 69.

Eccentric end stopSometimes you need to position a work-piece along a fence in a fixed position, butin a way that allows some fine-tuning. Asimple stop that provides a firm stop, yetprovides for a limited amount of adjust-ment is the eccentric end stop, as shown in

the bottom photo on p. 69.1 use these asend stops on the pivot arms of my router-plate joinery setup, and they are extreme-ly quick to make. First cut a short length ofdowel with a diameter that suits the appli-cation. For a small jig, a -in.-dia. dowel isabout right; for larger jigs, or to yield agreater amount of adjustability, use a 1-in.,1 -in. or larger diameter dowel. Now drilla hole through the dowel lengthwise that'sequidistant between the center and edge.A wood screw through this offset hole

mounts the stop to the jig. To make fineadjustments to the stop's position, loosenthe screw and rotate the dowel; then lockit in place. You can employ this same prin-ciple with even larger stops: Drill an off-center hole in a sawn-out plywood disc,and screw it down where an adjustablestop is needed.

Rotating stopSometimes you need to cut, rout or drilltwo, three or four grooves, shapes or holes

A hole is drilled through a plywood square;lines are marked for trimming piece, soeach edge is a different distance from hole.

Both sides of stop have fourindentations drilled with countersinkat same radius (R) from hole; theseholes act as detents.

Page 7: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Cursors and stick-on metalrules improve accuracyThin metal rules with a pressure-sensitive peel-and-stick backingprovide a convenient way to add an adjustment scale to any fenceor adjustable jig component. Scales are available that read bothright to left and left to right (available from Highland Hardware;800-241-6748). Reading the position of the movable part can bedone by simply mounting the scale underneath the part or byadding a fine cross-hair cursor to the moving part.

To make a cursor, start with a piece of clear plastic. Make a testcut with the cursor installed on the jig to determine the crosshair's exact location. Then etch the cross hair on the down-fac-ing side of the plastic using a scratch awl and a try square (see thephoto at right). Color in the cross hair with a thin-point perma-nent marker pen, applied judiciously, to make it easier to see. Ifyou're using a stop fitted with a cursor on a radial-arm saw that us-es dado blades or sawblades of various thicknesses, you can etchadditional cross hairs on the cursor; position them so they willrepresent the location of the cuts produced by those blades.—S.N.

Etched cursors are easy to make. A thin line etched with ascratch awl onto a piece of clear plastic makes the cross hairfor a cursor that mounts to a flip stop used on a cutoff saw. Per-manent marker on the etched line makes it easier to see.

Making a T-slot track

One of the handiest methods of joining jig parts that must adjustis to use a T-track and T-bolt fasteners. A T-track is a useful way tomount fences, stops, hold-down clamps or to attach auxiliary ta-bles and more. You can rout a T-slot into any solid wood, plywoodor medium-density-fiberboard (MDF) surface with a special T-slotbit (available from Woodhaven; 800-344-6657 or The Woodwork-ers' Store; 800-279-4441). The Woodhaven bit requires a -in.- or

-in.-dia. straight bit and cuts a T-slot best suited to -in.-dia.T-bolts or toilet bolts. The Woodworkers' Store T-slot bit needs a

-in.-or -in.-dia. groove and is best for -in.-dia. T-bolts.The T-track slot is cut in two passes. The first pass, with a

straight bit, makes a plain groove as long as the desired tracklength. The second pass is taken with the special bit that cuts theT-slot at the bottom of the groove (see the drawing at right). Forapplications where a more durable slot is needed, The Wood-workers' Store offers a pressed-steel track that fits -in.-dia.T-bolts. The track, which comes in lengths of 40 in. and 60 in.,can be cut with a hacksaw and is designed to be epoxied into a

-in.-wide, -in.-deep slot.To attach parts or devices to a T-track, use T-bolts or T-slot nuts

that ride in the track. T-bolts are available in -in. and -in. sizesand a variety of lengths. Standard toilet bolts (found in hardwarestores) can also be used but not in all T-tracks. T-bolts may be se-

cured with a regular nut, wing nut or hand knob. Standard car-riage bolts can be used in T-tracks, but the depth of the T must beincreased with the T-slot bit to clear the head. Carriage bolts can'ttake as much torque as T-bolts can without stripping the edges ofthe slot. T-slot nuts (available from Woodhaven) fit several differ-ent screw-thread sizes, from 10-24 to in. These are secured us-ing a machine screw, a bolt or a studded hand screw. —S.N.

that are closely spaced but at a fixed dis-tance from the end of the workpiece. Ahandy device for this is the rotating endstop, such as the one shown in the photoon the facing page. This stop mounts easi-ly to any fence, carriage or table and canbe rotated and locked in any of four posi-tions. Each position provides a differentspacing between the end of the workpieceand the cutter or bit you are using.

Make the stop by laying out a piece ofplywood so that its four sides are each a

different distance from a single hole. Startwith an oversized piece with a holemarked somewhere in the middle; thenuse a ruler and a square to mark how thepiece must be trimmed (an example isshown in figure 4 on the facing page). Astudded hand knob fits through the holeand into a threaded insert, which is driveninto the fence itself.

To allow the fence-mounted stop to clearthe jig's base when it is rotated (it's too bigdiagonally to clear), the corners can be cut

off, as on the stop in the photo on the fac-ing page. The position of the rotating stopcan be set manually, or detents can be fit-ted to reference each position.

Sandor Nagyszalanczy builds custom fur-niture in Santa Cruz, Calif., and is a con-tributing editor to Fine Woodworking.This article was adapted from his newbook, Woodshop Jigs and Fixtures, whichis available from The Taunton Press, New-town, Conn.; (800) 888-8286.

Page 8: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Wall-mounted panel router is ideal for making quick dadoes. Knowing his panel routerhad to save space, Skip Lauderbaugh mounted it to a wall at a comfortable height and angle.To build the jig, he used a router he owned and commercial hardware costing less than $100.

Compact Tool Makes Dadoes a SnapThis panel router folds flat against a wall

and is inexpensive to build

by Skip Lauderbaugh

M any of my cabinetmaking pro-jects require panels that have da-does, rabbets and grooves to

allow strong, easy assembly. I've tried lotsof ways of cutting these joints and havefound that a panel router is the quickestand most accurate tool to use. Unfortu-nately, the expense of one of the commer-cial machines (up to $3,500) and the floorspace it requires (up to 25 sq. ft.) is morethan I can justify. As is often the case, how-ever, once you have tasted using the prop-er tool for a particular job, using anything

else becomes a frustrating compromise.I had seen other shopmade panel routers

(for one example, see Steven Grever's arti-cle in FWW #88, p. 48), but they lackedfeatures I wanted and seemed complicat-ed. So I set out to design and build myown version of a panel router. By simpli-fying the guide system and by using com-mon materials and hardware (see thedrawing on p. 89), I built a panel router forless than $100 (not including the router,which I already owned). And although thisjig easily handles big pieces of plywood

and melamine, the jig folds compactlyagainst the wall when it is not in use.

Designing the panel routerBecause the guide rails used in industrialpanel routers often get in the way, the railswere the first things I eliminated on my de-sign. The next thing was to orient the ma-chine so that gravity would help feed therouter into the work. Big panel routers areoriented horizontally, and they have thecapacity to handle 36-in.-wide pieces ofplywood. But because shelf dadoes in cab-

Page 9: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

inets and cases are usually less than 3 ft.wide, I scaled things down a bit, and I sit-uated the whole setup vertically. This ori-entation also saved considerable shopspace. Then I came up with a clamp-onrouter guidance system, so I don't have todo any measuring or marking on a panel.Finally, I devised a router subbase thateliminates depth-of-cut adjustments whenchanging material thicknesses. To helpyou understand the abilities of this tooland how it is constructed, I've divided itinto six basic components:

1. The workpiece table2. The router guide system3. The fence with adjustable stop4. The upper and lower guide stops5. The router subbase6. The router tray

The workpiece table—A panel router re-quires a flat, stable work surface with astraight edge for mounting the fence. Ichose an ordinary 3-ft.-wide hollow coredoor for the table because it providesthose things, and at $15, it cost less thanwhat I could build it for. I mounted thetable to a ledger on the wall. The ledger is75 in. from the floor to give a comfortableworking height. A 5-in. space from thewall gives enough clearance for the guidesystem. Standard door hinges let the tableswing out of the way during storage, andside supports hold the table at a 65° anglewhen the table is in use.

The router guide system—Several yearsago, I discovered that the aluminum extru-sions used in Tru-Grip's Clamp 'N ToolGuides (manufactured by Griset IndustriesInc.; see the sources of supply box onp. 89) interlock when one is inverted (seethe photo at right). In this configuration,the two pieces slide smoothly back andforth with little side play, like a track. Thissystem has several benefits: A panel can beset directly on the table without having togo under fixed guide rails. The guide is ac-curately located, and the panel is clampedtightly to the fence and to the table. Theclamps are available in several lengths, butI've found that 36 in. is the most conve-nient (see the sources box). The manufac-turer recommends using silicone spray tominimize wear.

The fence with adjustable stop—Thefence holds the bottom edge of a panelstraight, adds a runner for an adjustablestop and measuring system, and gives aplace to mount the lower guide stop. Fenceconstruction is partially dictated by thestop you use. I chose a Biesemeyer miter

The fence's adjustable stop ensuresperfect alignment. A Biesemeyer micro-adjustable stop and measuring system pre-cisely positions the left side of the work foreach dado or groove. Lauderbaugh uses apair of dividers to point out two cursorsthat indicate left and right limits of a cut.

Channels align subbase and evacuatedust—The underside of the router subbasereveals an inverted aluminum guidechannel and a medium-density fiberboardbottom with dust-evacuation slots cutacross it for the bit.

The key to the router guide is inter-locking aluminum track. When the au-thor discovered the edges of Clamp 'N ToolGuides nest and slide easily, he made theminto a two-piece guide system: An inverted21-in. piece is fixed to the router subbase,and another piece is clamped to the work.

stop because it has two adjustable hairlinepointers, which let you set and read bothsides of a dado (see the top photo).

For the adjustable stop to work, thefence should be 1 in. thick and the topedge of the fence has to be 1 in. abovethe top of the table. My fence is two thick-nesses of -in. plywood laminated to forma 1 -in.-thick piece that is 3 in. wide and96 in. long. To allow the router to passthrough at the end of a cut, I made a 1-in.-deep notch in the fence. The notch is 13 in.long to fit my router. I located this notch

36 in. from the right, so I can dado in thecenter of an 8-ft.-long panel. To finish offthe fence, I glued plastic laminate to thetop, faces and ends. Before mounting, I cuta in. by -in. groove in the back to pro-vide for dust clearance, which ensures thatthe bottom of a panel stays flush to thefence. The fence is mounted to the bottomedge of the table with 2 -in.-long screws.

