To fully work with a hand router, in addition to the tool itself, the material and the corresponding set of cutters, you must have one more component - fixtures. In order for the cutter to be able to shape the workpiece in accordance with the master's plan - cutting the material exactly where it is required - it must be in a strictly defined position relative to the workpiece at each moment of time. Numerous accessories for a hand router are used to ensure this. Some of them - the most necessary ones - are included in the scope of delivery of the instrument. Other devices for milling can be purchased or made by yourself. Moreover, homemade devices are so simple that to make them you can do without drawings, using only their drawings.

Rip fence

The most used device that comes with almost every router is a parallel stop, which ensures the straight movement of the cutter relative to the base surface. The latter can be the straight edge of a part, table or guide rail. The parallel stop can be used both for milling various grooves located on the face of the workpiece, and for processing edges.

Parallel stop for a manual router: 1 - stop, 2 - rod, 3 - base of the router, 4 - rod locking screw, 5 - fine adjustment screw, 6 - movable carriage, 7 - movable carriage locking screw, 8 - pads, 9 - screw stop locking.

To install the device in the working position, it is necessary to slide the rods 2 into the holes of the frame 3, ensuring the required distance between the supporting surface of the stop and the axis of the cutter, and fix them with the locking screw 4. To accurately position the cutter, you need to release the locking screw 9 and rotate the fine adjustment screw 5 set the cutter to the desired position. For some stop models, the dimensions of the supporting surface can be changed by moving or spreading the support pads 8.

If you add one simple part to the rip fence, then you can use it to mill not only straight, but also curved grooves, for example, to process a round workpiece. Moreover, the inner surface of the block located between the stop and the workpiece does not necessarily have to have a rounded shape that follows the edge of the workpiece. It can also be given a simpler shape (Figure “a”). In this case, the trajectory of the cutter will not change.

Of course, a regular rip fence, thanks to the notch in the center, will allow you to orient the router along a rounded edge, but the position of the router may not be stable enough.

The function of the guide bar is similar to that of a rip fence. Like the latter, it ensures strictly linear movement of the router. The main difference between them is that the tire can be installed at any angle to the edge of the part or table, thereby ensuring any direction of movement of the router in the horizontal plane. In addition, the tire may have elements that simplify certain operations, for example, milling holes located at the same distance from each other (with a certain pitch), etc.

The guide rail is attached to the table or workpiece using clamps or special clamps. The tire can be equipped with an adapter (shoe), which is connected to the base of the router by two rods. Sliding along the profile of the tire, the adapter sets the linear movement of the cutter.

Sometimes (if the distance of the tire from the router is too close), the supporting surfaces of the tire and the router may appear in different planes in height. To level them, some routers are equipped with retractable support legs, which change the position of the router in height.

Such a device is easy to make with your own hands. The simplest option is a long block secured to the workpiece with clamps. The design can be supplemented with side supports.

By placing a block on two or more aligned workpieces at once, grooves can be made in them in one pass.

When using a block as a stop, it is inconvenient to place the block at a certain distance from the line of the future groove. The following two devices do not have this inconvenience. The first is made from boards and plywood fastened together. In this case, the distance from the edge of the stop (board) to the edge of the base (plywood) is equal to the distance from the cutter to the edge of the router base. But this condition is met only for a cutter of the same diameter. Thanks to this, the device quickly aligns along the edge of the future groove.

The following device can be used with cutters of different diameters, plus when milling, the router rests on its entire sole, and not half, as in the previous device.

The stop is aligned along the edge of the hinged board and the center line of the groove. After fixing the stop, the folding board folds back, making room for the router. The width of the folding board, together with the gap between it and the stop (if there is one), should be equal to the distance from the center of the cutter to the edge of the router base. If you focus on the edge of the cutter and the edge of the future groove, then the device will only work with one diameter of the cutter.

When milling grooves across the grain, at the exit from the workpiece, when milling an open groove, cases of wood scuffing are not uncommon. The following devices will help to minimize scuffing: I press the fibers where the cutter exits, preventing them from splitting off from the workpiece.

Two boards, strictly perpendicular, are connected with screws. Different cutters are used on different sides of the stop so that the width of the groove in the fixture matches the width of the groove of the part being milled.

Another tool for routing open slots can be pressed harder against the workpiece, which further minimizes scuffing, but it only fits one diameter cutter. It consists of two L-shaped parts connected to the workpiece with clamps.

Copy rings and templates

The copying ring is a round plate with a protruding shoulder that slides along the template and provides the necessary trajectory of the cutter. The copying ring is attached to the base of the router in various ways: they screw it into a threaded hole (such rings are in the photo below), insert the antennae of the ring into special holes on the base, or screw it with screws.

The diameter of the copy ring should be as close to the diameter of the cutter as possible, but the ring should not touch its cutting parts. If the diameter of the ring is larger than the diameter of the cutter, then the template must be smaller than the finished parts to compensate for the difference between the diameter of the cutter and the diameter of the copy ring.

The template is secured to the workpiece with double-sided tape, then both parts are pressed with clamps to the workbench. Once you have finished routing, check that the ring is pressed against the edge of the template throughout the entire operation.

You can make a template for processing not the entire edge, but only for rounding the corners. In this case, using the template shown below, you can make roundings of four different radii.

In the figure above, a cutter with a bearing is used, but the template can also be used with a ring, only either the ring must exactly match the diameter of the cutter, or the stops must make it possible to move the template away from the edge by the difference in the radius of the cutter and the ring. This also applies to the simpler version shown below.

Templates are used not only for milling edges, but also grooves on the face.

