# Blame Bj



## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

for suggesting a few days ago that I mount a small router onto skis. This little Bosch router looked perfect for going skiing and I had everything needed in stock, including a length of 8mm mild steel rod salvaged many years ago from a piece of long forgotten equipment.


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## Twill57 (Jun 8, 2009)

Thanks for the photo tutorial. Now, can you point me to a source of information on the use of skis? I have seen a few of the posts here, but I am still not clear on the need/use.


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## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

Thanks for the tute. By the way, does that router have a built-in light or is there an add-on you can buy somewhere?


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Tom, you open a new world of control when using skis. The skis support the weight of the router and prevent tipping which is a major cause of routing projects gone bad. You can prove this by simple edge routing; a simple tilt of the router at the wrong time and your beautiful ogee edge has a divot. You can support the router with a second piece of material to prevent this, but it is a real pain moving the support all the time and with materials of varied thickness. The skis handle all of this with a simple height adjustment. Enough good reasons?


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Harry

I approve 110 % ,you always do nice work but this one is over the top of your normal mark... 

Now you got me going to copy yours...now if I can just find a plunge router like that..how about a hint about model number ?


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harrysin said:


> for suggesting a few days ago that I mount a small router onto skis. This little Bosch router looked perfect for going skiing and I had everything needed in stock, including a length of 8mm mild steel rod salvaged many years ago from a piece of long forgotten equipment.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Talk like that Bob is starting to make me blush, thanks anyway. That ancient Bosch router is a POF52 bought around 1982. I now have to get a 1/4" to 1/8" sleeve before taking it for a test drive using a Dremel cutter.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Harry

Thanks for the part number ,looks like it was made for the UK market place only (240 volt only) 

But I will keep on digging to find one 

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## westend (Mar 31, 2009)

Harry,
The ski's are very cool. You've put a few things on my wish list: ski's, LED's on power tools, small plunge router, milling machine, another 20 years of experience in order to build tools with that kind of precision.
Very nice work! Thanks for your efforts regarding the titled pictures :thank_you2:


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

That's pretty slick, Harry. From "Cross Country" to "Little Boy's" skis. You have it covered.
Can't wait to see what comes of the "Little Boy's" use.
Gene


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Noob said:


> Thanks for the tute. By the way, does that router have a built-in light or is there an add-on you can buy somewhere?



No, neither the Makita or Bosch have built in lights. The one that I fitted to the Makita is a clip on LED light with three button batteries inside. They cost $A4.00 here but identical ones in the US are only $2.00. This shot shows how I fitted one to my other Makita, with double sided tape. The one on the skis I drilled a hole and used the threaded hole used for a dust deflection plate. Believe me, they make a world of difference especially if the router has a large opening and if using a large template guide, if you dig deeply into past threads you'll find lots of mention of the 40mm guide, being metric here that happens to be a convenient size for calculating offsets and is big enough for the chuck to pass through allowing deeper cuts, but it isn't a size that MUST be used, a 1.5" has all the same advantages.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Harry

Thanks 

You got my gears spinning when you said " Makita " I have a small Makita that would work well for that setup and it's a plunge router....sometimes I have to many routers and I forget about them 


One more ski jig can't hurt  well I'm off to the shop to make one for the small 1 1/4HP Makita router 

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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Twill57 said:


> Thanks for the photo tutorial. Now, can you point me to a source of information on the use of skis? I have seen a few of the posts here, but I am still not clear on the need/use.


Tom, there are so many occasions when the skis make a difficult job easy. When you have time, take a trip through my gallery where there are lots of photo shoots of the skis in action. here are a couple of ideas.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Harry
> 
> Thanks for the part number ,looks like it was made for the UK market place only (240 volt only)
> 
> ...


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Harry

hahahahahahaha I do but it's in the 60 hz. type and I'm sure it would fry that router in no time.. 


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harrysin said:


> bobj3 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Harry
> ...


