Are router edge guides useful?

[Michael Gramm]

I'm about to buy my first router, and I was wondering if someone could explain why an edge guide base attachment would be desirable.

I can't see what an edge guide can do that a router table or clamping a straight edge to the workpiece wouldn't. To me, it seems like an extraneous accessory.

[Lee Schierer]

Sometimes a piece is too large or awkward to put on a router table or the bit does not have a pilot bearing. In those instances an edge guide is useful.

Added thought: If you forget or need to add a routed edge to something like the top of a dresser, it would be a little hard to do with the dresser on a router table. The edge guide will let you do the job.

[Michael Gramm]

Sometimes a piece is too large or awkward to put on a router table or the bit does not have a pilot bearing. In those instances an edge guide is useful.


Under those circumstances, I would think clamping a straight edge to the piece would be sufficient.

[Cary Falk]

You have a chance to not get the board clamped perfectly parallel to the edge. If your bit is not centered in the baseplate end the baseplate is round, there is a chance you can rotate the router during the cut and the final result being a little off. My edge guide for my DW618 has a micro adjust which is great. It also has a vacuum hookup that gets 90% of the chips before they hit the floor. Just a few things that come to mind. A lot of them are minor. The old edge guide I had on my PC sucked at best.

[Dave Wagner]

I ordered one for my newer router to do long grooves, etc....and if the board is narrow or something and the router doesn't sit properly.

I guess it depends on your creativity and how you want to router the boards.

[Doug Shepard]

This one is extremely useful
http://microfence.com/edgeguide-p-43.html

[Vince Shriver]

You seem set not not getting an edge guide. Why not get one at a later time if you find the need. Personally, I find them invaluable for certain tasks and wouldn't be without them - but, hey, that's just me.

[Josiah Bartlett]

I haven't used mine since I got my all in one clamp guide and router base (Rockler 23269). If I needed to bury the bit in the fence it might be useful, though, like if you only wanted to use part of a roundover profile and didn't have the right diameter guide bearing.

Its something you can fabricate yourself as needed, so unless you get a really good deal on one I wouldn't bother to order one.

[Michael Gramm]

You seem set not not getting an edge guide. Why not get one at a later time if you find the need. Personally, I find them invaluable for certain tasks and wouldn't be without them - but, hey, that's just me.


It's not that I'm set on not getting one. But I don't understand why someone would bother with it, and I'm trying to learn before deciding for certain.

I've heard people talk about how it *could* be used. But I haven't heard anything regarding why it *should* be used over the other methods.


Dave mentioned narrow boards, but that would seem to be ideally suited for a router table. Cary mentioned if the straight edge isn't set parallel - but it's a given that it has to be set up properly. By the same token, if the edge isn't properly flat, the edge guide won't work properly either. He did mention a good point about if the bit isn't centered in a round base, but that comes under proper set up to me.

All in all, everything I've heard so far seems to confirm my initial feelings on the matter, which is that edge guides don't really do anything special that you can't achieve with a table and straight edge.

[Cary Falk]

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Some are easier than others. Edge guied is quicker and more accurate for me. YMMV.

[Michael Gramm]

I understand. Well, if we've covered the essentials, then I will forgo the purchase.

Thanks, everyone!

[Bob Carreiro]

Hello Michael,

I'm like you - a tool must prove its value, either in time saved, quality improved, safety enhanced or material saved before I'm sold. If these benefits do not exit, ownership is not for me. For many, ownership is a choice driven by WANT (for varied reasons, as below). This is why you haven't been satified by the answers provided to you. It is because there IS no value (or little) to edge guide use beyond what can be done by other tools/methods, and for the most part, with substancially greater accuracy, repeatabilty, ease of use, etc., than with the edge guide!

I recently participated in a "heated" discussion on using (PC type) brass collar guides in a router table. It seems some people are "determined" to make use of them there. But nothing that is done with them in the table cannot be done using other methods AND with the ADDED benefits expressed above. Now back to edge guides.

So should you buy and use one? If you choose, but they aren't necessary. After much use, you may begin to favor it (and swear by it, though it doesn't change it's value) or find it a rediculous dust gatherer. But as you and I know, there are better, more effecient ways to skin a cat. Many woodworkers like using a variety of tools for the tools' sake (some are woodworkers to collect the tools - "the more tools, the better the woodworker", as if the bigger the fishing pole, the bigger the fish!), others view many tools as an expanse of their skill-set. Me? I am for the efficient and effective ways.


happy woodworking,
Bob

[Jeff Bratt]

Under those circumstances, I would think clamping a straight edge to the piece would be sufficient.