The template can be adjustable.

Template routing is a great method for cutting out hinge grooves.

Tools for milling round and elliptical grooves

Compasses are designed to move the router around a circle. The simplest device of this type is a compass, consisting of one rod, one end of which is connected to the base of the router, and the second has a screw with a pin at the end, which is inserted into a hole that serves as the center of the circle along which the cutter moves. The radius of the circle is set by shifting the rod relative to the base of the router.

It is better, of course, for the compass to be made of two rods.

In general, compasses are a very common device. There are a large number of branded and homemade devices for circumferential milling, varying in size and ease of use. As a rule, compasses have a mechanism that ensures a change in the radius of the circle. It is usually made in the form of a screw with a pin at the end, moving along the groove of the device. The pin is inserted into the central hole of the part.

When it is necessary to mill a circle of small diameter, the pin must be located under the router base, and for such cases, other devices are used that are attached to the bottom of the router base.

Ensuring the movement of the cutter in a circle using a compass is quite simple. However, one often has to deal with the need to make elliptical contours - when inserting oval-shaped mirrors or glass, installing arched windows or doors, etc. The PE60 WEGOMA device (Germany) is designed for milling ellipses and circles.

It is a base in the form of a plate, attached to the surface using vacuum suction cups 1 or with screws if the nature of the surface does not allow it to be fixed using suction cups. Two shoes 2, moving along intersecting guides, ensure the movement of the milling cutter along an elliptical path. When milling a circle, only one shoe is used. The device kit includes two mounting rods and bracket 3, with the help of which the router is connected to the slab. The grooves on the bracket allow you to install the router so that its supporting surface and the base of the slab are in the same plane.

As can be seen from the photographs above, a router was used instead of a jigsaw or band saw, and due to the high speed of the cutter, the quality of the processed surface was much higher. Also, if you don’t have a hand-held circular saw, a router can replace it.

Devices for milling grooves on narrow surfaces

Grooves for locks and door hinges, in the absence of a router, are made using a chisel and an electric drill. This operation - especially when making a groove for an internal lock - takes a lot of time. Having a milling cutter and a special device, it can be completed several times faster. It is convenient to have a device that provides milling of slots in a wide range of sizes.

To make grooves in the end, you can make a simple device in the form of a flat base attached to the base of the router. Its shape can be not only round (according to the shape of the base of the router), but also rectangular. On both sides you need to secure guide pins that will ensure the straight movement of the router. The main condition for their installation is that their axes are in line with the center of the cutter. If this condition is ensured, the groove will be located exactly in the center of the workpiece, regardless of its thickness. If you need to move the groove to one side or another from the center, you need to put a bushing with a certain wall thickness on one of the pins, as a result of which the groove will move to the side on which the pin with the bushing is located. When using a router with such a device, it must be guided in such a way that the pins are pressed on both sides to the side surfaces of the part.

If you attach a second rip fence to the router, you will also get a device for milling grooves in the edge.

But you can do without special devices. To ensure stability of the router on a narrow surface, boards are secured on both sides of the part, the surface of which should form a single plane with the surface being processed. When milling, the router is positioned using a rip fence.

You can make an improved version that increases the support area for the router.

Device for processing balusters, pillars and other bodies of rotation

The variety of work that is performed with a manual milling cutter sometimes dictates the need to independently manufacture devices that facilitate the performance of certain operations. Branded devices are not able to cover the entire range of work, and they are quite expensive. Therefore, home-made devices for a router are very common among users who are interested in working with wood, and sometimes hand-made devices are either superior to branded analogues or have no branded analogues at all.

Sometimes there is a need to mill various grooves in rotating bodies. In this case, the device shown below may be useful.

The device is used for milling longitudinal grooves (flutes) on balusters, posts, etc. It consists of a body 2, a movable carriage with an installed milling cutter 1, a disk for setting the angle of rotation 3. The device operates as follows. The baluster is placed in the body and secured there with screws 4. Rotation to the desired angle and fixation of the workpiece in a strictly defined position is ensured by disk 3 and locking screw 5. After fixing the part, the carriage with the router is set in motion (along the guide bars of the body), and the milling a groove along the length of the workpiece. Then the product is unlocked, rotated to the required angle, locked, and the next groove is made.

A similar device can be used instead of a lathe. The workpiece should be rotated slowly by an assistant or a simple drive, for example, from a drill or screwdriver, and excess material should be removed by a milling cutter moving along the guides.

Tools for milling tenons

Tenoning jigs are used to mill the profile of tenon joints. The manufacture of the latter requires great precision, which is almost impossible to achieve manually. Tenoning jigs allow you to quickly and easily profile even complex joints such as dovetails.

The figure below shows an industrial sample of a tenon-cutting device for making three types of joints - a dovetail (blind and through version) and a through joint with a straight tenon. The two mating parts are installed in the fixture with a certain shift relative to each other, controlled by pins 1 and 2, then they are processed. The exact trajectory of the cutter is determined by the shape of the groove in the template and the copying ring of the router, which slides along the edge of the template, repeating its shape.

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Using tongue-and-groove joints at home will allow you to independently create beautiful furniture that is also reliable. Even the frames of low-rise buildings are connected using this scheme, especially when it comes to serious loads during operation. Therefore, it will be useful to understand how to make a tenon and groove using manual milling cutters.

Tools used

In this case, the sampling of material is carried out on the surface of the beams and boards from the side. The main thing is that the proposed connection maintains its dimensions in terms of geometry.

