the art of woodworking - routing and shaping 1993

8/13/2019 The Art of Woodworking - Routing and Shaping 1993

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THE ART OF WOODWORKING

HOMEWORI HOP


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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

ROUTINGANDSHAPTNG


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THE ART OF WOODVV'ORKING

ROUTINGAI.{DSHAPING

TIME-LIFEOOKSALEXANDRIA,IRGINIA

ST. REMYPRESSMONTREAL. EWYORK


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THEART OF WOODWORKING was producedby

ST.REMYPRESS

Kenneth WinchesterPierre L6veill6

Pierre Home-DouglasFrancine emieuxMarc Cassini Text)Heather Mills (Research)Normand Boudreault, Luc Germain,Solange abergeJean-GuyDoiron, Michel GigudreIim McRaeChristopher acksonAndrew ones, Rob Lutes

THECONSUUTAN'TS

Bob fardinico manages woodworking sales orColonial Saw Co., a machinery sales nd servicecompany based n Kingston, Massachusetts.He also estores ntioue urniture in his homeworkshop n Plymouth, Mass.

Giles Miller-Mead taught advanced cabinet-making at Montreal echnical chools or morethan ten years.A native ofNew Zealand, e hasworked as a restorer of antique urniture.

Joseph Truini is Senior Editor of HorneMechanixmagazine. A former Shop and ToolsEditor of Popular Mechanics, e has worked asa cabinetmaker, ome mprovement contractorand carpenter.

Routing and Shapingp. cm.-(The Art of Woodworking)

Includes ndex.ISBN0-8094-9937-l trade)rsBN 0-8094-9938-Xlib)l. Routers Tools)2. Woodwork 3. ShapersI. Time-Life Books. II. SeriesTT203.s.R69 1993684' 083-dc20 93-18854

CIP

For nformation about any Time-Life book,please all l-800-621-7026, r write:Reader nformationTime-Life Customer ServiceP.O. Box C-32068Richmond, Virginia2326r-2068

@ 1993 ime-LifeBooks nc.All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced nany orm or by any electronic or mechanicalmeans, ncluding nformation storage ndretrieval devices or systems, without prior

written permission rom the publisher, exceptthat briefpassages ay be quoted or reviews.First printing. Printed n U.S.A.Published imultaneously n Canada.

TIME-LIFE is a trademark of Time WarnerInc. U.S.A.

Contributinglllustrators GillesBeauchemin,RollandBergera,|ean-Pierre Bourgeois,Michel Blais,Nicole Chartier, Ronald Durepos,Philippe Gauweau, Grard Mariscalchi,facques Perrault, Robert Paquet,James hdrienNatalie WatanabeMichelle TurbideJean-LucRoyRobert ChartierJudith YelonChristine M. Jacobs

Time-Life Books s a division of Time-Life nc.,a wholly owned subsidiary of

THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY

PUBLISHERPRESIDENT

SeriesEditorSeries rt Director

SeniorEditors

Art Directors

DesignersResearch ilitor

PictureEditorWriters

AdministratorProduction ManagerSystemCoordinator

PhotographerProofteader

Indexer

TIME-LIFEBOOKS

PresidentVice-President

Editor-in-ChiefDirectorof Editorial Resources

MarketingDirectorEditorialDirectorConsuhingEditor

Production Manager

lohn D. HallNancy K, fonesThomas H. FlahertyEliseD. Ritter-Clough

Regina HallLee HassigJohn R. SullivanMarlene Zack


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INTRODUCTION

Patrick Spielman n

MAKINGROUTERIIGS

esigning nd nventing outer igsand ixturesssomewhat f apassion f mine.Over heyears 'vemade umerous evices-many ery crude-to simplify,

speed p, or facilitate eeminglympossible outing asks. hese igshavemademycabinetnaking, elief arving, ignwork,and ust about very therarea f wood cut-tingmucheasier nd moreeconomical.f you ookawaymy router and my specialjigsand ixtures, would be almost elpless n the worlshop.

fig-making anbeeasy r complex, imple r refined. heneed ictates hat youbuildandhowyoubuild t. A fewyears go made simple ut very effectiveouterable and ence ith a couple f dollars' orth ofmaterial. ust ecently, invested 33constructing new outer able apable f duplicatinghe cuttingactionand oper-ations ffered nly by a $1500 roduction outingmachine.

Many eatures fnew outers, uch s peed hoices ndeasy epth-of-cut ontrols,canbeexploitedor better nd saferig-making. lunging apabilitys great or somejigs,but or many still prefer o use he motorunitwithout hebase. oth ypes anbebuilt nto router ables. 'vealsomounted outermotors orizontally nmovablesleds ith a emplate ollowero make uplicate urnings. ou analsomounta routeratvarious ngles o the work able. his qrstem llowsou o create variety fprofilesfrom ust onebit. Forexample, round nose anbe used o raise anels ndcutEuropean-styleingerpullstock or doorsand drawers.

Desrgningigsgets asierhemoreoften oudo t. An dea hat nspires ne igwillinvariablyesurfacen some orm o help solve different roblem. efore uildinga ig, I visualizehe bit making he desired ut. Then figure out how o attach herouter o the igandmove neor the other o make hecut.With more complexigs,I need o put ogether ne or more mock-ups efore onstructing he irst workingmodel. make ood se f arge ose lamps nd bandsawn radles, r V clampingblocks,o hold outers.

I'vemade cores fjigs o simplifyairly outinewoodworkingobs ikespacingdadoes, uttingmortises nd enons, making ariousmiters, nd

scarfingointq

I'veeven sed he plunge outer o cut dowel oles. till,herearea ot of deas haven'tyet ested, nda ot of obs hatcan e made etter nd easier ith ust he ight ig.

PatrickSpielman, consultant nd author of more han40 woodwo*ingbool


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INTRODUCTION

Joe Truini talks about

ROUTERS

I s he sonofa carpenter, learned o respect nd appreciateoolsat a veryearlyA age. also earned hatmost ools will asta ifetime,f cared orproperly.Manyofthe ools n my woodshop ere anded own o mebymy ather. here's ow-angle lockplane hat use n virtuallyevery roject, nda dassic eWalt adialarmsaw hatwill surely utliveme.My avorite cquisition y ar,however,s he Stanleyl-horsepower outer shown n the photo.My fatherbought t back n 1959, bout20years eforeStanley old ts power-tool ine o Bosch.

This outerwasalreadymore han 10years ldwhen fust used t, and althoughthere are newer,more powerfrrl outers n the shop, instinctivelyeach or LordStanleywhen have o shape n edge r mill a oint. It doesrt't eature ophisticatedelectronics, nd he collet anbe ather tubborn t imes, ut I'vegrownaccus-tomed o theway t feelsn myhands nd o the hroatyhum of ts hirty-somethingarbor.Admittedly, ld Stanley oesdt erform nybetter han he newer outers, utit serves sa ink o the past t represents wogenerations f crafumen nd sa survivorof a once-proud ool ine.

It wasn't ntil mywoodworking obbybecame vocation, owever, hat trulyappreciated router or what t is: he shop'smost ersatile ower ool.Asa cabinet-maker or a custom-desigrr hop n Miami, relied n he outer or everything romcutting imple abbets nd dadoes o millingprecise ovetailoints.For he buildingofplastic-laminateabinets ndcounters,outers ere sed o nim and seam he am-inate. was able o replicate eriodmoldings nd abricate ustom aneling rghtatthe ob sitewith hehelpof a porable shop-built outer able. o enhance he outerfurther, designed ndbuilt igsand ixtures o perform pecificasls. These impleshop-made ccessoriesot onlyexpand he outer's apabilities; heyalsomake hetool safer ndmoreaccurate.

Now hat earna ivingwritingabout ools, often eport on he atest rends ndin theworldofwoodworking.m glad o see hat outers remorePop-

ularnow han ever efore. omehow, 'm not abit surprised.

loeTruinL SeniorEditoro/Home Medranixmagazine, writes about woodworking ndhome emodeling or do it-yourselfers. elives n historic Washington, onnecticut.


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INTRODUCTION

BillBivona explainswhy he owns

A SHAPER

yfirstexperience ith woodworking as erving saboatbuilder's pprenticeas a eenager. enjoyed orkingwithwood omuch hat later enrolledn

a urniture uilding rogram tBoston niversity. t bothplaces found hateachof my nstructors r mentors ad hisown avorite ool hatcould emade o performmanytasls esidesheobvious nes. One eacher ight use able awwith nangledfence o cutcovemoldings; omeone lse ould it a radial rmsawwitha disksanderor attach utterso millprofiles. ttheschool nd n theboatshop, hespindle haperwasmoreoften sed s a sawhorse r a workbenchhanasa ool. was eftwith heimpressionhat he shaper utsprofilesn theedges f boards nd hatwas bout ll.

It was ot until opened y ownshop hat realized owmuchmore ersatilethe oolreally s. 've hadmy 3-horsepoweriltingarbor haper or almost 0 earsnowand would e ost without t. Woodworkersave ersonal ryles,nd tend obeverymachine-oriented. oreandmore, find hat he hand ools hat once seddaily owsit dle n my oolcabinet. orme,end esults ndspeed atter most ndI find hat he shaper utperforms yoldhand ools ands own.

Combined ittr a decent owerfeed nit,a shaper an utdadoes etter hana ablesaw ndclean p an edge swellasa small ointer. f youhave collet hat acceptsrouter its, ou'llquicklyind hat he shaper utclassesven he argest frouters,witha range f cuttershat s unmatched. recently ought crownmolding utterformyshaper. tt a stacking ystem o can either se hecomplete ssemblyb makea cut or nstall he ndividual arts o carve eparate rofiles.

That's nly hebeginning. dd ubcollars nd arge-diameter earings nd expandthe ange f theshaper ven more.with these nexpensive ccessoriiscanmaketemplate ut of scrap tock ndaffix t to my good tock. he shaper hen acts ikea big lush rimmerand cangetperfectly niform inished ieces veryime.

BillBivonais co-owner f HardwoodDesign nc. Bqsed n Slocum, hode

Island, he company pecializesnbuildingcustom-designed tairways.


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Q in.. its nvention uring he\,1 FirstWorldWat the portableelectric outer has made ts pres-ence elt n every spect f wood-working. t is easy o seewhy:Therouter an cut rabbets, rim lami-nate, evel dges, hapemolding,andmake ovetailoints. t canwensurface mall ieces f stock nd ol-low a pre-cut emplate o cut ntri-cate atterns. hesheer umber ftasks t performs asily anks herouterwith any otherportable rstationarywoodworkingool. t isasclose o a universal ool aswood-workinghas.The chapter hat ol-lows overs hebasic rinciples ouneed o know o use he ool.

Routermotors are commonlyavailablen the 11-o 3-horsepowerrange. he ool s a direct descendant fthe hand-poweredmoldingplane,which eatured nterchangeable utters sedforgrooving, dge orming,and oinery.The outer eaturesmotor hat spins bit at veryhighspeed-typically 0,000o26,000evolutions erminute rpm).Just s tremolding lanedrewon a range fstandard ndexotic utters, he outer canusea myriadnumber f nterchangeable its o create ozensof distinctive rofiles, verythingrom chamfering utters

to beading its(page

6).

