# trim router rt0700



## a548402653 (8 mo ago)

Hi, Im very happy to join the forum as a beginning woodworker who has gained a lot of knoeldge and built fe wprojects and is trying to get more advanced

i decided to get a trim router for the lightness and versaltily of it,to do nice edge profiles and also dadoes and grooves

and hence my question.I wana make a V groove in the middle of a borad,meaning,i dont want the groove to start all the way from the beginning and come out all the way out of the board in the other end,rather i want to start already inside the board and also finish before I go out

Is there any technique to do that?


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## John Smith_ (Jan 10, 2020)

welcome to the forum.
yes, there is a technique - get a straight board for the guide and practice, practice and practice on similar material. How wide and deep is the groove ? and, how many do you have to make ? and, what purpose will the groove serve ?


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi, Yes, that is very doable. Ideally you'd want to build a simple jig, like this one:









This jig makes it easy to make any dado or groove. What makes it so great is that you fit a shelf or other part that will go into the dado, then snug the movable part against it. Then with a plunge base, you push a bit with a bearing down into the jig's opening and by making two passes, you get a groove just right for the part that fits into it. You could also do this with two very straight boards, clamping one where the top of the groove goes, fitting the piece and snugging the other board up, then clamping the second piece down.

You plunge the bit down about half the thickness of your workpiece. Your router has a quarter inch collet, which is pretty light for dados, but it will work if you don't rush it or try to take the full depth in one or two passes. There are several bits that will work for you, but I suggest you use one that gives you a flat bottom. Here is a picture of a mortising bit. I'd use a 3/8ths cutter with that router.









What you want is called a stopped dado. You plunge the router in at the starting point of the dado, and lift it when the bit hits the other end. You make several passes (the picture is a 1/2 inch shank, and will handle the lateral forces better than the 1/4 inch shank). 

This gives you a nice flat bottom (better for glue), but the ends are rounded off. You square the ends up with a chisel (half inch size for 3/4 inch dado). Sharpness counts, and one investment that pays off is to buy a set of really good chisels, and read up on the work sharp method of sharpening them with sandpaper. You want to lightly cut the surface you want to trim square so it doesn't splinter on you, especially with plywood. Slowly and carefully shave the ends square, you can lightly tap with a hammer or mallot, but your own weight is enough. Make sure bottom you trim out is flat.

This sounds more complicated than it is. If you don't have a plunge base for your router, I suggest you get one. Most trim and medium duty routers have them available.

When I was learning woodworking, I had more money that time, so rather than build a dado jig, I probably would have bought one. Rockler makes an interesting one that uses a particular straight edge.










The jig is about $60. It requires a specific straight edge guide that isn't included. Just be sure the base will work with your router. Rockler Perfect Fit Dado Jig. It even has dust collection.


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## a548402653 (8 mo ago)

I want to make a fram for a glass serving tray i have, with mitered ends,and along the edges of each board of the frame have 2 V grooves in the middle of the wood.like this.that makes it 8 grooves









just the groove being a V groove
it would be just decorative-the wood being18mm thick so maybe i would do it 3mm deep?


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## a548402653 (8 mo ago)

DesertRatTom said:


> Hi, Yes, that is very doable. Ideally you'd want to build a simple jig, like this one:


a Plunge base is rather out of muy budget (and i cant really justifyying buying it anyway haha. I already took that step with the router itself

theres no way to do it without the plunge base then?


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

old55 said:


> Welcome to the forum.





a548402653 said:


> a Plunge base is rather out of muy budget (and i cant really justifyying buying it anyway haha. I already took that step with the router itself
> 
> theres no way to do it without the plunge base then?


Well, first I missread your post and to make a V groove will require a V shaped bit. if it's only 3mm deep, you could use a fixed base and a jig that holds the router in correct alignment as you lower it onto the workpiece. I would want to have a bearing on the bit, but with support on each side of the base, and a gap in the middle for the bit, you could probably lay it down to begin the cut, then pull it along, then ltilt it out at the end of each groove.

To do that you could use something similar to the alternative to the jig I posted above, two straight edges clamped down with a gap exactly the width of the bearing on your bit. But Add a vertical piece on each to form an L shape on each side of the router to support it and keep it aligned when you tilt it into the cut. The bit spins so fast that it can easily jump and ruin your cut. The side supports, maybe 1.5 inches high, will keep it from jumping. But make sure they are flat, not warped.

