Shopsmith Forums

I was wondering if anyone had tried making a miter slot with the router bit for undersized 3/4 inch plywood? I tried a small cut off of 3/4 plywood and the edge of it fit into the miter slot on the table perfectly. I want to cut a miter gauge slot in the router table. I was going to use a 1 1/8" T-slot router bit to make the slot for the T-washer on the miter bar then open the 3/8" opening to the required width. If I could use the plywood bit I could use the same setup as the T-slot bit to center it on the slot.

Not sure why you need a slot in the table, just for feather boards or??

Anyway I don't know if shopsmith still sells the metal t-track but I know I've purchased it in the past. It is the same one they use for other things so perhaps they still do. What is cool about it is that you can make minor adjustments to the width.........

Anyway a typical plywood bit is 23/32" (.71875") If I recall the number right the shopsmith slot is near 47/64" (.734375"). Close enough??? BTW Dusty I'm sure has the actual number for the shopsmith slot, (I do too but where?) so wait for someone with the real number to speak up. I do a more full size test before committing to cutting a top. To me that sound like it is way to loose.

I don't find the miter slot of much use on a router table and in fact a lot of my tables don't even have one. I don't like how a miter gauge attempts to hold parts for cutting, much rather have a sled and use that.

Ed

thunderbirdbat wrote:I was wondering if anyone had tried making a miter slot with the router bit for undersized 3/4 inch plywood? I tried a small cut off of 3/4 plywood and the edge of it fit into the miter slot on the table perfectly. I want to cut a miter gauge slot in the router table. I was going to use a 1 1/8" T-slot router bit to make the slot for the T-washer on the miter bar then open the 3/8" opening to the required width. If I could use the plywood bit I could use the same setup as the T-slot bit to center it on the slot.

If the dimensions are correct why not?

Yep they still sell it.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... turesA.htm

Expensive but the best solution if you have to have a miter slot.

Ed

I have made a 't slot' the correct size by using a keyhole router bit. did that with oak stock. Used the miter gauge bar for reference.

Yes, 47/64".
Now this is NOT the dimensions of the aluminum insert that Shopsmith offers. It is very close but slightly different. This is just the profile of the track in a Main Table.

Thanks for the information. I was thinking about being able to use feather boards and maybe some small jigs that have a miter bar on them more than the actual miter gauge but want it as an option. I will run some tests after I get the router bits to see how well they will work. Any advantage I can get to ensure the workpiece will not twist or get away from me I will take as I have intermittent feeling loss in one hand so I can not tell how good a grip I have at times. I normally quit until it goes away but it can happen when in the middle of a cut and that can be scary if there are not mechanical safety measure in place and I can use my other hand.

Do keep in mind that the material of the table top will both compress and wear so while I do have jigs with this sort of miter slot it is basically for hold downs rather then a sliding jig.

I don't know if you have looked at some of the jigs on the market for coping and assuming this is one of those cuts you might make take a look at this video of the jig I have for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23s9jUD4ZVI

I've had and used a home made jig(s) for this sort of operation but this is so much better then anything I'd ever come up with that it is now my only way to go. Expensive yes but for me it was worth it.

If you want to spend a bit more this one looks nice too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPFzN1- ... e=youtu.be

Ed

thunderbirdbat wrote:Thanks for the information. I was thinking about being able to use feather boards and maybe some small jigs that have a miter bar on them more than the actual miter gauge but want it as an option. I will run some tests after I get the router bits to see how well they will work. Any advantage I can get to ensure the workpiece will not twist or get away from me I will take as I have intermittent feeling loss in one hand so I can not tell how good a grip I have at times. I normally quit until it goes away but it can happen when in the middle of a cut and that can be scary if there are not mechanical safety measure in place and I can use my other hand.

FWIW, the SS feather boards work fine in a standard 3/4" miter slot. I use them all the time when re-sawing on my Powermatic band saw.

Part of the issue is that I have never had a router table before. I am attempting to figure out what type of track I want to put in the table. I was thinking either the SS track or a combination track. By using a cut wood track to start with, I can figure out if I can use some of my existing jigs or the miter gauge on the router table. I can enlarge the cut track to put the aluminum track in after I decide which I want.