Homemade fixtures for a manual milling cutter. Learn how to operate a hand router. Devices for a manual router: what you can do with your own hands or buy Homemade templates for a manual router
To expand the functionality of a hand-held power tool, to make its use more convenient, comfortable and safe, devices for a manual milling cutter allow. Serial models of such devices are quite expensive, but you can save on their purchase and make devices for equipping a wood router with your own hands.
Different kinds of devices can make a truly versatile tool out of a hand router.
The main task that the devices for the milling cutter solve is to ensure that the tool is located in relation to the surface to be machined in the required spatial position. Some of the most commonly used attachments for milling machines are included as standard with such equipment. The same models that have a highly specialized purpose are purchased separately or made by hand. At the same time, many devices for a wood router have such a design that making them with your own hands does not present any particular problems. For home-made devices for a manual milling cutter, drawings will not even be required - their drawings will be quite enough.
Among the devices for a wood router, which you can make yourself, there are a number of popular models. Let's consider them in more detail.
Rip fence for straight and curved cuts
It is possible to ensure the stability of the router when processing narrow surfaces without special devices. This problem is solved with the help of two boards, which are attached on both sides of the workpiece in such a way as to form one plane with the surface on which the groove is made. The milling cutter itself, when using this technological method, is positioned using a parallel stop.
UPDATE 2017: the post is brutally outdated, order CNC templates.Absolutely nothing remarkable: I make a template for a groove under the neck for a cutter with an upper bearing from a sheet of acrylic. But there are a number of nuances, and in general, for some reason, it was difficult for me personally to come to the conclusion that the templates should be made on my own, and not ordered from a styuvmak or from special people. So I write in detail, even if the procedure itself is boring.
Actually acrylic (I don’t remember the thickness, in my opinion something about 4-5 mm):
I apply the heel of the neck, trace it with a marker without much precision, because at this stage there is no need for it, and moreover, there is a danger of cutting off something superfluous with a rough tool. So I make a small margin in all measurements.
By the way, the notch in the template will be substantially longer than the heel of the neck- at least a couple of centimeters. This is necessary in order to calmly work with a router and have support for it even when processing the edge of the body.
I fix the template on the workbench, I start sawing the acrylic with my Japanese wood saw. The canvas does not deteriorate from this, but I still add a little oil, primarily to reduce heat.
Yes, before sawing, circle the marker lines with a sharp awl, drawing a deep groove along them. This will greatly facilitate the work, because the marker can be accidentally erased, and most importantly, it reflects strongly and is poorly visible from some angles. Scratches are always visible.
When the overhang of the saw ends (or it finishes to the corner, it all depends on the design of the saw), you need to switch to a jigsaw with a large overhang.
The cutting line of the jigsaw MUST be moistened with oil, because it heats the acrylic very much: while the file is moving, everything is fine and without lubrication, but if the jigsaw stops even for a moment, the melted plastic will immediately freeze around the file and bite it. The first time I sawed a template like this, I broke five files in a row before I realized that I needed to add oil.
When the cutting is finished, a magical oscillating spindle-grinding machine comes into play, reminiscent of some kind of terribly witch torture device.
On this machine, large irregularities and deviations are removed. The drum diameter gradually decreases. At this stage, you already need to regularly glue the heel of the neck to the template and see how things are going. On all subsequent ones, this is done constantly, the stuffing does not turn back!
(almost. In principle, small holes can be filled with at least the same superglue (thick), and then sanded again. But it’s better not to bring it to this)
Since even the smallest sanding drum does not fit into the corners of the template, I remove the machine and level them with a regular round file:
Yes, and the sides of the groove can be sanded with a flat file, if necessary.
I am attaching the template to the neck. I observe from below, at the edge of the heel, an awesome gap. So, it is necessary to cut down the corners of the groove harder.
It is long and dull to work with a file there, so I take a drill with a grinding roller. Glasses are a MUST, guys! And even better would be a protective mask-shield made of transparent plastic. Otherwise, the whole muzzle will be in plastic crumbs.
Another twenty minutes of fine tuning - and you're done.
With the help of a long ruler and sewing I draw three lines: the edges and the center of the neck.
