Leigh FMT --> Dedicated Router?

[Mark Lansink]

I saw the Leight FMT mortise and tenon jig/machine at the Twin Cities show yesterday and was very impressed and frightened by the jig and it's price respectively. :eek:

Anyway, I have one question with regards to the router plate or sled that attaches to the router:

- It looks like you would want/have to dedicate a router to this plate to avoid re-centering the router to the jig's pins. Is this correct? If so, would one of these kits with the plunge base and removable motor be a good fit or don't these types of bases have good center repeatability?

Thanks for any insight.

[Dave Arbuckle]

I use a DeWalt 621 in mine. It is very easy to remove, very easy to reinstall, including centering.

It's hard to make out, but in the picture you posted, right at the bottom corner of the manual, are two centering gizmos included with the FMT.

One is half-inch, and the other is -something else that's metric if I recall correctly-. So, what you do is insert the half-inch one in the router, plunge it so the end is just past the sub-base, and install. Makes it very easy indeed to recenter.

Dave

[Greg Phillips]

I have the FMT and am only using one router--the Bosch 1619EVS. The first time you mount the router in the FMT, it is a slow process and requires you to be very exact. Once your initial setup is done, the removal and subsequent re-mounting of the router are very simple. It takes about 1 minute to remove the router and about 3 minutes to re-mount it. Unless you are in a production shop, I can't see needing a dedicated router for the FMT.

Cheers,

Greg