Shapingheedge f a workpiecewith a decorative rofile s prob-ablytheaskthe outerismostcom-monly called upon o perform.Thereare wo ways fmaking hecut, depending n the ype of bitused. piloted it features pilotbearing hat rides along he edgeof the work,keeping enetration fthe cutter constant.With a non-piloted it, cuttingwidth s con-trolledbyguiding he outer alongan edge uide lampedo the work.

The manner n which you cuta dado or groove epends n thetype of router. A standard oolmustbe heldabove he surface fthe workpiece efore he motor sswitched n. Theentire ool s henlowered, lunging he bit into he

wood.Wth a plunge outer, he base late an emain lat onthe surface s he outer s turned on and he bit is oweredinto the work.

Any outer an be mounted n a specially esignedable(page 9) hattransforms t into a stationary ool, reeing ourhands o feed tock nto the bit. Youcan also nstallbits n atable-mountedouter hat cannot e used f the ool s hand-held. fyou have he ime youcanbuildyourowncustomized

tablepage

2);few ther ccessoriesreasworthwhile.

ROUTERBASICS

Keeping router from wobblingas t is ed alongthe edge f a wo*piece o cut a profile nto the

facecanbe a triclcy peration. supportboarddamped o the stock an help uep he ool steady.

A non-piloted it carves rabbet n the edge fa board. Riding he outer base late alonganedge uideproduces uniform width of cut.

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ANTATOMY FA ROUTER

STANDARDOUTER

Onloff awitah

ColletAccepta ahankof router bit: nutdirectly above colletia turned to tiqhtenor looaen collet

Wrenched

Depth adjuatment ring)eto cuttin4 depth

eupplied with router forchanqinq bita. One wrenchturns collet nut; otherholda ahaft otationary

Base plate alamp sorLoogened o set cuttindepth or to remove baplate from motor bodtiqhtened to look plateinto oosition

tsaae plate9u pporta moton adjuafor aettin4 cuttinq defCan be removed or chinq bita or mountin7tool in a router table, replaced with plunqe baon 6ome modela

9ub-baeeearewed tobaae plato; canbe removedto attachrouterto table


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BITS

f here s a bit for every outing ask,I from simple grooves o intricate

moldings. n fact, here re hundreds fcutters vailable n a variety ofprofilesand widths. he pages hai ollbw ea-ture a selection frouter its alongwiththe cuts hey make.

A tvoical outerbit consists fa steelbody with one or more cutting edgesand a shank hat fits nto the router'scollet.Most bits are made rom eitherhigh-speed teel HSS) r high-speedsteelwith arbide utting dges. lthoughHSS bits are adequate or cuttingsoft-wood, heywill not stand p to repeateduse n dense ardwood. arbide-tippedbits,whilemore expensive nd prone ochipping, tay harp onger ndcut moreeasily hrough harder wood.

Router its canbe divided nto hreegroups ccording o their size nd unc-tion. Edge-forming its (page 7) ourdecorative rofiles n the edges f aworkoiece r cut one or both halvesof anlnterlockng oint. Edge-formingbits generally ave ball-bearing ilotlocated elow he cutter hat rides alongthe edge f the workpiece o guide hebit and precisely ontrol he width ofthe cut. As heir name mplies, roov-ing bits (page 18)are designed o cutgrooves nd dadoes, nd work best na plunge outer. The bits shown on page19 are arger ha n standard its andshould e used with the outer mount-ed n a router able.

Many router bits are expensive, ostore hem carefi.rllyndusea clean lothto wipe off pitch,dust, and dirt after

each se.Keep

he cutting edges harpand avoid sing its hat are dirty, ust-ed, or damaged.

Many decorative moldingbits are too big to be used safely n ahand-held outer. But with the ool mounted n a router able,these arge bits can ransform al/z-inch router nto a mini-shaper.

IllilllllI1fi lttlt lllll}llllflllt]ltlltll llllll ll1HO? TI?Freeing stuak router bite?ryin7 etuckbi t out o tLhe colletwilha melal oo lis a sure way o dama7e i

LhecuiLin7ed7eo. beI- | ,Ler method o o lap the Ibody of the bit, with a wood i'ocraV. eharV Napor Nwo IwillfreemoeN Nuck hanks. iAvoid Lriking arbidecu|tinq edgee e f,hiema y

ii'il:x;z,i,",y:xnofiduet ouI of r,he ollel. ;

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ROUTER ASICS

EDGE.FORMINGITS

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ROUTER ASICS

GR00V[{G|TS

Core box bitTh ee wing alotti ng c utter

ffiDovetail bit

Illlll lt-llll'lflf"lll"fifll-fit.ll.ffill I} llllttll l1HO? TI?Chip-limitation bitsForwida ute, chiplimilationbitrs raa safer alhernaiivetoNhe Nandarddeoiqn.The utlere on heee bite pro-Nrude rom the bit body

by only1/rc

inoh-compared to thel/s-inch ypical ofetandard biie. Dy akinq a shallowerbihe, he bits plaoe ess strain on herouter molor.' n addiNion, he bodies fchip-limilalion its are virLually olid,with only 1/s-inch apbeWeenlhe ut-tinq edqe and he bit body o allow oreharpeninq near i6ht); Nhis educeelhe riek of kickbaok, fLencaused by Nhelarqer 6ap of slandard bile (far right).

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ROUTER BASICS

ROUTERABTEITS

Tradit'ionalmolding bit

Vertical panel-raieing bit

-I a a It = = l

t 9


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ACCESSORIES

1t h. accessoriesllustrated t right areI a sample f some ommercial igs

and devices hat make he router one ofthe most versatile ools n the workshoo.Some f these roducts, ike he oo tswitch,make he ool more convenient,especially or models with an On/offswitch hat cannot be reached whileholding he handles. f you use such adevice, owever, e sure o disconnect tfrom the tool when you are changingbit or performing nyothermaintenance.

Other accessories,uch s he vacuumattachment. ake he router a cleanerand safer ool. This attachment hisksaway he sawdust nd chips expelled ythe router bit and directs hem o yourdust collection ystem.

Other accessoriesefine he outer'scutting capabilities. he circleguidesimplifies utting circles, hile emplateguides llowyou to duplicate he pro-fileof a temolate. fewof the deviceson the marliet are designed o trans-form the outer nto another ool alto-gether. he plate oiner conversion itgives ou he ease nd precision fbis-cuit oinery without he expense f buy-ing a new ool, while he urning ig setsuD a router or lathe work. But unlikean actual athe, which spins he workfor handcrafting, his accessory ea -tures a manual crank or rotating heworkpiece hile he spinning outerbit shapes he wood,

A RANGE FROUTERCCESSORIES

Moldin7 igFor cuttin7 moldinqa;router ia fastenedupri7ht in i7 thatie moved lonqaurface ofworkpiece

Vaauum ttachment'Drawa away aawduat andwood chips. ne end attacheto tool Daae plate; other encan be hooked p to duet cIection aystem, Compatiblewith only certain models

Plate oineraonveraion kitAllows outer to cut. efor plate or biocuit otsody ofji6 attachea router baae plate; kincludea compreaaewood biacuita and thrwinqolottinT cutter

@ry@

Universal baaeFor attachin4 acceeeorieeto router or mountinq oo lin router table; alote makebaae compatible with anyrouter model

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ROUTER BASICS

Offset router baaeHelpe keep outer flaton workpiece while out'in7 edqea

Router padA clampsubstitute; rubberized atholdastock n place on workaurface

Depth gaugeUeed o set cuttina depth of bit;features a serieo of otepo in1/+-inchincrementa rom 7a nch o 1 nch

5paaer fence-----'\

)ecured Lo router table to cut finaer or boxjointa: bit extenda hrouqh hole; idge eerveoae a key, enaurinq ll notchea are equaldiatanoe aparL

Cirale igFor routing circles, Kouter iaattached to wide end while nar-row end a acrewed o workpiece;jiq pivote around aenter of circle

g e e eTemplate guideaUaed or pattern routing: ridealon4 emplaLe, llowin4 it toreplicate pattern, Sized for differ'ent-diamher bita, threaded partta eecured o router base platewith ring Foot EwitahFor turnin7 router on and off

without uainq ool'a awitch;allowa operator to koep bothhands on router handlea

TurnlnggTransforma outer nto athe-like ool forturnin7, Router a faatened o plate that alidea alonqraila; bit.contacte workpiece which a held n plaoebetween headatock and tailatock and rotated by hand

Allowa variable control of routermotor apeed; uadul whenueinq ar7-er bita that call for reduced pm

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SETTING P

I router annot ut with precisionA unless t is properly etup andmaintained. hanging bit, or exam-ple, hould e donewithcare-both oavoiddamaging he cuttingedges ndto ensure hat he bit is not sent lyingwhen he ool s urnedon. u shown nthe photo at right, use he wrenchessupplied ith he ool o remove ndinstall its.

If a bit becomes tuck n the collet,gently trike he bodyof the bit with awoodscrap page 6)or tap he colletwitha wrench. o not ryto extract hebit from he colletwithpliers; hiswilldamagehecutting dge. efore nstallinga newbit, clean ny sawdust rom hecollet. nsert he eplacement ll heway

SETTINGHECUTTINGEPTHAdjustingstandardouterSet he outer n he workpiece .orthe mode l hown, oosen h e c l a m pscrew nd urn he depth djustmentknob o ra ise r ower he motor ndthe b i t .Al ignhe ip o f he b i twi th

the depth ine , hen ighten he clampscrew right).Alternatively,et herouter pside own na work urface,loosenhe clamp crew nd otate hedepth djustment nob nti l he bi tprotrudes y he proper mount.

into hecollet, aise t aboutXunch,atighten t in place.

Thecollet s one outer omponthatmayeventually eed o be eplacPeriodicallyheck ourcollet or bit spage page23) nd unout (pageandchange t ifnecessary.

Installing bit on most outers s atwo-wrench peration. With the baplate removed, ne wrench holds hshaft teady hile he other oosens hcollet.Position he wrenches o heycan be squeezed ogether oprovideextra everage.

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ROUTER BASICS

llit lllmll1lll llt iI]lll illlll lll lll lltlll lll lll lll lll9HO7 Tl?Cheaking colletfor elippageTo deLermine hether our ouNer iLe re olip-pinq nNhe ollel, nstalla biN nd marka linewitha felLpen alonq he bit ehank nd colleLThenmake few cuts on a ecrazboard nd examine he line. hemarks on Nhe iLand co l l e tshould be perfectly l iqned.It Nhey ave shifLedaparX,Lhebi l has eliooed n hecolleL. emove'the it andclean any pitch or sawdustouN f the aolleN iLhaf ne bristled braes b uoh.Reinstall he iN,makinqoure N e well iqhtened,and rebeel. Reolace he col'le| if the mark]s hilNaaatn.

