kp91

Great site Ray, you sure have packed a whole lot of workshop into a little garage. I had a BT3000 as well when I first started out, amazing what that little saw can do.

Thanks for sharing!

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Doug
1 John 1:9

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ejant

Ed thanks for postig the attachments, it is really helpful and a time saver.

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reible

This will be done in a series of posts. First we will discuss the “project”. (This is describing the task being done with a hand held fixed based router and straight bit.)



(You can really make this or do it mentally, your option.)



For some reason you decide to make 20 nest boxes for Daffy Ducks. Most of the cut are easy but when looking at the pattern you see that it requires an oval that is 3” tall and 5” wide. You see this as an opportunity to use your router but now you have the issue of how do I make a template and how do I use that template with a template guide. (See attachment 1)



The book has a nice picture of the oval but for some reason they made it some smaller odd size when they printed it. What to do, how do I draw that shape????? Well maybe you don’t have to. Maybe you have a scanner or home copier that allows you to enlarge the image or maybe a local store has a copier that you feed money into and out comes copies.



For now we will assume that the local store is the option. You take the book, a ruler/scale and head to the store. The object is to make a copy then measure the oval to see if it 3” high and 5” long. Doing a 110% is almost right when you measure the copy. You try again at 111% and it right on! (See attachment 2)



So we now have the right size for the hole, but then you remember that when you use a template and a template guide the pattern will have to be larger. (This is where a table of template guide to router bits as {seen in a previous post) comes in handy.)



As efficient as you are you pull out a copy of a table and see that if you use a 1” guide and a ¼” bit (both of which you own) you will need the pattern to be 3/8” larger all around. Remembering the flash cards from back in 5 grade you add the 3/8 and 3/8 and getting ¾”. Now you go back to the copy machine and change the settings to get the hole to be 3 ¾ by 5 ¾. A couple tries later you have it. (Check out attachment 3 and 4 for a view of how this works



On the way home you stop by the hardware/lumber/what-ever-store and pick up a sheet of ¼” thick hardboard and a 1” x 12” x 24” pine board. (You may choose to use some other material like plywood or a routable plastic and you might already have something at home in place of the hardboard).



To be continued

Attached Thumbnails

       

reible

Back safely at home we can start the layout process. Take the hardboard (or what ever you are using for the template) and size it as shown in attachment 1.



Select the smooth side of the hardboard (some have both sides smooth). Add the pencil lines as shown in attachment 2. You will notice the longer line is not down the center of the “template”, you will see why later.



Trim the copy of the 3 ¾” X 5 ¾” hole that you made at the copy machine so it is more manageable. Then carefully fold the paper so the two long ends of the oval match each other and crease the paper. Unfold and do the same with the short dimension of the oval. (See attachment 3). You have just created a centerline for the oval.



Take a piece of “carbon”/tracing paper and trim it to the same size as the copy you have just been working with. Look at attachment 4 and position the creases of the paper to align with the marks. Tape in place then trace the oval shape (making sure the tracing paper is positioned to leave a mark on the hardboard). Remove the tape and papers, the oval you might want to save for some other use or recycle it.



The next step is cut out the oval shape in the hardboard. You can pick a method that you like but make sure you stay within the lines. Unless you have a really smooth cut and stayed right next to the line you will need to sand away until you are right to the line. An osculating spindle sander works well for this but hand sanding works fine. The smoother the job on the template the smoother the finished hole turns out.



Now attach two strips of wood to the template (yes you have made a template) as shown in attachment 5. Make sure the strip along the long edge is to the side with more space between the oval and the edge (“A”).





To be continued

Attached Thumbnails

         

reible

At this point we should be ready to “fire-up” the router. I will describe how to make the cut for a fixed base router but those with plunge routers can do the same operation. Make sure it unplugged then put the ¼” bit in and the 1” template guide. Since we will not be doing a “plunge cut” a straight bit will do fine but feel free to use a spiral bit if you wish.



Take the 1 x 12 x 24 piece of wood and select a “top” where the oval cut will be made. Next the template is set it over the board and push into position against the ¾ x ¾ strips. Look at the oval and see if any loose knots will be in the area to be cut, if so they will have to be removed. Mark the oval on the work piece using a pencil.



Since this will be a through cut you will need a flat working surface that you don’t mind cutting into. Make sure this sacrificial surface is large enough to accommodate the material and template.



Using double sided tape/small nails/clamps secure the work piece to the sacrificial surface. Make sure the waste oval area is not going to move as you finish the cut!



Use a ¾” or 1” drill bit to make a starter hole in the work piece. (See attachment 1)

The hole must be into the sacrificial surface, let’s say ¼” into it. The edge of this hole has to be at least 3/8” away from the oval you have drawn. Remember the bit will be cutting 3/8” from the template.



Now you must tape/nail/clamp the template to the work piece making sure it aligned to the strips on the back of the template. Check again that everything is secure and that none of the nails (if you used any) are where the router will be cutting.



Adjust the depth of the cut to be about 1/3 or ½ the thickness of the work piece. You will be placing the router on the template with the bit sitting centered on the hole you drilled in the work piece. Which way are you going to route? (Check attachment 2)



With the router centered in the hole and the depth set, check to make sure the router is turned off. Plug in and make sure you are still centered. Now you can turn on the router and traveling the right direction make a pass keeping the template guide against the template. Take as many passes as required to cut through the work piece.



When you have finished doing this oval hole turn the work piece end for end and do another hole, after all you were not really going to make a daffy duck nest box were you?



That’s all.

Attached Thumbnails

   

pianoman8

I really liked your post, and even tried to download and print it. However, with the exception of the first one, the picture attachments wouldn't copy to the Word Perfect document that I was creating, although they downloaded and displayed nicely on the monitor. The post is not too helpful without the pictures.

Could you post this information again in a form that can be downloaded and printed?

Thanks either way.

JimH

Ed - I read with interest your note and the attached chart and have printed it up for my own use. I appreciate the work you put into it and thank you. I know it will be useful for me.

BrazosJake

Might it not be simpler to remember this: (OD - BD) / 2 = Distance of offset. OD = template guide Outside Diameter and BD= Bit Diameter. Subtract bit diameter from the bushing's outside diameter and divide by 2, that's how far the bit will be positioned from the template.

I'm not familiar with the Oak Park bushings, but for some unexplicable reason, most of the ones I've seen gain in height proportinate to their diameter. I've had 3/4" OD bushings that were 9/16" long, which forfeits a lot of depth of cut and worse, whatever material you use for a template has to be at least as thick as the bushing is tall to keep the bushing from bottoming out on the workpiece. I can see no reason for this, so I addressed it by cutting all of my bushings down to .20" height. This allows me to use 1/4" baltic birch plywood or masonite for my templates.

Also remember that bushings are strictly for defining the edge of the cut, they do not control depth and should not be allowed to touch the workpeice. The router base should ride on top of the template in freehand routing.

reible

You are correct the sub-base needs to be on the pattern and the depth is set using the depth controls of the router.

Ed

reible

Thank you!

Ed