The upper and lower guide stops—The upper and lower guide stops allowthe Clamp 'N Tool Guide to be set exactly

Page 10: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Commercial bitsmake clean cutsCommercial panel routers work so wellbecause the router bits are specificallydesigned to eliminate chipping andtearout, and they can also cut at higherfeed rates. But their biggest benefit isthat their cutter and arbor are two sepa-rate pieces (see the photo at right),which means that the arbor can stay se-cured in the router collet while you sim-ply unscrew the cutter from the -in.arbor to change the bit size. Commercialpanel-router bits (see the sources of sup-ply box on the facing page) are availablein a full range of sizes, including under-sized ones for veneer plywood and over-sized ones for two-sided melamine. Anarbor and cutter set costs about $35, lessthan a decent-quality dado blade set.

When you need to change the width ofa dado, select the correct cutter size, andscrew it on the arbor (no wrenches re-quired). The depth of cut doesn't need

90° to the bottom edge of a panel. Thelower guide stop is integrated in the fence(see the top photo on p. 87), and the up-per guide stop is fixed to the top of thetable. The lower stop is a -in. bolt thread-ed into a T-nut inset into a block and gluedto a notch in the fence. The center of thebolt head should be 1 in. above the worksurface, or in. above the bottom of thenotch. The upper stop consists of twopieces of -in.-thick plywood laminated toform a 1 -in.-thick piece, 12 in. long. The

Panel-routing bits change easily. Theonly things the author uses from indus-trial panel routers are the bits, whichhave interchangeable cutter tips.

to be reset because the height of the cut-ter stays the same. This process is muchquicker than using a dado blade on thetablesaw, where you have to use shimsto get the proper width, and then maketest cuts to set the depth of cut. —S.L.

top is notched on both ends to leave a2-in.- by 2 -in.-wide section in the center.Another bolt and T-nut are screwed to theshoulder. The center of this bolt is 1 in.above the bottom of the notch. To fine-tune the stops for square, turn the bolts,and lock them with a nut. After the stopsare set, adhere the measuring tape for theadjustable stops onto the top of the fence.

The router subbase—Parts for the routersubbase consist of a medium-density fiber-

Setup for dadoes is easy. Just slide theClamp 'N Tool Guide to the stops, andclamp the guide to the work by snuggingup the black plastic dogs.

board (MDF) bottom, an upper base madeout of -in. plywood that mounts to therouter, and a piece of upside-down extru-sion screwed to the side so it can engagethe guide track. Drawing detail B showsthe dimensions I used to mount my Porter-Cable model 690 router. But you couldmodify the subbase to suit your router. Re-gardless of the router, the bottom shouldbe in. thick so that the extrusions inter-lock properly.

After the bottom is cut to size, center thebaseplate on the bottom, and align therouter handles at a right angle to the extru-sion. Drill and countersink the mountingholes and mount the upper base to thebottom. Next, carefully, plunge a -in.bit by slowly lowering the router motor.Then cut two dadoes, each in. deep by

in. wide across the bottom. The first da-do runs the full length and the secondgoes halfway across, 90° to the first. ThisT-shaped slot removes dust from the sub-base (see the center photo on p. 87).

For the piece of inverted extrusion, I ob-tained stock from the manufacturer. Butbecause they currently don't sell this sepa-rately, just buy a 24-in. clamp, and cut offthe ends. I used a 21-in.-long piece.

The bottom of the router subbase slidesdirectly on the face of the panel so that thedepth of cut is registered from the top ofthe panel. This is desirable because whenyou switch material thickness from in. to

in., for example, the depth of cut doesnot have to be adjusted. Also, if the panel isslightly warped or some dust gets betweenthe panel and the table, the cutting depthis not affected. Interchangeable bits alsospeed up the process (see the box at left).

The router tray—The purpose of therouter tray is to give the router a place torest after it has completed a cut. The tray ismounted to the fence on the back side ofthe notched-out area. My tray is made outof -in. plywood and is screwed to thefence. On the right edge of the tray, a pieceof -in. Plexiglas protrudes into the trayopening. As the router slides down intothe tray, the Plexiglas piece fits into a slotcut into the edge of the subbase and pre-vents the router from lifting out of the tray.

Using the panel routerThe panel-router sequence to make a da-do goes like this: First, I set the adjustable

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Panel router handles common sheet thicknesses,stores flat against wall, folds out for use.

stop to locate the dado where I want it.Second, I set the panel on the table andslide it up against the adjustable stop.Third, I place the Clamp 'N Tool Guide onthe panel, slide it against the upper andlower guide stops, and clamp it down (seethe top photo on the facing page). In thisone step, the guide is squared to the paneland clamped to the table. Fourth, I set therouter on the panel with the extrusions in-terlocked. I hold the router subbase abovethe top of the panel so the bit clears. Final-

ly, I turn the router on and cut the dado. Tomake stop dadoes, I insert a spacer blockin the bottom of the tray to prevent therouter from cutting all the way across apanel. While this setup may not be perfectfor a large production shop, it is certainlyaffordable and conserves space.

Skip Lauderbaugh is a sales representativefor Blum hardware and a college wood-working instructor. His shop is in CostaMesa, Calif.

Sources of supplyClamp 'N Tool GuideGriset Industries, Inc., P.O. Box 10114,Santa Ana, CA 92711; (800) 662-2892

Adjustable stopBiesemeyer, 216 S. Alma School Road,Suite 3, Mesa, AZ 85210; (800) 782-1831

Panel-router bitsSafranek Enterprises, Inc., 4005 El CaminoReal, Atascadero, CA 93442; (805) 466-1563

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e live in a turn-of-the-century Arts-and-Crafts house, soit seemed quite natural to furnish it with pieces from thatera. My wife bought a pair of Mission armchairs a cou-

ple of years ago to go with a 9-ft.-long cherry table I’d built for ourdining room. Six months later, she bought two side chairs. It wouldbe a while before we could afford a full set. Within earshot of mywife, I heard myself say, “How hard could it be to make these?”

“Oh, could you?” she asked.“Sure,” I said. The chairs looked straightforward enough, just a

cube with a back. Upon closer examination, I realized that the seatwas slightly higher and wider in the front than in the back. For thefirst time, I was faced with compound-angled joinery. I thoughtabout dowels, biscuits and loose tenons, so I could keep the join-ery simple, but I wasn’t confident in the strength or longevity ofthese methods.

I wanted good, old-fashioned, dependable mortise-and-tenonjoints. After some thought, I decided an adjustable router fixturewould be the simplest solution that would let me make tenons of

September/October 1995 77Bottom photo: Boyd Hagen

Router Fixture Takes on Angled Tenons

Versatile device ensures tight joints every time

by Edward Koizumi

W

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widely varying sizes and angles (see the photos on p. 77).The fixture I came up with is as easy to set up as a tablesaw. In

fact, there are some similarities (see the drawing above). The work-piece is held below a tabletop in a trunnion-type assembly that ad-justs the tilt angle (see the bottom photo on p. 77). For compoundangles, a miter bar rotates the workpiece in the other plane. Thefixture can handle stock up to 2 in. thick and 5 in. wide (at 0°-0°)and angles up to 25° in one plane and 20° in the other. This is suf-ficient for chairs, which seldom have angles more than 5°.

To guide the router during the cut, I clamp a guide frame to thefixture over the window in the tabletop (more on positioning it lat-er). And I plunge rout around the tenon on the end of the work-piece. The guide frame determines the tenon’s width and length,as well as whether the ends will be square or round (see the pho-to on p. 81). I made two frames, both adjustable, one for round-cornered tenons, the other for square tenons.

The fixture and guide frames took me just over a day to make,once I’d figured out the design. Then I spent about an hour align-

78 Fine Woodworking Drawings: Heather Lambert

Tenon-routing fixture for compound angles

Trunnion assembly

Pivot rod,3⁄8 in. dia.,16 in. long

Pivotsupport

Front

Side

Work platen

Miter bar

Angle scale taped here

Cork facing

Work clamp slidesonto clamping studs.

Recess providesscrew clearance.

Guide frames

Cursorline

Arc

Guide frames are C-clamped to the tabletop.

This fixture, adjustable in two planes, is designed to let you routcompound-angled tenons consistently and accurately. The tenons can be either squared or rounded, depending on which guide frame you use (right).

Register bar

Tabletop

Window

Reference lines

Reference line

Tabletop is C-clamped to benchtop.

Arc clamp block

Slotted holes let you adjust guide frames for a range of tenon widths.

Turn button for dust collector.

Miter-barclamp

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ing the fixture and making test tenons in preparation for routingthe tenons on the chair parts. The fixture worked just as plannedand allowed this relatively inexperienced woodworker to pro-duce eight chairs that match the originals perfectly.

Making the fixture and guide framesThe fixture is simple to build. It consists of only two main parts,the trunnion assembly and the tabletop. The trunnion assembly(see the drawing on the facing page) is essentially a pair of arcs

nestled between two pivot supports. Between the two arcs is awork platen, or surface, against which I clamp the component tobe tenoned. There are other parts, but basically, the fixture is justa table to slide the router on and a movable platen to mount theworkpiece on.

I built the fixture from the inside out, beginning with the workplaten (see the drawing on the facing page). Because I didn’t haveany means of boring a 10-in.-long hole for the threaded rod onwhich the arcs pivot, I dadoed a slot in the platen and then gluedin a filler strip. Next I located, center punched and drilled the holesfor the T-nuts and retaining nuts that hold the clamping studs inplace. Center punching ensures that the holes are exactly wherethey’re supposed to be, which is important for a fixture that’s go-ing to be used over and over again. I center-punched the locationfor every hole in this fixture before drilling.

Before attaching the clamping studs to the work platen, I madethe arcs, which go on the sides of the work platen. I laid out the arcs(and the pivot supports) with a compass, bandsawed and sandedthe arcs, and drilled a hole for the pivot rod through the pair. Iglued and screwed the arcs to the platen. After giving the glue anhour or so to set, I tapped the T-nuts into the back of the work plat-en, screwed in the clamping studs and twisted on retaining nuts,which I tightened with a socket and a pair of pliers.

