# Multi-use Router Jig



## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

I didn't understand a word he said, but I like his work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDs...28&feature=player_detailpage&x-yt-cl=85114404


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Clever tool combining at least 3 jigs eh. I might end up buying one of those generic tracks with the adapter some day, as long as I still have the muscle control to move my circ along the straight edges I have I'm good.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

That is pretty nifty.
Thanks for sharing it, Mike.


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## reuelt (Dec 29, 2008)

*Brilliant*

Thanks Mike for sharing.

Maker Tehdoor even has his design drawings at
Instwood: Ð¡Ð°Ð¼Ð¾Ð´ÐµÐ»ÑŒÐ½Ð°Ñ� Ð¤Ñ€ÐµÐ·ÐµÑ€Ð½Ð°Ñ� Ð‘Ð°Ð·Ð°
for FREE download

It's in Metric units of course.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

The guide rail is a standard Makita guide rail, almost identical to the Festool one. The jig appears to be a home made version of the M-Power (Trend in the UK) CRB-7 sub-base modified to run on the rail. The groove cutting I'd probably do with the standard fence (all routers sold over here come with a side fence). In thick ply it just looks too bulky to me. 

Regards

Phil


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Gee Mike, had I known there was a real router being used in this video I would have checked it out much sooner


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

RainMan1 said:


> Gee Mike, had I known there was a real router being used in this video I would have checked it out much sooner


It's all he had to work with. :lol:


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

MT Stringer said:


> It's all he had to work with. :lol:


Lmao , poor guy !


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

I wonder if i can make some simple modifications to my circle jig. There seems to be a number of common components.


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## eccentrictinkerer (Dec 24, 2007)

Grizzly has a reasonably priced aluminum track base.










Grizzly.com® Track Base--


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## 64 ford (Apr 21, 2013)

Using a speed square to square anything you want square would be a mistake! Hopefully it's just for the video. I got sick of using even good framing squares or my Starret or machinist square and ordered a new machined Woodpeckers square for things like that.
Dennis


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Now, there is a versatile jig. Thanks for sharing it. And thanks to those who volunteered leads to the track.


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## Goblu (Mar 5, 2012)

DesertRatTom said:


> Now, there is a versatile jig. Thanks for sharing it. And thanks to those who volunteered leads to the track.


If you get that track, you should consider the clamps that come with it. Here's the link. Grizzly.com® --

They go under the track and secure it, like the pricier festool track and clamps. Right now they are $20 for a pair and a couple of stops. If you watch a festool video, you can see how they work.


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## Goblu (Mar 5, 2012)

*What about the dust collection?*

This is a really cool jig.

I wonder if you could forgo the dust collection and just make it a thinner base? As noted above the thicker base limits the use of some shorter bits. it would be simpler to make and it doesn't look like the dust collection works that well anyway. Some routers have built in dust collection and if that's used it might be enough, because of the wide rectangular area around the bit in this design. 

Is there another reason to have the dust collection? To help it slide more smoothly for instance? I can see the dust building up in some of those corner channels that he put in the glued together parts. I'd have made them curved, but I'm sure an engineer would know how to design it to maximize air flow.

If you want to translate the Russian, just click the little gear on Youtube. It's very poor translation and sometimes hilarious, but you can make out a bit of what he's saying. Like in the second video at one point (after 1:10 minutes) he talks about wiggle on the track and how to remedy it by putting in some plastic bolts or something to add pressure.

Edited to Add: Ok, I see the second video link is not posted, it shows the process of making this jig. That's what I was referring to, including the translation on youtube. You add subtitles then translate them to your own language (English for most here).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snGwOZbJFFQ


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

When I first saw that video, I was truck by the usefulness of it. But on reflection Goblu is right, the base seems way too thick plus you have the track height as well. Love the idea of using the Makita track-saw track (as I have one) and the hole spacing idea is truly brilliant. I wonder if there is a better way to do DC. Might take a stab at making something similar. I'm thinking of using 1/4" lexan for the base as it would be thinner and add visibility.

@64ford, have you tuned your framing square? Using something like a machinist punch (aka line up punch, iirc), you can tweak the squareness. I've got my framing square spot on.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

PhilBa said:


> I wonder if there is a better way to do DC. Might take a stab at making something similar.


Hi Phil

Buy a deWalt DW621 or DW622 or even a Festool OF1010 or OF1400 - dust extraction problem sorted. in any case you really do need another plunge router just to make the most of this jig........ 

Regards

Phil


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## Goblu (Mar 5, 2012)

PhilBa said:


> @64ford, have you tuned your framing square? Using something like a machinist punch (aka line up punch, iirc), you can tweak the squareness. I've got my framing square spot on.


Is there a video or something you can recommend for doing this? It would be really helpful to have a square framing square.


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## john880 (Aug 18, 2010)

I liked it,,,,any time I can have a jig that can do more than one process, plus the quickness to hook up/slide in and adjust that router. It gets a 4.0. I have several very good one use jigs, AND they are stacking one on top of the other.

Counting all of this, he uses his head, for something more than a hat rack.


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Goblu said:


> Is there a video or something you can recommend for doing this? It would be really helpful to have a square framing square.


I read about it on a forum somewhere. Probably not this one. It's pretty simple. To minimize OTness, I posted it as a new thread here.


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## reuelt (Dec 29, 2008)

eccentrictinkerer said:


> Grizzly has a reasonably priced aluminum track base.
> 
> Grizzly.com® Track Base--


In Australia, 909 track is even cheaper. Comes with clamps etc.
https://www.masters.com.au/product/...BFglf8pvgLkF1g__.ncdlmorasp1205?bmUID=kIdFLb8


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## RMIGHTY1 (Nov 5, 2014)

Thanks Mike. That is the most versatile jig I have seen. 
Thanks Katie for posting part 2. I was about to do that when I saw you beat me to it. It shows how to build the jig. 

