In my recent Drill Press Sled project and another project where I needed to cut some keyhole slots, I was annoyed at how long it took me to set up guides and get the stop blocks in the correct place to cut the slots. I have avoided making slots in the past for the same reason.
So I decided to spend a little time up-front to be ready for the next project requiring slots. Besides, I'm between projects and was bored. :haha:
I made my jig out of MDF because I had some on hand. Plywood might have been better but why not use some of those scraps lying around the shop?
The base is 1/4" thick and the guides are 1/2". The jig is 8 1/2" x 17" and adjusts from a zero to 8" long slot up to 3/4" wide. The stick-on tape measure was also a left over so only the red digits (0" – 8") are used. I made my guides 1 1/2" wide so I had room for a 1/4" slot.
Of course the jig required slots which had to be done the hard way.
Kind of a chicken and egg situation.
If you like the concept just build a size that suits your router. You never know when you're going to need it and it makes cutting the slots so much easier.
So I decided to spend a little time up-front to be ready for the next project requiring slots. Besides, I'm between projects and was bored. :haha:
I made my jig out of MDF because I had some on hand. Plywood might have been better but why not use some of those scraps lying around the shop?
The base is 1/4" thick and the guides are 1/2". The jig is 8 1/2" x 17" and adjusts from a zero to 8" long slot up to 3/4" wide. The stick-on tape measure was also a left over so only the red digits (0" – 8") are used. I made my guides 1 1/2" wide so I had room for a 1/4" slot.
Of course the jig required slots which had to be done the hard way.
Kind of a chicken and egg situation. If you like the concept just build a size that suits your router. You never know when you're going to need it and it makes cutting the slots so much easier.