I made the pivot supports next. Then I cut a piece of threadedrod 16 in. long and deburred its ends with a mill file. I slipped thethreaded rod through the pivot supports, arcs and work platen,capped it at both ends with a nut and washer, and made and at-tached the arc clamps (see the top drawing at left).

Then came the tabletop. I cut it to size, cut a window in it andmarked reference lines every 1⁄8 in. along the front edge for the first2 in. With the tabletop upside down on a pair of sawhorses, I putthe trunnion assembly upside down on the underside of the table-top. Then I positioned the front of the pivot supports against thefront edge of the tabletop and made sure the work platen was pre-cisely parallel to the front edge and centered left to right. Thatdone, I drilled and countersunk holes for connecting screwsthrough the tabletop into the pivot supports. I glued and screwedthe pivot supports to the tabletop.

Then it was time to make the miter bar, miter-bar clamp and thework clamp (see the drawings at left). The mirror on the miter-barclamp makes it easy to read the angle scale from above. I faced thework clamp with cork to prevent marring workpieces and coun-terbored it to take up the release springs. The release springs area nice touch. They exert a slight outward pressure on the workclamp, causing it to move away from the platen when looseningthe knobs to remove a workpiece.

The guide frames—Now for the guide frames, which clamp tothe tabletop and limit the travel of the router. I made the framesadjustable lengthwise to handle a variety of tenoning situations.But their width is fixed. To determine the width of the frames, Iadded together the desired tenon width, the diameter of the bit Iwas using and the diameter of the router base. If your plungerouter doesn’t have a round base, you should either make onefrom acrylic or polycarbonate (you can cut it with a circle-cuttingjig on a bandsaw), or buy an aftermarket version. I screwed theframe together in case I need to alter the opening later (for a newrouter bit, for example). I marked a centerline along the length ofthe frame on both ends.

Initial alignmentBefore I could use the fixture, I had to get everything in properalignment and put some angle scales on it. I printed out some an-

September/October 1995 79

Guide frame

Work clamp

Move miter-barclamp down to get full swing of miter bar.

Guide frame

For simpleangled tenons,a trunnion-likeassembly allowsthe workpiece to be tilted in one plane.

Registerbar

Mirror, hot-glued in place

Index pin

Compound angles (front view)

Angles in one plane (side view)

Miter bar

Miter bar

Workpiece

Workpiece

For compound-angled tenons,the miter barpositions theworkpiece at an angle in asecond plane.

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gle scales from my personal computer and taped them to my fix-ture with double-faced tape. But a protractor and bevel gauge al-so will work just fine to create angle scales for both the tilt angleand the miter angle.

To align the parts of the fixture, I flipped it upside down on theend of my bench and clamped it there. I used a framing square toset both the work platen and the miter bar at 90°, sticking theblade of the square up through the window of the tabletop andresting the tongue of the square flush against the inverted face ofthe tabletop. Then I stuck the angle scales on the two pivot sup-ports and on the bottom of the work platen.

Routing test tenonsNext I routed test tenons with the fixture set at 0°-0°. I positionedthe guide frame parallel to the front edge and centered on the win-dow in the tabletop and clamped it to the fixture. I clamped a testpiece the same thickness and width as the actual component inthe fixture, with one end flush with the top surface of the tabletop.To do this, I brought the test piece up so that it just touched a flatbar lying across the window (see the near left photo). I set myplunge router for the correct depth and routed the tenon clock-wise to prevent tearout.

I made a test mortise using the same bit I planned to use for themortises in the chair. The fit wasn’t quite right. So I adjusted andshimmed the frame until the tenon fit perfectly. If you rout awaytoo much material and end up with a sloppy tenon on your testpiece, you can just lop off the end and start over.

Once I had a tenon that was dead-on, I made an acetate patternthat allowed me to position the guide frame accurately for alltenons of the same size, regardless of the angle. I cut a heavysheet of acetate (available at most art-supply stores) so that itwould just fit into the guide-frame opening. I marked a centerlinealong the length of the acetate that lines up with the centerlinedown both ends of the guide frames. I also indicated which endwas up and where the acetate registered against the guide frame.Then I put the test piece with the perfectly fitted tenon back intothe fixture, laid the acetate into the opening in the guide frameand traced around the perimeter of the tenon end using a fine-tippermanent marker.

Routing angled tenonsWith the pattern, routing angled tenons is pretty straightforward. Icrosscut the ends of all the pieces I was tenoning at the appropri-ate angles and marked out the first tenon of each type on two ad-jacent sides, taking the angles off a set of full-scale plans. Then Iextended the lines up and across the end of the workpiece (seethe top left photo).

Having set the fixture to the correct angles, I brought the work-piece flush with the tabletop using a flat piece of steel as a refer-ence (see the top right photo). Then I clamped the workpiece inplace. Finally, I set the acetate pattern in the guide-frame openingand positioned the guide frame so that the pattern and the markedtenon were perfectly aligned (see the photo at left). With the guideframe clamped in place, I removed the acetate and routed thattenon. All other identical tenons needed only to be flushed up androuted. After the first, it was quick work.

There are pitfalls though. I found it important to chalk orienta-tion marks on each workpiece. It can get confusing with two an-gles, each with two possible directions. And I had to be especiallycareful when routing the second end of a component. Make sureit’s oriented correctly relative to the first. I messed up a couple oftimes and have learned to plan for mistakes by milling extra partsand test pieces. You might even end up with an extra chair.

80 Fine Woodworking Photos except where noted: Vincent Laurence

SETTING UP FOR ANGLED TENONS

Make the workpiece flushwith the tabletop. The authoruses a piece of milled steel, butthe edge of a 6-in. ruler wouldwork as well.

Mark out the tenon on a testpiece. The test piece should bethe same thickness and widthas the actual components, butlength isn’t important.

Make a pattern. An outline of the tenon traced on acetate helpsalign the guide frame for cutting any tenons of the same size.

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To get flat surfaces on curved parts so I could clamp them in thefixture, I saved the complementary offcuts and taped them to thepiece I was tenoning. Or I could have tenoned first and band-sawed the curves later.

For pieces with shoulders wider than the bit I’m using to removewaste, I clamp a straight piece of wood—a register bar—againstthe guide frame (a small pocket for screw clearance may need tobe made), as shown in the drawing on p. 78. That way I can routmost of the tenon, unclamp the guide frame, slide it forward (us-ing the reference lines at the forward end of the tabletop to keepit parallel), clamp it down and then rout the remainder. I start thenext piece in the same place and return the guide frame to theoriginal position to finish the tenon. �

Edward Koizumi is a professional model maker in Oak Park, Ill.

September/October 1995 81

Set correctly, the fixture will yield tight joints, whether thetenons are straight, angled or compound-angled. Here, the authortests the fit of a seat-rail tenon into a leg mortise.

Guide frame determines thickness and width of tenons. Theauthor keeps the router’s base against the inner edges of the guideframe and routs clockwise to prevent tearout. Guide frames canproduce round-cornered or square-cornered tenons.

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Template Routing Basicsby Pat Warner

In 24 years of self-taught woodworking,I've made a lot of mistakes. Early in mycareer, though, I made a fortunate one.

It started a learning process with the routerthat I'm still working on today.

I had discovered what looked like a dev-ilishly simple technique for cutting dadoes.I used a board clamped across the work-piece to guide the router base. The first

dado looked great, but the second wan-dered visibly off course. That day, I learnedthat a router base is never concentric withthe bit. Turning the router as I cut the dadoput a curve in it.

I began to look for better ways to guiderouters. Some of the best, I have learned,are with templates. These are simply pat-terns of the shapes you want to cut. The

Three bits for routing with templates

Straight bits and collar guides are the most versatile: Collars are not as accurate asbearings, but they have the decided advantage of allowing you to cut at any depth inboth side and bottom cuts. Fitted to the router's base and used with straight bits, they

work much like pattern bits. Collar guides also act as a shield for the bit.You'll find that you will inflict a lot less injury to the template and the workby using them.

Collar guides do have disadvantages. Because the collar must be larger indiameter than the cutter, the line of cut is displaced from the template. This

offset means the finished work will never be exactly the sameshape as the template. And collar guides are never exactlyconcentric with the bit: in. eccentricity is typical. A way tocompensate for this is to keep the same part of the collar incontact with the template throughout the cut.

Pattern bits are the most accurate: I choose pattern bits when I needthe most accuracy. The bearings are typically concentric to the bit within.002 in. or better. Bearings do not leave as smooth a cut as collar guides,though the difference is generally minute. This is due to the way bearingscan bounce against the template ever so slightly and very rapidly. Over time,this bouncing tends to wear the template edge unevenly.

The biggest disadvantage to bearing bits is that they're restricted to a smallrange of depth settings. The bearing must always engage the edge of thetemplate. I've also found that bits of this design often have diameters slightlylarger than their bearings. If you run this kind of bit with some of the cutterin contact with the template, you'll rout away some of the template. Measureyour bits with calipers or test them to make sure this doesn't happen.

Flush-trimming bits are the most common: The main advantage tousing flush-trimming bits for template work is that they are easier to find

than pattern bits, allowing cuts into tighter inside curves. Otherwise, they have many disadvantages. Bottom cuts such as mortises

are impossible. In other applications, the workpiece can hide the templatefrom view, and the router must ride on the work. If it's a small or thin piece,the router will not be stable. —P.W.

and slightly cheaper than pattern bits. They also come in smaller diameters

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Simple guides make your router an accurate jack-of-all-trades

router registers against a template, using itas a guide through the cut. The simplicityof templates, though, gives no hint of howpowerful a tool they make the router.

The router's usefulness and versatilitybegin with the tremendous variety of bitsthat are available. With only a ball bearingon the end of the bit as a guide, you arereally limited to detailing edges. When you

use a template, however, you free therouter from following the edge of theworkpiece. The router becomes capableof two more fundamental woodworkingtasks: milling repeatable patterns and allkinds of joinery.

You can easily make your own inexpen-sive, simple and accurate templates for awide variety of joints and patterns. The ini-

tial investment of time to make a templatefor a precise task is well worth it. Yourrouter will perform that task far faster andfar more reliably than other tools can. Andit's much harder to make mistakes whenyou are using templates.

Templates will allow you to repeat cutsand shapes perfectly, but only if you re-member to use the same bit with the same

Cutting multiples

A straight bit and collar guide make agood combination for cutting a stack ofprofiled pieces, like decorative shelfsupports. The bits can cut stock of anythickness and will produce a smootheredge than a bearing-guided bit. One thingto keep in mind: The template and thefinished piece will not be identicalbecause the collar guide keeps the bitaway from the edge of the template.

