# Several Improvements and a new Tool



## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

I have posted before about the lack of confidence in the wheel system for the Laguna 14-12 and after a reply from Dirt Dobber I bought and installed 2 PM-3500 mobile bases and used one on the 14-12 and the other on the Powermatic 60A jointer. Bother heavy machines and now very stable to move anywhere in the shop. The Laguna 3 wheel system always felt tipsy which just feel safe although I never had an issue as I was always aware and very careful. The new base just takes that fear out of the equation. Not saying the Laguna is a bad mobile choice it just wasn't a good one for me. The band saw itself is great and now it's ultra stable to move. The jointer is very easy to maneuver as well.

Then there's the new Panto Router and Jay Bates's designed cart with two drawers. I finally pulled the trigger and bought the Panto Router and immediately started watching videos. This lead me to Jay's site and his video build for the cart. As I like my tools mobile I decided to build this cart which has M & T frame from milled 2x4s which would give me a practical use for my 1st M&Ts on this cart. I have to say it was easy and fast although I took my time as making the tenons requires a few passes to cut out the outside waste and you don't want too much too fast. It just takes a few light passes 1st and you get used to this pretty fast .

Getting the proper fit, not too tight or loose takes a test or two but once found you can knock out as many needed fairly quickly and accurately as log as you took the time to set the new machine up carefully. Doesn't take long and getting answers to the few questions I had was fast and easy just calling and asking. Customer support was super fast and great.The drawers were made of red oak as I had some left from a project and this was going to be my 1st time doing box joints on the PR. Again a bit of setup and a test or two and off we went. 

I'm both impressed and happy with the Panto Router. What it does it does very well and very accurately again as long as you do due villigence setting it up. Once set you shouldn't need to again except for your templates. Finding the center of the table is needed and the more accurate the better the results. After doing a few procedures, the box joints and the M&Ts, I feel confident but will take it slow again until I feel more familiar. I may end up selling my new Powermatic mortiser that I spent a good deal of time and energy building that X/Y table and cart for.


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## Willji (Feb 28, 2020)

Very, very nice tools!


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

I'm very curious about panto routers. How do you make fine adjustments for the proper fit? The last time that I saw a similar designed machine, it had no physical adjustment, and the operator was placing 2 layers of tape on the stylus bearing. Is there a knob adjustment on or similar for joint fitting on your panto router? 

I bought a Leigh FMT Pro jig about 10 years ago, because it did have a knob adjustment for the tightness of joint fit, and no other mortise and tenon jig on the market at that time seemed to offer this. Prior to buying it, I had purchased and tried several other jigs that didn't have this feature, and quickly became dissatisfied with them. I'm now interested to know how you adjust for the right joint fit on your new Panto Router?

Charley


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## Bob Bengal (Jul 24, 2020)

Cool @sreilly I'd never heard of a Panto Router before, I went to their site, impressive. Can you make your own templates?


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Congratulations on the Panto Router.... keep us updated on it, I'm very interested in it.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

Bob Bengal said:


> Cool @sreilly I'd never heard of a Panto Router before, I went to their site, impressive. Can you make your own templates?


Yes there are some videos on making custom templates. One fella in particular seems to be an Ace at this but then again he built his own wood panto router. See here and here for some ideas. There may be some better at explaining the process but the math is the same for all. The supplied templates such as the box and through dovetails can be spaced as needed/wanted or evenly. There is a chart explaining which bearing and cutter combination should be used to get the results wanted/needed. I'm still very much a rookie with this machine but the mortises were perfect after a test run and the box joints a bit tight but the process and placement (depth) of the bearing will adjust that. That's a good use for scrap but make sure it's the same thickness of your wood for the project.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

CharleyL said:


> I'm very curious about panto routers. How do you make fine adjustments for the proper fit? The last time that I saw a similar designed machine, it had no physical adjustment, and the operator was placing 2 layers of tape on the stylus bearing. Is there a knob adjustment on or similar for joint fitting on your panto router?
> 
> I bought a Leigh FMT Pro jig about 10 years ago, because it did have a knob adjustment for the tightness of joint fit, and no other mortise and tenon jig on the market at that time seemed to offer this. Prior to buying it, I had purchased and tried several other jigs that didn't have this feature, and quickly became dissatisfied with them. I'm now interested to know how you adjust for the right joint fit on your new Panto Router?
> 
> Charley


Charley, the template for the M&Ts are cut at a slight angle. When starting you usually have the bearing ride on the deepest point (back closer to the fence) and as you adjust it to the front it gets smaller due to a very slight angle. This is true both inside and outside on the template. It goes larger to smaller in small increments. Looking inside the template you can see steps, at least on the M&T. Look at the pictures posted and I think you can see the steps inside the M&T template and then the taper on the outside perimeter. Probably would have been better to hold a square to see the angle but not easy to do but believe me it's there. Some people call the bearing a "follower" but the process is still the same.
























Then next project for this is to create an organizer for the drawer so it will be easy to see all parts. The box in the upper left may end up with foam padding to stand the bits and bearings up in an organized manner. This is where a CNC would come in handy.........but not today. BTW, the center hole in the templates is for using the none tapered guide bearing end to center the template on the fence and the two screws secure it in place.


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## Bob Bengal (Jul 24, 2020)

Seems like CNC would be the best for making your own templates. I like the idea but don't have a compelling need to justify the cost.


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## dirt_dobber (Jun 9, 2017)

Outstanding! I am hunting for a good used Powermatic Jointer with the Helix head. Hard to find a used one.


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## bfblack (May 2, 2012)

sreilly said:


> I have posted before about the lack of confidence in the wheel system for the Laguna 14-12 and after a reply from Dirt Dobber I bought and installed 2 PM-3500 mobile bases and used one on the 14-12 and the other on the Powermatic 60A jointer. Bother heavy machines and now very stable to move anywhere in the shop. The Laguna 3 wheel system always felt tipsy which just feel safe although I never had an issue as I was always aware and very careful. The new base just takes that fear out of the equation. Not saying the Laguna is a bad mobile choice it just wasn't a good one for me. The band saw itself is great and now it's ultra stable to move. The jointer is very easy to maneuver as well.
> 
> Then there's the new Panto Router and Jay Bates's designed cart with two drawers. I finally pulled the trigger and bought the Panto Router and immediately started watching videos. This lead me to Jay's site and his video build for the cart. As I like my tools mobile I decided to build this cart which has M & T frame from milled 2x4s which would give me a practical use for my 1st M&Ts on this cart. I have to say it was easy and fast although I took my time as making the tenons requires a few passes to cut out the outside waste and you don't want too much too fast. It just takes a few light passes 1st and you get used to this pretty fast .
> 
> ...


Did you consider rotating the bandsaw mobile base 180 degrees? A clumsy guy like me would trip on your present configuration.


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## Gary Lee (Jul 9, 2007)

I have several similar Jet mobile bases I use and they work great.
It's like adding square foot to the shop.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

Update, drawer divider made but not as expected. I was thinking of trying to use the hot glue gun but tests on some scrap didn't prove to be so good so I decided to cut and screw the parts together, I laid the parts out in some organized fashion then measured and cut. I had some poplar that I had resawn from 5/4 to test both the band saw and new resaw blade. These were cut to 1/2" and then I planed to 3/8" before using it. 










The poplar was cut to 3-716" width for the entire divider. I have yet to erase the pencil markings and sand. I'll finish the drawers and divider with General Finishes High Performance.

The divider was designed to keep the various parts in order to keep the individual joint templates together. The mortise and tenon, box joint, dovetail, and other various templates all have their location to be stored. There is a separate bin for tools and extra parts. There is also a thick foam square that has the bearings and cutters arranged.


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Nice job.


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