To complete the process using a milling cutter, it is possible to use tools equipped with shanks with a diameter of 8 or 12 millimeters. The so-called groove cutter will become a universal option when performing any type of work. The device is equipped with a cutting part, the basic operating principle of which is described as follows:

1. The side surface is involved in the formation of the sides of the tenon, the wall part of the grooves.
2. The side with the end part is used when processing the bottom. After this, the required layer of material is removed from the base of the spike.

The result is the simultaneous formation of both tenons and grooves on the surface on the sides. The sizes can be individually adjusted, and the owner has quite a wide range of options in this regard.

Sometimes for grooves and tenons they choose not a rectangular shape, but the so-called “dovetail” type. This option is relevant if increased requirements are placed on connection reliability. Accordingly, the cutter used is also called a “dovetail” in this case. Such work can be easily done with hand tools if the need arises.

Making a device for picking out a tenon

When parts are processed manually, the milling cutter itself does not have additional spatial fixation. But the overall result of the work and the accuracy of the connection itself in the future depend on this.

To assemble the simplest design that can cope with the task, you will need to use:

• Several guides that remain stationary. They should be side and top or bottom.
• The length of the sample is adjusted through the use of an appropriate movable bar.

For manufacturing, the following sequence of actions is used:

1. A plywood sheet is taken, from one edge of which the side elements are mounted in a vertical plane. It is necessary to create appropriate cutouts in the center of the material.
2. The sides are equipped with guides. The base of the hand cutter moves along them later.
3. The side strips are fixed on the upper guides. Then the movement of the working milling cutter associated with these parts becomes limited.
4. The plywood sheet, which became the basis for the installation, also serves as a surface for installing the moving element. Then the amount of edge overhang for the future workpiece is easier to control under any circumstances. Fixation is ensured with ordinary screws and other types of fixing devices.

There are several points during manufacturing that require special consideration:

• The upper guides have a height corresponding to the sum of the thickness for the part under processing and a small gap at which the wedge involved in fixation is installed.
• The forming tenon has a certain length, which is taken into account when determining the vertical thickness of the cutouts in the side elements.

When such devices are used, the work is carried out with the participation of hand-held milling cutters of any modern model.

Fixtures are made in the following way if dovetail connections are required.

1. A hole is created inside a sheet of plywood with several layers. The cutting part at the cutter itself protrudes from this part.
2. A plywood sheet is prepared in advance, on the bottom of which the manual router itself is fixed. Clamps and screws are perfect for doing the job, as are other types of fastenings.
3. The board, 2.5 centimeters thick, is attached to a plywood sheet, which subsequently participates in the movement of the prepared part. The function of the guides is taken over by the design. Boards are consumables with one-time use.

Creating tenons on bars and boards

Processing is performed using the following sequence of actions:

• The part to be processed is mounted on a plane from the bottom side.
• The edge of the part where the tenon is formed accommodates the cutouts at the guides at the top. The structure moves inward until it hits the end.
• A movable type element must be fixed while maintaining a certain position.
• We use a wedge tool to connect the guides and the plane located at the top to each other.
• Connection of a hand router with the upper guides.
• Using a router tool on a home router table, wood is removed from one side.
• When the first side of the workpiece is processed, begin the second.

The operation will be successful only with high performance and accuracy parameters. Setup refers to the required steps before the instruments are turned on. To resolve the issue, actions are performed in the following sequence:

1. The milling tool is lowered until it reaches the surface of the base.
2. Measuring the thickness of a part.
3. The thickness result is divided by 4. The result is the distance parameter that is maintained when lifting the cutter above the base.

Wood cutter "Dovetail"

For mortises and tenons under similar circumstances: only half the normal width. This is explained by the characteristics that compounds of this type have.

The main thing is to set up the device correctly and fix it in a suitable position.

The tongue-and-groove joint should end up with some clearance. It is necessary so that later you can conveniently use the adhesive composition.

How to choose a groove with a router?

The solution to the problem depends on where the grooves are located and what size they are. Here are some recommendations for home craftsmen:

• The use of open grooves involves securing it to the tabletop and guiding the workpiece along the cutter.
• Accuracy is determined by the height of the cutter and the location of the bar.
• It is recommended to use wood waste for trial operations. This allows you to avoid mistakes.
• Sampling is carried out in stages, with several passes being carried out.

The main thing is to get rid of wood waste in a timely manner after completing each stage. Then the instrument will definitely not suffer from overheating. When doing the work, it is easiest to use a template cut out of plywood. They pass through it with the cutter itself, with the bearing installed.

Conclusion

It is best to use leftover wooden blocks for training. If the holes and joints line up perfectly, you can move directly to the actual building material.

If there are any errors, it is recommended to double-check whether the preliminary markings are applied correctly. After this, repeated training is carried out. Only when everything is correct does the actual implementation of the main work begin.

Knowing how to make a tenon and groove with a hand router, you can even at home make not only beautiful but also reliable furniture, but also various wood structures characterized by excellent load-bearing capacity. The tongue-and-groove system connects not only elements of various furniture (tables, chairs and shelves), but also frames of low-rise buildings that experience significant loads during operation.

In order to make a tenon on a wooden beam using a hand router, several conditions must be met:

• securely fix the workpiece and correctly orient it in relation to the guide sole of the router;
• set the height of the working part of the cutter so that the tool removes a layer of material of the required thickness from the surface of the workpiece.

Even using the simplest tenoning device for a router when performing such processing, you can not only increase its productivity and quality of the result, but also make the technological process safer. It is especially important to use such a device, which can be made with your own hands, in cases where furniture is produced not in single copies, but in series (in this case, the craftsman has to perform a large number of similar operations both with the same type and with wooden pieces of different shapes and sizes details).