Straight bit and collar guidewith template over work

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A template forbutt hinge mortises

A pattern bit is a good choice for cuttingshallow mortises precisely and quickly.To make the template, align the hinge ona piece of template stock, and then markthe outline with a pencil. Bandsaw outmost of the waste, and reposition thehinge on the template stock. Clampstraight-edged scrap around the hinge todefine the edges of the mortise (1). Apaper shim will prevent the mortise frombeing too tight. Then remove the hinge,and rout to the line with the scrap as aguide (2). Remove the scrap, and youhave a finished template that cuts anaccurate mortise (3).

collar at the same depth. The best place torecord this information is directly on thetemplate itself.

Make precise templatesThe best way to learn the basics of tem-plate routing is to make and use some sim-ple templates. But before looking at thepractical applications for templates illus-trated on these pages, it's a good idea tostart with some general advice about howto make them, what materials to use andthe best ways to use them.

The most difficult part of template rout-

ing is making the template itself. All the im-portant information about the final shapeyou want to rout is encoded in the designof the template. The more accurately youmake your templates, the more time you'llsave in the long run. You'll do less sanding,fitting and fudging afterward.

Sawing, rasping and filing are time-con-suming and tedious ways to make tem-plates. It's also very hard to make a perfectcurve with hand tools. I never make a tem-plate by hand unless there is no other way.I've found that accurate templates are mosteasily made with sanders and, yes, routers,

templates and other guides.Templates should be dimensionally sta-

ble, durable and capable of taking fine de-tails. Solid wood is a poor choice becauseit's not dimensionally stable. Steel is stableand durable, but to a fault. If you acciden-tally touch a spinning bit to one, you'llprobably wreck both the bit and the tem-plate. Acrylic and Lexan are transparentand allow you to see the work beneath.They also won't kill bits. But be aware thata slow bearing will generate enough heatfrom friction to melt them. Medium-densi-ty fiberboard (MDF) is the best all around

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Template for routingsmall pieces

Templates can be made so they hold smallpieces as well as guide the router.Coupled with a pattern bit, the templateabove makes short work of cuttingtapered coffee table legs. The workpieceis held on the template with toggleclamps. To keep toggle clamps out of theway while routing, the author flips thetemplate upside down on the workbench(left). Blocks between template and benchprovide room for the toggle clamps.

Use a pattern bit for tapered legs

choice. Mind you, it isn't perfect. It's toxicand unpleasant to work with.

Four everyday templatesYou can use any one of the three kinds ofrouter bits designed for template work.Each has its own strengths and weaknesses(for more, see the story on p. 48). Some bitsare especially well-suited to certain kinds oftemplates, but all of them can bring speedand reliability to repetitive work.

Template for repeatable shapes—Usinga scroll saw and an oscillating sander to

make a single curved shape, like a decora-tive shelf support, might be just as fast astemplate routing it. But only the first time. Ifyou make any more, template routing willbe faster and easier. A router bit leaves amuch smoother edge than a scroll saw, andthe edge will need far less sanding. Makethe template much the way you wouldmake the support if you had no templates.Smooth, gradual curves on MDF are bestobtained by sanding to layout lines on astationary belt sander.

For this kind of work, it's easiest to usea straight bit with a collar guide because

you can adjust the cutting depth to matchthe thickness of the shelf-support stock(see the photos and drawing on p. 49).Collar guides, however, will displace thecut from the exact edge of the template.With straight lines, this merely entails po-sitioning the template the offset distancefrom the layout line. The lines will be justas straight.

It's a different story with curves. A collarwill make the bit cut slightly larger radii onoutside curves and smaller radii on insidecurves. The result will be a finished pieceslightly different from the template. In com-

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Routing a through mortiseDeep mortises can be cut accurately by starting with atemplate and straight bit with a collar and finishing upwith a flush-trimming bit. First rout the mortise asdeeply as you can with the template as a guide (1).Then drill through to the other side. Remove as muchwaste as you can, and then flip the workpiece over(2), A flush-trimming bit that follows the upper part ofthe previously cut mortise will finish the job.

plementary template work, this is a crucialconsideration. But with something like theprofile of a shelf support, the difference isnot consequential. To tell where the bit willactually cut, run a pen in a loose bearingwith the same offset as the collar along thetemplate to draw the layout line.

Cutting shallow mortises—Cutting shal-low mortises that are clean and evenlydeep—like those that you would want forbutt hinges—is a difficult task with tradi-tional tools. Except for the very smallest

First pass with pattern bit

Finish with flush-trimming bit

hinges, a router guided by a template willgive you more accurate cuts faster and withless variation between them. The photosand drawings on p. 50 show you how tomake one.

Once you've made this template well, it'shard to go wrong using it as long as youare careful. Router stability on the templateis essential to an accurate and safe cut. A6-in. round base router with a -in.-dia. bitwill have no more than 45% of its footprinton the template in an edge cut. If you makea turn around a 90° corner, that percentage

is reduced to less than 20%. A router thatwobbles with a lot of cutter engaged canbreak the cutter, tear the stock and tem-plate, or even cause a kickback that sendsthe router to the floor. The machine has tostay flat and stable at all times.

This butt hinge has rounded corners thesame diameter as the bit. If it had squarecorners, you'd have to do some handworkto make the hinge fit. A bit with a larger di-ameter than the corners would also requirehandwork. Just never use a bit with a small-er diameter, or you'll have gaps to patch.

Cutting tapers on small pieces—Someworkpieces are far too small to rout safelyif they are sandwiched between a work-bench and a template. To taper legs for acoffee table, for instance, I built a template(or a jig, if you like) that holds the work-piece firmly in place with toggle clamps, asshown in the photos and drawing on p. 51.Guide blocks position the side and end ofthe leg but leave enough room behindthem to clamp the template upside downto a workbench edge. In use, neither thetoggle clamps nor the clamps holding thetemplate to the bench get in the way.

To get a good, smooth taper, you needonly secure the guide blocks at the desiredangle in relation to the edge of the tem-plate. As the router follows the edge, it cutsthe taper angle of the blocks in the leg.Compared with tablesaw techniques thatrequire more complex jigs, put fingersat risk and leave a coarse cut, this one isfar superior.

Template for through mortises—Theplunge router is the best tool for insidetemplate cuts, such as mortises,-but it needsa lot of support to make it safe and accu-rate. Plunge routers are top heavy and havecomparatively small bases. This make themexcellent candidates for router teeter-totterproblems. A template for mortising mustbe large enough so that the plunge router'sbase is completely supported by the tem-plate at all times during the cut. The photosand drawings at left show a very simpletechnique to make a through mortise deep-er than any bit you own.

Pat Warner is something of a jack-of-all-trades. A woodworker, college instructorand tool-industry consultant, he also man-ufactures the Warner Offset Routerbase.His book Getting the Very Best from YourRouter was released last fall by BetterwayBooks. He lives in Escondido, Calif.

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Increase the versatility of this basic machineusing low-cost, shopmade accessories

L ike most power tools, the drill press won't tackle too manywoodworking jobs without jigs to hold work safely and se-curely. I make all of my jigs out of wood and wood products

such as plywood and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). I makethe jigs as simple as can be and use them to handle stock of oddshapes and sizes and to bore at any angle.

The drill press is primarily designed for metalworking. Its metalstock table is too small for clamping large boards. So the first orderof business is to add a larger auxiliary table made of MDF or ply-wood. A simple solution is to screw the auxiliary table to the stockone. Or if you prefer a table that's fast to remove, make one thatcan be clamped to the metal table (see the photos at right).

Every drill press needs a fenceWhen drilling a large hole, a bit can grab a board and turn it into aspinning weapon. Unless you enjoy getting slapped around bylumber, keep a fence clamped to your drill-press table. Even if

A BIGGER TABLETo provide a larger working surface, clamp an auxiliary tablemade of plywood or MDF to the stock drill-press table.

Jigsfor the Drill Press

B Y G A R Y R O G O W S K I

Page 23: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

REPETITIVE, ACCURATE DRILLING Stop blocks, either hinged (left) or in the form of spacers (right), guaranteeaccurate results when boring multiple pieces or a series of holes.

stock isn't butted right up to the fence, it still provides a measureof safety because it will stop sudden rotation of a workpiece.

A fence is a must when you need to drill multiple holes a set dis-tance from the edge of the stock. The only critical adjustment is thedistance from the center of the drill bit to the edge of the fence.Clear away chips from the edge of the fence when registeringstock against it. And use a straightedge to check your fence regu-larly to make sure it hasn't warped.

Use stop blocks when drilling multiples—Whenever youmust drill more than one of something, use stop blocks to registerstock. The method is faster and more accurate than marking indi-vidual pieces. A stop block is nothing more than a piece of woodclamped to the drill-press fence. I also have a shopmade tilt-upstop that I can move out of the way, but not so far away that I mis-place it (see the drawing and left photo above).

For drilling multiple holes in a workpiece, such as when drillingshelf pins for a bookshelf or cabinet, I use a series of spacers toregister stock (see the right photo above). Line the spacers upalong the fence, registering the first one against a stop block. Posi-tion the stock against the last spacer, drill a hole, then remove oneblock. Repeat. I have a stack of different-sized blocks within easyreach of my drill press.

Two ways to cut mortises on the drill pressBefore I owned a plunge router, I used my drill press for mortising.A brad-point bit will do a pretty good job of establishing a neatrow of holes that can be cleaned up with a chisel (see the photo atright). Use a straight fence and stops to locate both ends of themortise. Drill the two outside holes first and then work your waydown the mortise, overlapping holes a little. Leave some wood forthe brad-point center to bite into; otherwise, the bit will drift.

I also made a sliding table for mortising on the drill press. Thetable has two parts: a movable sled, which is fitted with a pair ofrunners, and a base, which has grooves for the runners and is bolt-

ed to the drill-press table (see the top photos and drawing onp. 74). The sled is made up of a double layer of glued-up material,thick enough to plow grooves for the runners, which are glued inplace, without weakening it.

The sliding table has a fence and requires a stop block to locatethe start of the mortise. I also clamp a stop block to the undersideof the sled to control the length of the mortise. To use the jig, holdor clamp stock in place and use an end mill, a metalworking bit, tobore the mortise. Take light passes. If it chatters, switch to a brad-point bit, smaller in diameter than the end mill, predrill a series ofholes and clean up the walls of the mortise using the end mill.