One minor point. Put a mark on the base of the router where it touches the top support. Keep that point at the top the entire groove. Some bases are a little off center and if it is, or your side supports aren't straight, your groove will wander and not be straight or parallel.

Oops, almost forgot, you should put a block across your two guides to give you a precise start and stop point. This process would be incredibly easy to do on a router table where you would drop the workpiece onto a bit and clamp blocks onto the fence to mark start and stop points. Then you'd move the fence back in measured steps to add each additional groove. I almost never use a hand held router, except for hinge mortises, or when I think a roundover is needed on an already assembled piece. A home made router table is really simple to make.

Sorry I misread your post, hope this helps.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Welcome to the forum, @a548402653

Tom has given some good leads there. 

The more routing I do, the more jigs I seem to make to make the job easier....


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi, I want to add something for readers with a router table. 

Consider drilling a quarter inch hole in the top of the table near one edge. Make sure it's vertical by using a drill guide, and don't drill all the way through. Then drill a similar hole on the underside of the fence in a corresponding distance from the end. Insert a 1/4 inch pin and place the fence over it. You now have a fulcrum. This will allow you to swing the free end forward and back to adjust the bit-to-fence distance. 

Use a clamp to hold down the end, or get fancy and add a T Track vertically on the free swinging end of the table. Then you can use a T bolt and star knob to hold the fence down.

The fence is what makes parallel grooves by acting as a guide, the fence to bit distance sets their spacing. Since you want to repeat the spacing precisely on multiple pieces, you can make a mark on the table to mark a setting for each cut by matching the marks with the free swinging end of the fence.

If you want to make this more versatile, drill another hole or two in the table to allow you to keep the fence in the best position.

This works really well on a large table with a thick top. If you drill all the way through the table, you can glue a bit of wood on the underside to stop the pin from falling through.


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## a548402653 (8 mo ago)

Thanks to all!

so summarizing the answers,I understood the 2 options being so

Either I hold the router with my hand and I arrange so that when I turn on the router I should be supporting it on one edge of its base and slowly lower it onto the beard im grooving in,and i should have the router supported by pieces of wood on both sides and also that the supports should be high enough so when Im going down in the tilting motion it all stays still?

Or on a router table,I would adjust the height of the bit to 3mm and then just slowly tilt the board im grooving in (which is a regular 1x2 which is rather thin) onto the bit and then just slide it untill the desired length? (when the bit touches then wood im bringing down by my hand,isnt that dangerous? or just having a firm grip and thats all?


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## John Smith_ (Jan 10, 2020)

I would make a simple jig attached to a straight board with a ramp on each end that would lift the cutting bit when the baseplate goes up the ramp. Some experimentation required. I've had my own routers for decades - and not one of them has ever been a plunge base.


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## a548402653 (8 mo ago)

John Smith_ said:


> I would make a simple jig attached to a straight board with a ramp on each end that would lift the cutting bit when the baseplate goes up the ramp. Some experimentation required. I've had my own routers for decades - and not one of them has ever been a plunge base.
> View attachment 401690


meaning.i would go down a ramp which is hollow in the middle so i place the router then and i slide it down till the bit touches the wood and then it would leave the ramp to continue the straight path? and likewise the exit?


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

I do stopped cuts on my router table but this might work for you. Try it on a scrap first. If you clamp the stops be sure you're clamps won't be in the way of tipping the router enough to get the bit out of the slot. Make the stops longer, if needed, to move the clamps further away. The distance of the fence to your router baseplate will determine where your slot is on the workpiece. You might need a spacer between the workpiece and the fence.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

a548402653 said:


> Thanks to all!
> 
> so summarizing the answers,I understood the 2 options being so
> 
> ...


The thing is that you're using a small bit and only going in 3mm, so there is not going to be a lot of torque so it will be easy and safe to drop the piece onto the bit in the table. You could do this freehand, but I think you'd need a special jig to hold the workpiece in place as well as the stop blocks. It will also have to allow you to move it in precise amounts to do multiple grooves.

You didn't mention having a table, but if you do, the table with a swinging fence would be the best and easiest way to do this. Theoretically you don't need the fulcrum to adjust the fence, but it will be much easier to make a single mark and repeat the grooves precisely on each piece, even if the lengths differ. 