Tools used

The creation of tenons and grooves, with the help of which the connection of two wooden blanks will be ensured, involves taking a sample of material on the side surface of a beam or board using a hand router. In this case, all geometric parameters of the elements of the future connection must be strictly maintained.

To perform this operation with a hand router, you can use tools with shanks with a diameter of both 8 and 12 mm. The most universal in this case is a groove cutter, the cutting part of which works as follows:

• the lateral surface forms the walls of the groove and the sides of the tenon;
• the end side processes the bottom of the groove and removes a layer of material of the required thickness from the base of the tenon.

Thus, using a tool of this type, it is possible to form both a tenon and a groove on the side surface of a beam or board. Moreover, their sizes can be adjusted within a fairly wide range.

In cases where higher demands are placed on the reliability of the connection of wooden parts, the grooves and tenons are made not of a rectangular shape, but of a shape called “dovetail”. Grooves and tenons of this configuration are created using dovetail cutters. It is also possible to perform the procedure for forming grooves and tenons of this shape with a manual milling cutter, but for these purposes you should use devices of a different design.

Dovetail sampling using a template

So that the question of how to make a groove in a board or beam or a tenon on their side surface does not cause any particular difficulties, it is better to use a power tool equipped with comfortable side handles, a wide guide sole and the option of protecting the spindle from turning during the process of replacing the cutter. In addition, it is desirable that such equipment have a side stopper, due to which the overhang of the cutter used with it will always remain constant.

How to make a tenon pick-up device

When forming tenons on wooden workpieces with a manual router, it is not fixed in any way in space and is brought to the workpiece manually. That is why it is very important that when using a power tool, the workpiece is in a device that can ensure not only its reliable fixation, but also the accuracy of the spikes formed on its surface.

The design of the simplest device that is able to cope with such tasks is:

• several fixed guides (lower, upper, side);
• movable bar, due to which you can adjust the sampling length.

Such a device is manufactured, the dimensions of the components are selected individually, in the following sequence:

1. Along the edges of the plywood sheet, vertical side elements of equal height are fixed, with cutouts made in the central part.
2. Guides are installed on the side elements along which the sole of the hand router will move.
3. To limit the movement of a hand router along the upper guides, the side strips should be fixed to them.
4. On a sheet of plywood, which plays the role of the base of the device, it is necessary to install a movable element, with the help of which the amount of overhang of the edge of the workpiece will be adjusted. For fixation, you can use a regular thumbscrew or any other suitable fastener.

When manufacturing a device of the proposed design, the following points must be taken into account:

• The height of the upper guides should correspond to the sum of the thickness of the workpiece and the small gap required to install the locking wedge.
• The cutouts in the side vertical elements are made of such a width that it takes into account the length of the tenon being formed.

You can work using the device of the proposed design with a hand-held milling cutter of almost any modern model, the options of which provide the ability to adjust the cutting speed, feed rate and overhang of the working part of the tool used.

To create a dovetail tenon on the side surface of a beam or board, a device is used that is manufactured as follows.

• A hole is made in a sheet of multi-layer plywood from which the cutting part of the dovetail cutter will protrude.
• A hand router is attached to the bottom of the prepared plywood sheet. To do this, you can use clamps, screws or any other fasteners.
• A 2.5 cm thick board is fixed to the surface of the plywood sheet on which the workpiece being processed will move. It will act as a guide element. This board is a consumable material and is used once with a cutter of a certain diameter.

Such a device can be installed between two chairs or a more convenient and reliable design can be used to place it.

Creating tenons on bars and boards

Using cutters for merging wood for a manual router and the device described above, processing is performed in the following sequence.

• The part to be processed is placed on the lower reference plane.
• The edge of the part on which the tenon will be formed is placed in the cutout of the upper guides and is advanced in it until it stops at the movable element of the device.
• The moving element is fixed in the required position.
• Using a wedge element, the upper plane of the part is pressed against the upper guides.
• A hand router is placed on the upper guides.
• Using a tool mounted on a router, the tree is first removed from one side of the tenon being formed.
• After processing one side, the workpiece is turned over and the second side of the tenon is formed.

Even such a device, which is simple in design, allows you to process tongue-and-groove joints using hand mills with high accuracy and productivity.

Before starting work, such a device must be configured. This can be done using the following algorithm.

• The tool installed in the hand router is lowered until it comes into contact with the surface of the base plywood.
• The thickness of the part is measured.
• The thickness of the workpiece is divided by 4. The result will be the distance by which it is necessary to raise the cutter above the base surface.

Good afternoon friends!

Today let's look at one of the ways to make a classic carpentry joint tenon - groove. We will not just make the connection on its own, but we will make a full-fledged product - a small decorative table. We will have the opportunity to practice, because such a product requires 8 connections of the drawers to the legs at once. Along the way, let's look at some other techniques for working with a hand router.

To make a tenon-groove joint, we start by cutting out the groove using a hand router. To do this, we will need a router with a rip fence and a straight groove cutter. In this example, the grooves are selected on the table legs at the junction with the drawers. In the photographs you see an example of making table legs from purchased balusters - this is how the table looks very impressive. However, if desired, you can also use a regular wooden block.

We mark the location of the future groove as follows: we find the center of the workpiece, because we want the groove to be exactly in the middle (in this case, the thickness of the block is 50mm, respectively, the center is 25mm). We mark the boundaries of the future groove. A board 100mm wide will be used as a drawer; accordingly, we will make a 90mm groove. After marking, we install the router with a parallel stop so that the center of the cutter is located exactly along the center line and proceed to cutting out the groove.

