# Router table jig for cutting coin slots



## Potowner1 (Feb 17, 2011)

Good morning friends,
I am a daily reader of Router Forum. I don't post here because my skills pale in contrast to you very talented & helpful folks. 

It's that time of year when my wife starts obsessing over what the nieces & nephews will be getting for Christmas. This year she decided we should go with animal shaped banks with clear acrylic faces on the sides. We have 17 banks to make, so I told her that someone on the site would have the answer to an easy way to perform this function with a jig. The banks she saw on the internet are made up of 3 pieces of 3/4 wood glued together to make it 2 3/4 total, the center piece of all of them will be very slightly arched or flat.

Last evening, I brought a piece of 3/4 poplar the router table and left all the edges square, then I lowered the wood into a 1/4 inch straight bit that was about 3/4 off the table, it was not a pretty site. The board is about 5 inches high by 7 inches long and it didn't like what I was doing to it. I did not have a downcut or an upcut bit that I read about. Anyway, my plan is to cut out the shape of the animal, including the hollow belly for the coins, after routing the coin slot. If anyone can understand my request and has a better/safer way to do this function, I would greatly appreciate you help.

Sorry I didn't include a sketch, but I ave no idea of how that is done.


----------



## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Something like this?








Maybe you could give us links to the ones your wife looked at?


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Rick, make your bank in three pieces or more and route the slot then glue it up. Using a different wood in the center adds visual interest. Cut your shape after glue up.


----------



## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Potowner1 said:


> Good morning friends,
> I am a daily reader of Router Forum. I don't post here because my skills pale in contrast to you very talented & helpful folks.
> 
> It's that time of year when my wife starts obsessing over what the nieces & nephews will be getting for Christmas. This year she decided we should go with animal shaped banks with clear acrylic faces on the sides. We have 17 banks to make, so I told her that someone on the site would have the answer to an easy way to perform this function with a jig. The banks she saw on the internet are made up of 3 pieces of 3/4 wood glued together to make it 2 3/4 total, the center piece of all of them will be very slightly arched or flat.
> ...


I think your problem was in the area I highlighted above. 1/4 inch bit at a 3/4 inch depth. Seems like too much to remove at one time with that size bit. I would have done it a bit at a time, certainly a lot less than 3/4 inch at once.


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

For those "uncomfortable" slot requirements, I made up a small jig that captures the wood and then use a small router to make the slot...plunge router or not...

My router fits exactly in the space between the larger pieces and the adjustable pieces underneath allow me to slot/groove at any angle...


----------



## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Hmmm, kind of tricky. I assume you are laminating several pieces all with the same shape and one (or 2) needs the slot cut out. The thickest American coin is the half dollar at 2.15 mm. A 1/8" slot will easily accommodate that, not sure I would make it wider. If you are trying to cut the slot in the middle of the wood, you're going to have problems. I would make the bank with 4 laminations and route a 1/16" slot in the face of two of them.

It would take several templates and cutting order is important. Rough cut the parts with a jig saw or band saw and then trim with a hand held router using the templates. I'd cut/trim the center hole first and then use that as a "key" for the other templates. next the slots and then the outer shape. You'd need to mirror the template for the slot if you are doing 2 of them.


----------



## Potowner1 (Feb 17, 2011)

Thank you all for the quick response.

Phil...I really like your design, is the lettering a vinyl cut out???

Nick...I'm going to try to replicate you jig design this afternoon

Mike... The bank does consist of 3 pieces of 3/4 wood, separately glued together.

vchiarelli...Sorry, I couldn't find your first name. I agree, my biggest problem was trying to remove too much material at once, also would one of the up cut or down cut bits be more controllable.


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Rick...I believe you will find many more uses for that jig...mortises, slots, splines, shutters (the original intent)... Using stops behind or in front of the router will allow you quite a bit of accuracy and repeatability. Wood positioning is obviously important...you'll get the hang of it...

If you are going to use it for more than slots, make it as best and as sturdy as you can...worth the extra effort. I align one adjustable side, put the wood piece in, capture the wood and then place it in a vice for extra holding power...

Good luck with the banks...it sounds like a great idea...they will love them...


----------



## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

Nick............as a jig addict, I'm very interested in the one you show here. Do you by chance have any drawings of it? Thanks.


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Sorry, Jim...I think I have a couple of hand-drawn "idea drawings" but most of the build design happened out of requirements for routing slots for angles for shutter stiles...it was after that that I found other uses...

I can take additional pictures of the jig if that will help...? ...and annotate the pictures with notes and measurements...?


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

please do...


----------



## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

More pictures would be nice.

Thanks Don


----------