If you clamp 3/4 thick pieces on to the swinging fence as stop blocks, it will be very to push down the piece, and then to lift it off. If you don't have a swinging fence, then you can use brass bars to set bit to fence the same for each pass.

Be sure you sweep away sawdust before each pass because sawdust can lift your piece up and with a V shaped bit, vary the depth and width of the groove. It will be very noticeable.


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## a548402653 (8 mo ago)

TenGees said:


> I do stopped cuts on my router table but this might work for you. Try it on a scrap first. If you clamp the stops be sure you're clamps won't be in the way of tipping the router enough to get the bit out of the slot. Make the stops longer, if needed, to move the clamps further away. The distance of the fence to your router baseplate will determine where your slot is on the workpiece. You might need a spacer between the workpiece and the fence.
> View attachment 401705


that illustration is just magnificent! thanks a lot
would another illustration be possible,this time how you would do it on a router table?


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## a548402653 (8 mo ago)

DesertRatTom said:


> The thing is that you're using a small bit and only going in 3mm, so there is not going to be a lot of torque so it will be easy and safe to drop the piece onto the bit in the table. You could do this freehand, but I think you'd need a special jig to hold the workpiece in place as well as the stop blocks. It will also have to allow you to move it in precise amounts to do multiple grooves.
> 
> You didn't mention having a table, but if you do, the table with a swinging fence would be the best and easiest way to do this. Theoretically you don't need the fulcrum to adjust the fence, but it will be much easier to make a single mark and repeat the grooves precisely on each piece, even if the lengths differ.
> 
> ...


Ill tell you the truth,i did not understand at all what you meant with the router table and a "fulcrum" haha...

thanks to all you guys,what an amazing forum!


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

Much easier (less setup).


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi, the swinging fence is easier to make than describe. The pin between table and fence keeps one end of the fence in place. You swing the loose end nearer or further from the bit to whatever spacing you want. It's just a little easier to repeat the cut because you only have to set the loose end of the fence to a pencilmark, than it is to have both ends loose.


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

I don't have a pin in my fence but I make smaller adjustments like Tom says (just one end). Many people (especially when used to using a table saw) assume that the fence has to be parallel to the table but it doesn't. The cuts will still be parallel along their work piece. It's the distance between the bit and the fence that's important. You could have the fence at 45 degrees to the table and your cut will still be straight along the work. Of course this doesn't work with a miter gauge. Guys who use this method, usually use a square push block behind the work to do end grain. This block also helps with tear out.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

DesertRatTom said:


> Hi, the swinging fence is easier to make than describe. The pin between table and fence keeps one end of the fence in place. You swing the loose end nearer or further from the bit to whatever spacing you want. It's just a little easier to repeat the cut because you only have to set the loose end of the fence to a pencilmark, than it is to have both ends loose.


 Good point, Tom.

I am going to check my Oak Park table to see if a threaded insert can be used. I have seen this method used on a lot of YouTube videos lately. As per, Bob and Rick, I usually just clamp the fence in place, and use their "fine adjusting tool"......


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## TylerKotar (8 mo ago)

I just ordered a jig off a IG account that I follow for the Makita trim router, It should be coming in this week. It allows you to connect your router to a track saw guide rail. I'll test it out once I get it and can show off some pictures once i do get it in.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

jw2170 said:


> Good point, Tom.
> 
> I am going to check my Oak Park table to see if a threaded insert can be used. I have seen this method used on a lot of YouTube videos lately. As per, Bob and Rick, I usually just clamp the fence in place, and use their "fine adjusting tool"......


The pin is really useful if you are making multiple pieces that must be identical. If you put in a threaded insert, you might want to use a bolt with a short thread and long shank. Cut the head off the bolt. But you need to find a way to stop the bolt so you still have an inch or so to go up into the fence. That's why I choose a short rod without threads. Does the job just fine, and you can lift it out if you want to use a sled of some sort.

About 15 years ago, a vision therapist and I were chatting, and she said, "I bet you pre-plan everything." It's so right on it's a running joke in my family. I have even preplanned how to fall in an accident or if dizzy (of late), and even though I've fallen maybe three times over that last couple of years, no injuries. Just can't help myself LOL.


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