To reduce the load on the cutter, it is better to carry out the sampling gradually - in several passes, each time lowering the cutter lower and lower. In this case, the groove depth was 20mm, sampling was carried out in 4 passes with a step of 5mm. As you can see in the photo, on the first workpiece, I was not able to accurately observe the milling boundaries and the groove turned out to be a little larger than necessary. In this case, this is not a problem - the groove will still be completely covered by the drawer, but you should be careful and try to follow the markings. Without changing the router settings, we make the same grooves on all workpieces.

To avoid such a defect, pads are often pressed onto the workpiece, which physically do not allow the router to go further than the desired place, but in this case, since the groove is selected too close to the edge of the workpiece, it is not possible to use this method and you have to rely only on your own strength. If you often plan to make a tongue-and-groove joint, you should think about making a template that will allow accurately make grooves close to the edges of the workpieces. You should also be careful about possible lateral movement of the cutter - always press the rip fence firmly against the workpiece.

Next, we proceed to making the spike. I had a circular saw at my disposal, with which this is not difficult. We take the blanks for the drawers, set them on the saw to 20mm - the height of the future tenon, and raise the saw blade above the table to a distance equal to half the thickness of the groove. In this case, a cutter with a thickness of 15 mm was used, respectively, we extend the saw blade by 7-8 mm.

Thus, without changing the saw settings, we process all 4 workpieces for the drawers on both sides. Then, if necessary, we change the height of the saw blade, and process them from the ends in the same way to obtain a full-fledged tenon.

All that remains is to slightly round the corners of the tenon with a knife to ensure an exact match with the groove and the connection is ready!

After cutting the legs to size, you can proceed to gluing the legs and drawers.

All we have to do is make the tabletop. In this case, it was cut with a router from 30mm thick glued board. For more details on how this was done, see In principle, the tabletop can be of any shape.

The edge of the table top was then finished with an edge moulder. And glued to the dowels to the drawers.

The table is ready! Agree, thanks to the baluster legs it looks very impressive.

In the coming days, stay tuned for another post on techniques for working with a hand router. It will be interesting!

Good luck to everyone in the craft!

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Accessories for hand router

Jig for making grooves and tenons

Using a hand router, you can make ideal grooves and tenons in connecting the sides of boxes and caskets. To do this, we recommend making a simple device for the milling table.

The advantage of using a router table is that a straight cutter makes a perfect tenon (groove) with smooth sides and a flat bottom (unlike a circular saw) and also, the cutter is one size, which reduces the number of adjustments for the height and width of the tenon (groove). All you need to make tenon joints on a router table is a simple jig, which is shown in the photo below, and follow our recommendations described in this article step by step.

Conductor

The jig consists of three parts, the base of the movable slide, the main and adjustable stops.

MOVABLE SLIDE. The slides have a base made of hardboard or dense wood, 1/4? thick, as can be seen from the photo above. Fixed fixed fence with two evenly spaced slots and an adjustable fence that allows you to change the size between the cutter and the guide.

GUIDE. The size of the guide is equal to the size of the cutter that will be used to make the tenons (grooves) of the product. For example, if the cutter size is 12 mm, then the guide should have a square of 12 mm.

Note: Each size requires its own guide and therefore the slide has an adjustable stop.

SLOTS. Allows you to make minor adjustments when setting up the fixture. To do this, you need to make two slots in the main stop along the diameter of the bolts; they hold the adjustable stop in the desired position.

The adjustment and fine adjustment of the slide is carried out as follows:

The first thing you need to do in setting up the device is to raise it a little higher than the slide and adjust the cutter to the desired height. Then adjust the router table stop so that the cutter shank fits into the gap between the router bit and the guide ( step 1). Next, to protect the device from moving during cutting, clamp the straight edge with clamps to the table, maintain parallelism between the main support of the table and the straight edge ( step 2). Install a stop block on the main stop of the milling table that limits the linear movement of the slide ( step 3). Now let's adjust the dimensions of the tenon (groove) using an adjustable stop. Set the distance between the guide and the cutter. Once you have made the settings, perform a series of tests and check the connections of the sides of the box.

Note: To make perfect joints, the thickness of the workpiece must match the diameter of the cutter, troubleshooting tips are given in the pictures below.

Emphasis. Place a stop on the router table so that the gap between the cutter and the guide matches the size of the cutter shank.

Wish. To ensure accurate cuts, secure the ruler to the table with clamps, parallel to the main table support.

Stop Block. Position the stop block on the fence to prevent the cutter from reaching the main fence of the slide.

TROUBLESHOOTING WHEN CONNECTING GROOTS AND TENKS

Good Connection. The perfect fit in the joint has no gaps and the tenons are flush with the sides.

Short Spikes. In this case, the tenons are too short, the problem is that the cutter on the router table is set too low.

Long Thorns. The tenons are located outside the joint of the sides, this is caused by the fact that the cutter is set too high on the router table.

Gaps in Grooves. Gaps in the slots are caused by the guide being too close to the cutter.

Little Grooves. If the tenons do not fit into the grooves, then the guide is installed too far from the cutter.

Offset Sides. Misalignment may be caused by improper installation of the workpiece, guide, or stops.

SEQUENCE OF MANUFACTURING CONNECTIONS

In setting the distance between the tenons (grooves), the cutter shank is a convenient template for initially setting the distance between the guide and the cutter.

First and last. Start with the first and last tenon (groove) on the panel. When cutting a tenon (groove), make sure that the workpiece fits tightly to the guide and slide.

