Router guide bushings

[Michael Mayo]

I know this is probably a stupid question but being still very new to the whole woodworking thing I have a question that I cannot seem to figure out on my own. I have a Bosch 1617 router with both bases that I picked up a year or two ago. After buying this router kit used I also purchased the Bosch router guide bushing set. Once I received the bushing set I opened it up and started to look it over and see if I could figure out how they worked. I was able to get them installed on the router without any problem. So I break out my Porter Cable dovetail jig that I also picked up used and only has one template for box joints. So I read the instructions for the jig and get it all setup then put a piece of wood in it to test cut and see if I really understood the instructions. I immediately notice that the bushing is longer than the template fingers? So I start to look at all the bushings and they all seem to be much longer than they need to be? Now as I said I am new to this so maybe I am just not understanding how these things work so give me a little slack if I am being dense. But is it normal for all router guide bushing to be really long? I recently purchased a couple of PC routers used and got some PC guide bushings with the purchase. These too seem to be quite long so it makes me think there is something I am missing here? I got my most recent issue of Shopnotes and they have an article in it on how to cut box joints using your dovetail jig which is exactly what I have so I wanted to give it a go but again I could not figure out what I needed to do to get the guide bushing to stay captive above the template fingers? In what application would you want guide bushings to be extra long? It would seem to me that they all would only need to be 1/8"-3/16" long in order to follow what ever template you are using? I appreciate the help here and if you feel the need to make fun no problem I just want to know what the heck is going on here?

[John McClanahan]

I had the same problem with a set of brass bushings I bought to use with my old Omni Jig. Porter Cable must make / use shorter bushings. You can always grind it down so it is shorter.

John

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Michael
I cut down the size of router guide bushings all the time to meet needed dimensions of any fixture I am using at that time. They can be replaced or added to your collection of modified bushings. Tom

[Bill Huber]

I have the 1617 kit and I think the first thing I did was to dump their bushing system. I got a new base plate and a set of brass bushings works much better.

http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-Guide-Bushing-Router-Plate/dp/B004AJYQR0/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1361767082&sr=8-20&keywords=bosch+router+bushing

http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-Router-Guide-Bushing-Kit/dp/B001DT5JJ4/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1361767229&sr=8-27&keywords=bosch+router+bushing

[Michael Mayo]

I have the 1617 kit and I think the first thing I did was to dump their bushing system. I got a new base plate and a set of brass bushings works much better.

http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-Guide-Bushing-Router-Plate/dp/B004AJYQR0/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1361767082&sr=8-20&keywords=bosch+router+bushing

http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-Router-Guide-Bushing-Kit/dp/B001DT5JJ4/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1361767229&sr=8-27&keywords=bosch+router+bushing

Thanks for the comments guys and it looks as though I wasn't an idiot after all. Why do they do that? Just seems totally useless to make the bushings nose so long? I guess I will grind down the bushing to fit my application. I had kind of figured that was what i was going to have to do but wasn't sure and before I started to grind off material I wanted to make sure that is what i needed to do.

Bill,
Did the bushing set you bought at Rockler have bushings with shorter nose pieces on them or did it also contain long nosed bushings?

[John Coloccia]

FWIW, I use a Jasper base on my Bosch router. Their bushing system is a Rube Goldberg machine. Ridiculous, actually.

[Bill Neely]

Another FWIW, the brass bushings are easier to tighten down and stay tightened.

[Bill Huber]

Yes, the first set I got and I am not sure where I got them had very tall bushings and I sold them and got the Rockler set.

You can also get an O-Ring that fits on the bushings to help keep them tight.