template tom

Harry
Has kindly sent me a pic he came across and I would be interested in comments from members of the forum and those visitors to the forum.
Here is an invitation to all the visitors to the forum to register and have a say.

This is the method I use?

or

I would use a safer method.

I would be interested in how many members would use this method to rout rails similar to the ones used to create the plant stand.

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template tom

I dashed off this morning to do some gardening and I had a thought did I post the pic Harry sent
My apologise to all here it is
Tom

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challagan

Tom I have always made legs with a cardboard template, used my jig saw to cut them out and then put two together and use the drum sander on my drill press. Fairly safe but slow.

With that said, I have never done any routing as shown in the pic you posted. I know that it is used fairly widely for patter routing. Bob and Rick perform lots of operations like that. I don't have any of those kind of clamps in my shop for one thing. It seems like this is a useful method used by many. Are you saying that this is not a safe method?

Corey

Mike

Corey? Do you see the bit sticking up with no guarding? This is the point Tom and Harry are getting at: an unguarded bit is dangerous. It is very easy to slip and lose something that should remain attached for life. This is a major point in why Tom promotes using guide bushings and jigs, there is no way you can contact the bit.

Tom, my answer is to have a piece of wood with a plastic guard shield on the end clamped to the table so it extends over the bit. Quick, easy and safe.

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Mike

challagan

Hi Mike, yeah I saw the bit sticking up there. I wasn't sure what exactly Tom was trying to say. It definitely could cause injury but woodworking is inherently dangerous all by itself. I see a lot of woodworking videos etc. demonstrating this very method. My dovetail jig uses a very similar operation actually. So I guess for me it doesn't throw a red flag up immediately. Another easy fix is to put outboard handles on the jig to keep your hands free of the bit, kind of like the katie jig. You can get all crazy with all kinds of guards etc. but the key is not to be fooled into complacency with all that, but focus at all times when using power tools and know at all times where your hands are. If you can't focus then shut the tools off and go in and watch TV. I have had those days.

Given all of this, if Tom has a method to use the template guides to make the legs and do it safely at that I would like to hear and see more about it. Like I said, I wouldn't have used a router at all to make the legs. Maybe Tom can change my mind on that.

Thank God, the only injury I have ever gotten in the shop was a severely cut finger that required 10 stitches...the culprit... the Table Saw. The kicker is... the saw wasn't running. The blade was about an inch above the table and I wacked my hand hard on that blade and cut my around my finger to the bone I hit is so hard I had carbide in my finger! Since then I have always kept my blade below the table after I use it.

Corey

template tom

Corey
Yes I do consider the method posted is unsafe (In my opinion) Here is my answer to the problem. In this instance dining room chairs are being produced with the router. This was the work of one of my students (Using my templates) some one who some 8 years ago was introduced to the use of the router and at that time he produced 6 chairs.
As I said in my explanation I would produce two templates one for the inside of the leg and one for the outside. In fact I have incorporated the two shapes in one template which can be reversed to complete the second side.
So safe I would have given it to one of my blind clients, the year before last when I was in charge of the class. Secondly by using the plunge mode we are able to produce a better surface routing in stages with a straight cutter. (do not cut all the way through). There is another approach (operation involved) to complete the shape. But one thing at a time.
If you look closely at one of the pics you will see a completed leg shaped to size and also with the mortices inserted. Mortices were also put in with the router before the material was taken from the Jig.
I hope all can see and understand what I am getting at. There is a safer method of using the router to produce such projects

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challagan

Tom, I can see it now. Basically you need to make a large template holder first that will fit the larger item and then make the template itself. So what size of bit are you using in the router?

Corey

Joe Lyddon

Tom,

Thank you for the detailed pictures of the operation.

I have to mention this... To me, it would have been easier to make a pattern out of 1/4" hardboard, mdf, or plywood real scale size, then just tape it to the workpiece which has been rough-cut on a bandsaw, and route it using a flush bearing bit getting it cut exactly to size in one simple operation.

In this case, what do you think?

I can see the guides & templates being used more when doing the 'carving' type projects.

Are bearing bits harder to get over there?

Thank you for your input.

challagan

Joe, this is what I have done in the past only with a simple cardboard and then jig sawed and cleaned up on the drum sander in the drill press. I haven't used the router. Like Norm would do I guess. What you suggest is exactly what Tom is saying is unsafe due to the exposed cutter. And it is because you could slip if you are not careful and make hamburger out of your hand. But many use this method regardless. Personally I am not a fan of pattern routing like this at all so I have avoided it and use other tools instead. My Gifkin dovetail jig is somewhat of an operation like this but much more controlled.

With Tom's methods, I can see that it is much more in tune to making multiple items... such as several of the tables, multiple boxes of the same design, bunch of carved cabinet doors etc. A lot of time is put into making the templates etc. that in my opinion is just a little too much time spent for a one off project. And of course Tom's method makes it relatively safe for the blind to use the jig and use the router safely due to once the router is in the template they are not exposed to the cutter.

Corey

template tom

I would like to see some more input and how to do presentations from other professionals out there on the forum.

Tom