![]() (The extra wood will support the router, preventing it from tipping.) Install a 1/2-in. The guide blocks are just two large pieces of wood connected by a pair of alignment pins.Ĭut your rails an inch or two longer than their final length. Cutting tenons on those rails can be unwieldy using a tablesaw, but it’s quite easy using a router and a set of parallel guide blocks. Let’s say you’re building a bed or dining table that requires very long rails. This produces an absolutely rigid sled, and perfect joints. The answer is to add a board at the front of the sled, plus two top boards that bridge over the workpiece. Pressure from the toggle clamp causes the base to bend, resulting in a rail that’s not evenly aligned with its mating stile. The problem is with the base, which is typically 1/4-in. You can’t beat a sled and a toggle clamp for coping the ends of rails and stiles, but many sleds have a subtle problem that produces a misaligned joint. It makes a smoother cut in end grain than a bit with a smaller diameter. You’ll get the best results by using a pattern bit that’s at least 1-in. flush-trim bit for this technique, but that requires placing the guide piece under the top, which can be a hassle. Clamp a sacrificial block on the opposite side, tight to the tabletop, to prevent the end grain from splintering at the end of the cut. Clamp one side of the guide piece flush with the long edge of the top. Place the guide piece on a pencil line indicating the end of the tabletop. This piece guides the router the factory edges guarantee that your top will be square. (The less end grain you rout, the easier the job will be.) Next, find a piece of plywood or fiberboard that has two adjacent factory edges. How do you trim the end of a top that’s too large to crosscut on the tablesaw? Simple: use a router and a large pattern bit.īefore you rout, use a jigsaw to cut the end of the top close to its final length. ![]() Nibble away at its edges on the tablesaw until the dimensions are perfect. It’s best to make it slightly oversized at first and mount it on your router. Making the baseplate requires accurate layout. progressions for fitting undersized plywood into dados. Alternatively, you can make the baseplate with 1/32-in. You make one cut at the “0” setting, then rotate the router and baseplate to enlarge the dado. Using just one bit, you can make four different dados.Įach side of the baseplate is progressively 1/16-in. Here’s a custom-made baseplate that saves setup time. Either way, the adjustment should be very small–but once you’re set, miters are fast and easy to cut. To get there, you may adjust your fence or the bit’s height. When you set up your router table, aim for leaving a point on the end of the workpiece, without shortening its length. Hold a backerboard behind the workpiece to prevent blow-out.This prevents the workpiece from tipping into the bit as you cut. Cut your router table’s fences to make a zero-clearance opening around the bit.Your chamfer bit will perform best when it’s only removing a small amount of wood. Use your tablesaw or bandsaw to remove most of the waste before you rout.Here are a few tips that will improve your results: If you’ve experienced those problems, try using a chamfer bit, which always cuts a precise 45-degree angle. The blade shifts out of alignment just enough to produce a burnt or out-of-square edge. Many contractor’s-type saws don’t do a very good job cutting miters when the blade is tipped over to 45 degrees. Adjust the bit’s height so its bearing rides on the surface created by the pattern bit, and you’re all set. Second, remove the part from the template and install a bottom bearing flush-trim bit in your router ( Photo 2). You can, and here’s how: First, rout the bottom half of the part ( Photo 1). When you’ve routed as far as possible, turn off the router, remove the piece and cut off the handle. The solution: make the molding extra-long and leave some uncut wood on the end, to serve as a handle. However, it’s almost impossible to safely feed the stock all the way through. It’s best to use two featherboards when cutting narrow moldings in order to get a straight, smooth cut. Slide the router back and forth on the carriage, then advance the carriage down the length of the board. Install a large-diameter bit in your router and you’re ready to go. pieces of aluminum angle, and fasten them to two cleats. Make a sliding carriage for your router from two 1-in. Screw or clamp them to the bench top an equal distance apart. Lay the board on the bench and place shims underneath the board so it won’t rock. To get started, you’ll need a large, flat surface, such as a big workbench or a hollow-core door. If it won‘t fit through your planer, flattening that board can be a real chore with a belt sander. A huge, wide board makes a stunning tabletop.
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