Now you can, without haste, mill such a miracle jolana with an implanted stool in the center of the body and a piping made of marijuana mixed in epoxy.
True, in this photo the template is a little crooked - it doesn’t matter, I’ll fix it.
Devices for a manual router
For many people, a router accessory is like a TV remote that has many buttons and functions, but most people only use a small portion of these buttons because they don't know or understand the many button options. The same position is with the milling cutter. Often this versatile tool is not fully utilized. Let's look at some of what a manual milling machine is capable of.
Indispensable assistants for a manual router
Fraser instead of a chisel
Usually, samples are made with a chisel. But if you have a milling cutter, then the selections can be made with a spiral cutter. Install the guide bush in the base of the router base according to the diameter of your cutter. Fix the template on the workpiece, and then slowly and with a not deep immersion of the cutter, moving the router smoothly, make a selection in the workpiece. It is troublesome, it is important that the conductor is constantly parallel to the workpiece, and for this, make a fixture, as shown in the photo.
Router guide
Usually, ready-made fixtures are already included with the router. One of them is a set of guide rods and a parallel stop. It serves both for making grooves, spikes, giving decorative patterns on the edges of the product and for many other purposes. In our case, oval recesses are made on the casing at the same distance between them, resembling antique columns in shape. The use of this conductor is simple and consists in parallel and perpendicular movement of the router on the workpiece. Setting up the conductor includes loosening the screws on the stop and router, setting the router in the right place, tightening the screws. Immerse the cutter to the desired depth and move the cutter with the stop to make a selection.
Inlay and application of text inscriptions
To write a variety of text and inlay with a router, you first need to apply marking lines, and then mill along the recess lines with a firm hand. One slip and you have the good fortune to start all over again. With the help of templates, a cutter with a guide bearing or a guide (copy) bush, you eliminate the possibility of deviating from the intended course, as shown in these photos.
Device for cutting inlay inserts.
Device with letter templates.
Milling cutter instead of a jigsaw
To cut a perfect circle with a router, make a small tool with a knife. The router is mounted on plywood with a "long arm" that rotates around a fixed point, as shown in the photo.
Having a milling machine, cutting round blanks without a jigsaw is not difficult.
Grooving tool
The design of the device for making grooves is shown in the photo.
With the help of this device, you can make grooves of the required size.
Calibration templates for milling cutters
Imagine a situation where you need to change the cutter, and then to continue the work you need to restore the height of the cutter. Make two calibration templates for cutters to be replaced.
You can make templates from medium density chipboard or hardwood. The thickness of the template must correspond to the thickness of the part of the product and have a length of at least one meter. Next, we insert a milling cutter into the router to make the first calibration template and do test milling. Having received a satisfactory result, make a template. Having the first calibration template available, install the second cutter in the router and substituting the first calibration template under it, raise the router to the desired height.
By changing the height of the router up or down, achieve the full coincidence of the router bit with the contours of the template, as shown in the photo and fix the height at the router. Check the settings made on the test rail, check the accuracy of the match between them. Having a satisfactory result, make a second calibration template.
Parallel Milling Attachment
If you need a large number of dovetail slots, or simple slots spaced at regular intervals, as shown in the picture, then a parallel milling fixture will come in handy.
This fixture saves time when setting slot spacings and will help you get more accurate cutter passes by fitting the fixture into the newly created slot. An important parameter in the settings is the manufacture of the first slot, it will ensure a uniform arrangement of all the slots.
Parallel milling fixture made of 12mm plywood. Cut the workpiece in the shape of a square measuring 200 x 200 mm. In the center of the workpiece, the auxiliary base, drill a hole for the cutter. Determine and mark the groove for the runner rail. The distance from the edge of the cutter to the slider will be the distance between the slots on the product. The rack-runner for adaptation is made of deciduous breeds of a tree.
For dovetail slots, first make the groove with a smaller diameter straight cutter, then finish the slot with a dovetail cutter.
Stop milling by stop block
It happens that it is not necessary to mill chamfers, profiles along the entire length of the part, and sometimes it is necessary to stop milling exactly in a certain place. For these purposes, a simple device is used - stop block, which can be installed on any workpiece.