AdjustingplungeouterSet he outer n he workpiecendrotate he urret too n he outer aseto positionhe shortest top c rew irect-lyunder he depth top a r. oosenhedep th top a r l amp o re leasehebar nd eat t on he stop crew. henloosenhe plunge ock ever nd pushthe motor own nti l he bitcontactsthe workpiece.ightenhe ever ndraise he stop ar until he gapbetweenit and he stop crew quals he depthof cul (above, eff).Tighten he depthstop ar lamp nd oosenhe plungelock ever, l lowinghe motor ndbi tto sp r ing ack p . When ou lungethe bit nto he stock, t wi l lpenetrateunti l he depth top ar ontacts hestop crew. or eep u ts, t is best oreach our inal epth n stages. etthe height f he other wo top crewsto make asses t ntermediateepthsby ooseninghe nutwitha wrench ndra i s ing r ower inghe sc rew i thscrewdriverabove, ight).

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BASICCUTS

l/ ickback nd earout re lvopoten-N tialhazards frouter peration, utthe iskof both canbe nearly liminat-ed by using correct echnique. ithexperience,ouwill develophe confi-dence nd skill hatproduce onsistent-ly superior esults.

Alwavsecure ourstock o he worksurface,'usingoodpads o protect tfrom he clampaws. hiswill eave othhands ree o guide he outer.

Grip the router irmly, pulling tthrough he work ather han pushingit. Kickbacksmost ikely o occurwhenyou irstcontact hestock, obe certainof yourcontrol t hat ime. Beespe-ciallyalert o the danger f kickbackwhen ou are using iloted itswithlarge utter lades.

Whenusing iloted its,be certainthatyouhold he pilotbearing irmlyagainst he workpiece dge t all imes.Non-piloted itsdemand hatyouusean edge uide. or a commercial dge-guideaccessory, old he guide irmlyagainstheworkas ou eed t forward;if you are using clamped-on dg eguide, eep he outer ressed gainstthe guide or he ength f the cut.

Thedirection f eed s mportant nmaintaining ontrol f he ool. Asa n:le,the outer hould emoved gainst hedirection f the bit's otation, r fromleft o rightwhen acing heworksedge(see llustration t right).Applysteadypressure o the ool so he bit is alwaysiuttingnewwood.fyoumove ooslow-ly, rictionwill cause urnmarks n hework; oo ast, nd youwill experiencedamagingearout.

Bepatient s ouwork,making ev-eralsmall uts ather han one or twohealypasses. hisway, earout ausedby one cutwill be epaired y he next.

Here nd on he ollowing ages resome ipson safe, ure se f he outer.

.) i{ . - -n 'f ruehwithoneedqe, - -4$, I

of the i4,and drill .- -holeuiioldlhepin.lner,ald'VatoanderirlAlommervialeNand,

a1ainot NhebelL, ntil he plaoNic utrace e rue,

ROUTEREED IRECTI()N

+-

Feedinghe outerFormost perations,uide he bit nto workpiecegainsthe directionf bit otation;thiswi l lpul l he bit nto hewood. n an outside dge, ove he outer n a counter-clockwiseirection;nan nside dge, eed he ool lockwiseabove), tart ith ut sthatare gainst hegrain oyou an liminate ny earout ith he cuts long hegrainthat ollow. ositionourselfo pull he outeroward ou, atherhan ushinghe ool.

ltf1tt-1ll$Pilf1tr1tf-"ffilril$r'll"flI"Illlfl}"fil'll|Ilt1HO? TI?

fruing a roul,er aub-baeeA rouler oub-base hat isnol concenl,ric ith hecollet can resultin imprecioe uto,Tocorrec,ltheproblem, oe aplywoodiruinqi6as shown.lnstal la cenlerinq pin n :: .Nhe outer,pooi- .ffitionthe ub-base -. . . ' "

then clamp his device nd he iq to a workou*ace, ueinqshimo o ooeilion Nhe outer sub'baee evel with he sand-in6 belL. urnon he sander and olowlyoLale he sub-baoe

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ROUTER BASICS

STRAIGHTOUTING

Using piloted itClamp he stock o a work urface iththeedge ouwish o shape xtendingoff he able y a few nches. r ippingthe outer ithboth ands, est ts basepla te n he workpiecetone nd withthe bi tc lear f hewood. urn n hetooland ease he bit nto he workoieceunti l he pilot ontactshe edge, eep-ing he base la te la ton he tock ndthe pilot lush gainsthe stock above).For eep uts,make woor more assesto each our ina l epth.

Routing ith non-piloteditInstall commercialdge uide n he outer, nsertingheguide ods nto he predrholesn he ool's ase late. djusthe guide o he gap etweenhe bitand he gufence qualshe width f cut.To make he cut,clamp he stock oyour ork urfaThen, eepinghe guide ence lush gainsthe edge o be shaped, tart hecutat onendof he workpiecenddraw he outer longhe edge above).

lll lll illlllllllllill llllltlt lll llilltlll lltllllltgHo? Tt? -+iT-equare outer guideTomodify draftinqT-equare nto an edqe uidefor groovinq uto, clamp t,lo a scrao board wilhiLs crosspiece uNtedaqain6t , he board dqe.Then, wi lh lhe rout ,erbaee p laLe id inq lonqlhe arm of the eoLuare,rout a dado acroee heboard and rim the crobo-

i,e9Viece.To ee he iq ,c lamp INoIhe workViece ith he cut edgeof Ihe croeepiece l iqnedwiLhNhe uttinq mark on Nhe tock.

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ROUTERBASICS

A SHOP-MADEUB-BASEWith ts straight dge nd argesurface,he shop-made ub-baseshown t right nsures hatyourrouter i ll emain quare o an edgeguide lampedo he workpiecewhile ou out series f equallysoaced adoes.

Using%-inch lywood,ut hesub-base bout 0 nches ide nd13 nches ong. aper he sides o

the end hat ides long he edgeguide s wider. raw l ine downthe center f he sub-base. tartingnear hewide nd f he ig,markrow f points or bitclearance oles;space he points inches part. orea hole t each mark;make ure t islarge nough oryour argest traightbit.Unscrewhe standard ub-basefrom our outer nd align ts centerwitheach f he bitclearance olesto mark he screw oles n he sub-

base. hen or e hese oles.

Touse he rg, crewt to herouter ase late o he bit passesthroughhe irsthole ear he wideend.Alignhe bitwith he cuttingmark or he irst dado n he work-piece, henbuttan edge uide gainst

the ub-base nd lamp t in place.

Rout he dado, eepinghe ub-base laton he stock nd lushagainsthe edge uide. nscrewhesub-base rom he outer nd eat-tach t so he bitorotrudesrom heappropriate ole nd epeat o cut

the next dado below).

Dtt clearance hole

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ROUTER ASICS

A HINGEDDGE UIDE

1 MakingheguideI Althoughhe distancerom he ce

terof he outer it o he base-plate disconstant,ememberhat he distanfrom he bit 's cutting dge o the baplate dge illchange ith he diameof each i t , and posi t ionour utt inl ines ccordingly.r ,youmaywant make everal inged uides, ach o bused i th a speci f ic i t .Bui l t romVinch{hicktock,he guide an e alignwitha cuttingmark n a workpiecensimply lampedn place . ut he ixepart syouwould standard uide,

bevel he op of one edge o allow hehinged iece o pivot , ut he hingesection o ts width quals he distanbetweenhe bit 's utting dge nd heedge f he outer ase late.With heends ligned nd edges utted ogethfasten he wo pieces f heguide sinbutt hinges /eft),

r) Usinghe guide1 fo make dado ut , set he edgeguide nyour orkpiecend ineup heedge f he hinged ection ith he cuttingmark. lamp he xed ect ionn place.Then l ipup he hinged ect ion nd outthe channel, eepinghe outer ase lateflushagainst he ixed piece right).

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ROUTERTABLES

I lthough our outer s a remarkablyA versatileool. ts usefulness an beextended ven urther by mounting tin a able. Stationary outing rees ourhands o feed tock nto the bit, allowingyou o exert greater ontrolover he cut-tingoperation. ince lpical router itspins t 20,000 pm or faster, his extramargin of safety s a welcome enefit. naddition, ome its should nlybeusedon a table-mounted outer. These it shave arge uttingheads hat exert ighforces gainst he workpiece, equiringan extra measure f control.

A router able allows he router oemulate ts arger ousin, he shaper, ymakingmoldings nd aising anels-tasks hat few woodworkers wouldattemptwith a hand-held ool. n fact,router able s an excellent ubstitute ora light-dutyshaper, nd commercialmodels re availablen many sizes ndconfigurations. ost ables ave guardto cover he bit and an adjustable encefor guiding stock nto the cut. f youwould ike a customized able, ou caneasily uild your own following hedesigns eginning n page 1.

Cutting depth on a router tabledepends n how far the bit protrudesabove he work surface, hile he widthof cut s determined y how much ofthe bit extends eyond he ence. Oncommercialtables,he ence s usuallysplit.The wo halves re normally eftin alignment or partial uts.When ouare outing he ull edge f a workpiece,however, tart with the ences ligned,but then stoD he cut a few nches ntoit. Advance he outfeed ence o t touch-es he cut portion, hen complete heoperation. his will preventmaking aconcave ut-or((5nips)'-21 he end ofthe piece.

tic Viece, exN crew heVlaeuic nto Lhe r""uu, 1l

Mounted upside down in a specially designed able, a routercuts a dado. Anaching a backup board to the miter gaugehelps eep he work square o the bit and reduces earout.

l l l l l l l i l i t l l l l l ll i l r r i li l r i l r r i i l l il r l l l l r r i l t l l l i i l i r t illi itl lll l$ Ul itl itltll Ul l$ {L ru ur ru lr r..r,rir rii

1HO? Tt?A router able on the table eawTo make he most of the eVace n a emall ehop, uild rouLer ableintoyour able saw'e xNeneionable. KouL 1/+-inch-dee?eceo;inNohe LoV f he extrensionable and cut,a Viece f

1/+-inch-LhickacrylicVlaolic o fit into Lhe depreeeion. rill a hole n he cenNerof the Vlaolicarqer han our biqgeeN ouf,er it,WiLh saber saw,cuLa hole n he recese o accommodaLeyour oufer'o aoe plate.Thenremove he base Vlale rom NheNool nd 6crew lto lhe plae-

counlereink ll he fasLen-ere.Reallach he routerLoNhebaee plate.Afencefor he rouler able canbe culfrom plywood ndatNached o Nhe aw encewhen eceeeary.

