Figure 22-19. Guide the stock against the piloted bit to shape
the curved edge.
would for edging as explained
earlier in this chapter. Shop-made
hold-down fences (Figure 22-16)
will allow the use of feather boards
in providing improved workpiece
control during operations (Figure
22-17).
If your finished molding will be
curved, first cut out the curved
shape on a wide piece of stock
(Figure 22-18). Then shape this
curved edge on the routing system
(Figure 22-19). Remember that if
you're using a piloted bit, no fixtures or fences will be required,
since the pilot of the bit will control
your depth-of-cut during operations. If you're using an un-piloted
bit, you will need to use the fence
when cutting straight moldings-a
fixture (details provided later in this
chapter) or an undersized guide pin
(as explained under edging earlier
in this chapter) when cutting curved
moldings.
Once you've formed the shaped
edge (curved or straight), simply
cut it away from your workpiece
using a bandsaw or scroll saw
(Figure 22-20) and complete the
operation by sanding the edges.
MORTISING
Mortises are most commonly
used for joinery in cabinet projects.
However, there are other applications such as hinge mortises, inlay
work and hollowed-out boxes of all
Figure 22-20. Use a bandsaw or scroll saw to cut the shaped
edge away from the workpiece.
Figure 22-21. Construction details of special fence extensions and stops that can be
attached to the routing system fence to help limit and control stopped cuts.
types.
Hinge Mortises
As a rule, most hinge mortising
is performed with a chisel. And, if
you're mortising for hinges on the
edges of wide or large doors, this is
still the best method because
workpieces that are wider (or
thicker) than 12" will not fit between the table surface and the
router bit. However, if you have a
lot of mortises to cut in the surfaces
of cabinet doors or similar projects,
the routing system can make them
quickly and accurately.
Figure 22-22. When working large doors or box lids, clamp the stops directly to the
door or lid to limit your cuts.
Figure 22-23. First, cut around the edges
of your mortise with a small diameter
straight bit. Then remove the remainder
of the stock with a larger diameter
straight bit.
Figure 22-24. Mortised-out boxes like these are easy to make witn me rowing
Figure 22-25. When a great deal of stock
must be removed from a mortise, begin by
drilling over-lapping holes on the drill
press.
Figure 22-26. Once the stock has been
removed from the center of the box,
clean-up the edges with a router
First, locate the positions of the
hinges on the door surfaces and
mark them very carefully. If you're
working with small doors or box
lids, simple shop-made fence extensions and stops can be attached
to the routing system fence to limit
your cuts in both directions. Make
the fence extensions and stops as
shown in Figure 22-21. When
working with larger doors or lids
that extend beyond the edges of
the table, simply clamp the stops
to the door or lid itself (Figure 2222).
Measure the thickness of the
hinge very carefully. Make your
initial cuts with the smallest
diameter straight bit you have so
the corners will be as close to
square as possible. Set the depthof-cut of your bit to match the
thickness of your hinge and make
a test pass on a piece of scrap to
verify the proper depth-of-cut.
Make all the cuts around the
outer edges of your mortise (full
depth) with the small bit (Figure
22-23). Then, remove the remainder of the stock from your mortise
by changing to a larger diameter
bit or by rocking your workpiece
back and forth against the small
diameter bit, using the stops and
the fence extensions to limit your
cuts. When you've finished, square
all corners with a chisel and insert
your hinges.
If you're cutting mortises for
odd-shaped hinges or hardware, it's
often best to do this free hand.
First, trace the outline of the
hinge onto your workpiece. Then,
carefully rout away the stock in the
center of your mortise, being sure
to stay about 1/16" to 1/8" away
from the outer cutline. Finally, rout
away the remainder of the stock to
complete your mortise. Note:
Trace the profile of the mortise
onto your workpiece with a razor
knife. Then, darken the line with a
pencil. As you make your final cuts
to the profiled edge of the mortise,
the router bit will turn up a fuzzy
wood burr at the edge of the cut
that will fall off as the bit reaches
the line.
Making Mortised Boxes
The routing system is perfect
for making all types of mortised-out
boxes for jewelry, pencils, etc.
