C:MI
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Got any jig
ideas?
If you want to share
with others details
of any jig you have
made, then please
email a picture with
a brief description.
Each published
contribution on our
website will receive
a £20 Trend Gift
Voucher.
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We have published a large number of hints
and tips for router users on our website.
One or two may just make life easier with
your next project. Here are a selection..
1. Set the clamp
in the required
position.
Clamp Guide Offset
Router Tipping
Widening a Groove
If you do a lot of work with
a particular router and cutter
combination, machine up a piece of
thin MDF or plastic to be exactly
the same width as the distance
between the edge of the router and
the required cut line and use this to
position the Clamp Guide. It will
then be accurate and parallel to the
required line.
If you are struggling with the
router tipping and a particular
cut is critical, clamp a long batten
alongside the work to support the
router beyond the length of the
cut edge. This is a particularly
useful tip if you are trying to work
on the edge of a very narrow
workpiece.
If you need to widen a groove and are
just using a single fence, always make
the second cut by moving the cutter
away from the edge of the work, i.e.
to the left, and then feed the router
against the rotation of the cutter.
Now any deflection of the cutter will
be into the precut waste area rather
than into the edge and face of the
work.
2. Measure the
offset and make
the offset gauge.
Again we’ve got a collection of user-made
jigs on our website that sometimes make jobs,
safer, quicker or more accurate to carry out.
Here are just a few..
email:
[email protected]
Mortising
Housing Jig
A way to guarantee consistent
identical mortises is to use a slotted
template and the router fitted with
an appropriate guide bush. These jigs
are usually made for specific jobs, but
with a little ingenuity you can make
a universal template with adjustable
stops and locating fences. Simple slot
templates can be made for use with a
specific guide bush diameter and for
specific mortise lengths. Remember
that the slot in the template has to
be routed to a length equal to the
mortise length plus twice the guide
bush margin.
This simple housing joint is
one of the most useful
for building shelf
units and cabinets.
Cutting the necessary
groove with a router
makes it almost
foolproof, providing
you can guide the cutter
accurately. The jig is made
with a heavy section batten which
extends well beyond the end of the
MDF fence. Use it with a bottom cut
two flute cutter and use the base of
the router running against the fence as
the guide.
You must maintain positive pressure
against the fence at all times to prevent
the cutter wandering off course.
If you don’t have a cutter of
exactly the right size,
then take two passes
with a narrower
cutter, moving
the jig to the
required amount
between each
operation.
CZlTimbers and Materials Glossary on
the Trend website
Look up popular materials to find origin, colour, usage etc. Gives routing
guide and suitability of material for the job required.
4. Rout the
groove.
18
>CProfile+
Hardwoods
Softwoods
Wood
based boards
Plastics
Autumn 2009
All types of halving joints such as cross, corner, mitred or angled, can be cut
with just a straight router cutter and a simple jig.
The use of jigs means that if you are producing repetition work
e.g. sets of rails of the same size, the components can
usually be stacked and clamped together for cutting in
one operation, considerably speeding up production and
ensuring complete
uniformity.
As the name suggests,
halving joints are cut to half the
thickness of the rail or batten, leaving
the face sides of the joint flush. Usually the
components are of equal thickness, though this
is not always the case and a halving joint is often used
to fit intermediate framing members which are lighter than
the main framework. For all halving joints, the router is used with a straight cutter
and the depth stop is set to the required depth.
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Please see our
website for more
hints, tips and
routing jig ideas.
www.trend-uk.com
Halving Joint Template
3. Clamp up with
the offset gauge
between required
cut-line and Clamp
Guide.
On-line
Knowledge
Complete
Routing
Book
This is an
essential read for
the amateur or
experienced router
user.
BOOK/CR _ £21.00
>CProfile+
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