Guide and workpiece. To make the next tenon (groove), simply lift the workpiece, install the finished tenon (groove) on the guide and make another pass. Repeat this until you have made all the tenons (grooves) on the product.

Front Panels. Continue making the tenon (groove) on the opposite end of the workpiece in the manner described earlier. After the work is completed, we move on to making the side panels.

Home, Sidebar. The next step is to make a tenon (groove) in the adjacent side panels. The difference is that using the front (or back) panel as a reference, you shift the location of the tenon (groove). To do this, install the last groove (tenon) of the front panel into the guide, install the side panel close to the front panel and make the first pass.

End, Sidebar. After making the first tenon (groove), set the front (or back) panel aside. Now make the remaining tenons (grooves) as you did before. After you have made the tenons (grooves) on one side, turn the workpiece over and repeat all the operations described above.

Bottom of the Box. If you are adding a bottom to a box, you will need to cut grooves into each panel. After assembling the box (box), you need to cut the bottom-stopper to the size of the box (box) and insert the bottom-stopper into place. When the glue has dried, sand the joints with fine sandpaper.

Sled for making tenons

When you need to make a tenon on a manual router with clear, straight shoulders and absolutely smooth cheeks, then make a simple milling table for the router and a simple device for milling tenons - sled.

Simple guide slides

There are several ways to make tenons - a router, a tenoning machine, attachments on a circular saw or even a band saw. But when you need tenons with absolutely perfect shoulders and cheeks, then, as a rule, this can only be done on a milling table. Such results cannot be compared with any other manufacturing method. Unlike a saw blade, only rapid rotation of the cutter can create a perfectly smooth surface of the tenon cheek and an even line at the shoulder. Therefore, when it comes to choosing which machine to make a tenon on, a tenon made on a milling table may be the best choice. Another plus is that in many cases, setting up and setting up a router's hardware is faster and sometimes a little more convenient than setting up a table saw carriage. When making a tenon using a hand router, you do not need a special and complex tenon-cutting device. Having installed the stop, straight router bit on the router table and adjusted its height, you are ready to start making the tenon.

Making a tenon using a hand router

Settings for making a tenon on a manual router do not require much time.

First step settings, set the cutter and the height of its immersion in the workpiece. A larger cutter diameter will do the job faster, but when the immersion depth is large, a cutter with a smaller diameter will work better. Basically, cutters of two diameters are used in the work: 25 mm and 12 mm.

The shape of the cutter used to make tenons is shown in the photo; such a cutter creates ideal tenons.

Second step When making a tenon on a manual router, adjust the milling table, set the stop at a distance equal to the length of the tenon. The stop should provide a smooth surface to the tenon and an even edge along the entire shoulder. The stop together with the cutter immersion device on the router works well.

Third step, you need an effective way to hold the workpiece firmly against the fence. Instead of using a crosscut jig, I suggest using simple guide slides, which slide along the stop (shown in the photo).

This routing jig gives you much more control and ensures that your parts will always have their sides square to the fence.

Milling tenons begins with preliminary adjustment of the height and position of the stop. The height of the cutter is set slightly below the marks of the future tenon and the stop is also not set to the entire length of the tenon. Don't try to hit the basic parameters on the first try. The idea is to leave some space, which will then help you get to the final settings.

After routing to the initial settings is completed, the next step focuses on setting the final cutter height. With the bit raised, rout the tips of the tenon on both sides. Check the fit of the tenon in the groove, and then adjust the desired cutter height. Since you are removing wood from both sides of the tenon, recheck the fit of the tenon and readjust the cutter height. Once the final tenon height and thickness have been determined, wood removal can begin toward the shoulder line. The best way to make a perfect tenon on a hand router is to do the job in a few easy passes. Then turn the piece over and repeat the process on the opposite cheek. When making cuts, hold the workpiece firmly against the table and the sled. Clamping the workpiece tightly will help you get a perfectly smooth tenon and avoid distortions.

Milling the exact length of the tenon ends with making a straight line at the shoulder, and this requires fine adjustment of the stop. This adjustment ensures that the final milling of the shoulder can be done on all parts of the tenon very easily and simply. The initial setting of the fence usually leaves a small amount of wood left before the main mark. And, as with adjusting the height of the cutter, in order to approach the main mark of the shoulder, you need to make fine adjustments to the stop and check the fit of the tenon after each cut.

Slow feed will help avoid misalignment at the trailing edge. But a slow feed speed can cause the wood to burn in the hanger. It is good practice to make two passes at the final stage of making a tenon on a hand router - one to remove any remaining residue and a second, quick finishing pass. To rout the tenon on the short sides of the workpiece, follow the same procedure as routing the cheeks, working from the edge of the tenon to the shoulder. Use light pressure on the workpiece and against the fence to complete the shoulder cut.

Device for making spikes

The spikes are the most important part of the connection. Tenons are created by removing wood from one or two edges of the batten. In most cases, a tongue and groove connection is one of the best connections. Below is the sequence of making tenons on a router. It should be noted that in such a connection, a tenon is first made, and based on the size of the finished tenon, a groove is made and then the groove is adjusted to fit the tenon. The first thing to do is to manufacture the slats with the exact final thickness and width, calculate the total length of the slats, trim the slats to the same length, make sure that the edges are accurate and have an angle of 90°. Consider the direction of the fibers on the rail; the fibers continuously directed around the frame look beautiful. To do this, cut the pieces one by one and mark each piece in sequential order.