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ROUTER ASICS

SHOP.MADEOUTERABLESAnextensionouterableAttachedo a workbench,he compact

router able hown t eft can be easilyremoved hen t is not needed. ize heparts ccordingo your eeds. tart ycutting he op rom7a-inch lywood,and he ai ls ndbraces rom2-by-4stock. aw he ails few nches ongerthan he width f he op so hey an befastened o he underside f he work-bench sing ing nuts nd hanger olts(left,above). he hinged races houldbe ong nough o reach rom he under-side f he a i l s o a legstretcher n

the bench. uta bevel t he op endof he braces nda right-angled otch tthe bottom nd. The outer s attachedto he op witha square ub-base f12 -inch lear crylic. everal teps renec-essary o it the sub-base o he op an dthen o he o uter. irst, lamp he sub-base o he center f he op and outlineitsedges itha pencil.Markhe centero f he sub-base nd r i l l p i lo t o l ethrough he acrylic nd he op. Removethe sub-base nd out ut a 7a-inch-deeo

recess i thin he outl ine. hen, s ingthe pilothole s a center, ut a roundhole hrough he op o accommodateyour outer's ase late. o prepare hesub-base, r i l la hole hroughts centerthat s slightly arger han your argestrouter it, hen asten he sub-base othe outer singmachine crews. et hesub-basen he able ecess ndattachit withwood crews; ountersinkl l hefasteners. or fence, ut wo pieces f3/c-inchlywood ndscrew hem ogether

in an L shape; dd riangular upportsas shown n page 3. Saw notch utof the ence's ottom dge arge noughforyour argest it.Attach clear emi-circular lastic uard itha hinge o allowitto be lipped utof he way. o use herouter able, lamp he ence n positionand eed he workpiecento he bit,hold-ing t flushagainst he ence left,below).

3 I


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ROUTER BASICS

ASHOP.MADEOUTERTABLVCABINETBui l t n t i re lyrom /a- inchlywood,the able hown elow l lows ou ouse our outer s a stationary old-ing, haprng, ndgroovingool. t fea-tures spacious ableiop i tha s lotfora miter auge, nadjustableence,

a storage helf, nd upboa rds. tartwi ih he basic t ruc ture f he able,s iz inghe bottom, ides, ack, he l fand doors o suit your eeds. ixthese ar ts ogether, s ing he oin-erymethod fyour hoice. he ableshowns assembled ithbiscuitoints.Bore hole hroughhe back anel o

accommodatehe outer's ower oFor he op , u t wo p i e c e s f p lywood nd use lue nd crews o aten hem ogether;he pieces hobe arge nough o overhanghe sidby2 or 3 i nches. ut he dividerf i t be tweenhe op and he she lthen x hem n place.

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ROUTERBASICS


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ROUTER ASICS

m ^

A SURFACINGIGUsed ith he igshown bove, ourrouter ecomes surfacingool orlarge ieces f rough tock. uiltfrom7+-inch lywood,he igcon-sists f a track or he outer ha tslides longwo unners ixed o aworkable. ut he unners inches

wide nd ong nough o span hetable. asten he unnerso he ableusing ngle rackets; ake he spacebetweenhe unners ufficientor hewidest tock ouwillsurface. heslidingrack onsists f sixpieces.The ourpieces hat support herouter hould e3 inches ide nd

long nough o overhanghe unnersbya few nches n each ide. Screwthese iecesogethern an L shape,Cut he shoulders bout incheswide nd 12 nches ong nd crewthem o he outer upports o heshoulders lide gainsthe outsideof he unners; ake he slidingtrack3/qnchwider han he outerbase late.

To use he ig,set he workpieceto be surfaced n he ablebetweenthe unners nd ecure t in place ithdouble-sidedaoe r cleats ailedothe able. nstall %-inch-diamet erstraight it n he outer nd eat hetool n he slidingrack. ower he bituntil t contactshe owest oint nthe surface. tarting t one end oftheworkpiece,old he outer irmlyand urn t on. Slide he ool longone of he vert ical upports ndback long he other ne o make1%-inch-wideass, hen advancethe slidingrack long he unners(left).Makesmany asses sneces-sary t successive epths longhelength f he workpiece ntil t isevenly urfaced.


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EDGEFORMNGheshaped dge faworkpieceoftenprovides he inal, in-

ishing ouch: a crown moldingadorning narmoire op, a crisp

bevel n a raised anel, n ogee utaround heedge fa tabletop. hesedecorativelourishes ere nce re-ated ainstakingly y hand, usingplanes ndspokeshaves;odaytheyare nvariablymadewith an arrayofelectric oodworkingools, hiefamong hem he portable outer.Thischapter utlines oth basicand advanced dge-formingech-niques, rom pattern outing omakingmolding.

Stationary ower oolssuchasthe ointerand able aw an cut rabbets, nd he able awcanalso hape ecorative dges, ut he outer s he most er-satile, fficientool or the ob.Utilizingawide ange f nter-changeable utters,t can alsomake uts hat are mpossibleto performwith any other power ool; magine ormingadeCorativeead round he nside f a circular icture ramewithouta router.

Commercial ccessoriesndshop-made igsexpand heroutert ability o shape dges till urther.A simple orner-

Edge-formingbi*oftenhaveball-bearing ilots hatride along he stock o maintain uniformcutterdepth.Here,a double-flutedbeadingbit arves decorativeprofilearound he circumference f a tabletop.

Combiningthe olidity faPlanerwith the versatility fa shaper he molding

planer s capable f assembly-lineypeproduction f many ypes f molding

from straight o curved.

rounding ig (page 1)can oundtabletops r shelveso yourspeci-fications. flush-trimming uideQage 3)helps ou rim solidwood

edge anding ppliedo core tock.A veneer rimmer page 4)proveshandy or preparing eneer orbook-matching.

Mounting he router n a tableor pin routingattachment nablesyou o createmore complex dgeprofiles ndelaborate urves.t alsoprovides he stability eeded orraising anels page 7),an edge-formingechniquehatcanalso eaccomplishedn he able aw, adi-

al arm saw, nddrillpress.Thepin router s perhaps he ultimate hop ool or com-plexedge-formin tu;ls (page 8). ssentiallyn nverted outertable, he ool eatures pinprojectingrom he abletop irect-ly under hebit alongwhich he stocksguided, aking he oolideal or emplate ork A shop-made inroutingattachmentiseasilybuilt ndadaptableo most ommercial outer ables(page 3).Remember,oo, hatnot all edge ormingmustbedonewittra outer. y nstalling molding ead n he able awor radial rm sawyou an outdetailed oldings page 3).


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EDGE FORMING

USING TEMPLATEUIDE

1 Installing emplate uideI Loosenhe clamo crew n he outerbase la te nd emove he plate. nsertthe hreaded art f he emplate uideth roughhe hole n he midd le f hesub-base right),hen crew n he ock-ing ing o hold he wo ogether. he iam-eter f he emplate uide hould e asclose o hat of he bitas possible i th-out ouchinghe cutting dges. eassemblethe outer.

r) Makinghe cutL Prepare template hat s s l ight lysma l l e rhan he n i shed iece o com-pensate or he difference etweenhebitdiameter nd he diameter f he em -plate uide. astenhe emplate top heworkpiece ithdcuble-sidedape, henclamp he wo pieces o a work urface.Cut he pattern syouwould itha pilot-ed bi t , eedinghe cutter nto he stockuntil he emplate uide ontactshe em-plate. ompletehecut,making ure ha tthe guide s pressed gainsthe edge fthe pattern hroughouthe operation /eft).


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EDGE FORMING

UNDERSIDEIEWAC0R]{ER-R0UtrlDll{GIGEasy nd nexpensiveo build, hecorner-roundingigat eft works swellas he commercialersion hownon he previousage. he igconsistsof a plywood ase nd wo ips hatkeep he edges f he igand he work-piece ligned.

Cut he base rom a pieceof 3/+-inchplywood. ormost obs, baseabout 0 nches ide nd 16 ncheslongwillbe adequate. rawhe curveyouwish o rout on he base ear necorner,henmake he cutwitha bandsaw r a saber aw; and he edgesmooth. ou an also ut he cornerusing router ttached o a circle-cuttingguide page 9).

Cut he ips rom tock% inchthick nd 1% nch es ide, hen ai lor screw he pieces o the base, eav-ingabout to 4 inches etween achlipand he ounded orner. he opedge f he ipsshould e lush withthe op surface f he base.

To use he ig,set your tock n awork urface ith he corner o berounded xtending ff he able yseveralnches. lace he igon opof he workpieceo he ips arebuttedagainst he edges f he stock.Useclamps o secure he wo pieces othe work urface. ake he cut asyouwould itha commercialig,pres+ing he bit'spilotagainsthe edge fthe ig throughoul \eft,bottom).


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EDGE FORMING

CUTTINGNDTRIMMINGLASTICAMINATES

O Insta l l ingnd rimminghe aminateL Clue he banding nto he edges ftheworkpiecend lamphepanel dge-up . Removehe edge u ide rom hetrimmer nd nsta l lhe ub-base ndf lush-cut t ingi t .Use he ool o rim nybandinghat prolects eyondhe edgesof he workpiece.epeatoglue nd rimedging n he ends f hepanel . luehetop aminaten olace ext. o rim t lushwrth he edges, old he r immer rmlywi th ne and nd u i d ehe oo l l o ngtheworkpieceright).To ake n nteriorcut o match cutoutn he panel , lampt h e p a n e l o h e w o r k u r f a c e .n s t a l la pilot anel i t n he rimmer nd lungethebit 's harpenedip nto he sheet opiercet , hen eed he r immer nt i lhep i l o t on tac t she edge f he cu tou t .Makingure hat he pi lotemainslushaga ins theedge f he cu tou t i n se t ) ,c n m n l p i p f h p e r t

'l Cuttingtrips f edgingI Use aminate r immer i th commercia l dge uideo cutst r ips f eding rom sheet f aminate. he uiensureshat he width f each trio suniform.t tachheguide o he rimm(on hemodel hown,he rimmer's ubase s emoved nd he edge uidefastenedo he ool 's ase la te) ;headlusthewidth fcut ol lowinghemufacturer'snstructions.nstall straigb i t n he r immer nd l amp he heto a work ur face, sing board o keethe sheet at . With he bitc lear f hsheet . ta r t he ut at one nd.Holdthe rimmer ith ne and, eed he otowardhe opposite nd; se our thehand o pressheguide lush ga instho d sp n f i h p sh c p t / / p f f )


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EDGE FORMING

A FLUSH-TRIMMINCIGThe igshown t right llows ou ouse non-piloted traight it o rimsolid dge anding ushwith he opand bottom urfaces f a panel.Designedo be screwedo he ool'ssub-base,he ig eatures woguidepins hat idealong he outside ac eof he banding hilehe end f hebi t r ims he banding.

To make he ig,cut he base rom\/z-inch lywoodnd he body rom3/q-inchlywood. ake he widthofboth ieces qual o he diameter fyour outer ase late; ut he bodyabout 2 nches ong nd he base8 inches ong . se he oo l ' s ub-base s a template o cut he curveat one nd f he igbody. lso uta 3-inch-diameterole hroughhebody o clear he bi t ,but eavesection ithin he circleo house heguide ins. utone nd f he ig

base o a point, hen crew he baseto he igbody; ountersinkhe as -teners. ore wo7a-inch-diameterholes hroughhe wedge n he body

andglue woshort en$hs f dowelsin he holes; ositionhe holes o hebitwill ineup directlyverhe edgeof he banding ith he guide insflush gainsthe stock. ocompletethe ig,cut a engh of dowel orahandle nd crew t to he body.

