Part 5 - Router Table Plan
Above, the router crosscut sled I mentioned I was
going to make earlier. A common problem with routing dadoes
or end grain rabbets with a miter
gauge is the tendency of the router bit to pull the wood to the right,
introducing
a slightly skewed cut.
The fence can be used to keep the piece from drifting to the right, but the
perpendicular
alignment between the fence
and miter gauge then becomes very critical. An alternative method is to skip
the
miter gauge altogether
and instead use a router sled as shown above. This sled is merely a 1/4 in.
piece
of hardboard with two
1X2 strips at either side to guide it along the router table top. The fence at
the back is
perfectly oriented
to be perpendicular to the path of the router bit through the slot in the
hardboard. This sled is
built and
assembled to glide along with next to no free play, I also waxed the strips to
accomplish this.
Once the slot is created by routing through, the fence is installed in steps,
insert one screw and align the
fence to
be perfectly perpendicular to the path of the router bit. The fence has an integral T-slot with
adjustable
stop block. This is an important component of the system as it serves to both enable you to
make repetitive cuts
and to keep the piece being routed from creeping to the right of the sled. This system
also feels
inherently safer, similar to using a crosscut sled on a table saw. The router table fence is removed
for this
operation and temporarily mounted on two notched wooden brackets which I have created on the side
of the
router table base. This sled is fairly easy to make and very light to
install and remove.
Above, while the crosscut router sled is being used, the
fence assembly can be neatly stored to the side of
the
router table on a couple of notched wooden brackets. It is very quick to remove or install
the fence since it is
already
connected to the dust collection and it is simply a matter of raising or
lowering it to the router table and
fitting the T-slot bolt heads into the tracks.
Above, the notched plywood brackets used to store the fence.
It is fairly straightforward to make these and
attach them to the
router table base. Also, they are unobtrusive on this side of the router table.
This plan can be accessed directly at this link: http://www.whitemountdesign.com/RouterTableProjects.htm