That works if the edge is straight. If it is curved at all, or you just want to reference your cut to the actual edge of the piece, then an edge guide works better. They also work better than pilot bearings, because the contact area of the bearing is small, and the bit will follow any little indentation or bump in the edge. A guide will contact the workpiece over a larger area (like a fence) and produce a smoother cut.

Now, I don't recommend buying an edge guide, I found the suggestions in Bill Hylton's book Router Magic (http://www.amazon.com/Router-Magic-Fixtures-Unleash-Potential/dp/1861081278/) better than the add-on-to-your-router-purchase edge guides from the router manufacturers. You can make your own jigs, from simple L or T squares, circle cutters, dado jigs, to more complex fixtures.

[Brian Muecke]

an edge-guided plunge router is my primary method for cutting mortices. It is very useful in this regard.

[Bill White]

I use mine when it is not possible to work on the table.
Bill

[Joe Jensen]

I've been doing this for 30 years. Bought an edge guide with the first router and I've had various edge guides for the other routers over the years. The only time I used one is when I routed a drip edge into a piece of Poly cutting board.

I seem to always try to find a way that will eliminate the risk of the bit wandering off the line I want.

[Darrell Bade]

I have had an edge guide for my router for 10 years or more. I have probably used it 3 times. However, those times were when the edge guide was all that would work to get the job done. Once was last summer when the dado I cut on the router table was not deep enough and I did not figure it out until the cabinet was assembled. It was handy to pull out of the drawer and use.

[phil harold]

If you are always working in the shop it could be handy

If you are working in the field/job site it will be a necessity

[glenn bradley]

I'm with Phil. Thought I needed one, bought it, never used it, been years. The usefulness will be as varied as we are. You may just want to wait and see if you want one later on down the road. They are very available.

[Michael Gramm]

That works if the edge is straight. If it is curved at all, or you just want to reference your cut to the actual edge of the piece, then an edge guide works better. They also work better than pilot bearings, because the contact area of the bearing is small, and the bit will follow any little indentation or bump in the edge. A guide will contact the workpiece over a larger area (like a fence) and produce a smoother cut.




The straight edge being straight is a given. I don't see that being more difficult than making sure the edge of the workpiece is straight.

But your point about the contact area is well taken. I had not considered that.





Now, I don't recommend buying an edge guide, I found the suggestions in Bill Hylton's book Router Magic (http://www.amazon.com/Router-Magic-Fixtures-Unleash-Potential/dp/1861081278/) better than the add-on-to-your-router-purchase edge guides from the router manufacturers. You can make your own jigs, from simple L or T squares, circle cutters, dado jigs, to more complex fixtures.




Agreed. :)

[Michael Gramm]

If you are always working in the shop it could be handy

If you are working in the field/job site it will be a necessity




That makes sense. Thank you.

[Matthew Hills]

They are one way for doing mortises with a router.

Matt

[Alan Schwabacher]

Try clamping a straightedge to the workpiece parallel to an edge, and run your router along it. Now try clamping a straightedge to your router base, and using that to guide the router along the edge. You will be able to use an edge guide that way without buying one. And if you find it useful to clamp the straightedge to the router base, but want to do it more conveniently or adjust in more finely, you could then make or buy an edge guide.

You will want to guide the router this way, but clamping a straight edge to your router may be sufficient.

[Ken Cohen]

Another specialty case which worked for me:

If you think you might want to add sliding dovetails to long aprons or stretchers, then Pat Warner's jig is a great way to go -- and requires the setup and accuracy of an edge guide to pull it off.

Pat Warner's sliding dovetail jig: http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?Site=woodworking&ID=511

[sean m. titmas]

I find the edge guides indispensable for;

1 routing shapes and profiles with my numerous 1/4" template.

2 cutting slots and mortises with an adjustable plywood guide. the guide is too small to use the large 6" router base.

3 routing hinge mortises with my Templaco templates.

and sometimes even though you can make the cut without using the guides there will be times when the guides will be the only option for the cut. just because you dont see any use for them now once you start to gain experience with using a router you will find them useful as part of your assortment of guides.

