It’s tough to freehand straight lines and designs in wood with a router. Router manufacturer supply a potpourri of attachments for the tool, which is an electric chisel and perhaps one of the most versatile portable power tools ever made.
CUTTING MOULDINGS
Molding cuts are easy to make in a variety of shapes and configurations. Use Clear grade boards just as straight as you can pick them from the lumber pile. The material to be shaped can be tacked or clamped to the top of the worktable or work bench to hold it tightly. If you are shaping panels or cabinet doors, clamp the panels/doors to a workbench surface. Then use a straightedge clamped to the panels/doors to guide the router. Run the router along the material with the ring riding against the straightedge. But before you make the first cut, measure and mark the material twice. If you are marking a fancy cutout with router, it’s smart to make a templet of the cut first on paper. Then tape the templet to the wood as a guide, or tape the pattern in place, draw the outline from it, and then remove it. When cutting moldings, keep in mind that the router bit spins clockwise with a lot of torque pulling it in this direction. That’s why a guide is important. The secret is to let the router ring ride the guide and let the guide do the steering. You just hang onto the router handles.
If you are cutting freehand, push the router in to the work away from the body instead of pulling the router toward you. You will have more control this way.
CAUTION: Routers have lots of power. Router bits are extremely sharp. Keep your hands away from the bottom ring of the router; just hang onto the handles and let the router do the work. When you change router bits, please disconnect the router from the power source. Be sure that the router bit is tightly seated in the chuck of the router before you start work. And be sure that router bits are super sharp.
MAKING DEEP CUTS
When the project calls for deep cut in material that is too deep for guide attachment, you can make one easily from of straight wood stock. The key word here is straight so you may have to hunt through the piles of Select boards to find a straight pile. Or, if you have a power table saw, you can cut a straightedge from a crooked board. We do not recommended a metal straightedge for this reason: if the router jumps the edge of the metal, trouble could result. Wood will “absorb” the mis-cut.
Clamp the material to be shaped to a workbench or table top. Then clamp the straightedge to the material, as shown in the drawing below. Measure the distance from the straightedge to the inside edge of the cut. Measure twice, cut once.
If the material you are shaping is the good stuff, pad the clamps with thin pieces of scrap wood to protect the material. The scrap wood, slightly large than the clamping surfaces, also helps distribute pressure from the clamps, holding the material tighter to the table.
Straightedge for deep cuts is clamped to material to be shaped, which, in turn, is clamped to work surface. Measure twice before cutting.
SHAPING ANGLED CUTS
If you have lots of straightedge and angled cuts to make, this homemade jig can save you plenty of time. It’s easy to fabricate from Select stock; a wing nut and washer combination lets you angle it.
The tongue of the T-shirt should be approximately 3 ft. long; the hinged block should be approximately 12 in. long which provided a solid bearing surface. Both pieces should be cut from Select grade wood; ¾ in. thickness is adequate, although you may want to consider 5/4-in. material. Or, you can cut both pieces from scrap wood, if you have a square-cutting table saw.
It is recommended that you seal the wood with a coat or two of shellac, sanding the surface between coats.
To use the adjustable straightedge, clamp the material to be shaped to a work surface. Then clamp the hinged block to the material and set the angle you want. Clamp the end of the tongue. Pad the clamps.
MAKING A GUIDE BOX
To cut stopped grooves or parallel blind grooves, here’s a guide box you can make. Use Select stock, with half-lap joints at the corners. Glue and nail the joints. The inside edges of the box must be square and smooth. The side rails of the box must be absolutely parallel to each other and spaced to fit the outer edge of the ring base of your router.
If you are making a blind and stopped cut, the measurement between the two end pieces must be equal to the length of the cut plus the diameter of the router ring less the diameter of the router bit.
If you make the box extra long, you can mark the “start” and “stop” lines for the router on the rails of the box. But before you make any cuts in good material, test the box and the cuts you want on scrap wood. Then seal the box with two coats of shellac.
MAKING PATTERNS (TEMPLETS)
You really need a power bandsaw or jigsaw to make special templet designs. If the design is simple enough, you can use a coping saw, but the power equipment will produce better patterns.
Almost any shape can be cut, although right angles will be slightly rounded. You can cut out the surplus wood, however, with a good sharp wood chisel.
Templets are a 2-step operation. First, you will have to draw on graph paper (1-in. grid squares) the design you want. Then you have to transfer this design to the material that you will use for the templet – ¼-in. thick hardwood or hardborad. We suggest tempered hardboard because the material is more dense and won’t “fray” at the edges as much. Once the pattern is on the hardboard (or hardwood or plywood) you can cut the shape(s) with jigsaw or coping saw. This is tedious work; have patience and go at it slowly.
The critical measurement is the distance between the edge of the templet and the inside edge of the cut. This measurement is always one-half the diameter of the router bit that you will use and one-half the arbor, pilot, or bushing diameter of the router.
As noted above, a router cannot make an inside angle cut, which has to be chiseled out by hand. And, the bushing diameter will be exactly one-half of the bushing diameter from the templet at all points.
A basic guide for making templets is illustrated at the right. The letter X represents one-half of the guide bushing on the router.
DROP LEAF TABLE CUT
The edge for a drop leaf table are tricky cuts. Take your time, and we suggest that you try the cuts you want on scrap wood before you make the real cuts.
You may use a 3/8-in. bead and ¼-rd. bit and a 3/8-in. cove bit for the cuts. Or, you can use two ½-in. sizes in combination with each other. The leaf edge of the cut is made with a cover bit with the leaf upside down. The top edge is done with the bead and ¼-rd. bit. You should use a 7/16-in. pilot with both bits. In dimension, make the X measurement a tad larger than the Y measurement for the leaf. If your table leaf will be less thick than the top, raise the bit by the difference between the thickness of both pieces. Or lower it if the table leaf is thicker.
Patterns or templets can be most any shape and size. Make them a power jig or saber saw; simple patterns with a coping saw. Always measure distance between router and bit for cut.
INLAYS/TEMPLET BOX
You need two matched templets for inlays. The male templet to cut the shape via through-cutting, and the female which is used for routing to the thickness of the material (male) that you will inlay. The illustrations will show you basics of this cut. Practice it first, before you cut the real inlays. We suggest a ¼-in. straight bit for the cuts. The male inlay should be about 1/64-inch smaller than the female cut you make in the material. This is about right for the adhesive.
The male inlay box is created out of scrap wood; the male templet serves as the “lid.” You will need a piece of scrap under the inlay material for a clean cut, since you will be cutting through the inlay wood to the scrap.
Male Inlay cutting box is simple rectangle of 2x4s with scrap wood bottom. Pattern can be hinged to box frame for more cutting stability. Test cutting set-up before making final cuts.
