How to cut a router jig

[wholeshoe]

All

I need to cut a perfect rectangle within a rectangle for a guide for a router bushing to route out a box.

I have it all laid out on a piece of MDF. The book I am following tells you to raise the table saw blade through the piece to achieve a rectangle hole in the middle of a rectangle jig.

I have some saftey concerns doing that on my Mark 500 being a new woodworker.

Is there any other way to accomplish this accuratley? I keep going to my jig saw thinking I can do it with that but I see problems with getting a true rectangleure hole with that methode.

Suggestions are welcome.

[Ron309753]

Wholeshoe,

You could cut out the center with a Dremel tool or a jigsaw, but why does the frame need to be from one piece of MDF? Why not make it out of 4 pieces ripped to the same width? The router wouldn't know the difference.

Sincerely,

Ron

[Ed in Tampa]

All

I need to cut a perfect rectangle within a rectangle for a guide for a router bushing to route out a box.

I have it all laid out on a piece of MDF. The book I am following tells you to raise the table saw blade through the piece to achieve a rectangle hole in the middle of a rectangle jig.

I have some saftey concerns doing that on my Mark 500 being a new woodworker.

Is there any other way to accomplish this accuratley? I keep going to my jig saw thinking I can do it with that but I see problems with getting a true rectangleure hole with that methode.

Suggestions are welcome.

You could use strips of wood to build the rectangle jig. If you cut the wood precise and insure you have 90 degree corners it would work. Cut the wood strips so the outside forms the outside dimensions of the project, then cut the stripes wide enough that inside rectangle is the size you need for the project. You can nail, screw, tape, glue the pieces together to form your jig. Just make sure your router will have clearance around the jig, the jig forms the correct dimensions and the corners are square.

Or you can practice on doing plunge cutting on the SS until you get comfortable with it. Use your fence to square the piece to the blade, use clamps to hold the piece to the table, insure neither the fence nor the clamps will contact the blade and slowly lower the table. It sounds scarey but when done with prudence and care it is fairly safe operation. The real key here is slowly lower the table.

If the piece is too small to be able to clamp it to the table use cauls that are long enough to clamp to the table to sit on top of the wood and hold it firmly in place.

One last alternative would be to cut the hole as straight as possible with jig saw and then clean up the edges with your disk sander. To do this use the jig saw to cut a hole smaller than required then sand the edges back to the correct size.

For the jig to work you need smooth edges on the rectangle any bumps or nicks will be transmitted by the router from the jig to the finished piece.

[W3DRM]

Hmmm, seems to me this very topic was addressed in a special project a short while ago. reible built a jig to do just what you are attempting to accomplish. See the following link to that thread:

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=3681

[wholeshoe]

Hmmm, seems to me this very topic was addressed in a special project a short while ago. reible built a jig to do just what you are attempting to accomplish. See the following link to that thread:

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=3681

I'm not that instese yet. I think I will make one up out of individual pieces and myabe pocket screw them together. That way I have an excuse to buy a pocket srcew jig!

[wholeshoe]

Hmmm, seems to me this very topic was addressed in a special project a short while ago. reible built a jig to do just what you are attempting to accomplish. See the following link to that thread:

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=3681

I'm not that intense yet. I think I will make one up out of individual pieces and maybe pocket screw them together. That way I have an excuse to buy a pocket screw jig!

[curiousgeorge]

I'm not that intense yet. I think I will make one up out of individual pieces and maybe pocket screw them together. That way I have an excuse to buy a pocket screw jig!

You do not need to pocket screw them together. Simply use some carpet tape on the bottom of the boards to hold them in place. Looking at the attached picture you can see that the boards don't have to be the same length, but they do have to be the same thickness. Using this method you can make the opening any size you want using the same boards. For instance; if you have a square piece to inset into a table, or whatever, just place the object where you want it to go, arrange the template boards around the object as shown and you have your routing template. You could also simply mark the cut-out where you want it and stick the template boards around the marked, soon to be, opening.

[wholeshoe]

[quote="curiousgeorge"]You do not need to pocket screw them together. Simply use some carpet tape on the bottom of the boards to hold them in place. Looking at the attached picture you can see that the boards don't have to be the same length, but they do have to be the same thickness. Using this method you can make the opening any size you want using the same boards. For instance]

Now you tell me! Just Kidding. Thanks for the advice. I got the jig made and started routing last night. The next problem I ran into is my router bit isnt long enough. That'll teach me to make the jig out of 3/4 inch wood!!

Thanks Guys the little box is progressing now

Wholeshoe

[curiousgeorge]

You need a collet extension... Click Here

[wholeshoe]

You need a collet extension... Click Here

Your right. A one time investment in that beats buying another bit.