Router table miter slot

[Ed62]

I would think you could use a miter gauge or the SMT to make dadoes in a long board with your router if you didn't have a dado blade for your tablesaw or even if it was just a one-shot deal where you didn't want to mount your dado blade. You wouldn't be using a fence so being square to it wouldn't be a concern.

I think I understand what they're saying. If you were using a fence without a miter guage, there would be no problem how the fence was set since there is nothing to line up with. In order for it to work with the miter guage being square to the fence, the fence must be square to the miter slot. The miter guage could be square to the fence, but if the fence is not square to the miter slot, you wouldn't get an evenly routed dado. They must work in combination, or at least that's the way I see it. If I'm wrong, someone will surely let us know.

Ed

[RickLab]

Ed, Yep, I knew what they were saying - It seemed that the general consensus was that there was no use for a miter slot so I was just trying to come up with a use for a miter slot that didn't involve the fence.

[Ed62]

I think it might have been better to say the miter gauge/sled fence must be faced perpendicular to the slot. Or maybe I just don't understand the whole thing.

Ed

[axa]

Thus the consensus seems to be the slot may not be the best way to get a router miter.
But even a poorly set T-track slot may be worthy just for its use with a feather or spring board.
For safety as much as to apply constant pressure for a good finish.
Then still you must determine what the best distance is...
I thought about having 2 slots, one about 4-5 inches, and another as far away as possible.

[LarryG]

I suggest you save your money, and your router table's top. You don't need a miter slot on a router table. You can instead use a sled that rides against the fence, or the front edge of the table.

[jziegler]

I just want to say that I think that Keith and Larry are givving great advice on not adding a miter slot. I have a miter slot in the router table that I bought, and it came with a POS miter gauge. Not having a sled, I have made some flat panel cabinet doors with the miter gauge, a scrap of wood, and some clamps. In order to get it to work, the fence has to be exactly parallel to the miter slot. You have to hold the wood just right. While I was able to get decent doors, I wish that I had used a sled. Every door has at least one corner that isn't quite right.

Skip the slot, buy or make a sled (Bill Hylton's great book "Woodworking with the Router" has information on making a sled, along with lots of other great information).

Jim