Phil Thien
07-20-2014, 4:26 PM
You guys may remember my mortising jig project:
http://www.jpthien.com/mj.htm
It works great but I really wanted something a little more flexible, where I could use other routers and vary the size of the mortise.
So I'm back to making a unit that will use a 5/8" O.D. bushing and a template/fence with four different size slots. It works pretty well but the shortest slot is a problem because the vacuum holes in the sub-bases I've tried can't clear the mortise during machining. I've got a DW611PK and a DW618 with plunge base and have the same issue with both.
So I'll have to upsize the shortest slot by 1/4" I suppose. With the four different slots, and the ability to use 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" router bits, you can get twelve different length mortises, from about 1-1/8" by 1/4" up to 2-5/8" by 1/2".
So I'll redesign and change the slot lengths. I really don't need that short a mortise, increasing the length 1/4" isn't a problem. Now I have to put more thought into slot lengths, any suggestions? Looking for flexibility.
The project is drawn in AutoSketch and cut with a CNC router I built from parts I got here and there.
The jig produces really terrific results using the other three slots, I get nice flush faces.
Now I just need to wait until I can get more funds for more 3/8" BB plywood, I'm completely out. My kid required some stuff for school so all my woodworking budget (so much for budgeting) went into that, LOL. Maybe I'll list the two I've got on eBay with an explanation that the short slot isn't ideal, and see if I can get enough money for another piece of plywood.
The fence design is pretty clever, if I say so myself. The first pic below shows one of the templates on a large fence that gets clamped into my woodworking vise. Then you just clamp your workpiece to that fence. The shorter fences allow me to just hold the wood and the template together and then squeeze the entire thing in my vise, it goes very quickly.
http://www.jpthien.com/mj.htm
It works great but I really wanted something a little more flexible, where I could use other routers and vary the size of the mortise.
So I'm back to making a unit that will use a 5/8" O.D. bushing and a template/fence with four different size slots. It works pretty well but the shortest slot is a problem because the vacuum holes in the sub-bases I've tried can't clear the mortise during machining. I've got a DW611PK and a DW618 with plunge base and have the same issue with both.
So I'll have to upsize the shortest slot by 1/4" I suppose. With the four different slots, and the ability to use 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" router bits, you can get twelve different length mortises, from about 1-1/8" by 1/4" up to 2-5/8" by 1/2".
So I'll redesign and change the slot lengths. I really don't need that short a mortise, increasing the length 1/4" isn't a problem. Now I have to put more thought into slot lengths, any suggestions? Looking for flexibility.
The project is drawn in AutoSketch and cut with a CNC router I built from parts I got here and there.
The jig produces really terrific results using the other three slots, I get nice flush faces.
Now I just need to wait until I can get more funds for more 3/8" BB plywood, I'm completely out. My kid required some stuff for school so all my woodworking budget (so much for budgeting) went into that, LOL. Maybe I'll list the two I've got on eBay with an explanation that the short slot isn't ideal, and see if I can get enough money for another piece of plywood.
The fence design is pretty clever, if I say so myself. The first pic below shows one of the templates on a large fence that gets clamped into my woodworking vise. Then you just clamp your workpiece to that fence. The shorter fences allow me to just hold the wood and the template together and then squeeze the entire thing in my vise, it goes very quickly.