To use he ig,attach he outer'ssub-base o the bodywithscrews.Instal l straight i t n he ool ndadjust he cutting epth o he ipof he bit s evelwith he bottom fthe ig base. lamp our tock oa work urface, rotectingt withawood ad, With he bitclear f heworkpiece,urnon he outer ndset he ig base n he op of hestock. utting heguide ins gainstthe outside urface f he banding,guide he outer long he op edge,trimminghe banding left).Applydownward ressure n he handlethroughouthe operationo keep herouter rom ipping.

@ Jig baee

O


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EDGE FORMING

AVENEER.TRIMMIl{GUIDETrim heets f veneero width uick-lyand accurately n a router ablewith he igshown t right. he eneerls sandwiched etweenhe base ndtop of the ig; he base ides longthe pilot fa flush-cuttingit,whichcuts he veneer lushwith he edgeof the ig (right,middle).

Cut he base rom1%-inch-thickstock nd he oo rom %-inch-thickstock.Makehe pieces bout inch-es wide; he base hould e a fewinches ongerhan our outer able,and he op ong nougho cover heveneer. hoose board ith a slightbow or he op, f possible; ith hebow acing own, pplyinglampingpressure ear he ends f he boardwi l l l a t t en t , p roduc ing n i fo rmpressure gainst he base. crewtoggle lamps o the base o he opwill it betweenhem.

To prepare our outer able or heoperation,nstallhe biton he outer

and mount he ool n he able. uta guard roma piece f stock, aw-inga notch rom one edge o formalip hatwillcoverhe cutter. lampthe guard o he able,

To use he ig,place he veneer obe rimmed etween he base ndthe opso he grain f he veneerspara l le lo hat

of he boards. heedges f he sheets hould rotrudefrom he igbyabout% inch,Pressthe oggle lamps own n he opto secure he veneer heets o thejig.Turn n he outer nd lidehejigacross he able o cut he veneer(left), eepingthe ig pressed gainstthe pilot hroughouthe operation.


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EDGEFORMING

UNDERCUTTINGURVEDDGES

llltlltlll lt llllll llllll lll ljllll lll llllll llllll llllll1HO? t?A ffueh-trim ming devioeYoudo nol have o buya laminat'e rim-mer o t r im lamina le dae band inaapplied, lo oreetock. heoimVle om- / zmercial evice hown ere oee Nhe /iobwtlh a coup le f emallbladee 'u .,

Using shop-madeemplateuideThis echniquenablesou o undercutthe pe r ime te rfa c i rcu la r o rkp ieceusing straight i t .Tomake heguide,cut a bevel crosshe ace f a woodblock. akehewidth f he guide qualto he distance etweenhe bitand heedge f he outer ub-base. aw wo ri-angular ontact oints inch part nthe guide 's utside dge inset): l socu t a no tch u t o f he ns ide dge o

accommodatehe bi t . nsta l l straightbit n he outer nd crewhe tg o herouter's ase. lamp emplate top heworkpieceo hat he distance etweenthe emplate nd he workpiece 'sdgeis he ame s hat betweenhe bitandthecontact oints f heguide. akehecut (above),eepinghe contact ointsf ush gainst he emplate hroughoutthe operation. eposit ionhe emplateas necessaryo inishhe ut .

conlained n a oprinq-mounLed 1houoinq. queeze he wo halvee ;of LheNool oqelher unti lNhey ifiLenuqly 1ainot , heworkpiece Iand hen draw he device rom i--one end of trheboard o the , / t lo rhe r. he b ladee wi l lL r im / /away any exceee andina. , / f /leavinq ou wiih perfectly / /fluehedqee,


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EDGE FORMING

JOINTINGlNA ROUTERABTE

Fence humbacrew

Jointingnedge

Install straight it n he outer ith acutting dge ongerhan he hicknessof yourworkpiece,ndmount he oolina routerable. o emove o nch fwood rom our tock-a ypical mountwhen ointing-adjusthe positionf hefence ora cutof hat amount. aketest ut n a scrap oard, hen nplugthe outer ndhold he board n placeagainsthe ence. oosen he outfeedfence humbscrewsndadvanceheoutfeed al funti l t butts ga insthe

cut partof he board above,eft).Tight-en he humbscrews. utt he workoieceagainsthe ence few nches ack romthe bitand hen lowlyeed he boardinto he cutter, eeping our and learof he bitand pressinghe workpiecef rmlyagainst he ence above, ight).Apply ide ressureust o he outfeedside f he bit.For arrow tock,inishthe utwi th oush t ick.

lhe board Lo be jointed and clamp he piecee o a work-benah with he eAge of the board rotrudinq trom the quide'eedqe by abouLllo nch. Feed he rout er from one end of rheboardloihe oLhecthe ilo|will idealonqthe uide ethecutter Lrime he board lush.

lll ll ll |ll"illlltl IJllt{lll |l|ltlllll|l]ltlllll1HO? TI?Joinling wide boardelfyou have oarde ha|are Loocumbergomelo move across hejointer,you an under-take he Iask with arouter and a pefiecLlv

6quare dLeLutae.lnslall a 1/z-inchloo-piloled lueh-trimminqbit in a router wiLha1/z-in h c oll N,7o iti onthe edqe guideaIoV


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RAISINGPANELS

I rame-and-panelconstructions aI clever ay of getting round he actthat wood shrinks and swells withchanges n humidity. The principle ssimple:The panel floats"within theframe, sitting n grooves ut around tsinsideedges. utting a bevel round heedge of the panel allows he piece o fitinto the grooves n the rame and givesa decorative raised" effect o the mainpart ofthe panel.

Traditionally, anels ere aised withspecial lanes hat featured ngled ndprofiled utters nd soles. hatjob could

Panels an be aised n a num-ber of stationary woodworkingtools; table aw with a tiltingarbor workswell.An auxiliarywood ence makes he ob saferand more ccurate.

require ours of arduous ork, espe-cially f the wood wasdense, uch s oak,maple, r cherry. oday ou can aisepanels n the able saw, adial arm sawdrillpress, nd shaper.

Panel aising s often done on therouter ablewith one of several pecial-ly designed outer bits (page \).Thesecutters an handle tockup to % inchthick,but the bits'large iameter-ti?-ically3t/z nches-can make he work-piece ifficult o control. f you plan odo a ot of panel aising, onsider uild-ing a ig for the task page 50).

Since aising anels nvolves emovalofa good dealofstock, t is best not toattempt o make he cut n one pass.Instead, ake a series f partialpasses,increasing he depth of cut graduallyeach ime,until the panel s % nch hickat he edges r fits snugly n the groovescut n the rame.

POPUTAR AISED ANET ESIGNS

Eeveled panel raiaed from frame Ogee beveled panel

Beveled panel fluah with frame

Beadeaesaed panel with rabbete


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EDGEFORMING

Using non-p i lo tedvert ical anel-rais ingitI n h i s o p e ra t i o n ,h e p a n e l i l l b e e da c r o s s h e b i t n a n u p r ig h t o s i t i o n , oy o u mu s t a t t a c h h i g h a u x i l i a ry o o dfence right) .Make he fence about 8inches igh ndcut a no tch n he middleto accommodate he b i t . For h is cut , hecu t t ing ep th epends n he amount yw h ic h h e b i t p ro t ru d e s ro m h e e n c e .T n h o si n s . p f h p f p n . p f n r a / o - i n n h d p n t h

n f c r r i To c . p c r r r p h p n 2 n ^ l ^ l ^ - ^ ^ { ^ ^ + LL r u p u r ' t r 1 . U l o l l l P d l t r d L l l -

erboard o he tahle' est he eatherboardo n a s h rm o k e e p h e p a n e l ro m i l t i n gas you un t pas t he bit . Feed he pane lwithyour igh t andwhile ressing t f a tagainst he fence with your efl (below).Cut he op and bottom f h e panel irs t ,then he s ides . ack he ence rom hebit no more han /a inch at a time or ur-th e r. e e p e r a s s e s n t i l h e p a n e l i t sinto he groove.

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EDGE FORMING

3 /+"x22"x24 ' l

A PAI{EI.RAISII{GIGThe hop-madeig at r ight l lowsyou o raise anels ithoutmountingyour outer n a table. eaturingtiltingable nda ence o which herouter s attached, he ig s securedto a workbenchai lvise . hispro-vides safe, ccurate ay o millawide ange f profiles.

Cutall he pieces f he ig rom3h-inch lywood;he dimensions

suggestedn he llustration illworkwel lwith he ypica l orkbench.Start ssemblinghe ig byscrewingthe brackets o the underside fthe able t one end. Cutadjust -ment slots hrough he arms, he nbolt he op ends f he arms o thebrackets nd he bottom nds othe fence using anger olts, ash-ers, nd wing uts.Attach he ableto he ence witha piano inge osi-tioned bout inches elow he op

of he ence. o prepare he enceforyour oLrter,ore hole us tabove he able evel hat willaccom-

modate our argest ertical anel-ra is ing it .Screw he guard o he

fence bovehe hole. ina l ly,uta notch nto he bottom ndof thefence o clear he vise crew.

To use he ig,secure t in he viseso he able s at a comfortable ork-

ingheight. nstall Vz-inch erticalpanel-raisingit n he outer, he nscrew he base late o the enceso he bitprotrudesrom he hole.Adjustinghe bit ora shallow ut ,turn on he router nd make testcut n a scrap iece. o adjust hebevel ngle,urnoff the ool, oosenthe wingnuts ecuring he arms othe ence nd i l t the able p ordown.As on he router able, utthe bevels n he ends f the panel

before hose n he sides. eed hepanel cross he able ace-up left),keeping our ingers lear f hebit.Test-fit he panel nd ncreasethe cut t ing epth y % inch ora second ass.

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EDGE FORMING

RAISING ANELS)NTHEDRILT RESS

TITTINGABTEIG

' l Setting p he igI F i t t ed i t h p lane r ead nd t i l t i ng ab le ig ,a d r i l lp re ss an a i se ane l s u i c k l ynd a fe ly.ns t a l lhe p lane rh e a d n h e h u c k , d j u s t i n gh e m a c h i n e ' sr i l l i n gp e e dto he se t t i ng pec i f i ed y he accessory ' s anufac tu re r.For he ig ,cut he base nd op rom %-inch lywood,nd ointhepieces i thbutt hinges above,eft) .CUI he arms om1-by-2 iock , hen out s lo t h rough ach ne o r a hang-

er bolt . crewhe arms o he op and hen ecure hem o hebase ith anger olts, ashers, ndwing uts. lamp he base othedr i l lpress able, oosenhewing uts nd et he op o hebevel ngle ouwishocut.Tightenhewing uts, hen djust hetable eight o posit ionhe op about inch elow he planerhead. ut a ence rom olid tock, aw notch utof oneedge oclear he planer ead, nd lamp t o he op above,ight).

t ') Raisinghe panelL t t taXe test cut on a scrap oard.Tochange he beve l ng le , d jus t hearms o i l t he op of he 1ig. he epthofcuton your irstpass hould ot exceed% inch . ower he d r i l lo re ss ab le odec reasehe cu t t ing ep th ; a i se hetable o ncreaset . Run he oanel aceup pas t he p lane r ead , eep ing heworkpieceush gainst he ence i th

your e f thand nd push ingt fo rwardwith our ighl left). ominimizeearout,s t a r t y beve l inghe ends e fo re hes ides . o r dd i t iona la sses ,nc reasethe cu t t ing ep th% i n c h t a ime .