Nonsquare stock must be held firmlyOnce in a while you'll need to drill stock that isn't flat or square.Bowling balls come to mind, but that's another article. Cylindricalstock can be held using a V-shaped block, which provides two-

BASIC MORTISINGBy trappingstockbetween twostop blocks,a mortisecan beroughed outusing abrad-pointbit.

Drawings: Vince Babak

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The jig slides back and forth on runners. Using an end mill (ametalworking bit), the author takes light passes to cut a mortise.

point contact and plenty of stability (see the left photo below). Tomake a V-block, rip a groove on one side of a thick piece of wood,such as a 2x4, using the tablesaw with the blade tilted 45°.

For other shapes, you just have to improvise. Wooden screwclamps are good at holding oddly shaped pieces. Clamp the woodscrew to the drill-press table, then clamp the stock to be drilled inthe screw clamp. Err on the side of more rather then fewer clampsif you have doubts.

Tilt the stock when drilling at angles other than 90°Most drill-press tables tilt along one axis. But I am admittedly lazy,and I don't like moving my table back and forth and retruing it to

0° if I can avoid it. Plus, the angle gauges that come with most drillpresses leave a lot to be desired.

I have found that the simplest way to drill angles other than 90°is to tilt the stock, not the drill-press table. The first step is to markthe desired angle onto the stock. Then place a piece of scrap woodunder one end of the workpiece. You may have to move thingsaround until the layout mark is in line with the drill bit. Use asquare or triangle, if needed. Before drilling, be sure the work-piece is stable.

A more stable angle-drilling jig can be made by joining twopieces of plywood with a piano hinge (see the right photo below).By wedging a wood block between the two plywood pieces, you

JIGS FOR ROUND STOCK OR ANGLED WORKThe V-blockcan be madeon a tablesawby ripping agroove inthick scrapwith theblade setat 45°.

Connect twopieces ofplywood witha piano hinge.Fit a woodwedgebetween theleaves tocreate theangle needed.

Photos: Anatole Burkin

Page 25: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

For boring into end grain, an adjustable tableand fence provide a solid clamping surface.Wedges may be placed between the stock andbase of the drill press for additional stability.

can reach the desired angle. Or better yet, screw the block in placeso that it won't creep on you.

A dedicated angle jig for drilling pocket holes—There are alot of ways to attach a tabletop. One method is to run a screwthrough a pocket hole drilled on the insides of the table's aprons.I drill these pocket holes using a dedicated tilted fence on the drillpress. I made the fence of solid stock and ripped one face at 15° onthe tablesaw.

To drill the apron, hold or clamp it against the fence. Use a stan-dard twist-drill bit when drilling at an angle, although a Forstnerbit would also be appropriate. Feed the bit slowly to prevent itfrom grabbing.

Compound angles—There are two types of compound angles:equal and unequal. Equal is just that; both angles are the same. Butchairs are rarely that simple. For example, a stool leg may hit thefloor at an 80° angle from one side and 82° from the other side.That's an unequal compound angle.

Compound angles force me to tilt the drill-press table. That gets

me the first angle. The second angle comes by way of a piano-hinged jig. As a precaution, place layout marks on the stock anddouble-check them before boring away.

Use a two-part jig to drill into end grainDrilling into long boards requires one of two things: great patienceor another indispensable jig. You can simply tilt your drill-presstable to 90° and maneuver the stock into position and clamp it.That usually entails a lot of fiddling.

Here's a better way. Make up a vertical two-part drilling jig (seethe photo and drawing above). The jig is similar to the mortising jigin that it consists of a base and a movable sled with a fence. Stockclamped to the fence and the workpiece can be moved fore or aftand remain plumb (or at whatever angle the jig was set to).

Just like a tablesaw, the drill press can handle a lot of jobs in theworkshop, but the machine demands a host of jigs before it trulyperforms to capacity.

Gary Rogowski is a contributing editor to Fine Woodworking and an authorand teacher in Portland, Ore.

Page 26: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Seven Jigsfor Drilling

Cup-Hinge HolesThese small, portable gadgets let you drill 35mm Forstner-bit

holes without a drill press

B Y R E X A L E X A N D E R

Page 27: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

designated jig just to drill a hole? Ifyou have cup hinges to mount, theanswer just might be yes, because

to make the hinge both strong and easy toinstall, the cup is designed to fit snugly in-to a 35mm hole bored in a cabinet door. Acup hinge installed in a sloppy hole won’tenjoy full strength. So you want the hole tobe a good one. That’s exactly what thesejigs promise to help you do.

The jigs come in a variety of designs.Some offer stark simplicity at a low cost.Others are more sophisticated and comewith a price that reflects that refinement.But all of these jigs have a couple things incommon. They get their power from anelectric or cordless drill. And they serve asa surrogate tool for the drill press, support-ing the 35mm bit when a drill press can’tbe used. Without that support, a large bitlike this will skitter around the wood.

These jigs are especially handy whenyou’re faced with drilling cup-hinge holesin a door that’s large and unwieldy. Justclamp the door to your workbench, thenmount the jig and drill.

The jigs are also handy if you’re installingcup hinges at a remote site, where there’sno access to a drill press.

All of the jigs allow you to adjust the dis-tance from the edge of the door to the edgeof the hole—a dimension called the “back-set” or “tab.” This dimension provides thenecessary clearance for the door to open.

Also, each jig has a mark, usually a notch,that serves as a guide to positioning it onthe door. Use a square and a sharp pencilto mark the hinge centerline. Then alignthe pencil line with the notch on the jig.

Most of the jigs have some sort of clamp-ing system that anchors the jig to the cabi-net door as you drill. A couple jigs arehandheld. One has to be screwed down.

With a few exceptions, the jigs also pro-vide some sort of means to position andguide a smaller drill bit to bore pilot holesfor two mounting screws that secure thecup to the door.

It’s easy to see how one of these portablegadgets can have a useful place in a work-shop. So when asked by Fine Woodwork-

ing to give the jigs a workout, I was happyto comply. (An unexpected dividend fromdrilling countless cup holes during my 27-year career as a cabinetmaker.) �

Rex Alexander builds furniture and cabinets inBrethren, Mich.

A

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 0 1 65

Cup hinges simplify door installations

Cup hinges, also called European-style or

concealed hinges, came into prominence

in Europe immediately after World War II.

These hinges still are the standard in Eu-

rope, but despite years of favor there, the

hinges didn’t attract much attention in

the United States until some 15 to 20

years ago. That’s when cabinetmaker’s

here began to recognize that there’s a lot

to like about them.

For example, the hinges are complete-

ly out of sight when the cabinet door is

closed (hence the moniker, concealed

hinges), and they pack plenty of strength.

Plus, they can be installed quickly and al-

low considerable adjustment of the door after it has been installed.

Cup hinges are commonly available as two-piece hinges. The cup and mounting

plate are mounted separately. Then, much like you’d secure a seat belt, the cup

half of the hinge and the door it’s mounted to simply slip into the mounting plate

and lock securely in place. The mechanism makes it easy to disengage the two

halves of the hinge, so the door can be removed for easy cleaning.

Some cup hinges can be installed entirely without screws: They simply press

into place. Others offer various types of quick-mounting attachments.

Cup hinges really shine after they’ve been installed. Because simply by turning

a few screws, you can adjust the door in three planes: up or down, side to side and

in or out. As a result, you can just about be certain that a door is going to end up

fitting perfectly.

You’ll find cup hinges at many hardware stores or building supply centers. You

can also get them on-line at www.cabinetparts.com or www.wwhardware.com.

I N S TA L L I N G A C U P H I N G E

Drawing: Vince Babak; photos, except where noted: Tom Begnal; this page: Erika Marks

Cabinet side

Door

Backset

Cup hinge

Mountingscrew

35mm holefor cup

Page 28: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

E U R O E A S Y D R I L L

66 F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G

E U R O - E Z E I I

A removable stop block,

attached to the underside of

the Euro-Eze II, is used to establish any of eight

backset options. A Forstner bit is included.

The clamp works okay. And the backset is easy to

set up. However, even though I’d given the brass nut

on the depth stop a good hand-tightening, the stop

slipped about 1⁄8 in. after drilling a few holes in oak. I then discovered the nut could be

hand-tightened another quarter turn or so, apparently because the bit heated during

the cuts and softened the plastic collet and hub that are part of the stop system. The

stop stayed securely in place after that second tightening. A self-centering bit is avail-

able as an option. It fits nicely into predrilled holes for the mounting screws.

This jig has a low price and is simple to use. If your budget is limited, and you have

only an occasional need to drill holes for cup hinges, the Euro-Eze II is worth consider-

ing. But keep an eye on the depth stop.

Woodworker’s Supply (800-645-9292) sells the jig ($29.95) and the optional self-

centering pilot-hole bit ($9.95 for a 7⁄64-in.-dia. bit; $29.95 for a 5mm version).

Drilling the mounting holes. Aself-centering bit is used to drill the pilot holes for the mountingscrews. The jig has four pairs ofpredrilled holes for the bit.

C O N C E A L E D H I N G E J I G - I T

This jig has two main parts: a template

(a steel base with a hardwood fence)

and a plastic housing that accepts the

built-in Forstner bit. The fence main-

tains an accurate backset. And

clamping the jig is quick and easy.

The Jig-It doesn’t have guide holes

for drilling the pilot holes for the

mounting screws.

The housing is a nice feature be-

cause it helps keep the bit square to the

jig as you drill. And because the housing

simply lifts off the base after a hole has

been bored, the chips don’t pack around

the bit, a nuisance I ran into with a cou-

ple of the other jigs.

The Jig-It sells for $29.99 (Forstner

bit not included) at Rockler (800-279-

4441). A 35mm, carbon-steel Forstner

bit costs $15.49; carbide costs $28.49.

Keeping square. The housing helps keep the bit square to the door as the hole is drilled.

Among the jigs tested, the Euro Easy Drill is unique

in that it must be screwed to the door before drilling

can begin. Then, once the cup hole has been start-

ed, the jig is removed, and the hole is completed by

eyeballing the final depth. Backset adjustment is

possible with the Euro Easy Drill, but it requires fid-

dling with screws and a square to make sure every-

thing lines up.

If you don’t have a drill press and have only a few hinges to mount, this jig will do a

decent job. But the lack of a mounting clamp and a depth stop slows down everything,

so you’ll need to bring a good measure of patience to the shop. The Euro Jig is available

for $8.99 from Woodcraft (800-225-1153); a 35mm bit costs $22.99.

