# Hand Routing With An Edge Guide



## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

I have a 36 inch long x 10 inch wide board and will route a shallow groove down the middle. I have an edge guide for the router. Is there a preferred placement for the edge guide i.e. should it be right in front of me and 'pushed' against the near edge of the board as I move left to right OR should it be on the far side of the board and 'pulled' against the far edge of the board as I move right to left? Both edges of the board are straight and flat.


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## Quillman (Aug 16, 2010)

A lot to be said about this early routing technique; it's been around for >60 years.
Pushing is better than pulling with edge guide routing; it's easier 
(you have your body wt. working for you) and you can see the whole megillah.
(Also a clear view with the guide on the far side but you're slightly un-balanced pulling.)
Pushing and pulling (with an edge guide on both sides of the work) renders complete control.

Inside cuts are always done at risk. Relax the pull or push and the cutter goes where it wants to.
For precise slot widths use a cutter <the width, open the edge guides (introduce some slop) so the cutter pathway equals the desired width. This frees up the cutter, so when you plow down the middle of the slot the cutter can bend every which way and not be expressed. Now when you pull the edge guides home (against the work) you're only taking a small fraction of the cutter diameter in wood.
That will yield smooth accurate & precise walls.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

If you scroll down to the last post on Mikes thread , you can see how he made a cheap jig to guide the router for a perfect dado cut that is pretty much fool proof 
He also made an adjustable version I thought , but for the life of me I can't find it . 
An edge guide is just a recipe for disaster IMO . 

http://www.routerforums.com/show-n-tell/103106-trudi-archies-rental-duplex.html

Link to Mikes thread ^^^


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## fire65 (Oct 29, 2008)

They covered it. And if you have it, practice on some scrap wood.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

It's hard not to stray from the intended path. The guide stops you from moving inward but not outward. Pat's double guide is the only solution that will prevent that. Some of the OEM guides I've seen clamp onto the guide rods. Others are fixed onto the rods. You can make a crude but workable one of your own or modify an OEM by getting longer rods and fabricating an extra fence for it or buy that beauty that Pat makes.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> If you scroll down to the last post on Mikes thread , you can see how he made a cheap jig to guide the router for a perfect dado cut that is pretty much fool proof
> He also made an adjustable version I thought , but for the life of me I can't find it .
> An edge guide is just a recipe for disaster IMO .
> 
> ...


That's great for crosscuts, Rick, but not practical for long lengths. For arguments sake, the two vertical channels to sink the pilaster strips into on bookcase gables.
Pilaster Strips - Lee Valley Tools


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> If you scroll down to the last post on Mikes thread , you can see how he made a cheap jig to guide the router for a perfect dado cut that is pretty much fool proof
> He also made an adjustable version I thought , but for the life of me I can't find it .
> An edge guide is just a recipe for disaster IMO .
> 
> ...


The one I made is just like Mike's but fully adjustable (I think pics are in my uploads...if not, I'll post a pic). I use it to route the tread slots for closed stringers or any time I need a slot at an angle to an edge.

EDIT...found the thread and pics...here they are...

http://www.routerforums.com/portable-routing/39451-router-dado-jig-stairs.html


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## boogalee (Nov 24, 2010)

Why not use your router table.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

boogalee said:


> Why not use your router table.


I would normally do this on the router table. But I'm doing this on MDF which I really don't like having to route indoors so my plan is to do this routing outdoors. I haven't figured out a good way to capture the dust when doing this type of cut on the router table.


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## Ray Newman (Mar 9, 2009)

How wide and deep does this shallow groove need to be; does the bottom need to be flat?? 

Your profile shows that you have a table saw. Have a dado set? If you do have a dado set for your table saw, cut the groove with a dado cutter and feather boards to hold the work down on the table saw top and against the fence. 

Or, if you have a rip blade that will cut a flat kerf bottom, use it to cut the groove and adjust the fence to the needed width. Again, use feather boards.

In my opinion and experience, there is far too much room for error/drift with a 36" long board and a hand held router, even with an edge guide. If you want to utilize a router, fabricate a guide with two runners to keep the router from wandering.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

Ray Newman said:


> Your profile shows that you have a table saw. Have a dado set? If you do have a dado set for your table saw, cut the groove with a dado cutter and feather boards to hold the work down on the table saw top and against the fence.
> 
> In my opinion and experience, there is far too much room for error/drift with a 36" long board and a hand held router, even with an edge guide. If you want to utilize a router, fabricate a guide with two runners to keep the router from wandering.


I have a table saw and dado set. The cut I am making in the MDF is a T slot. I could make the first cut on the table saw but I will have to make the final cut with the T slot bit with the router. I was going to use a straight router bit and make the cut in a couple of passes to get to the final depth then switch to the T slot bit for the final cut.


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## scottgrove (Sep 4, 2016)

I'd put it on the right and pull for more control
you could also use a template guide and straight edge. This would be better


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

JIMMIEM said:


> I would normally do this on the router table. But I'm doing this on MDF which I really don't like having to route indoors so my plan is to do this routing outdoors. I haven't figured out a good way to capture the dust when doing this type of cut on the router table.


Being right -handed, I would use the router edge guide and feed left to right - as has been said, your body weight will keep the edge guide against the part. Adding a hardwood strip to your edge guide will really help to keep the guide moving smoothly against the edge - I have maple strips screwed to mine that have a total length of about 14", this lets you make a smooth transition into and out of the cut.

If you have dust collection on your router table, cutting MDF shouldn't be any more of a problem than any other material. You could look at clamping a vacuum nozzle at the outfeed edge of the table to pick up any dust that is pushed forward and down out of the groove. I just cut the grooves for the plywood bottom in a bunch of drawer parts and had very little sawdust on the table top when I was finished.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

tomp913 said:


> Being right -handed, I would use the router edge guide and feed left to right - as has been said, your body weight will keep the edge guide against the part. Adding a hardwood strip to your edge guide will really help to keep the guide moving smoothly against the edge - I have maple strips screwed to mine that have a total length of about 14", this lets you make a smooth transition into and out of the cut.
> 
> If you have dust collection on your router table, cutting MDF shouldn't be any more of a problem than any other material. You could look at clamping a vacuum nozzle at the outfeed edge of the table to pick up any dust that is pushed forward and down out of the groove. I just cut the grooves for the plywood bottom in a bunch of drawer parts and had very little sawdust on the table top when I was finished.


I have added a wooden auxiliary strip to the edge guide. I have dust collection on the table behind the blade and have tried to catch it off the end too....gets a lot. May give it another try....the table is really the best.
I had another idea....add an auxiliary top to the router table with an open area around the bit that opens toward the dust collect that is directly behind the bit and attached to the fence. Hopefully the saw dust would be pulled and picked up behind the bit instead of shooting out the groove as it is being cut.


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