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MAKINGMOLDINGS

T) outers ndshapers remost ften11 chosen o cut mbldings, nd heuseof he able-mountedouter or hispur-pose s shown n page 7.

However,our able aw r radial rmsaw s alsoan excellent hoice or cut-ting moldings. y replacing he sawbladewith a molding ead nd nter-changeable utters, ou can eproducean mpressive rruy f designs. omeofthe cutter rofiles vailableor hesesaws re llustrated elow,ogether iththe cuts hey produce. he echniquesfor using hem areexplained n pages53and54.

Page 5presents ig youcanmakefor cutting ovemolding n a remark-ably imple ashion-on a able aw.

Molding operations an be haz-ardous. he cutters trike with greatforce, nd are apable fcausing evere

Installed n a table-mountedrouter, this traditional moldingbit can transform a plain board

into an elaborate molding.

M(ITDINGUTTERROFITESFOR HE ABTE AW NDRADIATRM AW

Olue oint

kickback nd nflicting erious ounds.Twoprincipal afety ulesapply o

saws nd outers. osingle ut should edeeper han% nch;many hallowass-es willproduce uperior esults ndreduce he iskofkickback. oensureadequate ontrol ver ourwork,nevermoldstockthat sshorter han 12 nch-esor narrowerhan4 nches. fnarrow

molding s required, t can be ipfrom wider stockwhen he shapoperations complete.

A finalsafetyip pertains o rouBecause olding itsare enerallyerandheavierhanordinarybits,ingoperations re ften est onducwith the ool mounted n a able. frees othhands o control ourw

Eeads

m kre{re

GGG

FIutea

, 7

LSffiL--}Fffit_3

r e GEead and coveV G52


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EDGE FORMING

CUTTINGOLDING)NTHE ABLEAW

1 Mountinghe moldingead n he awI Fit he cutters nto heir lots n he

molding ead, hen se hexwrenchotighten he setscrews inset). ount hemolding ead n he sawwith he atside f he cutters acing he direction fblade otation. riphe head ith a rag oprotect our and s you ightenhe arbornutcounterclockwise/eff,).hen nstalla molding-headable nsert n he sawtable. otate he molding ead y handto make ure hat he cutters reproper-l ya l igned nd ha t he un i t oes o tcontact he nsert.

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EDGE FORMING

r) Makinghe irstpassL lns ta l l n aux i l ia ry ood ence anp o s i t i o nt o v e r h e m o l d i n g e a d . e eing he meta l ence lea r f the cu t te rs ,

cu t a c lea rance o tchby gradua l ly aing he cu t te rhead nto he ence . u rnoff he saw and position he fence or hprof le you want . Secure he workpiewi th wo ea therboards , ne c lampedthe ence bove he b lade , nd a secof xed o the saw ab le . C lamp suppoboard t a 90" angle o the second eaerboard. lace shim behind he eatheboard n he ence, f necessary, o prevthe workpiecerom i lt ing u r ing he cRaise he cu t te rs n ly 1/zinch abovet a b l e ; o n o t m a k e fu l l - d e p th u tone pass . o make he cu t , s lowlyethe workpiece nto he cutters ith your igh t and , ress ingt aga ins t he encwi thyour efthand /eff) . in ish he cuwi tha push tick.Reversehe board nrepea t he cu t on he o ther dge .

Makinghe inal assMake s many asses s necessary,

ra is inghe mold ing ead nch t a ime ,unti l ou have eached he des i red ep tho f c u t . F o r h e i n a l p a s s . a i s e h em o l d i n g e a d e r y l r g h t l y n d p a s st h e w o r k p i e c e c r o s s h e c u t t e r s e rys lo w ly, e e d in g t w i th a p u s h t i c k sthe board ' s ra i l ing nd approaches hecutters right). his willproduce smoothf i n i s h h a t w i l l e q u i r ei t t l e a n d i n g .0 n c e h e p ro p e r ro f i l e a s b e e n u t ,r e m o v e h e m o l d i n g u t t e r e a d o mt h e s a w n d n s t a l l r i p o r c o m b i n a t i o nb l a d e o c u t h e m o l d i n g r o m b o t hs i d e s f t h e w o r k p i e c e .

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EDGE FORMING

A COVEUTTINGUIDECutting oves n a table aw s essen-t ia l ly imple : he oncave hape seasily ormed y moving he workacross partiallyaised lade t an

angle. owever, ccuratelyetting pthe saw o achieve he proper ngle,width, nd depth f cut can be ricky.

The ask s simplifed by usingthe cove utting uide hown elow,

consistingf our -inch-widetrips

of3/q-inch

hardwood r plywood,assembled o forma parallelogramroughly 8 nches ong y 9 incheswide. he pieces re asten ed ithcountersunk achine crews ndwingnuts or easy djustment.

Here s how o use t: Set hedistance etweenhe ig's ong idesto he width f he cove nd ight-en he wingnuts. Raise he sawblade o he desired epth f cut ,then ay he igover he blade.

Positionhe igso hat ts edgeslightlyontacthe blade. his willbe he angle t which ourworkmust ross he blade o oroduce hedesired ove. se pencil rchinamarkero race uidelinesn hesaw able /eff).Remove he ig,place t on yourworkpiece,ndmarksimi laruidelinesn he eading nd.

Lowerhe blade nd et he work-piece n he saw able, ligning ot hsets fguidelines.t will equireom ecare o make ure hat he boardedges re parallelo he guidelines.When hey re, ut tguide oardsagainst he stock nd l amp heminplace. heckhe alignment f heboards nd begin our ut.

Each ass hould e no morethan Ve nch deeo. Feed he board

slowly, sing ush lockshrough-out he operation below). or asmooth n i sh ,make f na lpassat half he depth nd peed s heprevious asses.

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EDGE FORMING

ANAUXITIARYABLEORTHE ADIATRM AWlfyouwant o cutmolding n he adi-al arm aw with he molding eadin he horizontalosition,ryan auxil-iary able ike he one hown elow,With he saw rbor n he vertical osi-tion, he molding ead annot e ow-ered o he evel f he standardable.

The auxiliary ase aises he work-piece o he cut ters , nd he encesupportshe workwhile rovidingclearance utout or he cutters ndmolding ead uard.

Cut he wo pieces or he igbasefrom3Z-inch lywood; ake hemthe same ize s he ront aw able.Screw he pieces ogether, ffsetting

the op slightlyo create gap longthe ence hat willprevent awdustf romaccumula t ing e tweenhebase f he auxi l ia ryable nd hefence hen he i g s n pos i t ion .Cut he ence rom h-inch lywood,makingt about inches ide. Whensawinghe cutout or he moldinghead ua rd , eave l i p ha t w i l l

protrude t leastYq nch above hetablewhen he ig s nsta l led. hel ipwi l lsupport he workpieces trides longhe ence uring cut.

To nstallhe auxiliaryable, crewthe ence o he base, lip he encebetweenhe rontand ear aw ables,then igh ten he ab le l amps osecure he ig n place.

Fita molding ead o he saw rboras youwouldwitha table aw page53/; nstall plastic uard n hemolding ead o protect our andsduringhe cuts. o secure he work-piece, lamp wo eatherboardsothe ence n either ide f he mold-inghead nd a third eatherboardothe able, racingt witha supportboard. et a 7a-inch utting epthand urn on he saw. eed he stock

slowlynto he molding ead withyour ighthand below); se ourlef thand o press he workpieceagainst he ence. inish he passwi tha push t ick.Make s manypasses snecessary,dvancinghemolding ead nly /einchfartherinto he workoiecet a time. 0nceyou have ut he desi red rof i le ,make f nal , e ry ha l low ass,feedingmore lowlyo he lp pro-duce smooth inish.

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EDGE FORMING

M()LDINGNTHEROUTERABLE

rll]ill xllltlt lll lltllllll llr llll|llll lll Il llllll llljHO? TI?A mitergaugefor 1--rffthe router able --ffil fyour rouNer ' .*table does not -- ;have a milerqauqe elot,, oucan bui ld o impledeviceto quide tockacroao he tablewhile eeVinq t equareto Ihe fence. he igconeisNs f an L-ohapedouppoft piece nd a quideNhaN idee alona he front,edqe of the table. To use he iq, buNLhe end of theworkpiece qainot,Ihe ence while oldinqto edqeaqainot he oupVorl piece. hen pueh he workpieceand he qauqe oqebher nNo he bit.

RoutingmoldingIns t a l l mold ingi t nyour ou te r ndmount he oo l n a t ab le . f you reusing large i t , adjust he ence ora sha l low ut -abou t% inch ; o no tat tempt o rout he ullprofle n onepass. ohold he workpiecen place,c l amo fea the rboa rdo he ab le nl inewith he bi t ; a ise he eatherboardwi tha wood him o hat t supportsthe middle f he workpiece. i th ourstock lear f he bit, urnon he outerand lowlyeed he workpiecento hecutting dge hile oldingt l ush gainstthe ence above,eff). Caution: uardin his llustrationemovedor clarity.)To keep our ands afely way romthe bit, inish he pass itha push tick(above, ight). ,Aake s many asses snecessaryo rout he desired rof i le ,increasinghe cutt ing epth y 7e ncha t a ime .

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PINROUTING

p in routing akes ts name rom heI steel in or pins ha t guide heworkpiece cross cutting ool that smounted above he work table.Non-pilotedbits can be used or some uts,and he echnique s particularly sefulfor following a template page 61).Piloted its can also e used, s can anauxiliary fence page 59).

The assembly hown at right com-bines he features f a shaper, drillpress, nd a router able. ike a drillpress, he business nd of the assembly(in this case, portable lectric outer)is mounted n a carriage bove he able.The cutting edge s above he work-acommon setup on the shaper. he pinrouting attachment eatures depthadjustment ever hat, much ikea drillpress eed ever, aises nd owers hebit to the desired epth of cut.

The assembly nables ou o produceedge rofiles anging rom chamfers ocrown moldings; t also workswell cut-ting mortises, enons, nd abbets.

Suspended bove a sturdy work table n thiscommercial pin routing attachment, heportable outer becomes stationary shapingtoolfor intricate edge-forming perations.

SETTING PA PINROUTINGSSEMBTYMountinghe outer n heattachmentWi t h h e appropr i a t ei t n he ou te r,insta l lhe ool n he pin outing ttach-m e n t o l l o w i n gh e m a n u f a c t u r e r ' sinst ruc t ions.ecurehe outer n hec a r r i a g e y igh ten inghe ock u t(right). ext et he depth f cut. Thisdeoends n he distance etweenhebi tand he able- typica l ly to 3 inches,depending n he hickness fyourwork-piece . ull own n he depth ontrol

handleo owerhe carr iagend he bi tas a r as hey wil lgo;movement f hecarr iage i l ls topwhen he depth toprod ontacts he assembly ousing. oadjust he depth f he cut , oosen hewing u t on he dep th top od , henturn he od lockwiseo ncrease hecu t t ing ep th ; oun te rc lockwiseod e c r e a s e t . Ti g h t e nh e w i n g u t .