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

"Can't wait to see what comes of the "Little Boy's" use."

Neither can I Gene, I've a lot on at the moment but will probably give it a small test drive even before I get hold of a reducer sleeve.


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## SE18 (Apr 6, 2009)

Thanks for posting; I was looking for it on another post and now I've found it. The explanation of their usefulness is golden


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

harrysin said:


> for suggesting a few days ago that I mount a small router onto skis. This little Bosch router looked perfect for going skiing and I had everything needed in stock, including a length of 8mm mild steel rod salvaged many years ago from a piece of long forgotten equipment.


You're great Harry! I really appreciate your patience with all the annotated pictures. Old inkjet printers will often provide suitable bar.

The message to me was 'cut the slots first, while there is a nice big easily secured piece of material'.

Cheers

Peter


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

harrysin said:


> "Can't wait to see what comes of the "Little Boy's" use."
> 
> Neither can I Gene, I've a lot on at the moment but will probably give it a small test drive even before I get hold of a reducer sleeve.


Harry -

You might want to take a look at the offerings from Think & Tinker / Precisebits.com

They have various cutters and engraving style bits in 1/8" shank but they will do two things for you. They can press on a 1/4" shank adapter (which is what I had them do) or they have some 1/8" collets available. Not sure if they would fit your router but they do offer them for some Bosch, PC and I believe Makita models.


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

hi Harry,

i think your small router ski jig is super! your paint job color looks familiar. 

the white knobs are a great idea! it looks like they will add a lot of control.

i read through this post in a hurry and didnt see how long the rods were. if you didnt say, how long are they?


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

The POF 52 was my first router. A splendid introduction to routing, offering a wealth of potential. I still have it and use it. I sometimes put my Elu mof 96 on skis. It also goes onto my Eumenia radial arm saw, with a 2 foot axis, plus up and down and plunge. The router sits in a purpose built carriage, gliding on bearings.


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## Maurice (Sep 24, 2004)

Excellent tutorial Harry, and thanks, now I don't have to figure it out by myself!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Harry

Here's my copy of yours so to speak of the "Little Boy's" ski..I know you don't like all thread but it's so cheap and easy to use...and works well for me..  this one has 5/16-18 all thread, 18" long for each leg,,,I think total cost would be about 5.00 dollars to make this ski jig..
so to say just about anyone could made one with some scrap wood..and about 2 hours of shop time.


Hey Harry ,,,,I know you will get a kick out of this,, the 40mm guide you made me will work in this router that should make your day... now if I can get it down what a 40mm guide is used for hahahaha LOL

But I will say with the brass adapter in place the collet nut will go up so I can get the wrench on it from the top/bottom side to change the bit easy...



Ping/Pong 

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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

great job as usual BobJ! i presume the router is 1/4 collet . is the hp around 1 hp?


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Thanks levon

It's 1 1/4 HP..but a older one ,number 3620  1/4" max bit size.(shank)

Amazon.com: Makita 3621 1-1/4 HP Plunge Router: Home Improvement

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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Mike

I would love to see a shot of your radial arm saw PLEASE..
with a 2 foot axis " The router sits in a purpose built carriage, gliding on bearings " PLEASE 

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Mike Wingate said:


> The POF 52 was my first router. A splendid introduction to routing, offering a wealth of potential. I still have it and use it. I sometimes put my Elu mof 96 on skis. It also goes onto my Eumenia radial arm saw, with a 2 foot axis, plus up and down and plunge. The router sits in a purpose built carriage, gliding on bearings.


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> Thanks levon
> 
> It's 1 1/4 HP..but a older one ,number 3620  1/4" max bit size.(shank)
> 
> ...




hi BobJ,

you and Harry now have gears turning in my head. i have an old b&d router with a 1/4 collet. the baseplate looks a little like yours. its a big opening that wont accept a guide. i could make a baseplate that would accept guides, i think. its a much cheaper router than either of you have but it works. 

question, to do what you fellas are anticipating, should i get a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter bushing? that is if i decide to build a ski jig with the small router.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Wow, lots of points to answer, first to Bj, what took you so long? I don't know how long it would take for a 50Hz router to heat up, but it sure will go FAST on 60Hz!