[Ryan Baker]

The straight edge being straight is a given. I don't see that being more difficult than making sure the edge of the workpiece is straight.

It's about times when the workpiece is not straight, not whether the straightedge is straight. If you are working on a piece that is curved, you can't do it with a clamped-on straightedge.

I use a router edge guide only on rare occasions (I actually avoid them because I don't like using them much). But when those rare occasions come up, there is no other choice. That usually means a piece too large to feed through a router table that you can't just clamp a straightedge to for whatever reason (something in the way, too narrow, etc.). Clamping a fence to the router base may work fine -- though it is effectively the same as using an edge guide (just not a purchased one). Another thing, someone mentioned a bit not centered in the base, but many routers have a base that is not actually round at all. That can sometimes have a considerable effect, and certainly doesn't count as a "setup" problem.

And sometimes it is simply an easier way to do it than the alternatives.

That said, I would recommend you not order one now. If you can't think of anything you would need it for now, you don't need it. You may never need one. When the day comes (if ever) that you need or want it for a certain job, you can always buy or build something then.

[Peter Quinn]

I got a free edge guide with my Bosch 1617 kit, something I had to send in to get it in the mail. Its a first rate jig that I have used a half dozen times in the past several years, but would probably not have purchased it. You can make one easy enough. The micro adjust on the commercial ones is pretty convenient though.

When SHOULD you use one? Well, they are pretty quick to set up and allow you do do some stopped grooves with a plunge router that would be impossible with a router table (or at least most unpleasant in terms of depth adjustment over multiples). So if you are putting stopped grooves in multiple work pieces some specified distance from an edge, you could use a straight edge and gauge blocks, but you will be setting it up until the cows come home if enough parts are involved.

It also allows me to use part of a multiple profile bit regardless of the bearings location. If you think setting a template exactly parallel to an edge is fun, try it some specified distance back from the edge to use part of a bit, or some distance forward of the edge from underneath to reference the bearing. Not much fun. Now try it over multiple parts. Not cute. Now add an arc of some sort.

For instance, figure out the offset of the straight edge or template versus the router bit, center the plate in the router with a center pin and a bushing, remove the bushing, clamp the straight edge in place to accommodate the offset of the router plate. Route. Unclamp, reclamp, route....etc.

If your work never involves such things, then it is a waste of space and resources. For simple things a straight stick and some turners tape can do the same thing in a pinch.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I don't use my edge guide very often, but it can be handy for lots of different procedures. For example, fluting a pilaster, your edge guide would let you make matched flutes down each edge, reset, and then flute in more. Mine (from Porter Cable) has a rule on it where you can incrementally set the guide a certain distance with each pass.

One thing that I did (based on Norm Abram) is screwed a piece of straight scrap about 12" long to the base, to give it a longer reach on the piece. It makes it easier to hold against the edge, and then you can get closer to the end of the board for, say, rabbeting the back of a case for the back pieces.

Doc

[Peter Quinn]

I seem to recall putting the panel grooves in some half blind drawer fronts that was made considerably easier with my edge guide. I suppose I could have set stops on a router table and done a floating plunge and lift sort of thing, but few will tell you that is the safest way to handle such an operation. Not sure how others handle that situation (integral drawer fronts).

[Danny Thompson]

I have found a router edge guide is superior to a router table in 2 applications:

Stopped grooves and dados. When creating Stopped grooves or dados one must plunge the router down into the wood at a specific location. There are techniques for doing this on the router table, but the operation is necessarily done blind and at an angle, which increases the chance of an error. With an edge guide, you can watch the bit through the entire cut.

Large, unwieldy boards. It can be difficult to control a long, wide, or otherwise heavy board on a router table. In such cases, it is simply safer to take the tool to the work.

Of course, these benefits don't come without cost. A table and fence provide a generally more stable work environment. Anytime you wield a router by hand, there is a chance of tipping or of pivoting the router against the edge guide. In either case, the bit is pulled out of line an irregular line results. A longer edge guide can reduce the chance of rotating the router out of line.

So, there are definite uses for edge guides; just make sure you take your time and use them carefully.

[Vince Shriver]

michael,

Go to www.microfence.com (http://www.microfence.com) and watch some the of the videos they have there. Those particular accessories are pretty expensive (although probably the best made products available anywhere), but it will give you an idea about the usefulness of the router fence. Vince