# Router Adjustable Dado Jig



## Barry_White (Sep 10, 2004)

This is my first post on the forum

This is some pics of the Router Adjustable Dado Jig I have just made. 

To do dados I have been mounting the Triton Router Table on the Trion 2000 saw bench and measuring from the fence to get the right width of the dado but this has been a bit of a pain.

With this jig which is 900mm long is just a matter of putting the board into the slot and bring the movable side up to the board and tighten the knob and this gives you the exact width of the dado, you then line up the fixed side of the jig to a line drawn on the work piece and clamp the jig to it.

It is then just a matter of setting your router to the right depth and the router runs up against the guides on each side of the jig.

I set it up to use a 12mm router bit using the Triton Router.

The design came from Woodsmith Custom Woodworking, Shop Built Jigs and Fixtures.

This first pic is of the back of the jig and the second is of the front.

The plan said to make it from ¼" Masonite (Hardboard) with the base made of two layers contact glued together with a single layer for the guide. I decided it was easir to make it from 12mm and 6mm MDF with the ends made from a bit of Meranti.


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

Welcome!

It looks good to me! Nice job.

Now what is Meranti?

Ed


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## Barry_White (Sep 10, 2004)

Thanks for the compliments Ed. 

Meranti is a Malaysian plantation timber. It ranges from soft to semi-hard and buff coloured to red. It is used quite extensively here in Australia for finishing out in houses for architraves etc.

Has been used here for over fifty years and when I was an apprentice pattermaker we used to use a bit of it in patterns.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Barry, I had to go look up *architrave*. I don't know how often it will enter into my conversations. I have always heard finish trim, casement, even just plain door or window moldings. But hey, I try to learn something new every day.
Something you might do is make a list of the woods you use with pictures. Most of us are in North America and are clueless to the species you guys have to work with.
Nice job on the jig. Woodsmith makes some of my favorite plans. Keep up the good work and G'day!


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## paulcomi (Sep 12, 2004)

*thanks for posting*



Barry_White said:


> This is my first post on the forum
> 
> This is some pics of the Router Adjustable Dado Jig I have just made.
> 
> ...


I haven't been on this forum for quite a while and was searching around tonite for an efficient way to make dado's without going through the trouble of a stacked dado set in the table saw. Thanks for posting. I'm going to make one of these this week for sure.


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## felvo (Mar 19, 2010)

Just found this post, am going to knock one up myself this weekend. Would it be possibly to incorporate a distance between dados stop? Will have a play and post pics if successful


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

felvo said:


> Just found this post, am going to knock one up myself this weekend. Would it be possibly to incorporate a distance between dados stop? Will have a play and post pics if successful


Hi felvo - Welcome to the forum.
I should point out that this thread is about 5 years old
No matter, still a good topic. 
I guess I don't understand your question. Do you want to stop the dado at a certain point or are you looking for a way to index the jig for the next dado?
I have made a couple of those jigs that you are referring to and wasn't all that satisfied. Since it uses the router base to guide against, you must use the same router each time you use the jig. That, and to be absolutely accurate, you should mark the base and maintain that orientation to the jig as the bit may or may not be centered on the base. 
A few fairly simple modifications will allow you to use a guide bushing which eliminates both issues.


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Hello and welcome to the RouterForums felvo. Glad to have you aboard.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Dr.Zook said:


> Hello and welcome to the RouterForums felvo. Glad to have you aboard.


Dave:

Do you read _every_ post made on these fora? By the way, your byline shouldn't be "forum contributor" but should be "semi-retired official greeter." Thanks for all your greetings.


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

Mike said:


> Barry, I had to go look up *architrave*. I don't know how often it will enter into my conversations. I have always heard finish trim, casement, even just plain door or window moldings. But hey, I try to learn something new every day.
> Something you might do is make a list of the woods you use with pictures. Most of us are in North America and are clueless to the species you guys have to work with.
> Nice job on the jig. Woodsmith makes some of my favorite plans. Keep up the good work and G'day!


That's interesting. I hadn't realised the term architrave was not universal. It's certainly the normal term in the UK.

BTW, thanks for posting Barry. I use a Triton set up too.

Cheers

Peter


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## DerekO (Jan 20, 2010)

I was glad that I wasn't the only one who had to look it up as I thought I knew a lot of words from my habit as a kid of reading a dictionary when I was bored. Never came across architrave before that I can remember.


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## felvo (Mar 19, 2010)

I was thinking about indexing the dados so that there was consistency between them when making something like book cases.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

If only the English and Aussies could speak English! 

"We are different cultures separated by a common language."- Dr. Victor Eldridge


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## DerekO (Jan 20, 2010)

Knothead47 said:


> If only the English and Aussies could speak English!



It is American, not English


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

felvo said:


> I was thinking about indexing the dados so that there was consistency between them when making something like book cases.


Hi Felvo:

To do this you need a predictable template. I start with the template guide. Normally I use 1/4" spiral bit but you might be better to use a 1/2" spiral. The only reason I use the 1/4" is because I have a 1 1/4" template guide less the size of the bit and divide the remaining diameter by two and I end up working with 1/2" offset from the edge of the template.

Cut your template to the spacing you want, less the 1/2". Stick a shelf in an existing dado, push your template against the shelf, clamp the template and you're good to go.

I hope this makes sense. If not someone will refine it.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

allthunbs said:


> Dave:
> 
> Do you read _every_ post made on these fora? By the way, your byline shouldn't be "forum contributor" but should be "semi-retired official greeter." Thanks for all your greetings.


That's "Mister Forum Contributor and Greeter Extraordinaire" to us mere mortals, Ron!  Glad to see you're all over this, Dave..


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Knothead47 said:


> "We are different cultures separated by a common language."- Dr. Victor Eldridge


To be fair to those who started out with other languages, we are different cultures separated by a very uncommon, strange, illogical and confusing language.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

felvo said:


> I was thinking about indexing the dados so that there was consistency between them when making something like book cases.


Hi felvo - The jig you are looking at building could easily be made indexable since it is a zero clearance jig and sits flat on the workpiece. Cut a "cleat" the size of your dado and attach it to the bottom of the jig the exact distance you want the dados to be. You cut one dado, lift the jig and place the cleat in the dado you just cut. Then cut the next and so on.


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

FWIW, meranti, architraves and Triton are common here in South Africa.

Meranti is used mainly for skirting (baseboard?) and hand rails etc.


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