Determine the distance to the point where milling on the workpiece will stop, determine the bearing radius, and add it to the extreme point. Install the stop block and press it against the edge of the workpiece as shown in the figure.
Control over fine details in milling
It is difficult to hold small parts in your hands when milling a product if the hole for the cutter does not match the diameter of the cutter, there is also a possibility that the workpiece will fall through and you can damage your fingers with the cutter.
First decision- drill a hole slightly larger than the diameter of the cutter, which will prevent the workpiece from falling into the hole.
Second decision- clamp the workpiece into the clamp. When clamping the workpiece, make sure that it does not have slopes and that it lies firmly on the milling table.
Narrow Edge Milling Attachment
Narrow edges are very inconvenient to mill with a manual router. To facilitate the work, make inserts-clamps. They can be made from waste wood. Place the fixing inserts on both sides between the shelves and squeeze them with clamps. Now you can mill any edge on all shelves.
If the router is not stable on the edges, place additional intermediate inserts inside the box and firmly clamp it again with clamps.
Device for marking and selecting grooves and slots
This attachment will help you quickly make router settings and cut grooves and slots exactly to size using a straight cutter of any diameter.
This fixture is made from two parallel strips of plywood or 3/4″ medium density chipboard. The size of the narrow strip is the length from the edge of the cutter to the edge of the sole of the router.
Lay the strips side by side and connect them with hinged loops. Install a straight cutter of the desired diameter in the router. Adjust the insertion depth of the cutter to the same depth as the slot. Now, on the working surface of the workpiece, with a pencil, mark the line of the beginning of each groove.
Align the mark and fixture with the folded strip on the workpiece and press firmly with clamps. Turn the strip over and mill the first slot. By setting the fixtures to the second mark, it will repeat the milling process.
Slider for quick settings
Two guides fixed on the rail-runner will serve you in the case when you need to restore all the settings after changing the cutter on the milling table. Let's say that a perfectly tuned fence was forced to move due to a change in the cutter. Save time on restoring the settings of the stop, the height of the bearing, you can easily do with this tool.
Before making any adjustments, install the slider in the slot on the table, align the movable rails with the stop and tighten the fastening nuts. Then remove the fixture from the table, move the stop and replace the cutter. Install the fixture parts in the slot, adjust the stop to align it with the guides and tighten the stop nuts. If your router table does not have a slider slot, use the front edge of the tabletop. Put the milled edge of the workpiece on the table, changing the height of the cutter to match the cutter and the pattern on the product.
Methods for adjusting the exact immersion of the cutter
Usually, restoring the old settings is troublesome and not rewarding, I offer two quick and easy ways to always accurately adjust the depth of cut on the milling machine.
First way. For settings, you can use drills of various thicknesses and accurately set the insertion depth of the cutter.
The second way. Make two slats of the same height and equal to the depth of the cutter.
Place the router on the rails and lower the router down until it touches the table top, tighten the stop rod on the router.
Insulating tape will increase the width of the groove
Sometimes, the width of the groove may differ slightly from the size of the cutter, and in order to widen the groove, it is necessary to adjust the distances of the fixture or ruler each time. As a rule, this creates big problems. Instead of these adjustments, I suggest adding strips of electrical tape to the edge of the base of the router. This will move the edge of the cutter slightly away from the edge of the slot and give you the opportunity to widen the slot if necessary. Four layers of blue tape will suffice.
How to make beautiful oval edges
Sometimes, for various reasons, it can be difficult to keep the base of the router even and without tilting in relation to the product, to create smooth and even edges, as shown in the figure.
An auxiliary stand for a router, fixed in any way possible, will help to make beautiful oval edges.
How to make beautiful oval corners
Rounding the corners on the product using a manual router does not always give a positive result. To get a nice, even oval, let's look at one of the ways, using an oval cutter with a small radius, and how to set it to always be at the same height for milling.
The same cutter radius on the milling table can be set using the fixture shown in the figure.
The device consists of two parts: a wooden corner, the edge of which is beveled for a specific cutter and a supporting block.
The corner and the block are fastened together with a clamp. By changing the height of the cutter above the table, achieve its exact match in height with the corner. Then set the fence flush with the milling guide bearing.