Setting up the stud maker

Secure the auxiliary base with the router installed on it, positioning the router horizontally relative to the router table and tighten both fixing nuts of the horizontal base.

Adjust the height of the cutter using the base with the router. Loosen the clamps and slightly lift the base until the cutter is higher than the table, fix the base.

Set the tenon length. The immersion device or depth of cut with a milling cutter on a milling machine is responsible for adjusting the length of the tenon; immerse the cutter until it touches the shoulder of the tenon. Secure the position of the cutter to the router. (See photo).

So, as you remove wood on each of the four sides of the batten, the basis for forming an accurate tenon is the dimensions on the edges of the batten; only the dimensions closest to the desired ones will give a good result. Any error in setting the cutter height is multiplied by two times. If you set the cutter just a little higher, your tenons will be too thin, if below - thick. The best way to get to the desired height is by sequential milling and reconfiguring the cutter height for each tenon.

The length of the cutter is equal to the length of the tenon. Use a template to set the depth and length of the tenon cut with the router bit.

Height adjustment. After installing the template, adjust the height of the cutter, which is equal to the height of the shoulder of the tenon.

First shoulder. Hold the thin edge of the slat vertical and push the slide to rout the first shoulder.

Second shoulder. Rotate the strip 90° and rout the front side.

Third and fourth shoulder. After routing the second shoulder, rout the tenon completely on the remaining two sides of the workpiece.

The spike sank lower. The lower shoulder of the tenon was cut off much more, and the upper one was cut off less, as a result the workpiece ended up below the edge of the leg.

The spike turned out to be higher. The lower shoulder is trimmed too little, and the upper one too much, resulting in the workpiece being higher than the leg.

All cuts are made correctly. The shoulders are milled at the same level and touch the leg in the same plane.

We test the manufactured studs and check the fit.

It is important that the tenon fits tightly into the groove. Well-made tenons slide smoothly and fit into the groove without clogging, and do not twist the rail in different directions. Once the tenon is fully inserted, inspect the joint to ensure a perfect fit. By pushing the tenon down, up and in different directions in the groove, again make sure that it does not move and is firmly seated.

The second important issue in fitting is to ensure that the cleat hanger fits snugly to the leg. Essentially, hangers may not be cut straight, too deep, or undercut. In any case, the last step is always to test fit the tenon into the groove and adjust the joint with a chisel.

Make sure the length of the tenon matches the depth of the groove. The tenon should not be longer than the groove. In fact, ideally, it could be somewhat shorter, leaving room for excess glue during assembly (See photo).

Well-fitted tenons should fit nice and tight, with the glue serving as a lubricant during assembly but not as a gap filler.

The tenons made have square edges; they are rounded with a chisel so that the edges of the tenon are oval and fit tightly into the groove.

Cards adjust height. Use playing cards to help you adjust the height of the tenon milling.

When making tenons on a router there are five situations that you are likely to encounter. When adjusting the router, proceed from the settings, depending on the specific situation.

If the spines are too thin, this means the base of the router is raised very high above the table. Do not reconfigure and make a tenon; the groove for such a tenon will be individual. Then loosen the locking knobs and reduce the height a little, very little.

If the spikes are too thick, this means that the cutter's immersion depth is too small. Measure the thickness of the tenon and mortise using a caliper. Subtract the thickness of the groove from the tenon thickness, divide the result by 10 and round to the nearest whole number. Count the number of playing cards representing this number, plus one more card. Loosen the locking knob and position the cards under the clamp as shown in the photo above. Tighten the handle.

If the edge of the workpiece is lower than the edge of the leg, carefully inspect the dry assembled tenon and determine which side needs to be raised or lowered by milling. Another option is to reduce the width of the tenon using a band saw or hacksaw. As a rule, the top of the tenon is trimmed.

If the edge of the workpiece is higher than the edge of the leg, carefully inspect the dry assembled tenon and determine which side needs to be raised or lowered by milling. Another option is to reduce the width of the tenon using a band saw or hacksaw. As a rule, the bottom of the tenon is trimmed.

If the spike is too long, do not adjust the length of the tenon on the machine or adjust the depth of the routing bit, as these actions will change the dimensions between the legs. Another option is to carefully reduce the length of the tenon using a band saw, chisel or hacksaw.

Device for making straight tenon and dovetail joints

Tenoning devices used for milling the profile of tenon joints. The manufacture of the latter requires great precision, which is almost impossible to achieve manually. Tenoning jigs allow you to quickly and easily profile even complex joints such as dovetails.

Tenon joints

The figure below shows an industrial sample of a tenon-cutting device for making three types of joints - a dovetail (blind and through version) and a through joint with a straight tenon. The two mating parts are installed in the fixture with a certain shift relative to each other, controlled by pins 1 And 2 , then they are processed. The exact trajectory of the cutter is determined by the shape of the groove in the template and the copying ring of the router, which slides along the edge of the template, repeating its shape.

Tenon milling device

Milling tenons

Milling tenons

Milling tenons

Device for making insert tenons

Carpentry tenons and grooves are the basis of connections. If you are interested in finding an alternative to this type of connection, you may want to consider a tenon connection, which uses a slightly different manufacturing approach. Here's how to do it. The traditional mortise and tenon method can be replaced by a mortise and tenon method. The bottom line is that instead of a groove in one part and a mating tenon in the other part, there are grooves in two parts, and the insert tenon is a correspondingly separately processed block of wood (see photo).

This difference in connection offers several advantages. On the one hand, this method simplifies working with parts in terms of dimensions. In addition, such a connection will always be more accurate. A traditional mortise tenon requires separate operations and various devices in its manufacture. The proposed connection method suggests making all the grooves and the insert tenon using the same settings. Instead of making all the grooves in a drill press and then cleaning them with a chisel, a milling machine will be used, controlled by a simple device.