To translate to English, use the Chrome browser. Click on that great "*Gear*" icon, then on "*subtitles/cc*." If the option is "Off," click to turn on the Russian language. Once the Russian language is turned ON, the "Translate captions" link will be active. Click on that for the language translation popup and choose English. Then you can at least see English captions to understand what the guy is saying.

If the subtitle option is turned off, the translate captions link will not be active.

It is nice to see him describe in English just what he is doing.

Cheers!!!


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## Goblu (Mar 5, 2012)

reuelt said:


> In Australia, 909 track is even cheaper. Comes with clamps etc.
> https://www.masters.com.au/product/...BFglf8pvgLkF1g__.ncdlmorasp1205?bmUID=kIdFLb8


I like the idea of the alignment device shown. 

One problem with that track is that it is designed differently and you could not use it easily for shelf pins since the strip for shelf pins fits in a groove at the back of the track.

I'm making one of these bases in order to have a shelf pin jig to use with a router on a track. I'll post the results here if it works out.


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

It's an interesting idea, I normally just run the router against the fence, I set it up where I want it and let the router sit on the work piece. you have to hold the router steady so it won't wander off it and this jig should stop that from happening, the circle feature does make it worth doing, one day in about 45 years when I have the time I should make on. N


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## Goblu (Mar 5, 2012)

*I made one for shelf pins--highly recommended!*

I made this jig pretty much following the directions on his site, though adjusting measurements to my router. The main thing I changed was dust collection. I didn't do the dust collection at all. I have good dust collection with my Dewalt 618 plunge router so didn't think it was needed. This makes it easier to make. Also, the spring I bought (my only purchase for it) was too strong, so I've been using it without a spring and it seems fine. I may put some foam rubber in there if it seems to slip. 

In place of the dust tube, I put a large handle. Quite optional, but it makes it easier to pick up and also maneuver when routing things like grooves. One hand on the router handle, the other guiding the jig/carriage.

The biggest change I made was to put a foot plate on the front of the jig so it stays level when routing shelf pins and grooves. In the foot plate I put two screws that can adjust the height of the front to keep it level, depending on the wood thickness. 

It worked like a dream to do the shelf pins. I did 4 cabinets very quickly and easily. I also routed a couple of grooves for cabinet backs. Again, very easy. 

Definitely worth making. I made it from scrap and things I had lying around. I may make a better one out of recycled cutting boards (uhmw) eventually, but I'll wait till I see if there are improvements I want to make and how much I use it.

I'm going to take some pictures and post them tomorrow or the next day.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Goblu said:


> I made this jig pretty much following the directions on his site, though adjusting measurements to my router. The main thing I changed was dust collection. I didn't do the dust collection at all. I have good dust collection with my Dewalt 618 plunge router so didn't think it was needed. This makes it easier to make. Also, the spring I bought (my only purchase for it) was too strong, so I've been using it without a spring and it seems fine. I may put some foam rubber in there if it seems to slip.
> 
> In place of the dust tube, I put a large handle. Quite optional, but it makes it easier to pick up and also maneuver when routing things like grooves. One hand on the router handle, the other guiding the jig/carriage.
> 
> ...


I like pitchers!


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## Goblu (Mar 5, 2012)

*Pitchers *

Ok, here are some pictures of the jig I made. First one is the completed jig, with the router on it sitting on the track. The red handle is just to make things easier to move around, since I didn't make the dust collection. Also in this picture, you can see the front support that I added on the right. It is secured with two bolts and is attached to the base using threaded inserts.

Second picture is the bottom of the base, you can see where I routed so it can ride on the track. I measured my track, but this could have been a bit deeper. It could be just a tad tighter and still slide, but it's good enough for consistent repeatable results. Note the two bolts on the right.

Third picture shows the board sitting on an actual workpiece and shows it being leveled. The two bolts allow for a microadjustment to make it level. This is important because if it does not sit level to the workpiece, the grooves or shelf pin holes will be angled. It was kind of sagging without that. Angled shelf pin holes are not a good idea! Also in this picture you can see the front wood piece with the bolts tight against the workpiece. Used for alignment and works great for repeatable positioning.

Fourth picture is a closeup of those bolts. I first tried to put shim pieces using flat head recessed bolts, but this ended up being way easier. If your wood is 1", 3/4", 1/2" etc you can just change the bolt height, or get a thicker/thinner piece of wood for the front if need be. I use this piece as a fence tight against the wood to help line things up. 

This is the main change I made other than not adding the dust extraction to the base. There was very little dust with my router's built in dust collection system hooked up to the shop vac.


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## Goblu (Mar 5, 2012)

Oh, and here's the link to the plans on his blog. 
Instwood: Ð¡Ð°Ð¼Ð¾Ð´ÐµÐ»ÑŒÐ½Ð°Ñ� Ð¤Ñ€ÐµÐ·ÐµÑ€Ð½Ð°Ñ� Ð‘Ð°Ð·Ð°

Pretty much what I followed, but making sure the measurements for the router rods and the track matched what I had. The router rods were lower than in his plan, and so I had to route both top and bottom pieces to get the router rods to line up. This forms the channel that you can see in the plans.

I also clamp my track down once I have it aligned. He doesn't do that in the videos, but I'd rather not bump it and have to realign it. My preference, but if I'm doing shelf pin holes in a tall cabinet, I want it to stay put.


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