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EDGEFORMING

STRAIGHTNDCURVED ()UTINGShaping straight dgeMake traight utson he pin outing ttach-

ment us ing non-p i lo tedit and a fence .Cutan auxil iary ood ence s ong s hetable, otch t to accommodatehe bit, andscrew t to the ab le ' s ence . ns ta l l wofea therboardso ho ld he work ecure ly ;the ype hown l ides n he miter lot .Fo l lowhe manufac ture r ' sns t ruc t ionsorposit ioninghe workpiece ndsett ing hewidth f cut . On he ab le l lustrated,heentire op s moved o adjust he widthofcut. Lowerhe guard o hat t is no morethan % nch above he workpiece,hen urn

on he router. eed he stock against hedirection f bit rotation, ressingt againstthe fence right). inish he pass with aoush t ick .

Folmingcurved dg eA piloted i tmakes t easy o ollowhecontour f a workpiece.f te rmountingthe ab le nse r t , l ace he s t a r t e r i n ni t shole n he nfeed ide f he bi t .Asyou eed heworkpiecento he cutt ingedges, race he stock gainst he starterpin left).Make ure oukeep he work-piece lush gainsthebitpi lot nd ourhands lear f he cutter

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EDGE FORMING

C()NT()UREDUTSWITHNON-PIT()TEDITS

r) Shapinghe ontourL Once he pins re nstal led, djustthe abletop syouwould ora s t ra ightcuI page 9)so he guide in s directlyunder he bi t .Asyou tar t he cut ,bracetheworkpiecegainsthe starter in.Oncethebitcuts nto hestock nd he guide incontactshe wood,move he workpieceffthe starter in o continue he cuI right).Keep he tock utted gainstheguidepin hroughouthe operation.

'l Installingheguide inI and tarter in

Toshape curved dge sing non-piloted i t , c rew guide in nto hecen te r o l e f he ab le nse r t , heattachment hown omes i th guidepins f hre e ifferent iameters:Z,3/e,and /zinch; smaller inwillprod u c e w i d e r u t ,T h e n n s t a l lh estar te r in n he able n he nfeedside f he bit (/eff,).

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EDGE FORMING

SHAPING URVES ITHA TEMPLATEMaking nd sing emplateA emplate nd non-pilotedtraight i ta l low

you o accuratelynish curved dge ithpin outing etup. tart y nstal l ing bi tandg u i d e i n o f h e a m e i a m e t e r. d j u s th etabletopo posit ionheguide in di rec t lynderthe bi t .Checkhat he pin s perfectlyl ignedwi th he b i tus inghe hand le fa combina t ionsquare left).nstallhe starter inon he nfeedside f he bit .After ou avemade plywoodtemplate,ough-cutheworkpieceo s ize s youwould or a pattern-routingperationpage 8).Use oub le - s idedape o as t en our tockatop he emplate. n makinghe cut,brace he

templa t e ga ins the s t a r t e r in , hen r e s s ttowardheguide in. nce he emplate ouch-es he gu ide i nand he b i ts t a r t s u t t i ng ,pivothe stock ff he starter in.Continuehecu t ,keep inghe empla t e lush ga ins theguide in (below).

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EDGEFORMING

PINROUTINGNA ROUTERABI.EYou an perform ost f he pinrouting perationseatured npages58 o 62 using conventi onal outertable nd he shop-buil tigshownabove. he etuo tands onvention-a l p in ou t ing n t s head . a the r

than uspendinghe outer verguide

pin, he ool s mounted pside ownina router able nd he guide in spositioned verhe bit.

The ig affordswoadvantagesvercommercialrrangements.irst ,router s safer hen t is ix ed ndera t ab le ; econd ,he gu ide in smore isible hen t is held bovethe work urface.

Cut he base f he ig romhard-wood;make t as ong syour outer

table. he L-shaped rm, lso fhardwood,hould e ong noughso hat t extends verhe bitwhenitsback dge s lushwith he backof he outer able nd he igbase,Screw he arm o he base. or heguide in, ore r, /z-inch-diamederho le hroughhe a rm nd lueprece f dowe ln p lace ; u t hedowel o t wi l ls i t at east inch

above he surface f he able.Drivea screw ntoone ide of he arm osecure he dowel n position,

To use he ig, nstall he appro-priate it n the outer nd mountthe ool n he able. Clamp he baseof he ig o the able o he guide

pin s directly bovehe bit.Shapean edge s youwould n convention-al pin outing page 1), xcept hetemplate hould it atop he work-piece below).Make ure ou buttthe emplate gainsthe guide inthroughouthe operation,

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Ithough asic outer edr-niques emain ssentially

unchanged o matterwhat heoperation, utting groovesn-vohes pecial kills, hetherhecuts are ntended o be orna-mentalor functional.

This chapter emonstratesthe ools and echniques sedto rout a wide assortment fgrooves,itomhesimple adoesused o assemble arcases ndcabinets o recesses or inlavsand he graceful atterns hatcan orm the decorative ocusof a piece f furniture.

Many techniques ill be

GROOVING

A coreboxbit carva a circuhr grooye ear heedge f a walnut tabletop. Tbensure hat this

decorative ut follows the arc of the workpiece,a curved etctension s astened o a commercial

edge uide o ride alongthe edge fthe stock

86),since tallowsyou o alignthebit over he cutandplungeit into the stodc

For safety ndprecision, tis often best o mount yourrouter n a table (page 5).Arouter table affords a highdegree f control hat makes ta relatively imple ask o routstopped rooves nd abbets.

On page l weshow ech-niques or following a prede-termined attern, ndon page84youwillfind a discussion fpinroutingforcutting rooves.

Whether your router has

used requently, s he cutsareessentialo most projects; th-ers,although erhaps ess ommonly sed, willallowyou oextend he scope f yourwork and mprove he evel ofyourcraftsmanship.

Thebest outer o use epends n he ask t hand" ltlrougha standard outerwillperform irtuallyeveryob adequateha plunge outer s preferred or interior cuts, uch as outingstopped rooves page 9)or cutting ecesses or nlay (page

plunging apabilities r not,andwhether r not t is mounted n a able, ou will beusinga wide varietyof accessories-jigs, its, cutters, uides, ndtemplateFthat ease hecompletion f cerAin asls andmakeothers ossible. selection f commercial ccessoriess shownon page 6.Throughout his chapter ouwill find llustratedinstructions or building our ownaccessories.

With hese-and a ittle knowledge nd magination-youcanmake our outerone ofyourmostvaluable ools.

Fittedwith a straightbit, arouter cuts adado or a shelf n a carcase idepanel-with the help of a commercial dge uide.

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A GALLERYOF GROOVES ND ACCESSORIES

DADOESI{DGROOVES Dovetail grooveA wed1e-ehaped hannel,typically interlocka with a

matinq board, forminq partof a alidinq dovetail oint

DadoA rectanqular channelcut acroas the workpiece1rain; typically forma parbof a ioinLbut can aleo beuoed or decoration

GrooveA cut alon6 t"he qrainof a workpiece, ormin7a rectanqular channel;may be decorative butuoually unctional

tslindgrooveA cut alon7 he qrain thatotopo shorL of both ends;rounded enda left byrouter can be oquared

with a chiael. Uaedin both oinery andornamental ppli-cationo

RabbetA cut in the edqe or end ofa workpiece, with or acrooathe qrain. Ueually unctionat

GROOVINGCCESSORIES

Strai7htedge guideModel shown s aelf'clampin4; available

Edge guideKeepo outer bit aquare toboard edqea or qroovin4 cuto.Rods attach to router baaeplate and fence ridea alonqworkpiece d4e. Fence can befitted with aontoured ehop-made extenaion o help olbwed4ea of circular work

Edge and aircle guideEdqe 6uide holds router a aet diatancefrom edqeof workpiece or atraight cute; ecrew or pin inserL'ed throuqh baee of quide allowo iq to pivot arounda centerpointfor cuttinq airclea, Adjuetable guideroda attach to router baee plate


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GROOVING

ADJUSTABTEIRCTE-GUTTINGIGTheshop-madeig shown elowallowshe outer o cut circles f anydiameter. ize he pieces f he igto suit he obat hand. he enterblock an be cut rom %-inchthickstock;make t about inches ideand 6 inches ong. he diameter fthe hardwood owels epends n hesize f he predrilledolesn he baseplate fyour outer; ut he dowels

longerhan he adius f he argestcircle ouexpect o rout.To assemblehe ig,slip he dow-

els nto he holes n he outer as e

plate, hen et he ool lat on a worksurface. utt oneedge f he centerblock gainsthe ends f he dowelsand mark he wo points here herods ontact he edge. ore holehalfwayhrough he block t eachpoint, hen pread littleglue n heholes nd nsert he dowels. ix hemin place ithbrads. ext,mark hecenter f he block nd bore holethrough t fora screw.

To set up he cut,place our tockon he work urface. utt wood crapsagainst he edges f he workpieceto act as cleats. hen crewhem n

place,Mark he adius f he c i r-c le and ts centerpoint .nsta l lstraight it n he outer nd et hecutting epth. or deep ut, makeseveral halowoasses.

To use he ig, attach he blockto he center f he circle nd lidethe dowels long he router aseplate ntil heedge f he bitclosestto he circle's enter s aligned iththe end of he marked adius.

Tightenhe screws n he base lateto hold he dowelsn place. hen outthe c i rc le ,eeding he outer n aclockwise irectionbelow).

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GROOVING

R()UTINGST()PPEDR()()VE

llll lllll lll iIjlll l|Jlll llllr llJ.lllj lll lll ltItllll11HO? TI??reventing earout,CuLIing dado nVlywood an result

in Lorn wood ibersalonq Nhe dqee ftne cut .To reduce earoul,score ,heouLlineof Nhedado wilha utility knife.Theincis ionwi l leeverthe wood ibere,keep in4 lhe dgeeof Ihe dado clean.

Using n edge uide nd top locksSet he stock n a work urface, hencen te r he b i tove r he cu t t ingines .Clamp nedge uideo he workpieceflush gainsthe outer ase late; hecktha t he gu ide s pa ra l l e lo he edgeof he workp iece . ex t l i g nhe b i twith ne nd f he markedines ndc lamp s top l o c ko he workp iecef ushwith he outer ase la te .Repeat he process t he other ndofthe groove. ostart he cut , est hebase late n he workpiece ith he bi tclear f he stock nd he olate uttedagainstheedge uide nd ne f hestop locks. hen lungehe bit ntothe stock. uide he outer owardheother top lock, eepinghe base lateflush gainst he edge uide abovd.

