# How to use MDF Door Stile Router Bit



## Ian Sergeant (Aug 9, 2015)

I'm a bit new at this - just got a router - and have the following dilemma.

I have purchased a Whiteside router bit (Part #5620) to put some details onto solid doors. The plan is to make them have a slight appearance of panel doors. I am doing this to create some quick doors for a small project. The instructions for the router bit say: "Although designed for production routing on solid door machines and CNC routers, the addition of a bearing to the shank will allow the hobbyist to cut his pattern by following an edge guide. The guide can be four strips clamped around the perimeter of the door."
I have the bearing and lock collar needed but can not for the life of me figure out how to create this edge guide. How do I clamp four strips around the perimeter of the door without any clamps getting in the way of the router?

Any advice? Pictures always appreciated


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Welcome to the forum Ian. I'll leave the answers to the experts


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the forum.
One way would be to use double face tape


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Ian, your four boards should be like this shape. The Trend VariJig shown has clamps that fit into the bottom of the guide strips. You can use double sided carpet tape like John suggested or you can put a board underneath and fasten your guide strips down with brads, finish nails or even screws. They need to be flush so your router does not catch on them.

If you fasten a small piece of wood under one edge of your router with double sided carpet tape your router will be easier to use since it will be supported on both sides. If you look real close you will see one under the left side of the router.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Ian,

If you go to MLCS Woodworking Adaptor Bushings and Ball Bearing Guides you will see a 1-1/2 inch bearing for your 1/2 inch shank bit. If you put this and a stop collar on top of your bit you can use it to follow your guides.

If you are going to make more than one of the same size doors, you might want to make a jig. If you take a piece of 3/8 or 1/2 inch MDF and cut a hole in the center that has the proper offset for your door design, you can then add clamp blocks on the underside to properly position your door. Then you can rout all of the doors without having to do any other setup. 

You may want to put a piece of scrap in the middle of the opening to keep the router base supported.

Practice on scrap first!

Hope this helps, let me know if I need to explain further.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Four pieces of 1/2 inch mdf (or whatever you have available) can be used to create the guide you need. They should be wide enough to support your router. Double sided tape applied in several places on each piece should hold them steady.

Here are a couple of pics showing how I cut a groove in a cutting board. I don't recall what the screws were for.

To cut the groove, I used a 1/2 inch cove bit with a template guide bushing mounted to the router to guide it along the wooden guide pieces.

Hope this helps.
Mike

Edit: 


> You may want to put a piece of scrap in the middle of the opening to keep the router base supported.
> 
> Practice on scrap first!


Yes. What he said.


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## Ian Sergeant (Aug 9, 2015)

These have all been very helpful, and I think I have the concept down, but the execution isn't going as smoothly. The bit is 1/2 inch deep and with the bearing on top, this takes the total height of the bit to 1 inch. In order for me to use this bearing along my guide, doesn't this mean my guide would have to be 1 inch high? At 1/2 inch I wouldn't be able to plunge the bit in at the correct place as the guide would still be above my guide. Also, using a 1 inch guide doesn't appear it would even work given that my plunge base is unable to plunge that far.

Am I missing something simple? I sure hope so!


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Ian Sergeant said:


> These have all been very helpful, and I think I have the concept down, but the execution isn't going as smoothly. The bit is 1/2 inch deep and with the bearing on top, this takes the total height of the bit to 1 inch. In order for me to use this bearing along my guide, doesn't this mean my guide would have to be 1 inch high? At 1/2 inch I wouldn't be able to plunge the bit in at the correct place as the guide would still be above my guide. Also, using a 1 inch guide doesn't appear it would even work given that my plunge base is unable to plunge that far.
> 
> Am I missing something simple? I sure hope so!


Somewhere packed away I have a set made by Craftsman to rout designs in the face of cabinet doors that included the frame to go around the cabinet door and snap-in templates for the corner of the jig so that you could rout different designs in the corner . As I recall, the set used a guide bushing to pilot the router around the inside of the jig. I only used it a couple of times as it was overly complicated to set-up. The bit you specify is 1-1/4" diameter, too large for a standard guide bushing.

What I would suggest is attaching a square block to the bottom of the router plate with the width of the square twice the distance required from the edge of the door to the center of the routed groove. The block should have a central hole slightly larger than the OD of the bit, and centered on the bit in the same manner as a guide bushing. Set up the guides around the outside of the door as Mike suggested, set the router in one of the inside corners and with the block touching two adjacent sides. Plunge to partial depth of your groove and go around the inside of the jig, always keeping one side of the block under the router in contact with the inside edge of the jig - when you reach a corner, there will be two sides in contact until you change direction. Once you have completed the first circuit, repeat as needed until you reach the final depth. You will perhaps get better support for your router if the thickness of the block is slightly more than the height of the surrounding pieces above the door. It sounds complicated but it actually a very easy way to get what you want, particularly given the large diameter bit that you plan to use.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Sorry for the crude sketch.

You can use the basic bit, no bearing required. The block guides the router around the perimeter of the door, with the spacing established by the size of the block. Plunge travel shouldn't be a problem as the only additional travel needed is the actual thickness of the block attached to the base of the router.

Hope that this is what you're looking for.


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