(Figure 22-24).
The techniques used here are
very similar to those used for
mortising hinges. However, since
boxes usually require that a lot of
stock be removed, it is suggested
that you start by doing this with
brad-point bits or forstner bits on
the drill press (Figure 22-25).
When you have finished this
process, cut out the scrap with a
bench chisel and clean-up the edges
and bottom with a router bit (Figure 22-26).
For this job, you can use either
a straight bit or a special 3-in-1 bit,
which forms a flat bottom, straight
sides and a coved edge where the
bottom and sides meet.
To control the cuts, use the
fence extensions and stops, much as
you would with hinge mortises.
JOINERY
The overarm mode of the
routing system is an excellent way
to make a wide variety of structural
joints for cabinets and furniture
projects of all types (Figure 22-27).
Figure 22-27. Some of the structural
joints that can be formed with the routing
system
The router bit's high operating
speed allows it to make cuts that
are cleaner than those produced by
a table saw. And in some cases (like
the mortise for a mortise and
tenon), it will perform operations
that simply cannot be done on the
table saw.
Generally, most joints are
formed by using un-piloted straight
bits with the workpiece
being guided by a fence, miter
gauge and/or stops to control and
limit the depths-of-cut. This capability provides the advantage of
repetition, ensuring that every cut
will be identical to the last.
As with other routing system
operations, it's often best to back
up the exit sides of through crossgrain cuts with scrap blocks (or to
allow sufficient extra stock so that
some can be removed after the
initial cuts are made) to prevent
unsightly tear-outs.
In some cases (such as squarecornered mortise and tenons), the
corners of the joints will require
squaring with a chisel after they've
been cut. However, if you're producing a rounded mortise (which is
perfectly acceptable in most cases),
you'll have to round the ends of the
matching tenon with a file or
pocketknife to match the mortise.
Another option is to cut the tenon
Figure 22-28. Notice how the guide pin rides in a groove on the underside of the fixture
to control the cutting of a matching profile in the workpiece attached to the top of the
fixture
shorter so its square corners will
slip inside the rounded ends of the
mortise.
DUPLICATING
Of all the unique capabilities
provided by the overarm mode of
the routing system, high-speed
duplication of complete projects or
project components is the most
interesting and challenging.
Through the use of shop-made
guiding fixtures, you will be able to
make an unlimited number of
identical pieces, quickly and accurately.
As we explained briefly in the
beginning of this chapter, the
process works by guiding a pre-cut
fixture over a pin which protrudes
up from the routing system table
surface. When a bit is installed
directly above the pin (and in
perfect alignment with it), a matching pattern is cut into a workpiece
attached to the opposite side of the
fixture (Figure 22-28).
Types and Styles of Fixtures
There are two types of fixtures
that can be used with the routing
Figure 22-29. A typical screw-on fixture.
system: permanent and temporary.
Permanent Fixtures are more
complicated in their design and
allow for rapid attachment and
removal of workpieces in a repetitive fashion. They are generally
used when making five or more of
the same project or component.
Temporary Fixtures are
usually nothing more than a
wooden template of a simple design
that is merely screwed to your
workpiece. Temporary fixtures
often require more time to attach
and remove the workpieces than
permanent fixtures. This is perfectly
acceptable since it makes little
sense to spend a lot of time building
a complicated fixture that will be
used to produce less than five
identical projects or components.
When making fixtures, it's
important to think about how many
times they will be used before
deciding how the workpiece will be
held in position. If you're planning
to make a large number of the same
piece, you will want a fixture that
allows the rapid attachment and
removal of stock. If you're only
making one or a few of the same
piece, this is less important.
There are a number of different
styles of fixtures, determined by
the way the stock is held in position
and whether you are cutting on the
outside, inside or both edges of
your workpiece:
Screw-on Fixtures (Figure 22-
Figure 22-30. A typical drive-on fixture.
Figure 22-31. Two typical clamp-in
fixtures: (A) floating bar and(B) cam
clamp.
Figure 22-32. A typical drop-in fixture.