For the router enthusiast

[ben]

not a bad site for info on the router

[Mike Dodd]

Talking of routers...

Just bought a Makita 1/2" router from Screwfix, together with a 30mm collar and a worktop jig.

Okay, the whole lot's useless as the carrier seems to have misplaced the package with the jig in (why do Screwfix post items separately sometimes

- and why do they not indicate that the order has more than one parcel - "Consignment: 1" on the website, "Delivery 1 of 1" on the invoice, also, no "*" marked items when at the bottom of the invoice they state "items marked '*' may be delivered separately... anyway, rant over on that topic).

...but I've married the 30mm collar to the router (nice clamp system, not like my cheap and cheerful (and deadly) 1/4" Ferm) and my impression is that the collar is too deep - that is, the collar projects maybe 10mm from the plate of the router. Now, until the carriers find the package with the jig in, I can't check this 10mm against the depth of the jig, but I'd be surprised if the jig itself is 10mm deep.

So the question is... in the situation where you have a router with a collar fitted that is deeper than the template/jig, what is the solution?

Two solutions spring to mind - cut down the collar (don't like this idea) or knock up a deeper plate for the router - some 1/2" plywood somehow bolted to the existing plate, or remove the existing plate to replace with this new one.

...or do I seek out a replacement collar with less height?

Keen to get started :) - new router, £200 worth of worktop sat outside under tarp, SWMBO waiting for her new kitchen and one lost, critical, parcel in the post. Just waiting to go for it (but don't get me started on the cracked new kitchen sink)

Mike

[Andy Hall]

You don't say which jig you are talking about, Mike, but the one I have is at least this deep - quite substantial. For one thing, the pegs to locate the jig have to fit in it firmly.

Two things here. Did you buy the collars specified by Makita? Even so, I've never had an issue with my DW625 - collars that I've bought fitted OK.

If you had to, a piece of ply or MDF would make a reasonable spacer.

I would be inclined to wait until you get the rest of the shipment and see whether you actually do have a problem. It's easy to fix if you do.

[ben]

rec.woodworking :-)

[Mike Dodd]

The budget one - £50, rather than the £80 one.

The collar is a Makita one, to fit a Makita 3612

Re. waiting for the rest of the shipment, yeah, resigned to that now.

Thanks for info.

[John Rumm]

I ordered a Screfix jig for a friend a while back. If yours is the same, then no need to worry since it is over 1/2" thick.

[Brian Sharrock]

Concur! My jig - it's too far away to get out and measure its thickness but it's - quite substantial. You (or at least, I) need a fair amount of 'engagement' between the jig cutout - collar as there's a fair bit of 'wanting to go its own way' when you're guiding the router cutter through the workpiece.

A 10 mm jig doesn't seem substantial enough ... I tend to use at least

12mm mdf for guiding.

I know the feeling ... but in my case I gave the worktops/ router/ clamps / workmates etc. etc. several coats of 'looking at" - before, after having staved off the job long enough, I attacked the several hundreds pounds of wooden worktops with the router's cutter - measure TWICE(?) - that's nowhere enough times.

Brian

[Andy Hall]

You're welcome.

A few more tips for using the jig.

- Do make sure that it is very well clamped to the workpiece before starting

- Most jigs have a slot that is slightly oversized for the collar - 1 or 2mm. The idea is that you push the router along the side away from the final line to do the cutting through the worktop. This is a good router, but making several passes when cutting will keep up the speed of the cutter and give a cleaner result. Something like 8-10mm of cut at a time is a good plan. Once you have cut through the worktop with the router pushed against the slot away from the line, you can trim off the last few mm by running it along the side of the slot nearer the line.

- Do make sure that the piece being trimmed off is properly supported. If you can arrange it, a good way is to support the whole piece of worktop (or at least the area being cut) on a workbench. Use some battens underneath to support the worktop away from the top of the bench. In this way, nothing will drop as you complete the cut.

- The connector bolts work quite well to pull the sections of worktop together. However, they don't prevent vertical movement of one section relative to the other. A good solution for this is to use biscuits. If you have a biscuit joiner, then great, but otherwise for this purpose, you can get a biscuit slotting router bit. You cut grooves along the edges of the worktop to be joined and insert beech biscuits. Glue them if you want. This will give perfect vertical alignment.

- If you have a piece of gash old worktop that you are removing, then it's worth practicing on that before going for the new one.

- Measure many times......

[Mike Dodd]

You're cheating!, you're reciting from the instruction manual for the jig that I managed to download from Screwfix. That does mention the oversized cut, the 10mm/pass (although the router instructions suggests a max of 20mm - I think I'll stick with 10mm), the well-clamped approach, and the measure twice/cut once approach.

Blokey discussions at work have already brought the biscuit jointer to the forefront - I knew 2 years ago that I'd find an application for it :)

... as for the idea of a biscuit slot router bit - seen em in the catalogue - that's as close as I'd like to ever get to one.

The old worktop?, that's a good idea - was going to practice with a lump of MDF I have lying around, but might as well try on the old worktop (after I've used it as a template ;)

It's strange - the project (or rather the knowledge of an amount of tools being bought / becoming available) has sparked a lot of interest at work - probably talked more there about technique than I hope to spend actually cutting.

[Andy Hall]

Just remembered from when I did it.

You probably *could* manage 20mm with this router if you took it slowly, but it's not a good way. This depth would create a lot of waste from the cut and a lot of heat. If the waste isn't being cleared properly and compresses in the cut, you have a risk of the router being pushed out of line.

If you can arrange some dust extraction at the router, it's a good idea but not absolutely essential.

They are pretty good - I use mine quite a bit for various jobs..

It's no bad thing to plan it all out. You can get very good results with this technique, but it is important to take time over it.

The last worktop jointing that I did was for an L-shaped desk using a woodblock top. I wanted to arrange it so that there was a section of worktop at 45degrees to each of the other two (well 135 degrees really) to form a section to sit at and have a large CRT monitor at the back. This entailed cutting two postformed joints symmetrically, but then because of the depth of the corner piece, I had to add a triangular section at the back to form the complete top. It took me a couple of hours to lay it all out, check and re-check it and to do the cuts. The results were worth it though.

[Mike Dodd]

And to top it all... received my new parcel. Worktop jig?, nope, 12m of unsolicited oak-effect skirting board.

Starting to get a little pissed off with Screwfix.