Marking the slats for the insert tenon

To ensure that the paired grooves in the slats are accurately placed, the most important step is to find the center line of the width in the transverse and longitudinal slats. You can find such a line on each slats using a metal ruler and mark it with a pencil (step 1).

Then you need to transfer the center lines to each paired connection. Finally, transfer them to the ends of the slats (step 2).

This centerline will later be aligned with the centerline on the router jig to ensure an accurate fit to produce identical grooves (step 3).

To ensure accurate alignment of the grooves in the pieces, the most important step is to find the centerline of the width of the rail. This can be easily done on the longitudinal rail using a metal ruler.

Finally, we transfer the center line to the edges of the connected lines. These lines will be used to position the router fixture.

Making grooves using a tenon

Now, at the locations of the grooves, the router will do the work of creating grooves for the insert tenon. But to do this, you need to make a stable base to protect the router from tipping over and to guide the cutter while cutting with a hole in the center. This is a T-shaped device and serves both of these purposes. This device is quite simple to make. It has a base with a hole in the center for the cutter and follower sleeve, plus a clamping block that is used to secure the fixture to the workpiece. The key factor in a tenon making jig is the correct size of the hole in the base. You must consider not only the size of the bit you are using, but also the size of the guide bushing that runs around the hole. The figure below shows how to determine the size of the window based on the size of the sleeve used. In addition, there is another condition: the clamping block is positioned so that the center of the hole coincides with the center on each part of the part. Finally, mark a center line in the jig hole, which will easily help you line up the part with the jig before routing the slot.

Once the tenon maker is assembled, routing the mortises is a fairly simple task. After aligning the center lines, fix the fixture on the part (step 4).

By immersing the cutter deeper and deeper, make a groove. After making the groove, you can repeat the manufacturing process on other parts of the product (step 6).

First, align the center mark in the base hole with the center line on the longitudinal rail. Then use a clamp to firmly press the fixture onto the rail.

A router equipped with a helical cutter and guide bushing will help make the groove by making a series of passes with the cutter not deeply immersed.

Identical actions are performed at the edges of the end slats to mill the groove. Align the marks as before and clamp the fixture to the rail. After this, mill the groove to its full depth.

How to make a tenon

Once all the grooves are ready, you can turn your attention to making the tenons. It is necessary to prepare wooden slats according to the size of the grooves. Their creation requires several steps, which we will now consider. The most important aspect of the tenon is its thickness, which corresponds to the width of the mortise.

Before each cutting or planing of a tenon, check its fit in the groove. This way you can get a good connection. Once you reach the desired tenon thickness, the next step is to adjust the tenon width. There is no need to make a very tight connection. There are several reasons for this. First, it gives you some extra space in the joint for the glue to work. It also gives you the ability to adjust the connection for perfect alignment when you assemble the final product. Creating grooves with a milling machine certainly removes the work of the chisel in making the groove. But the cutter in the groove creates oval edges.

When forming an insert tenon, it is necessary to make ovals along the edges of the tenon so that it fits freely into the groove. This is achieved with an oval cutter on a router table. After milling the four sides of the tenon, check its fit in the groove and, if necessary, make the necessary adjustments. Now all that's left is to cut the tenons to length with a miter saw.

An insert tenon is, of course, slightly different from a mortise tenon, but it also has many advantages, in particular, in projects with a large number of grooves, it eliminates a number of operations associated with fitting joints.

Device for making round tenons

Round tenons are usually made on a lathe. But if you don't have a lathe... The photo shows a simple tool for making round tenons using a hand router.

It is not difficult to make from a U-shaped blank, which is attached to a trimming device. The U-shaped device consists of a back part and two support blocks. The support blocks have large holes drilled into them to help machine the part with a straight router. The jig works best if the holes are about 1/32 inch in size.

Setting up the fixture

To set up the device, insert a workpiece into the holes in the support blocks. Next, determine the length of the tenon and install the fence behind the cutter (Fig. B).

Making a round tenon

How to use the device for making a tenon, see in detail in Fig. A. Lift the workpiece slightly above the cutter and make small circular movements with the workpiece to form a tenon. Then rotate the workpiece counterclockwise and move it back and forth until the tenon is completely formed. Raise the cutter a little and repeat the process until you get a tenon of the desired diameter.

Device for making tenons on long workpieces

In most cases, tenons are made on a milling table. But there are times when this is not the best option. It is difficult to form a tenon on a milling or circular table when the length of the workpiece can be 1.5-3.0 m. This is because for an accurate cut it is difficult to hold a long workpiece in the desired position and all attempts, as a rule, end in failure. So, when you need to cut a tenon on a long piece, the device shown in the photo above will help you.

MANUFACTURING THE DEVICE

This is a simple stop made of plywood. The jig is assembled separately for each workpiece to make tenon milling more accurate.

Determining the dimensions of the device. There are points that you need to pay attention to when making a device. The key factor is the length of the tenon, on this device it is determined by the distance between the stop block and the stop.

Emphasis. Measure from the outside edge of the router bit to the edge of the router base, then add the length of the tenon. This will be the shoulder of the tenon.

USING THE DEVICE

Once the device is ready, making the tenon is not difficult. Attach the device to the location of the tenon, as shown in the photo below. Install the router and check the dimensions of the future tenon before starting milling. The best results are obtained with a spiral cutter; it cuts clean hangers onto a tenon without chipping.