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Hi Folks;
New edit:
Hey, I think the thing will fit out the cellar door now! Thanks for all the hints. And for the nice words. It really is easy to use, yes I would make it again, yes it looks a bit dicey sticking out there in mid air, but it cuts really easy without much force needed it you take off a little at a time.
(Jeez, I just looked at this and it's really "big"..I don't know how to make it smaller [V] Sorry folks)[/i][/i]I just finished putting together a pretty simple (right up my alley
) horizontal router fixture that was in Fine Woodworking magazine, Winter 2004/2005. They call it a "Shopmade Slot Mortiser". It's basically platforms made from MDF glued up three high so the platforms are 2 1/4thick. One 8x29 platform slides into the router direction on "T track" attached to the 20x30 base. I used a piece of 3/4 melamine particle board I had left over for the base.
Another platform 8x18 slides on top of that one again with this "T track", This one slides across the router direction, so now you have sliding platforms both into and across the router. The magazine bottom base is 3/4 ply 20x30. I guess you could even your workbench if you wanted it permanently situated. (I didn't think of that...hmmm..) This top platform has two "T tracks" mitered flush with the top so that you can attach another MDF two thicknesses high about 5x8 to it with 1/4 20 hardware. This block has a clamp attached to it to hold down your work piece. Boy, this is getting long! A bit more...and I think the best part of my "Slot Mortiser".
The router in the magazine is attached to a Rockler aluminum router table plate and the plate is attached to a "block" of the same MDF but it's only about 4x8 or so. This block is bolted to the base and the aluminum plate is bolted to the block. It makes a very sable attachment to your base. The down side is the router is fixed and not adjustable up or down, so the workpiece has to be raised or lowered (positioned) with shims. What was really neat for me was I used my PC 690 router's edge guide accessory to mount the router to the base instead of the aluminum plate (cost wise, I think the edge guide is about the same as the aluminum plate). The edge guide lets you move the router anywhere along it of course but it also has a micropositioner built it which makes adjusting the height of the router to the workpiece real easy. I had to do a little blocking and clamping to make it stable, but it's really pretty good. I will try to post a couple of pics, but I'm not sure I know how [
)].
I'm also sort of embarrassed posting a simple thing like this that is a far cry from the quality of Mr. Kirby's fine jigs and fixtures he shares with us. (especially that ugly melamine particle board base I used. I'm going to go out and buy some baltic birch and "spruce it up" or "birch it up"
)
I'm hoping it will help out a few of you who would like to make a slot mortiser out of your router that's really easy to make and use. Especially if you have an edge guide you can modify to mount your router.
Here's the pics... hold your breath! Hopefully they are worth the "thousand words" I used trying to explain this!
New edit:
Hey, I think the thing will fit out the cellar door now! Thanks for all the hints. And for the nice words. It really is easy to use, yes I would make it again, yes it looks a bit dicey sticking out there in mid air, but it cuts really easy without much force needed it you take off a little at a time.
(Jeez, I just looked at this and it's really "big"..I don't know how to make it smaller [V] Sorry folks)[/i][/i]I just finished putting together a pretty simple (right up my alley
) horizontal router fixture that was in Fine Woodworking magazine, Winter 2004/2005. They call it a "Shopmade Slot Mortiser". It's basically platforms made from MDF glued up three high so the platforms are 2 1/4thick. One 8x29 platform slides into the router direction on "T track" attached to the 20x30 base. I used a piece of 3/4 melamine particle board I had left over for the base. Another platform 8x18 slides on top of that one again with this "T track", This one slides across the router direction, so now you have sliding platforms both into and across the router. The magazine bottom base is 3/4 ply 20x30. I guess you could even your workbench if you wanted it permanently situated. (I didn't think of that...hmmm..) This top platform has two "T tracks" mitered flush with the top so that you can attach another MDF two thicknesses high about 5x8 to it with 1/4 20 hardware. This block has a clamp attached to it to hold down your work piece. Boy, this is getting long! A bit more...and I think the best part of my "Slot Mortiser".
The router in the magazine is attached to a Rockler aluminum router table plate and the plate is attached to a "block" of the same MDF but it's only about 4x8 or so. This block is bolted to the base and the aluminum plate is bolted to the block. It makes a very sable attachment to your base. The down side is the router is fixed and not adjustable up or down, so the workpiece has to be raised or lowered (positioned) with shims. What was really neat for me was I used my PC 690 router's edge guide accessory to mount the router to the base instead of the aluminum plate (cost wise, I think the edge guide is about the same as the aluminum plate). The edge guide lets you move the router anywhere along it of course but it also has a micropositioner built it which makes adjusting the height of the router to the workpiece real easy. I had to do a little blocking and clamping to make it stable, but it's really pretty good
. I will try to post a couple of pics, but I'm not sure I know how [)].I'm also sort of embarrassed posting a simple thing like this that is a far cry from the quality of Mr. Kirby's fine jigs and fixtures he shares with us. (especially that ugly melamine particle board base I used. I'm going to go out and buy some baltic birch and "spruce it up" or "birch it up"
) I'm hoping it will help out a few of you who would like to make a slot mortiser out of your router that's really easy to make and use. Especially if you have an edge guide you can modify to mount your router.
Here's the pics... hold your breath! Hopefully they are worth the "thousand words" I used trying to explain this!
Rod, you are my hero!
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