Now this looks neat.... if it works

[Bill Huber]

This little tool looks really neat if it work like they say. I have been wanting to get a lock miter bit for a long time but reading how hard they can be to set up has kind of kept me from it.

But with this tool it looks like it may make the job much easier.



http://www.justfreud.com/easy_set_router_guage.htm


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[Ray Schafer]

I have not found them to be so hard to set up. You just make a cut in one piece, make a cut in another piece, flip them and see if they line up. If not, adjust slightly.

[Don Bullock]

Bill, if you get one let us know how well it works.

[Todd Bin]

I have used it for the lock miter and was not too happy with it. First, there are two lock miter sizes and the setup tool only seems to work for the larger one. I have not tried this gizmo for other types of bits yet. Hopefully it works better for them. I found the method on woodshop demos to be the best for getting the locking miter set accurately.

PS. mine is the sommerfelt one.

[Will Blick]

this is brilliant, but it says only works with Freud Bits?

Really?

Arggggg......

[Dwain Lambrigger]

You crystalized my thoughts, Bill!

Nothing wrong with Freud bits, accept that I don't have one for a locking mitre...

[Will Blick]

I certainly wasn't suggesting any fault with Freud bits, I have plenty of them....but like you, I don't have any of their lock miters....

[Brian Clevenger]

That's pretty slick. Just like a couple of you though, my lock miter bit is not a Freud.

I haven't had any difficulty with lock miter joints. I tuned them in when I first got them and made a couple of setup blocks. I always make a test run; so far my test cuts come out ready to run.

OTOH, I'm about due a new bit.

[Chris Padilla]

I have not found them to be so hard to set up. You just make a cut in one piece, make a cut in another piece, flip them and see if they line up. If not, adjust slightly.

Really? So do you adjust the height or the fence first? What do you set where? I've always had a BEAR of a time setting up these stupid bits. I'm an educated man but these things confound me everytime...even when I have several methods printed out from web searches sitting there right in front of me. :mad:

[David DeCristoforo]

"I've always had a BEAR of a time setting up these stupid bits."

There actually is an "easy way". I wrote an instruction many years ago and have seen many variations on the basic technique. Here's a pretty simple version:

http://www.daviddecristoforo.com/Misc/lockmiter.pdf

Like Brian suggests, after you have the setup right, save some test pieces for next time. Also, after you do your setup, if you mill your stock 1/16" thicker than your test pieces, you will end up with a small flat running on the fence (or table) instead of a sharp point. After you mill the joints, you can plane the pieces down to final thickness.

[Brad Shipton]

You fellows need an Aigner Distometer (A magnetic caliper setup tool that is very very accurate). Makes setup of a lock miter a bit easier, but I suppose most do not want to drop $800 for one. Personally, I find having a proper jig to make the vertical passes as important for this joint to work properly. Any stock imperfections will show up like a sore thumb with this joint. Not as bad for smaller drawer type stock, but I have made some larger drawers with a lock miter on the shaper and it was critical to have a jig to clamp the upright pieces to rigidly to avoid a poor looking joint. Some may be intereste in taking a look at the jig David P Best shows on his site (davidpbest dot com). Thats the jig I made. Works great.

David, sure wish I would have seen your website earlier. Great stuff.

Brad

[David DeCristoforo]

"You fellows need an Aigner Distometer..."

Actually... no we don't!!!!

[Brad Shipton]

David, ok, ok, maybe not for router bits, but it sure speeds up setups for shaper cutters. I right down all the exact dimensions in a book and I can repeat things quite quickly using this. Lee valley sells a nice analog version for a lot less. I will admit to liking gadgets.

Ciao

[Alan Schwabacher]

Really? So do you adjust the height or the fence first? What do you set where? I've always had a BEAR of a time setting up these stupid bits. I'm an educated man but these things confound me everytime...even when I have several methods printed out from web searches sitting there right in front of me. :mad:

The key is that you need to get the bit height set first, before worrying about the fence. Once the height is perfect, then set the fence.

Start by setting the bit height so the middle of the profile is at about the middle of your test stock, which has been planed to be exactly the same thickness as your real stock. Align test stock against the fence, and set the fence a little close -- so that a pass with the stock flat to the table will not quite take off the top edge of the stock. This is not a correct setting of the fence, it is one that will allow your test pieces to ride against the fence without losing their guide.

Now make passes on two pieces of test stock, both run flat to the table. Fit the two together flat, and see how close they are to the same plane. Adjust the bit up or down by half the offset, and try again. Once the two pieces fit together with both faces even, the height of the bit is correct, and should be left alone.

Now you need to adjust the fence away from the bit until a pass leaves a sharp edge. You don't need to make a full length pass to check this. If there is a flat on the edge, the fence needs to be further from the bit. Run the end of the stock only an inch past the bit and then stop the router. If you have a sharp edge formed, check to see if there is any space between the sharp edge and the fence. If there is space, measure it and move the fence closer by that much. Once you can run the correct thickness stock past the blade and cut a sharp edge on top that can run against the fence in line with the original edge, you are done and the bit and fence are both correct.

Run an extra piece of scrap along a full edge, and you can use it later to set height of bit and fence for stock of exactly that thickness. To use it as a gauge for thicker stock, measure the thickness of the other stock, and place shims of half the difference underneath your gauge piece as you set height and fence.

Now cut the pieces, one flat to the table, and the other on edge against the tall fence. This second piece is sometimes tricky, since its weight rides on the sharp edge. One way to prevent damage to the edge while cutting a large heavy workpiece is to clamp a straightedge to it so the straightedge rides the top of your fence, carrying the weight of the workpiece rather than the sharp edge.

If you have tearout on cutting the joints in a single pass, you can get a cleaner cut with multiple passes. The challenge is to accurately align the cuts, and if moving the fence, to get it back to the exactly right spot for each final pass. Before doing this, try scoring the edge of the cut with a cutting gauge to see if that prevents tearout. If it's not enough, you can use shims on the fence for the first pass(es), and remove shims for the final pass. Or you can clamp blocks to your router table touching the back of the properly adjusted fence. Leave these blocks in place and you can move your fence closer for early cuts, and set the fence against the blocks for the final pass.

There are places on the web with photoessays showing the process. woodshopdemos has one that's good. My description probably has more details than you need, but I think it has all the details one might want.