[kamrx7]

I am using the tongue and groove router bit set from Sommerfeld to make some cabinets. They advertise that each bit is made to match perfectly so you do not have to adjust bit height between set-ups, just bottom out the bits on the rubber grommet they provide and you get perfectly matched joints every time. The problem is my shaft is about 2 in. deep and the shaft on the router bits are much less so they don't bottom out in the router. What this means is that I have to manually change my router height/set-up between bits.
I have a Porter Cable 7518 mounted in my router table. I am not aware of any adjustment I can make on the router shaft depth. If there is no way to adjust the shaft depth in the router, then is there something I can insert into the shaft that would raise the bits so this joinery system works as advertised? Sommerfeld has a great video but it fails to address this problem.
Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

 

[bobj3]

Hi kamrx7

The key is the rubber grommet ,it must be in the bottom of the collet (Lock Nut), I also use a hard rubber faucet washer in one or two of my PC's, because it's hard rubber it will stay in place when you drop the bit in place.
Note*** faucet washers, you can pickup a small repair kit box at ACE Hardware.HD,etc. you will find one that's just a bit over 1/2" in dia.grind it down on the belt sander so it can be tap into place, because the collet is sharp on the bottom it will cut off just a bit of the washer when you put it in place, but it will stay in place without any glue or anything eles..
You will not need to use the rubber grommet if you use the faucet washer,it gives the bit a stop point and your joints will come out just like in the video and the way you want them, side Note Marc sometimes will use two rubber grommets but you need to watch the DVD/VHS two or three times to see him do it.
Also he's not using a PC he using the green router (Hitachi) .

Hope this helps

Bj

 

[Woodnut65]

Hi: Did they provide two "O" rings with the bits? I think I would get two "O" rings, and mount them on the shank of each bit, at the same distance on the shaft. This way when inserted they will only enter the collet until it hits the O ring.
Hope this helps.. Woodnut65

 

[bobj3]

Hi Woodnut65

They do come with one rubber grommet but no O-Rings, o-rings would be a tricky setup at best, the bits are not the same height, but they are a match set, one of the bits is about 2 5/8" long and the other is about 2 3/4" But they use the botton of the bit as ref.point.
Just for kicks I got the set out and did a quick check, it would take 7 O-rings on one bit and 4 on the other and maybe 4 more on ea. because they have a flat wrench spot on the shank just under the bit that the oil ring may slip over with just a little force.

Then we come to the Space that each o-ring would take or to say not take, the gap times 7 would be a big deal.
The bits MUST be the same when they are dropped in the hole,and .010 is a big deal when it comes to a matched set of bits.

Here's a snapshot of the faucet washer in place, see below ▼

As you can see one faucet washer (.15 cent item) will do the trick and because the hard rubber washer snaps into the part of the collet that is split it will compress the base of the collet nut and let it work the way is was made to.
Plus this SMALL trick will work with most match router bit sets.
i.e. making cabinet doors,frames,etc.

attn: kamrx7 ,,,you will see a red trim bit in the box, I put the bit in the set because it's 1/4" shank and I use a small trim router to remove the tongue from the edge, so the boards will fit in place, see the DVD video when Marc will use a standard BIG router to do this very small job.

Bj