Ah multirouter - how I love thee....

[Richard Link]

I am a proud new owner of a JDS multirouter. Actually, I guess I am the proud new owner of an "old" multirouter, since I bought mine used. I'm just starting to use it and the thing is just incredibly fun to use. I know....many people will argue that it is overpriced for what it is, tell you to buy a slot mortiser or a domino or "just use a plunge router or a mortising chisel you lazy bum." Well, I'm one happy camper that I own one.

I am building a last minute emergency holiday gift for a niece. Its a mission-style doll bed for an American Girl doll that hailed from the American Southwest in the 1800s. The bed is standard mission style out of quartersawn white oak and has slats at both the headboard and foot of the bed and is put together with mortise and tenon construction (mini, I'll admit). At any rate. in my haste to construct it, I found myself with no easy way to connect the slats to the cross pieces in the headboard. The parts are only about 3/8 " thick, and it became clear to me that I didn't have a good way to attach them. Too thin for my domino, too thin for a plunge router without building some sort of support jig and using a microscope, probably too thin for hand chopping although I guess that was an option. I thought about drilling holes for tiny dowels but that seemed pretty imprecise. Scratching head...

Tried the multirouter. Set up a 1/4 " bit. Surely I can't cut a 1/4" mortise in the edge of 3/8" stock without blowing things out, etc. Easy as pie. Cut 16 mortises in about 10 minutes, no blowout, no issues whatsoever. Perfect 1/16" shoulders every time. Wow....grinned the whole time. And I don't even know what I'm doing with the thing yet. This is definately one of those tools that delivers on its promise.

Is it expensive, noisy, dusty, limited in depth of mortising - yes. Is it versatile, built like a tank and just plain fun - Yup. Just thought I'd give the thing some good press.

Any way...I'm off to cut some compound angled mortises in the side of a toothpick for a project....

Rick

[John Harden]

Richard, congratulations on the new toy!!! Sounds like you're a big fan of the JDS. I've used one, and agree that it is a very well made, industrial quality tool.

I'm sure you'll be happy with it!!!!

Regards,

John

[Mike Cruz]

HA! My niece asked me to make the SAME bed! Guess your niece has a better uncle than mine, 'cause she ain't gettin' it THIS Christmas, that's for sure. I've got WAY too much to do in my shop on the few days I can get in there in the next week to be making her bed. Sorry, Allie, maybe next year...

[Carroll Courtney]

Congrads Richard on your new toy.I have only seen one but never use one.While I agree that they may be over price or at lease the price appears that they are,if I could afford one I would go out and buy it in a heartbeat.Easier to do and to make repetitive slots,which means you will use it more often.I am envious;) Post some pics of your project and using the jig----Carroll

[Ben West]

I've always wondered, what are the advantages or limitations of a multirouter in comparison to a Wood Rat or Router Boss? These 2 machines seem to have a lot of the same capabilities as the multirouter, at a much cheaper (but not cheap!) price.

Any thoughts?

[Gregory Stahl]

Glad to hear you are happy with it! It is the one tool in my shop I will never replace with another machine or sell!

[Leo Vogel]

Richard, I have found out over the years you get what you pay for. Wow, I'd love to have one, but I've got an Italian bandsaw in my sights.

[Richard Link]

Ben,

Alas, I don't have any experience with the Woodrat or the Router Boss. From looking at them, however, you are looking at a very different device. These tools (and to some degree the Leah FMT) are essentially plunge router jigs in which you control the router by hand using either a template or guide. The multirouter is essential a 3d wood milling machine in which all the components are fixed in place to the jig and move only as constrained by linear bearings. I imagine that this lends a lot more precision to the setup.

For example, as I was assembling this doll bed project, I noticed that I needed about 5 mm more width for clearance on one of the 1/4" mortises. Remember that the stock itself is only 3/8" thick. The obvious solution would simply be to knock off some of the integral tenon a bit, sacrificing some strength, to make it fit. With the multirouter completely not set up for this operation, it was still a lot quicker and easier to just extend that mortise 5 mm to accomodate the overly long tenon. Put the piece on the moving table and engage the pneumatic clamp (5 sec). Slide the bit into the mortise and lock the limiters on the linear bearings (20 sec). Shift one limiter 5 mm (5 sec). Cut the extension to the mortise (20 sec). Done. The entire operation (since the 1/4" bit was still in the device) took me no more than a minute. This is a great tool for making mortises quickly, precisely and repeatably! I usually fine tune mortise and tenon joints by adjusting the tenon. Its a new workflow to discover that it's often easier to adjust the mortise when using the multirouter.

I can't imagine that the other tools you described could do this with such ease (although I might be wrong). Just setting the depth stop on a plunge router precisely probably takes me more time than the entire operation on the multirouter.

Now keep in mind that I'm pretty new to this tool and haven't explored all its limitations as yet. Certainly, it is limited in the depth of the mortise it can cut, due to the length of the router bits. It also is noisy and makes a lot of dust which is difficult to collect. I can't turn it effortlessly into a horizontal drilling rig, as you can with many slot mortisers. These are issues that are shared with all the router-based mortising systems including the ones you mentioned above. Also, one of the limitations is that the documentation is pretty spotty and there isn't much out there on the internet about applicaitons. I think many multirouter owners are essentially using the tool in a vacuum.

With that said, many multirouter owners seem to say it is the one tool in their shop that they would never get rid of. That's a pretty good endorsement. The thing is built like a tank and should hold up to a lot of use. If you have interest in one, you might be able to find one for < 50% price in the used market.

Rick

[Ben West]

Good insights, Richard. I have no direct experience with any of these machines, just watched several videos.

From what I have seen, though, it seems one could perform the operation you describe with a woodrat or router boss (WR/RB). The procedure probably would take a bit longer, but maybe not. Perhaps someone with more experience with these machines can provide some insight.

It does seem that the multirouter has a big advantage in mortising the ends of long boards. With the WR/RB, you're limited by the height of the machine from the floor for such operations.

On the other hand, dovetailing is a big strength of the WR/RB, which I assume is not easy on the multirouter.

I bring these questions up only because I could see myself being in the market for one of these machines in the future. I had been thinking a WR/RB because of their apparent flexibility and lower cost, but maybe not.

[Chip Lindley]

Congrats Richard! Finely machined cast iron and linear bearings are more costly than other alternatives. Especially, when produced as a specialty machine such as JDS.

There are cheaper imports (WoodTek Match Maker), and *Ho-Made* versions that probably work just as well, but don't have nearly the *charisma*!

[Richard Link]

Ben,

Haven't tried the multirouter for dovetails as yet. The original owner did include a template for dovetails and I've watched the video on the JDS website showing how it is done. Doesn't look very hard at all, although it won't be as versatile as a traditional dovetail jig with variable spacing, etc. I'll give it a try with the template at some point and let people know how it goes.

Rick

[Ben West]

Definitely keep us posted about your experiences with it. It certainly appears to be an impressive machine with a huge range of abilities!