how would you hold stock down?

[Bob Riefer]

I haven't yet built a true assembly table. I just have a plywood workstation right now. So I don't have a nice vice / bench dog setup. I also do not own a router table.

My first project (norm's adirondack chairs) are to the point where I want to clean up all my cuts by using a pattern bit with my handheld router. As I plan to make a whole bunch of these chairs for our yard/porch, I feel that the pattern method will get me the most consistency from chair to chair.

How do I hold each piece down while routing it so that it's safe, but so that clamp blocks are not in the way constantly? Do I just double sided tape each piece down to my plywood table?


edit: oh, and bonus question :) Some of the pieces are shape cut on a bevel. Is it possible to use a pattern bit with a beveled piece, or am I better off just sanding/scraping as needed for those pieces.

[Chris Kennedy]

I have a workbench and an assembly table. In the latter, I put t-track and have hold-down clamps. I find myself using that more often than my workbench (mind you, my official workbench is not tremendously big . . . ). I have used it to hold pieces I rout by hand, cut with a jigsaw (with it hanging off the edge of the table), and a variety of other things. I would consider t-track if you are going to keep your plywood station for a while. Even if you aren't, you may find the t-track useful for other purposes.

Cheers,

Chris

[Andrew Pitonyak]

If I understand the question properly.... I use double sided sticky tape to adhere the template. Consider a screw or small brad if there is a "hidden side".

Typically I do this on a router table, so I don't need to keep the piece from moving. When I have used a hand held router, there are always issues because I need to secure the item well enough that it will not be ripped loose and shot across the room if there is a problem. I have typically just clamped it, stopped routing and moved the clamp when I came to them. If I simply use dogs, then the dog is in the way when the router gets to the dog. With the clamp, the base hits the clamp. With a dog, the bit may hit the dog.

Looking forward to other responses (since I am not really experienced in this, only done about 8 projects using templates).

[Prashun Patel]

I prefer to pattern route on the table. If you don't have a table, you can make one by screwing the router to a piece of 1/2" plywood. Punch a hole thru the plywood, flip it over and clamp it to a couple saw horses. You won't have to contend with any tipping while going around the ends of those slats.

If you want to do this with a plunge router, then I'd just screw the template to yr plywood table, and then doublestick tape each piece to the template. You'd have to use a bottom bearing bit, though.

[Victor Robinson]

I usually just default to Andrew's method - clamp and reclamp at the corner of my workbench. Have been wanting to implement the T-track method (which will also require one to stop and reposition the hold-downs). The only methods I can think of that will let you go all the way around the workpiece in one pass are via a vise and dogs that can pass safely below the path of your bit or double-stick tape. Personally when hand-held routing, I don't trust tape or bench cookies to keep the workpiece from launching.

[Bob Riefer]

Prashun, I think your method using a sheet of plywood would work nicely. I do have a fixed base for my router that I can swap in. Although I'm comfortable using a handheld router, pattern copying with a router seems (at least as I think about it) safer on a table.

Perhaps an upcoming project of mine should be to build a proper router table. I was waiting until a need arose..

[Jerome Hanby]

Workmate's are pretty cheap and do a good gob of clamping material. Think the 425 is about $100 new, less on CL. I wouldn't try to route anything huge clamped to one, but normal parts should work fine. It it's huge, the piece kind of becomes it's own table and you just have to support it...

[Brian Tymchak]

Theoretically ;), you could raise the template off the table surface by using a couple of spacer blocks which are in turn anchored to the table, and then the template anchored to the blocks. then anchor the material to the template with whatever method you choose. disclaimer - never tried this but it seems reasonable and doable.

WRT using a bevel bit - if I understand what you want to do, you can buy a chamfer bit with a bearing like this one (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM661669501P) that I googled up.

[Bob Riefer]

The bits I have on the way are a flush trim bit, item 7809 (http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_flush.html) and a roundover bit set, item 8384 (http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/setcvro.htm). Both of these have the bearing on the bottom. So I think, as Prashun noted above, I could just screw the template to my plywood work table and use the handheld afterall. Or, as Brian notes, use a spacer that I clamp to the table (saves repeated screw holes into the work surface), and screw my templates into that spacer.

Or, as Jerome notes, I could clear off the workmate and use that. I do have a big honking vice too, so a block screwed to each template would offer a good spot to grip down on.

I'll try each of the methods (including the poor man's router table) and report back soon!

Thanks guys!

[Bob Riefer]

Ok, my bits arrived, so I got to do some work last night. I hadn't used my router before, so I first read the entire instruction manual and then installed the pattern bit and got to work.

I didn't have any double sided tape on hand, so I just dry clamped my piece and the template to my assembly table. I would route the front section, and then install clamps in that area, and remove my other clamps, thus allowing me to finish routing all the way around without crashing into the clamps.

Then, I rounded over pieces using a similar clamp, move the clamps process.

It worked very nicely but was time consuming to move the clamps so frequently. I felt very comfortable with the router too. Boy did I make a mess in the shop though, need to figure out a way to catch those chips.

In the future, a router table would be nice for this type of work. I would prefer to use double sided tape to hold the template to my piece. But, I got it done. Learning a lot every day. LOVING being out in the shop woodworking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


199090

[Charles Lent]

Bob

Those arms look like the ones in Norm's chair design. If you are making Norm's chair, here are a few tips to building chairs that will last. The rear legs of Norm's chair can easily twist and break as there is no bracing to prevent this. I added a board between the legs just below the seat back to act as a cross brace and this stiffened them up considerably. I also began using construction adhesive on all of the joints after the first three that I built kept loosening up. This is easy to do while building the chairs, but difficult to do later.

Charley

[Bob Riefer]

Hey Charley,
Yup, you have it right, norm's chairs. His re-release of the plans incorporated a few changes/updates and he does suggest using adhesive in addition to the screws. He did NOT add the cross brace that you mention, but I've heard that a few times now, and am including it. Thank you for the comment, it confirms the approach I'm taking.

Plus, I'm glad it looks like chair parts to someone other than me. Ha ha!
:)

[Walter Plummer]

Hi Bob. These mats work well if you are just routing edges after the template work is done. http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10696&filter=router%20mat I think non slip shelf liner would work also.