Levon, unless you intend to do fine work, like small signs, then a 1/4" shank 1/8" cutter will be fine. The distance between the cheeks is 12", this was how it worked out when I cut the 8mm rod in half!

Peter, when you said OLD ink jet printers, OLD was the operative word. these days the polished steel rail has been replaced by a piece of thin pressed steel, but amazingly they perform as good if not better than the oldies. This is rather like VHS recorders, the early ones had five motors, several large solenoids and heaps of mechanics to say nothing of the several circuit boards and wiring harnesses. The few current ones that are still on sale have just 2 motors, one plastic cam gear that operates a few plastic levers and one circuit board into which everything plugs. Where the originals cost around $1000.00 here for a two head single speed NON remote control model the current six head 2 speed remote control Hi-Fi ones with superior performance can be had for a little over $100.00!

Sorry for drifting off topic, I should finally like to thank everyone for their feedback and kind comments and leave a challenge to see who comes up with easiest, neatest way to mount a standard trim router onto skis.


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

*Not so much a set of skis, more a board.*

As requested, but a little delayed as I went to see Quincy Jones given a fellowship at the Royal Welsh Conservertoire of Music, in Cardiff (along with my daughters First class degree with honours). A photo of my Eumenia router sled/board.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

Congrats to your daughter! Great achievement.

Neat radial arm router set up, too. With an aux table and correct sized pins, could serve as a pin router as well. 

Gene


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## Stefang (Feb 10, 2010)

Nicely done Harry. I could probably do the slots a lot quicker on my scroll saw, but I realize this is the right way to do them on a router forum. I am very interested in the skate jig. I have seen them before but haven't really thought too much about all their uses. I wonder if you would be so kind as to list some of the uses for an unimaginative person (me). I am wondering if the skate jig would be good for planing down end grain pieces like cutting boards and planks too wide for my jointer. I am also a little concerned about how level a router will stay on those steel rods. Do I need to use a special grade of steel for these? Thanks for your help.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Stefang said:


> Nicely done Harry. I could probably do the slots a lot quicker on my scroll saw, but I realize this is the right way to do them on a router forum. I am very interested in the skate jig. I have seen them before but haven't really thought too much about all their uses. I wonder if you would be so kind as to list some of the uses for an unimaginative person (me). I am wondering if the skate jig would be good for planing down end grain pieces like cutting boards and planks too wide for my jointer. I am also a little concerned about how level a router will stay on those steel rods. Do I need to use a special grade of steel for these? Thanks for your help.


Mike I don't know where to start, these questions have all been asked and answered in the past but it might take less time if I try to answer them again than finding all the previous posts.
I'm sure that however steady your hands are when using the scroll saw, it's impossible that the slot could be as accurate as with the router.
I've pulled these shots from previous projects to illustrate some of the uses of the ski mounted router, however, once one becomes familiar with it's use all manner of jobs can be completed quickly and simply. It's rather like my band saw which I've only had for a few years, because I didn't grow up using one, I didn't automatically think of it on many occasions when it would have been the correct tool to use. As members especially some of my forum friends kept on showing how their band saws were in regular use, I started to use mine more often and now it's an invaluable and regularly used tool, as you will find with a set of skis. Please don't hesitate to keep asking questions about anything that I haven't made clear.


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## Stefang (Feb 10, 2010)

Thanks very much for your reply Harry, and the great pics, they are really appreciated. 

I am beginning to see the light when it comes to the skis. They seem to simplify the set-up process and add stability when cutting, in addition to better overall control of the cut. Now I just have to find the rods. No doubt the smooth rods would be best, but I might be forced into using high quality threaded rod.

Mike


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