Start drilling. The hole in the jigacts as a bushing, keeping theForstner bit contained and pre-venting it from skittering aroundas the cut starts.

Photos, this page (top left, top right, bottom left): Erika Marks

Page 29: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Machine-screw fence. A pair of knurled,brass machine screws serves as the fence.

V E R I TA S H I N G E - B O R I N G J I G

Like the Veritas Hinge-Boring Jig, the Euro Drill is

handheld. With a pivoting stop on each side, you can

quickly position the center of the hinge at the com-

monly used dimension of 33⁄4 in. from either end of

the door. The depth stop is easy to use. However, the

Euro Drill doesn’t offer a way to drill pilot holes for

the mounting screws.

The chips have a tendency to pack pretty solidly

around the Forstner bit, so plan to clean them out af-

ter drilling each hole.

This sturdy jig looks like one a professional might

have in his toolbox. I just wish there could be a quick

way to clamp the jig rather than hold it in place by

hand. As was the case with the Veritas jig, the

Euro Drill was awkward to hold flat as I drilled. You

can buy the Euro Drill from McFeely’s (800-443-

7937). The price, not including a Forstner bit, is

$98.95. A 35mm carbide-tipped Forstner bit will cost

another $23.95.

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 0 1 67

E U R O D R I L L

Packing them in. With no place togo, the chips quickly pack around theForstner bit, even after one cut. Theauthor used an air-compressor hoseto blow out the chips after boringeach hole.

The Veritas is a nicely built jig that’s designed to be handheld. A pair of brass machine

screws serves as an easy-to-adjust fence. The depth stop works well. A long, bent rod

that mounts to either side of the jig quickly allows you to set all of the holes the

same distance from the door top and bottom. A built-in carbide-tipped Forstner bit

comes with the jig.

But the design could use a little tweaking. For instance, when trying to drill a pilot

hole for the mounting-plate screws, the drill chuck butted against the jig, preventing me

from drilling a hole that was square to the door.

All in all, this is a sturdy jig that looks like it could hold up to drilling lots of holes. The

jig felt comfortable in my hand, but it was awkward to hold flat when drilling. My prefer-

ence would be to clamp it in place. The Veritas Hinge-Boring Jig sells for $99.75 from Lee

Valley Tools (800-871-8158).

Handheld. This jig isn’t designed to be clamped or se-cured to the door. Instead, you hold the jig in place witha handle that extends out the front. The author wouldhave preferred a clamp.

Photos, this page (top left, bottom right): Erika Marks

Page 30: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

The Ecodrill

is designed for use

with hinges made by

Blum or with other hinges

that match the Blum pattern.

Mounting holes are 8mm and accept only Blum’s

Press-In or Expando dowels or Blum’s Enserta hinge.

Chuck a Torx driver bit (supplied) into your drill. Slip the bit into a mating

nut on the end of the Forstner bit and start drilling. Then do the same for

the two pilot holes. You’ll need to clean out the chips after drilling the holes.

This jig has adjustable backset stops, which may be set to seven differ-

ent positions. It’s also easy to use the clamp. Pivot down the handles, and

the jig clamps to the door.

This professional-quality jig is a pleasure to use. It sets up quickly and

then drills the cup hole and two mounting holes to the correct depths in sec-

onds with little effort. I’d use it even if I had a drill press. You can order the

Ecodrill from the Superior Distributing Co. (800-622-4462). The $169 price

includes the Forstner bit and two 8mm bits.

Drilling the cuphole and two pi-lot holes is aseasy as one, two,three. One, insertthe driver bit in thecap screw on theend of the 35mmForstner bit anddrill the hole; two,move the driver bitto a pilot-hole bitand drill; andthree, repeat forthe final pilot hole.

Dial in the back-set. Setting thebackset is just amatter of turning apair of multisidedblocks.

B L U M E C O D R I L L

This top-of-the line jig drills all of the common

hinge patterns. In addition to the 35mm Forstner

bit, it comes with a 7⁄64-in.-dia. bit for the mounting

holes; 5mm and 8mm bits are sold separately.

The bits for the mounting holes can be adjusted to any of

eight different positions. And once adjusted, a pair of metal

pins ensures that the bits won’t shift out of position. To estab-

lish the backset, just turn two short, plastic levers to the exact

setting you want.

The Fisch jig is the most expensive of the bunch, but it has

the hallmarks of a well-built tool, starting with a beefy cast-

aluminum housing that serves as the foundation for all the re-

maining parts. The Forstner bit cuts

cleanly and quickly. Like Blum’s

Ecodrill, I’d use this one even if I

had a drill press. The jig is available

for $219.99 from Fisch Precision

Tools (724-663-9072).

F I S C H M U LT I - PAT T E R N E U R O J I G

Movable mounting-holebits. The jig offers eightdifferent positions for themounting holes. And oncethe bits are positioned, apair of steel pins keepsthe bits locked in place.

Select a backset. Just turn a couple oflevers to set the backset to any of eightoptions.

68 F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G Photos, this page (top and bottom left): Erika Marks

Page 31: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

he mortise and tenon is one of the most common woodworkingjoints. So a good tablesaw tenoning

jig is a valuable tool for the shop. But top-quality, commercially made jigs don’tcome cheap. When I was faced with cut-ting a bunch of tenons, I decided to build ajig that included all of the features found ina top-of-the-line model.

The jig has a tall fence to support the

workpiece. And a heavy-duty hold-downkeeps the stock securely in place. To mini-mize tearout, a narrow piece of scrap stockcan be temporarily clamped in front of theworkpiece. The jig slides smoothly alongthe table of the saw without side-to-sideplay. And a threaded rod with a crank al-lows easy and accurate adjustment of theworkpiece relative to the blade.

Once I worked out the design and

bought the parts (see Sources on p. 75), Iput together the jig in only a few hours. Mytotal cash outlay for everything was about$40, inexpensive compared with a store-bought jig with the same features.

The jig is made of 3⁄4-in.-thick medium-density fiberboard (MDF), a smooth mate-rial that tends to stay flat and is reasonablyinexpensive. Keep in mind that the jig issized for my Delta Unisaw. However, it can

J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 2 73Photos: Tom Begnal

T

ShopmadeTenoning Jig

Micro-adjustment featureadds ease and accuracy

B Y B R A D S C H I L L I N G

Page 32: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

er and nut. When the two parts have beenassembled, the holes create a pocket thataccepts both washers and nuts.

I used a router with an edge guide to cutthe slot in the platform for the carriage bolt.Before routing, I drilled a 5⁄16-in.-dia. hole toprovide a starting point for a 1⁄4-in.-dia.straight bit. The head of the carriage bolt is

fit almost any saw simply by adjusting thelength of the base as needed.

One more point before starting. Most ofthe parts of this jig are cut on the tablesaw.That means the saw must be cutting accu-rately. If it isn’t, the jig won’t have the built-in precision that’s needed to make perfectcuts. So, before you get going, make surethe blade and rip fence are parallel to themiter-gauge slot and that the blade issquare to the table.

Rip the runners firstWhen the jig is in use, it’s guided by an ul-trahigh molecular weight (UHMW) plasticrunner (see Sources) that travels along thesaw’s miter-gauge slot and fits in a groovein the jig’s base. Cut the runner for a snugsliding fit in the slot. If the runner doesn’tfit snugly, it can shift as it slides. Whileyou’re at it, cut the two plastic runners thatmount to the platform. By the way, anygood combination blade will produce asmooth cut in UHMW plastic.

Cut the MDF partsWith the runners cut, you can start workingon the MDF base and platform. Becausethese two parts have a pair of parallelgrooves that need to align when the jig isassembled, cut both parts from an over-sized blank—a single piece of MDF, 14 in.

wide by 24 in. long. That way the groovesin both parts can be cut at the same time toensure alignment.

This is also a good time to cut the re-maining grooves. The groove on the un-derside of the base accepts the miter-gaugerunner. The groove on the back face of thefence accepts the platform.

Now cut the blank into two parts: one 91⁄4 in. long for the platform and one 13 in.long for the base.

The connecting block and the supportblock work together as part of the micro-adjust system. Both of these parts have ahole bored on one face, with each holedrilled just deep enough to accept a wash-

74 F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G Drawing: Jim Richey

Cut some grooves. A dado head plows a pairof parallel grooves in an oversized blank.

Cut the blank in two. Crosscutting the blankprovides stock for the base and platform.

Rip the plastic runners. A combination blademakes a smooth cut in UHMW plastic.

Fence guide block,4 in. wide by 6 in. high

Hold-down

Fence, 14 in. wide by9 in. high

Groove for platform,3⁄8 in. deep by 3⁄4 in.wide

With a heavy-duty hold-down, an extra-tall fence and a large,stable base, the tenoning jig provides a good measure of controland safety during a cut. MDF parts (all 3⁄4 in. thick) are smooth andstay flat. Runners made from UHMW plastic slide smoothly.

TA B L E S AW T E N O N I N G J I G

Page 33: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

system, it’s just a matter of screwing theconnecting block to the support block.

To add moisture protection to the jig, it’sa good idea to apply a couple of coats ofpolyurethane to the MDF parts. Mountingthe hold-down completes the jig. �

Brad Schilling enjoys working wood in FairviewHeights, Ill.

recessed in a counterbore in the undersideof the base. Now add the threaded insert tothe crank block. Drill a 1⁄2-in.-dia. hole, lu-bricate the outside threads of the insertwith wax and screw it in place.

Assemble and finishAt this point, all of the MDF parts can bescrewed together. Keep in mind, though,

that MDF tends to split, especially whenscrewing into an edge. So it’s important todrill pilot holes before adding screws.

After that, cut the three runners to finallength. Then drill, countersink and screweach runner in place.

The micro-adjust system comes next. Cutthe threaded rod to length. Then add thecrank, nuts and washers. To complete the

J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 2 75

S O U R C E S O F S U P P L YREID TOOL (800) 253-0421Crank (part No. JCL-1160)Knob (part No. DK-167)

ROCKLER (800) 279-44413-in. hold-down and UHMW plastic

31⁄4 in. 41⁄4 in.

Fence platform, 14 in. wide by 91⁄4 in. long

3 in.

Threaded rod, 3⁄8-16 by 91⁄2 in.

Crank

Threadedinsert, 3⁄8-16internal thread

Crank block, 21⁄2 in. wide by43⁄4 in. high

Crank-block support,21⁄2 in. long by 21⁄2 in. high

Groove for runners, 3⁄8 in. deep by 3⁄4 in. widePlastic platform runners,

3⁄4 in. square by 9 in. long

Carriage bolt,5⁄16-18 by 11⁄2 in.

