# Floating Router Lathe with Indexing Jig



## flockshot (Mar 15, 2012)

This is a first prototype of a floating router lathe that I am making. I believe it will make some tasks easier, and it is fun to come up with new machines.
Normally I would not post this early in the process, but it came up in a recycling/repurposing discussion in the introduction forum.
I used a old obsolete entertainment center for the materials, and the rest of the parts are made from what I had around the shop.

Router Lathe Prototype - YouTube

I first got the idea from youtube a while back.

I am adding the second video showing a successful attempt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfCTKS0zQN8&list=FLwISqoQXPgdPk5suvax9Q1w&index=1


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## steamingbill (Jan 13, 2013)

Well Done,

Its been added to the list of things to have a go at. Will shamelessly copy what you've done. 

Bill


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## flockshot (Mar 15, 2012)

If you have any questions just let me know. It is easy to make and I think it will be fun. I plan to make a short video on how I put mine together.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

John looks like you are well on your way to having a very useful machine. Keep us posted on your progress.


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

Very interesting, and well done on posting work in progress and being honest enough to say it isn't perfect yet. Keep the posts coming...


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Great video, John. Very informative.


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

John you need to add a bearing to the peg that you use as the template follower, a bearing will run along better and it will allow you to make templates of any shape with no problem going up and down, for one to one pattern reproduction then the bearing will have to be the same diameter as your cutter, I think that you are not far away from a very workable idea. The video you saw was most likely the one where the router was bouncing up and down on hockey straps, his idea is wrong, but yours is a lot better. NGM


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## flockshot (Mar 15, 2012)

I like the bearing idea a lot. For straight cuts like I am doing in these videos I could adjust the 'template' side in such a way that I could use a larger bearing then the cutter. I have some old roller blade wheels and I think I will try one of those bearings. Thanks for the help.


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

flockshot said:


> I like the bearing idea a lot. For straight cuts like I am doing in these videos I could adjust the 'template' side in such a way that I could use a larger bearing then the cutter. I have some old roller blade wheels and I think I will try one of those bearings. Thanks for the help.


John I have been making a device over the last several months that I believe is the way to go regarding a router copier, you can read about it on several posts that I have made and they should not be hard to find but the threads have gone a bit dormant since January but I am not done yet and they will pop up again, I have had to delay finishing it due to me having to have a surgical procedure that was very invasive and I am recovering and I hope to be back to finishing it soon, I am very sure that my new device is the way to go as it will be able to do many processes, that is not to say that there will not be other ways to do it, I have seen your videos and I have watched them very closely, your idea definitely can work and please consider my comments as being meant to help and are meant to be constructive. Your machine is not made with enough attention to detail, that is all OK as it is clear to me that it is a work in Progress and a Prototype, and I have been there myself, I have made many jigs that I changed over use and time including a device years ago that is featured on my tread, "A different Router Lathe or a Router Standardizer" It was an idea at the time that I was not sure would work and it did surprise me as it worked so well that I still use it, well I will use it again as soon as I am fully well, anyway I think that you need to take what you have learned from the construction of your first device and start again, do a full rebuild and be confident that your idea is worthwhile so focus on making is as tight as you can and use roller bearings but there is a link to the bearing diameter and the cutter diameter and it refers to being able to make a true copy from the template you are following, it does not matter if you are reproducing an item that is a simple shape but if you are going to try to follow a complex template then you will not get a true copy, jig template to work piece, if the bearing and the cutter are not the same size. I have seen many attempts to make a router copier where the end of the cutter is doing the work and it is my belief that this is the wrong way to go as you will never get a clean cut, I can see why they went that way as the square end of the cutter gives a square cut on the work piece, however I think myself that using the side of the cutter is the way as it will give a far better surface, all it means is that if the operator wanted to have square cuts then there would need to be a brief clean up of the shoulders done later by hand tools, I don't think that that is a problem as there are far more benefits from using the cutters edge and any copier that does will produce high quality blanks, that are all the same, and ones that require little followup finishing, so I am sure that using the cutters edge is the way to go but your cutter is too far forward and don't be concerned about moving it back as that will work better, as for me I have been studying this problem for some time, the idea of making a router mill and router copier and router lathe was what brought me to this web site in the first place and my thoughts have changed a lot over time, I have said that there is no jig that will do all things, that is that each jig should be regarded as being a success if it does what it was designed to do, your idea can work and will be worth the effort of a rebuild however I myself don't like the idea of the router moving up and down and my work is based on the router/cutter being fixed in a router table and the work piece being in a jig and being the thing that moves. still keep up your efforts as it all is worth exploring and I will keep track of your thread, best of luck NGM


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## flockshot (Mar 15, 2012)

Neville,
I have been looking through your posts and am having trouble finding the products you produce on your lathe. Perhaps you can direct me so that I can see what it is that you are accomplishing with the device.


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## JulianLech (Jan 25, 2011)

John, can you show a picture of how you attached the inner box with the bungee cords?


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## flockshot (Mar 15, 2012)

I am away from the machine for a couple of weeks, but as soon as I get back to it I will make a quick video on how everything is attached. I will take it apart and re-assemble it to show how things go together and to show how simple this thing really is.
I am considering adding some ability to 'adjust' tension and fit between the two boxes, but I don't know yet if that will be necessary. I do have a solution in mind to eliminate the need for shims and will include that as well.
I really want to keep this simple so that anyone with basic woodworking tools and skills can build one, while making it accurate and fun to use. So far so good.


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

flockshot said:


> Neville,
> I have been looking through your posts and am having trouble finding the products you produce on your lathe. Perhaps you can direct me so that I can see what it is that you are accomplishing with the device.


John I have been delayed in finishing my device, I have had a surgical procedure in March 2013 that has set me a long way behind but I am recovering and when I am fully OK then I will post a video of it running, so as soon as I am back on my feet then I will finish it, I don't want to be critical of your device as I have always believed this, "if a jig does what the user intended then its design is a success" also "a jigs design should not be more complicated that it need to be", about the idea of making a router copier or a router lathe, myself, I don't think that the router should be the thing moving up and down or in and out, I think that it should be fixed stationary and the work piece is the thing that moves about but that is no reason why your idea should not be fully explored, my new rotating indexed box follows that concept and the router is fixed stationary as the cuts are done, I also hope that the new box will be flexible enough to perform any operation I want to do with it, my new box is variation of the one on my Tread, "A Different Router Lathe or a Router Standardizer". With the new box then I also wanted to be able to use any type or indexing wheel so I have talked about making them on another tread of mine but those threads, they are a bit dormant as I have been unwell. When you remake your device then you need to include a way to use different indexing wheels. I have not posted images of the items that I make, I will post an image of the column that goes into the old box later but I have tried to just talk about processes, I did intend to have the new jig finished before my procedure but I had to take steps to protect myself so it has had to wait. NGM


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## flockshot (Mar 15, 2012)

Neville,
I look forward to reading about and seeing your projects in your threads.


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