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3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  allthunbs 
#1 ·
Hi, I was looking for some jig ideas and found this site,looks great!
 
#2 ·
Hooooo Boy! What size? What shape? What material? For use on earth, moon, jupiter, mars, venus, the milky way, some planet in the 5th solar system from here... We've got them all and then some.

The problem is, you're going to have to get very specific and in a hurry. No pussy footing around here. There are just too many jigs and to add to the confusion we have one artist that creates multifunction jigs for fun and a whole bunch of other people creating jigs on the fly for single purposes and then we've got templates to augment jigs and then we've got positionning systems that augment the templates that augment the jigs but some of those are situation specific or router specific but have been modified for other situations or routers but may or may not depend on other conditions not clearly stated ----- whew, you'd think I was a lawyer or something ;-)

Allthunbs
 
#5 · (Edited)
Welcome russel, sounds like Allthunbs has pretty much it all the bases, so I will just welcome you.
 
#9 ·
Hi,thanks for the warm welcom!I,m building a bass guitar over here on vancouver island B.C. canada. I type with two fingers(got them all) so a little slow to reply.Cabinet installer by day,wood worker by night,got 3 routers ,looking at the wealth of info here Ill learn to use them for more than routing edges LOL.
 
#10 ·
AHha! BeeCee huh. _3_ routers huh! Whacha got, make, model, HP, speed range, plunge/fixed...

I worked on a study to determine if typeing was more effective than writing. We removed all of the writing utencils from an office and replaced them with IBM electric "golf ball" typewriters. In another office, we removed all of the typewriters and replaced them with writing utencils. When a person is forced to learn, they will type at 30 words per minute with two fingers after 1 month of practice. When a person is forced to they will hand write script at 10 words per minute and be able to read it the next day. If you learn to type with all eight fingers and two thumbs, you can routinely type at 40 wpm and the world record is about 540 words per minute.

Ok, you wanted jigs well, you get a router with a specific kind of base. Then you use a positionning system to locate it in some position that you can use it in. Then, you create jigs to use with that positionning system.

This list is some of the positionning methods available. Most, you make yourself. Others are in varying degrees of expense from the sublime to the rediculous.

Horizontal table this is a standard horizontal table with a hole in which the router sits with the bit sticking up ready to chop away at anything that gets within reach - including your fingers. It is usually supported by some sort of fence either fixed or adjustable.

Philosophy plays a big role here. There is the OakPark/Router Workshop philosophy "frugal reigns" and simplicity with elegance. To change a bit, take off the fence (if it's in the way) lift out the router, change the bit, set the depth and dump the router back in, clamp in the fence and away you go.

The other philosophy is to spend gobs of bucks for stuff that may meet your needs, with more gadgets than inspector gadget has imagination... Needless to say, I follow the OP (Oak Park) philosophy but implement it sparingly and only as needed.

vertical table take the table, above, and stand it up on its edge and work out some method of raising or lowering the bit to the table. All of the adjustments for a horizontal table, just vertically.

baseplate A baseplate provides some basic functions. It is a mounting point for a router into a table, or onto skis, or on jigs of various types. They can be phenolic, lexan, aluminum, iron... They are usually drilled to accept your router and to allow a template guide to be fit into the baseplate.

However, baseplates can be long for cutting circles, skinny for offsetting the weight of a router when doing edge treatments and you want to stop the router from leaning over. (Shiis perform the same function but differently and with less flexing.)

template routing Almost every router comes with the ability to implement templates, except some sort of idea how to do it. The other frustration is that no template guide will fit another router. If you have three different routers, it is conceivable that you'll have to get three different sizes of guides.

The guide will fit into the baseplate. The bit will protrude through the guide. Take a 1/4" thick strip of plywood or wood, set the router on top of it, butt the guide up to the strip and push the bit through the template guide. If the router were turned on, you'd be cutting a groove dictated by the position of the strip. Neat tricks here. Search templates for "Template Tom" and a myriad of his, and others, creations.

circle template/elliptical jigs I stuck these two together because they perform a similar function, however their structure is completely different from each other. Look for these throughout the fora.

inlay Inlay work is also called marquetry (I think.) You remove some material and stick another material in to provide contrast or other artistic embellishment. My only attempt at inlay resulted in my purchasing a planer to remove the miserable attempt. If I were to attempt this again, it would only be under the express tutilage of a few of our members.

duplicator A duplicator is just that. It allows the router to be used to duplicate other three-dimensional objects. Sort of like a super-carver. Carve one original and the duplicator will mass produce the copies.

I prefer to think of the duplicator as the hand operated CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine.

pantograph You used pantographs probably when you were a kid. It was the device that allowed you to shrink or grow a picture. Our router versions have proven to be less than roaring successes.

routerlathe This is a real interesting tool for me. The router sits up on top of a turned workpiece. As the workpiece turns, the router moves along and "mills" a detail into the workpiece. Spirals, flutes and a wide variety of other effects are possible.

pin routing is the reverse of a template. A template is a negative of the cut pattern. Pin routers use a template but a positive template. A pin is anchored over the router bit. The positive template is attached to the work piece and brought up to the pin. Follow the template with the pin and the router will cut an exact duplicate. I can accomplish something similar with a bearing on a flush trim bit but there are those who could argue that it is entirely different, although I don't know how.

Gantry Router uses the arm of a radial arm saw with the head of a router. It sort of works like a ???? Unlike other router forms, the gantry will operate at degrees off of vertical, if it is set up to do so. I have not seen one work, yet. One of the disadantages of the radial arm is that it will "dive into the material" when put under load. The router works on a different axis so I can only think that it would either push the workpiece away or move the arm.

At the other end of the gantry spectrum, CNC machines all use double-ended indexed gantry structures.

Bearings A pin router requires a positive template. A bearing uses a positive template exactly the same way but the template runs along a bearing attached to the top of the bit. Neat twist here though. Vary the size of the bearing and you can "adjust" your workpiece subtlely.

skis Skis are probably one of the most useful and unknown mounting strategies for routers. Search for "Skis for neophytes" for an article I wrote on skis.

shiis This is a term that I coined to describe two sticks that are flush with the baseplate but extend out on both sides of the router. If you're cutting a template, the shiis will stop the router from "falling" into the hole left by the removing material. You can also do bearing edge treatments using shiis. Put one hand on the shii toward the centre of the workpiece and the other on the router. The inboard end of the shiis will act as a cantelever to the weight and torque of the router.

foots A foot (plural is foots - multiple of a single foot as opposed to feet that come in pairs) provides a different support point for cutting templates. It allows you to support the router on the outboard side when cutting templates.

I hope this helps with a start.

Allthunbs
 
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