Plastic miter-gauge runner, 3⁄4 in. square by 14 in. long

Base, 14 in. wideby 13 in. long

Slot for carriage bolt, 3⁄8 in. wide by 23⁄4 in. long

Fence bracket, 53⁄4 in. long by 5 in. high

Scale

Connecting block,21⁄2 in. wide by 31⁄4 in. high

Knob, 5⁄16-18 thread

Two 3⁄8-in. nutswith washers

Support block,21⁄2 in. wide by 4 in. high

Page 34: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Few woodworkers enjoy the luxury of a spacious shop, and I’m no exception. Lacking the space for many large ma-

chines, I rely on my router when building fur-niture. However, used on its own, the router is limited in its abilities. More often than not, I use it in conjunction with various shopmade jigs that increase its ability to quickly and ac-curately cut circles, make edge profiles, cut dadoes, trim edge-banding, and even substi-tute for a lathe.

The five jigs illustrated here are all made from cheap and stable plywood or medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and require only a few pieces of hardware, available through Lee Valley (www.leevalley.com; 800-871-8158) or Rockler (www.rockler.com; 800-279-4441). These router jigs are as easy to use as they are to make.

Yeung Chan builds custom furniture in Millbrae, Calif.

Photos: Mark SchofieldF I N E W O O D W O R K I N G68

ADJUSTABLE CIRCLE-CUTTING JIG

All pieces of the jig are made of 1⁄2-in.-thick plywood.

A 13⁄4-in. break in the slot maintains the jig’s strength.

Guides, 21⁄2 in. wide by 5 in. long

Crosspiece, 5 in. wide by 12 in. long

Cutout, 2 in. dia.

Five Smart Router Jigs

Get more from your router with this set

of easy-to-make accessories

B Y Y E U N G C H A N

Machine screw

Nut

Two mounting holes let you work around breaks in slot.

Pin

Runner

Page 35: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

M AY / J U N E 2 0 0 5

This jig can be used to rout a circle with a maximum diameter of 72 in.,

but the design can be modified for other diameters. First, drill a 1⁄4-in.-

dia. hole, 1⁄4 in. deep, in the middle of the workpiece. If you don’t want the

hole to show, work on the underside. Next, mark a point on the desired edge

of the circle, place the sled over the base, and fit the jig’s pin in the center

hole. Move the base in or out until the bit is on the mark, then lock the sled.

Turn on the router and plunge down to start the initial cut, which should

be less than 1⁄8 in. deep, just enough to define the circle. Use a jigsaw to

cut away the outside pieces, leaving about 1⁄8 in. outside the final size of

the circle. This method enables you to support the corners as they are cut off so

that they won’t damage the finished workpiece. Once the bulk of the waste

has been removed, the router has to make only a light final cut. If you’re

working with solid wood, pay atten-

tion to the grain’s orientation and

the bit’s rotation. Climb-cut when

necessary to avoid tearout.

The final cut. The router now has to remove only a small amount of material, creating less dust and leaving a clean cut.

Remove the waste. Following the track left by the router, saw away the waste.

Drawings: John Hartman 69

Cut perfect circles

Make a shallow cut to define the circle. The initial cut made with the router should be only about 1⁄8 in. deep.

Base, 7 in. wide by 41 in. long

SLED DETAIL

Hardwood runner, 1⁄2 in. square by 5 in. long, rides in slot in base.

Slots, 1⁄4 in. wide by 91⁄4 in. long with a 1⁄2-in.-wide by 3⁄16-in.-deep groove in the bottom (see detail below)

Pin, 1⁄4 in. dia. by at least 23⁄4 in. longPin holder, two

pieces each 2 in. wide by 5 in. long

Washer

Slot, 1⁄2 in. wide

Head of machine bolt is flattened on two sides to fit in the groove.

Locking screw

Set the size of the circle. With the pin registered in the center of the workpiece, move the jig’s base until the inside edge of the router bit is aligned with the desired outside edge of the circle.

CrosspieceBase

Visit our Web site to see the author demonstrate his circle-cutting jig.

finewoodworking.com

Page 36: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

It is a difficult job to cut a large panel on a tablesaw that’s not

equipped with a sliding table. So I made a simple jig that can be

used to cut out a section from a full sheet of plywood or medium-

density fiberboard (MDF) or to clean up a rough cut made by a jigsaw

or a circular saw.

Once you’ve assembled the jig, run the router along the straight

edge of the fence to create a matching straight edge on the base. To

use the jig, clamp it at both ends of the workpiece with the edge of

the jig aligned with the desired

cut. As the router rides along the

jig, it leaves a perfectly straight,

clean cut.

STRAIGHT-EDGE JIG

Always use the same-diameter router bit with this jig. A smaller bit will cut wide of the jig’s edge, while a larger bit will eat into the jig.

F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G70

Cut clean and accurate dadoes. Clamp the dado jig at both ends and make the cut in two or three passes.

I reach for this jig when I have to cut multiple parallel dadoes on

a panel. Most of the time these grooves are perpendicular to the

short fence of the jig, but they can be cut at different angles. Like the

straight-edge jig (above), this one needs to be clamped at both ends

during use. As long as you use the same size bit each time, and the

same angle, the entry cut on the jig’s short fence will show the loca-

tion of the dado. Use an up-cut spiral bit, which will prevent chips from

jamming in the dado. For deep dadoes, make several passes.

Trim or cut large panels

Cut dadoes at any angle

DADO-CUTTING JIG

Variable-angle jig. Although dadoes usually are perpen-dicular to the long edges of a panel, this jig can make cuts at other angles.

Wing nut

Long fence, 1⁄4 in. thick by 31⁄2 in. wide by up to 54 in. long

Short fence, 1⁄4 in. thick by 21⁄2 in. wide by 15 in. long#1⁄4-20 machine

screw, 11⁄2 in. long

Align the notch cut by the router in the short fence with the desired dado location.

Washer

Entry-cut notch

Rabbet, 1⁄8 in. deep by 1⁄8 in. wide, collects sawdust.

Base, 1⁄4 in. thick by 50 in. long

Fence, 1⁄2 in. thick by 21⁄2 in. wide by 50 in. long

Straighten edges. Rough-cut the panel, then clean up the cut with this straight-edge jig. Before use, trim the base

parallel with the fence.

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M AY / J U N E 2 0 0 5 71

Flush-cut edge-banding. This jig allows you to cleanly cut solid-wood edge-banding flush with the plywood panel.

One of the hardest parts of using solid

wood to edge plywood or laminate

panels is trimming the edge-banding flush

with the plywood. If you use a plane, you

risk cutting through the thin plywood ve-

neer, and sanding can leave cross-grain

scratches on the plywood. This router jig

enables you to trim the banding flush,

quickly and flawlessly.

Mount the router on the jig, and set the

depth of the bit so that it just clears the

plywood surface. A router with micro-

adjustment comes in handy. Adjust the

guide block to align the bit so that the

carbide tips extend just a hair over the

plywood. Clamp the guide block tight, and

you’re ready to go.

Pay attention to the router bit’s rotation

and the direction you move the router. To

avoid tearout, you want the leading edge

of the bit to enter the wood first. Known as

climb cutting, this method can be danger-

ous if the bit pulls the router forward un-

controllably. Because the amount of wood

being removed is so small, you should be

able to control the router easily.

Trim edge-banding quickly and cleanly

EDGE-BAND TRIMMING JIG

The router bit should be positioned a hair above the plywood surface. The spacer/guide block is clamped to the jig to steer the router along the edging.

Edge-banding

Plywood panel

Guide block

Trimming jig

Cutout, 2 in. dia.

Top and bottom, 1⁄2 in. thick by 71⁄2 in. wide by 17 in. long, overlap by 11 in.

Guide block, 1⁄4 in. thick by 21⁄2 in. wide by 71⁄2 in. long, with spacer, 1 in. thick by 11⁄2 in. wide by 71⁄2 in. long

Page 38: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

This jig allows you to “turn” round columns and posts using a

router. To use the jig, first drill a 5⁄16-in.-dia. hole, 11⁄2 in. deep,

in each end of the workpiece, then insert a steel rod to hold the

workpiece inside the jig. Lock a drill stop on each end of the rod

where it enters the jig to prevent the workpiece from shifting dur-

ing the turning. Clamp two wood guide pieces to the edges of the

router subbase to restrict the router’s side-to-side movement.

Turn on the router, slowly plunge down, and move the router

halfway up and down the jig as you slowly rotate the workpiece. As

you increase the depth of cut, you’ll create a cylinder. Then repeat

the process on the other half of the workpiece. Throughout the pro-

cess, make small cuts for a better finish and a safer operation.

You can adapt this jig to create different turnings. Offset the

hole at one end of the jig to make tapered turnings, or clamp

blocks to the long sides of the jig to produce stopped turnings. If

you design the jig with gently curving sides, the workpiece will

become football shaped as it is turned.

Make turnings with a router

Router-cut turnings. By guiding the router back and forth while turn-ing the workpiece, a square blank gradually becomes a cylinder.

Tapered turnings. Lower the hole at one end of the jig to taper the turned workpiece.

Stopped turnings. Clamp blocks to the side of the jig to leave a square section on the turning.

Steel rod, 5⁄16 in. dia.

Drill stop is tightened with hex key.

Workpiece

TURNING JIG

The dimensions of this jig will vary based on the size of the blank to be turned. The four sides of the jig can be screwed together or clamped for greater flexibility. Steel rods passing through each end of the jig hold the blank.

Guide pieces, clamped to subbase

Router subbase

Workpiece

The dimensions of the ends and sides will vary according to the diameter and length of the turning.

F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G72

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F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G38

he wall next to my bandsaw is fes-tooned with jigs that expand the ver-satility of the basic machine. Though

simple to build, each jig quickly and safely delivers the precise results I depend on. This article presents five of my favorites.

Build these jigs from Baltic-birch plywood or medium-density fiberboard (MDF), and adjust dimensions to fit your bandsaw. For the jigs to work correctly, the bandsaw’s blade must cut parallel to the fence. To achieve this, I check that the bandsaw’s tires are in good shape (no grooves or ridges), then set the fence parallel to the miter-gauge slots. Next, I adjust the angle of the upper wheel. If the blade’s center-line aligns with the centerline of the upper wheel, it will cut parallel to the fence.