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GROOVING

ROUTINGADOESN CARCASEIDES

Guttingwodadoes n one passFor fixed helf o sit evel n a bookcaseor cabinet ,t must est n dadoes t hesame eight n both ide anels . newayto make ertainhe cuts ineup s o routboth adoes t he same ime.Clamohestock o a work urface, nsur inghatthe ends f he panels re ligned; rotectthe workpieces i thwood ads. henclamp n edge uide o he stock, osi -t i on inghe i gso he ou te r i tw i l l i n eup direc t ly ver he dado utl ine page68) .Make ertain hat he edge uidei s squa re o he pane l dges . ou t h edado right).

Makingnd sing n edge uideMade rom wo pieces f plywood,he

shop-bui l tig

shown t eft nables outo make uick ork fa dado ut.Sincthe distance etweenhe guide nd hedge f he base s he same s he gapbetweenhe edge f he outer asep la t e n d h e b i t , he i gcan e q u i c kl ined o wi th he dado u t l ine . u t hebase rom /a-inch lywoodnd he guidfrom%-inch lywood;ip he piecesowidthso suit our outer etup. Screthe wo pieces ogether, aki ng ureto couniersinkhe asteners. o out he

dado, et he stock n a work urface nclamp heedge uide top heworkpia l igningheedge f he igbase i th hecutt ingmarks. et he outer 's ut t indepth, ememberingo accountor hethickness f he base. out he chann(left), eepinghe base lush gainsthguide nd laton he base.

/ t l


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GROOVING

T-SOUAREIG OR ROOVINGTo outdadoes nd grooveshat arestraight nd perfectly quare o heedge f your tock, onstruct T-square ig ike he one ho wn t ight,made rom %-inch lywood.

Size he ig o accommodatehestock ouwillbe using nd he diam-eterof your outer ase late.Makethe edge uide bout inches ideand at least s ong s he width f

the workpiece;he ence, lso bou t4 inches ide , hou ld x t end neither ideof he guide yaboutthe width f he outer ase late.

To assemble he ig, screw hefence o he edge uide ithcoun-tersunk crews. se try square omake ertain he wo pieces reper-

pendicularo each ther. henclamp he ig o a work urface ndrouta short ado n each ide f

the ence, sing our womostcommonly sed its--often z- and3/+-inch.These adoes n he encewillminimizeearout hen he igis used, s wel las servingoa l ign he i g .

Touse he ig,clamp t to heworkpiece,l igningheapproprr-ate dado n he ence ith he out-l ineon he stock.Whenmakingthe cut, keep he ou ter ase latefirmlyagainst he edge uide left).

Continuehe cut a short istanceinto he ence efore toppingthe outer.

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GROOVING

ffi{ ..-

OUICK-SETUPROOVINGIGConsisting f fourstripsof 3/q-inchplywood ssembledo form wo Ls,the igshown t right makes t easyto routdadoes ndgrooves ithmin-imal earout. ake ll he oieces fthe igabout inches ide. ut heedge uides few nches ongerhanthe cut you ntend o make. hecleats hould e ong nough ooverlaphe adjacent dge uide y

severalnches hen he ig s setup. Attach he cleats o he edgeguides, aking ure hat he piecesare perpendicularo each ther;use our ountersunkcrewsoreach onnection.

Set up he ig byclampinghestock o a work urface nd buttingthe cleats gainst he workpiecetthe beginning ndend of he cut .Then et your outer etween heedge uides, l igninghe bitover

the dado utl ine. l ide heguidestogether ntil heybuttagainst achside f he outer ase late. ecurethe igbyclampingt at opposingcorners nd o he workpiece.he nturnon he outer nd, with he oolbetween he edge uides, tart hecut n he cleat, reating nentrydado.Guide he outer cross heworkpiece ight,below), xtendingthe cutcompletelyhroughhe stockand nto he second leat. his will

minimizeearout s he bitexits heworkpiece.f youneed o rout ev-eraldadoes f he same ize, eavethe igclamped ogether ndaligntheentry ado ith he cuttinginesmarked n he stock.

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GROOVING

CUTTINGROOVESN THINSTOCK

illtlt lll lllllJll]lt IJlll llJlll lIIlltllllll ll] ill]ll1HO? TI?Eliminating tearoutKoulere have t endency o cauee rearoul,, articularly e Xheyexit a workpiece l Ihe end of a dado cul. To minimize plinlerinq,alwaye uee an edqe quide or eNraiqhl ut 's and eecure woodblocklhe ame hicknee; e your workpiece lonqt 'he dqe romwhichNhebiI willemerqe.The reooure f Ihe block qain ottheworkoiece illheloNoeliminaNeearoul,

Groovingnarrow dgeTo out groove long surface hat stoo narrowo accommodatenedgeguide, t tach short uide locko herouter tse l f Instal l straight i tandset he outer oside own n a worksurface. emove he sub-base f neces-sary nd crewhe guide locko hetool hrough ne f he predri l ledolesin he base late. Markhe width f hegroove none ndof he workpiecendalign he marks i th he bi t .Then ivottheguide lock ntil t s lush garnstheface f he stock. lamp he guide o hebase late. oldhe marked nd f heworkpiecegainsthe bitagain o checkthat he guide s posit ioned roper ly(above,efil. o cut he groove, ecuretheworkpiecedge p n a vise. et herouterlaton he edge f he board iththe bitclear f he stock tone nd an dthe guide locklush gainst he aceof he workpiece.syou eed he bi tthroughhe cut, keep he base latef aton he board's dge nd he guideblock ressed gainsthe workpiece(above, ghf).Repositionhe board,if necessary,o avoid i t t ing he visewi th he l amo.

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GROOVING

AD'USTABTEADOIGThe igshown t right s deal f youdo much outing fdadoesn carcasepanels. he ig eatures dge uidesto keep he cut perpendicularo heedges f he workpiece nda slidingclamping lock o hold he panelsecurely. ize he pieces o he dis-tance etween he edge uidesequals he diameter fyour outer'sbase late. heguides hould elong nough

o a l lowou

o clampthe widest anel ou plan o cut.Cut he our guide ieces, he

twoends, ndshims rom%-inchplyr"ood;ake ll he pieces incheswide.Assemblehe end and guidepieces o he router ase late sflush gainsthe guides longheirentire ength. hen crewhe piecestogether, andwichinghe end piecesbetween he guides. t one end ofthe rame, ttach hims o the op

and bottom f the end piece.Countersinkllyour asteners. ut

theclampinglockrom%-inch{hickstock;make t about inches ideand ong n ough o slide betweenthe edge uides. o nstall he press

screw, ore hole or he hreadsthrough he shimmed ndpiece .

Remove he swivel ead rom hepress crew nd asten t to themiddle f he clamping lock. ttachthe hreaded ection o the swivel

head nd crew he collaro he endpiece.Use he router o cut shortreference adoes n the other ndpiece nd he clamping lock.

To use he ig,slide he workpiecebetween he edge uides, l igningthe cutting ineswith he eferencedadoes. ecure he panel n posi -tionwith he press crew. lamphejig o a work urface. ith he bitclearof he work,urnon he outer ndstart he cut at the reference ad o

in he end piece,making ertainherouter s between he edge uides.Feed he bit into he workpiece ,keepinghe base late laton hestock /eft), ominimizeearout, nlyraise he router lear f the workonce he bit exits he workpiece ndreaches he eference ado n heclampinglock.

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GROOVINGON A ROUTERTABLE

ounted upside down n a table,the router works very much ike a

shaper. n addition o carving ecora-tivecontours on board edges nd mak-ingpreciseoinerycuts, able-mountedrouter offersa safe nd quick methodto cut dadoes nd grooves. he setupallows ou to exert greater ontrol overrouting operations.

Virtually any dadoing operation anbe performed with a table-mountedrouter, but the arrangement s partic-ularly convenient or cutting groovesin narrow stock (below). Stoppedgrooves anbe cut with either a straightbit or a three-wing lotting cutter. Asshown n page 6,yow best hoice sthe slotting cutter since t allows heworkpiece o be pivoted nto the cutterwith the faceof the board lat on the

table.With a straight bit, the stock slowered onto the bit edge down, withthe board face resting against hefence-a trickier operation.

Remember hat several ight cuts aresafer nd more accurate han one heavypass. fyou need o cut a groovewiderthan your argest traight it, make woor more passes, dvancing he ence ftereach ass. or deep rooves, lsomakeaseries f cuts, ncreasing he cuttingdepth or each ass.

A table-mounted outer itted with apiloted hree-wing lotting utter outsa groove long he nside of a drawerfor a bonom anel.Keeping hepilot

against he stock keeps he groovedepth uniformand controls ickback.

CUTTINGGR(l(lVENABOARDDGEMakinghe utWitha straight i t n he outer, etthe cu t t ing ep th nd l ign he cu t -t ingmarks i th he bit .For he shop-

buil t outerable nd lamp-on enceshown n he l lustrat ion,osi t ionhefence lush gainst he board ace ndsecure t to he abletop; ake ertainthe ence s parallelo he edge f hetable. osecure he workpiece,lampfeatherboardo he able pposite hebi t ;clamp support oard t a 90"angle o he eatherboard or extra res-sure. eed he workpiecento he bit ,pressinghe stock rmly gainst hefence left).fyouareworking ith nar-

rowstock, rotect our ingers romthe bitusing push t ick.

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RABBETS

A rabbet s one of the most asic ff\ cuts. ommonlv sed n a cornerjoint or to accommodate he back of acabinet. ew ools do the ob better ormore cuicklv han a router. As shownbelow,-a abbet an be routed with apiloted abbeting it, although straightbit in conjunctionwith an edge uidewill workequallywell.

Wth a pilotedbit, the pilotbearingridesalong he edge f the workpiecewhile he cuttingedges bove he bear-ing rout the stock. he width of the ab-bet s ecual o one-half he differencebetween he diameter f the bit and hediameter f the bearine. A lX-inch-diamerer itwith a ,z-inihbearing, orexample, illcut a rabbet % nch wide.

So hat woodworkers o not haveto own a different it for each ossiblerabbet,many outer bit manuficturersnow sell abbeting ets, onsisting fasingle utter and a selection f different-sized earings.

A straight bit and an edge dde (page78) can be used o cut rabbets fanywidth:The cutter can be oositioned tanydistance rom he edgi ofthe stock.

A rabbeting it carves stopped ab-bet nto he underside f a shelf. he

rabbet ill i t intoa wooden helfsupport ttached o the side f a car-

case. his echnique onceals oththe abbet nd he shelf upport.

To rout extra-wide abbets hat exceedthe capacity f your argest it, make woor more passes, djusting he ocationof he edge uide ach ime.

Using piloted itClamp our tocko a work urface;orthe door rame hown, bou t ne -ha l fof he workpiecehould xtend eyondthe able's dge. ripping he outer rmlywithboth ands, ut t ts base late n

theworkpiecend uidehe bit nto hestock; ake ure he cutting dge s clearof he ab le . eep inghe p i lo t ea r ingpressed gainstheedge f he workpiece,feed he bitaround he perimeterf hef rame n

the art of woodworking - routing and shaping 1993

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