# Amateur Router Tips or Two



## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

The most active part of the router forum are the word games? Come on people this should be a place for wood games…….



Anyway on to the tips: I’m building some hanging storage cabinets that are to fit on the backs of some storage shelves. They are 46” tall X 30” wide with pegboard on the inside and on both sides of the swinging door. I had to limit the thickness of the units due to the spacing of the storage shelves they fit on. (Due to the swing of the hinged door.) I decided to use some standard 3 ½” door hinges since I had scavenged enough off old doors. See attachment 1 for the inside view.



As you can see the unit is split in half depth wise. Now look at attachment 2 for a view of the hinges. You can see I have mounted them in a way that they are not normally used. The barrels of these hinges do not allow them to be mounted as shown without doing a little extra work. One of the early questions on the forum was about the uses of a chamfer bit; you can add this to the list. This chamfer allows the hinge to set flat and that is what is needed. If you are having trouble seeing the chamfer another attachment later might have a better view.



I am sure this is familiar: “Bob and Rick say, if the specific operation is to make more than one piece the same size and shape then chances are you need a jig and/or fixtures." Since I am doing three cabinets I decided to make a template to set-in the hinges. I could have used the one I made for doing a single half hinge but I wanted to do more. The more is doing both sides at the same time. I clamped the two halves of the cabinet together and mounted the template as shown in attachment 3. Since this is not fine woodworking I just screwed the template down using the lines I had made on the template to center it. Keep in mind the two cabinets have to be even with each other when you do this.



Next we are going to discuss the depth to set the hinges in. If you are like me I love to use those brass bars, in fact I have 3 different sets….. In this case the bar was a little tall for the job, and yes I could have guessed when setting the depth of the plunge router but why? I have a set of drills from 1/16” to ½” by 1/64” steps and I picked out the bit that was about the same thickness as the hinge. Take a look at attachment 4. Then using that drill bit I set the routers depth, see attachment 5. Keep in mind drills are sharp so work carefully if you decide to do this.



I guess that is enough wisdom for one night……



At least when you search for new posts you will see something without “Game” in it tonight.



Ed


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## -Sam- (Sep 24, 2004)

reible,

Thanks for the pictures and tips. Your message is very informational and useful! Once again, THANKS!  

Boricua


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

Isn't anyone going to ask I why used the drill bit to set the pollstop instead of using the hinge?????

OK then, I guess you will always have to wonder.......

Ed


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## -Sam- (Sep 24, 2004)

reible said:


> Isn't anyone going to ask I why used the drill bit to set the pollstop instead of using the hinge?????
> 
> OK then, I guess you will always have to wonder.......
> 
> Ed


Ok, reible, I'll ask. Why did you use the drill bit to set the pollstop instead of the hinge? Seems like it would be much easier. Hmmm...


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

Boricua said:


> Ok, reible, I'll ask. Why did you use the drill bit to set the pollstop instead of the hinge? Seems like it would be much easier. Hmmm...


 This was a test to see if anyone who would read this post and ask why I did not use the hinge. Actual sometimes things like hinges are long and heavy and if you are not careful get tilted making the cut go deeper. It is better to have to cut a little deeper then to have to shim, so before you take the jig away test to see how the hinge fits.... Both for the depth and to make sure wood chips did not keep the bushing from making the full cut.

The other reason was to point out that drill bits work for more then drill holes.

If I win the points from Kevin I'll send (a couple hundred) your way for asking the question.
www.routerforums.com/showthread.php?t=430

Ed


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## -Sam- (Sep 24, 2004)

Thanks reible! Easy points!


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

Boricua said:


> Thanks reible! Easy points!


 Wow I did win! So check your points they should be 200 higher real soon.

Ed


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## -Sam- (Sep 24, 2004)

reible said:


> Wow I did win! So check your points they should be 200 higher real soon.
> 
> Ed


Hey, congrats reible! Thank you very much for the points!


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