Check by ripping some scrap. You’ll know it’s right when the back of the blade is centered in its kerf. For more on bandsaw setup, see FWW #173, pp. 66-71.

Michael Fortune designs and builds furniture in Lakefield, Ont., Canada.

Make precise tapers, circles, wedges, and curves safely

and easily

T

Photos: Marcia Ryan; drawings: Jim Richey

B Y M I C H A E L F O R T U N E

Five EssentialBandsaw Jigs

Page 40: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Jig setup. Adjust the rip fence so that the jig is almost touching the blade. Then clamp down the plywood guide, which should just allow the jig to slide.

A lot of woodworkers cut tapers on

a tablesaw, but I think it’s safer

and just as fast on the bandsaw. And

unlike a tablesaw, a bandsaw allows for

stopped tapered cuts. My adjustable

jig slides between the bandsaw’s fence

and a plywood guide, which is attached

to the table and prevents the jig from

wandering into the blade. Two similar

jigs, one 24 in. long and one 48 in. long,

accommodate different-sized workpiec-

es. Toggle clamps can be used to hold

any length of workpiece securely.

When tapering four sides of, say, a

table leg, always rotate the stock so

that the newly tapered side faces up.

This way, for the first two cuts, the

workpiece’s flat sides bear on the

jig and its fence. Rotating the leg

for the third cut places a taper

against the fence, but an offcut

between the two will keep the

leg straight. For the fourth cut,

an offcut at the fence and

another placed between the

leg and the bed of the jig will sup-

port the leg. The offcuts are taped into

position slightly forward of the stop

to accommodate the wood lost to the

bandsaw kerf.

Locate the taper’s start. Align the beginning of the taper with the edge of the jig and tighten the infeed knob.

Locate the taper’s end. Marks on the stock align with the edge of the jig, which is the cut line. After fixing the outfeed knob, adjust the stop to clear the blade.

39

Rip tapers at any angle

Rabbet, to fit table edge

Plywood guide, 3⁄4 in. thick by 9 in. wide by 13 in. long

Threaded knob Adjustable stop, 3⁄4 in. thick by 1 in. wide by 5 in. long

Clamping block, 11⁄2 in. thick by 11⁄2 in. wide by 12 in. long

Adhesive-backed sandpaper

Plywood base, 3⁄4 in. thick by 8 in. wide by 24 in. long

1⁄4-20 hanger bolt, 21⁄2 in. long

Adjustable fence, 3⁄4 in. thick by 3 in. wide by 25 in. long

Slot, centered, 1⁄4 in. wide by 13⁄8 in. long

1⁄4-20 carriage bolt, 11⁄2 in. long

Slot, 1⁄4 in. wide by 61⁄4 in. long, recessed on the underside for carriage bolt

Pivot hole

Tenon, 1⁄4 in. thick by 1⁄4 in. deep, notched for hanger bolt

Cutout for tabletop adjuster

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 5

1 ADJUSTABLE TAPER JIG

One jig makes tapers in a range of lengths and angles.

Cutout for blade

Page 41: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

This is a useful jig that’s also fun.

The workpiece turns on the jig’s

pivot point and cuts circles and

arcs with a wide range of radii. I

thread the jig with a 1⁄4-20 tap, so

it will accommodate any size pivot

point I care to grind from a bolt. They

can range from the full 1⁄4-in. diameter

for heavier pieces, to a needle point for

delicate work. To avoid a center mark

on the stock, attach a sacrificial sur-

face to the underside of the workpiece

with double-sided tape.

The pivot point is in a sliding arm

dovetailed into the body of the jig. This

arm can be moved gently forward while

you rotate the stock into the blade,

initially creating a spiral-shaped cut.

A stop block clamped to the outboard

end of the arm hits the body of the jig

when you reach the correct radius, and

only then does the

blade begin to cut in

a circle.

Make the track

and sliding arm of

a hard and stable

wood. The sliding

arm and track are

dovetailed so that

the arm does not tip

out of the track, and

the bearing surfaces

are waxed. The track

could be dovetailed

directly into the body of the jig, but it is

easier and will remain more accurate if

a strip of hardwood is dovetailed, then

set into a dado.

Keep in mind: The bandsaw blade

must be narrow enough to cut the

desired radius, and the cutting edge

of the teeth must align with the cen-

terline of the pivot point on the sliding

arm. If the pivot is forward or back of

the teeth, the blade will not cut freely

and the circle will not be true.

Attach the stop. After mea-suring the distance from the pivot point to the blade (circle radius), clamp the stop on the underside of the arm at the end of the guide track (above left).

Interchangeable pivot points. Pivots can be as small as a sharp point, or larger for heavier workpieces.

Make circles of all sizes

Spiral into the circle. With the saw running, gently push the arm forward while rotating the stock into the blade (above right). Once the stop reaches the end of the guide track, the blade starts to cut the actual circle (right).

Dado, 13⁄4 in. wide by 1⁄4 in. deep

Clamping block, 15⁄8 in. thick by 15⁄8 in. wide by 12 in. long

Plywood base, 3⁄8 in. thick by 12 in. wide by 20 in. long

Hardwood sliding arm, 1⁄4 in. thick by 11⁄8 in. wide by 29 in. long

Hardwood track, 3⁄8 in. thick by 13⁄4 in. wide by 22 in. long, glued to plywood base

Sharp pivot point

Rabbet, to fit table edge

Stop block with adhesive-backed sandpaper is clamped to sliding arm.

Cutout for tabletop adjuster

Arm slides into dovetailed track.

2 CIRCLE-CUTTING JIG

The sliding pivot arm on this jig allows cutting circles of any diameter your shop and your back can handle.

F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G40

Page 42: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

This simple and safe jig allows the

cutting of identical wedges. The

jig rides against the fence, which is

set so that the blade just misses the

jig. Notches the size and shape of the

wedges are cut in the jig, and they hold

the stock as it’s cut. As a new size of

wedge is needed, I add a new notch to

the jig. For repeat projects, each notch

is labeled with the project name and

the dimensions of the wedge.

I start with a piece of stock that’s

crosscut to the length of the wedge,

and flip the blank over with every

cut. The MDF base serves as a zero-

clearance throat plate that stops the

wedges from binding in the bandsaw’s

more open throat plate. When the

stock gets too small to handle safely,

I switch to a new piece or use a

push stick.

Small wedges require a zero-clearance throat plate. Attach a piece of 1⁄4-in. MDF on the table with double-sided tape to prevent pieces from getting trapped in the throat plate.

Cut small wedges safely

Cut notches on the jig freehand. Draw the wedge on the jig, by tracing it or by determin-ing its angle or its length and width. Clearly mark these measurements on the jig.

The Wedge-o-matic. Place the long-grain end of the stock against the long edge of the notch. Flip the stock forward with each pass.

Plywood jig, 1⁄4 in. thick by 41⁄4 in. wide by 21 in. long

Kerf for bandsaw blade

MDF base, 1⁄4 in. thick

Adhesive-backed tape secures base to table.

Countersunk screw

Wooden knob

3 TENON WEDGE JIG

Sliding on an MDF base and guided by the saw’s fence, this jig makes quick work of wedges.

Page 43: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Finger jigs are used to guide care-

fully made patterns on the bandsaw.

The finger spaces the pattern just

slightly away from the bandsaw blade,

leaving a small amount of material to be

worked by hand, or as I frequently do,

shaped by a router outfitted with a flush-

trimming bit. The pattern works with

both the bandsaw and the router. This is

a great technique for making multiples

of curved chair parts such as rails or

stretchers.

The blade is positioned within the

notch at the end of the finger. The

distance the finger protrudes past the

blade determines the amount of wood

overhanging the edge of the pattern

when the cut is complete. The ends

of the finger should be curved slightly

tighter than any curve on the pattern.

Simple, shallow curves can be band-

sawn by clamping the finger jig directly

to the table, and affixing the stock

above the pattern (4). For complex

curves, it is better to position the pat-

tern and the finger jig above the stock

so that the contact between the finger

and pattern is visible (5). It’s a little

trickier to secure the

stock to the pattern

in this case. If you

don’t mind the holes,

screws through the

face of the stock can

be used. If holes are

a problem, hold the

stock to the pattern

with wedges or dow-

els, as shown on the

facing page.

Safely reproduce curved shapes

The notched finger jig surrounds the blade. For simple curves, the finger rests on the table, and a short bolt holds it in the dado of the clamping block.

Dado, 13⁄4 in. wide by 1⁄4 in. deep

1⁄4-20 hanger bolt, 21⁄2 in. long

Slot, 1⁄4 in. wide by 1 in. long

Plywood finger, 1⁄2 in. thick by 13⁄4 in. wide by 93⁄4 in. long

Adhesive-backed sandpaper

Hardwood strip, 3⁄4 in. thick by 21⁄4 in. wide by 237⁄8 in. longMDF base,

3⁄4 in. thick

Hardwood clamping block, 11⁄4 in. thick by 11⁄2 in. wide by 131⁄4 in. long

Rabbet, to fit table edge

4 JIG FOR SIMPLE CURVES

A notched plywood finger clamps to the table to guide a pattern, which has the workpiece clamped onto it.

Stop

42 F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G

Page 44: Woodworking - Jigs.pdf

Quickly clean up the bandsawn edges. A pattern-routing bit rides along the pattern, trimming the workpiece to its final shape.

Raise the finger to cut complex curves. Adding a block to raise the finger jig, and placing the pattern atop the workpiece, makes it easier to keep the pattern on track.

Toggle clamps secure the work. The pattern rides along the finger jig to guide the cut. The notch in the finger jig accommodates the blade and protects the pattern from damage. The finished cut overhangs the pat-tern (above). The distance from the end of the finger to the teeth deter-mines the width of the overhang.

Plywood finger, 1⁄2 in. thick by 21⁄2 in. wide by 11 in. long

Slot, 1⁄4 in. wide by 3 in. long

Hardwood block, stock thickness by 13⁄4 in. wide by 6 in. long

Plywood pattern, 1⁄2 in. thick, rides against the finger.

Wooden knob

Dado, 13⁄4 in. wide by 1⁄4 in. deepRabbet, to fit table

edge

1⁄4-20 hanger bolt, 21⁄2 in. long

Clamping block, 11⁄4 in. thick by 11⁄2 in. wide by 131⁄4 in. long

1-in. dowel3⁄8-in. dowel

Blocks (of stock thickness) and dowels hold work.

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 5

5 JIG FOR COMPLEX CURVES

Raising the guide finger and the pattern makes complex curves easier to cut.

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