Start pin for smooth and safe milling
The hard and unsafe start of freehand milling can be changed using the start pin. It will help to smoothly bring the workpiece to the cutter at the beginning of milling.
The starting pin is set at a distance of 2? from the cutter. It can be made from brass or aluminum rod and securely mounted on the router table.
Prepare the part for milling and lay it on the table with one edge pressed against the pin, then slowly turn it towards the cutter with the bearing. When the cutter has completely milled the edge of the workpiece, continue to mill the entire workpiece, pressing it lightly against the start pin.
Use this method for milling small parts as well.
Enlargement of holes in two steps
You may need to enlarge the hole, or make a sweat over the round hole. This method can be used when you need to make a hole larger than the largest Forstner drill.
The hole enlargement method is performed in two steps:
Step 1. It is necessary to increase the size of the hole with a cutter for cutting quarters, the width of the quarter corresponds to the radius of the cutter, minus the radius of the bearing on the cutter. The bearing is in contact with the old edge of the hole.
Step 2 Turn the workpiece upside down and install a straight cutter with a bearing and remove the rest of the edge until the bearing comes into contact with the new edge, as shown in the figure.
Part Support Block
The supporting block can be used as a perpendicular, stop and block. It will not only increase the accuracy of the cut, but also help to make perpendicular cuts, and also do the job of a trimming fixture.
The dimensions of the supporting block are shown in the figure.
Compound curve milling attachment
Templates help milling not only in a straight line, but also in curved milling. Templates will help you process complex oval shapes on the product, but for this, the bends of the template must match the radius of the guide bushing of the router.
Shown here is a fixture that allows you to mill a mirror image of a template onto a workpiece. The template is made of plywood or chipboard 12 mm thick. The size and shape of the roundings of the template are matched to the radius of the copying sleeve. The template on the workpiece is attached in any way possible. Then select the cutter with which you are going to make a copy of the template. It can be a straight cutter, an oval cutter or a combination of cutters.
This picture shows routing with the same template on a door infill. The same template will help you create patterns on the top of a table or countertop. There is only one requirement: The workpiece must have at least one straight edge to align the template.
Template for making pin holes
Drilling holes for shelf pins is a tricky job in any project. Having a template with marked holes, a router with a guide sleeve and a drill of the required diameter, it is not a problem to get exact copies of the holes. The template is made from a smooth double-sided strip of hardened hardboard 12 mm thick. The width and length of the template is made according to the size of the workpiece and the base of the router. Make markings on the template from lines for future holes. Make markings for the holes with a slight offset.
For example, the distance between the lines is 75 mm, the distance on the template, to the hole on the line, from one edge will be 1 1/4?, and from the other edge - 1 3/4?, which means the distance to the hole on one side of the workpiece , which we drill, will be equal to 1 1/4?, and on the other side, the holes already drilled are located at a distance of 1 3/4? respectively, as shown in the figure.
Then, using a drilling machine, drill evenly holes with a diameter of 3/4?, after drilling, fix the template on the product. Next, install a 3/4″ gauge bushing on the base of the router, install a 1/4″ straight cutter. into your router, set the drilling depth on the router. Insert a guide sleeve into each hole of the template and plunge the drill into the hole until it stops sinking. When you finish drilling a hole, move on to the next hole and repeat the steps until you are done.
Additional mounting plate for router
Mounting fixtures on a router or extending the base on a router requires precise positioning of the mounting holes.
Remove the plastic smooth overlay from the router, copy its dimensions and holes onto plywood or chipboard 12 mm thick. With a drill of smaller diameter, according to the marks of the holes for the bolts, drill the mounting holes. Check the size of the copy with the base size, if the copy and the original do not match, increase the diameter of the drill step by step until the holes match exactly. In the case when an exact copy is made, drill holes of the desired diameter.
Jointing on a milling table
A thin plastic (laminate) is attached to the receiving side of the router stop and works in the same way as the jointer receiving table. Adjust the laminate stop to be flush with the cutting edge of the cutter. Clicking on the part in the right half of the fence, move it in the direction of the cutter. With your left hand, press on the cut piece, against the laminate, to mill the workpiece.
Spacers for pattern milling
Milling the entire edge of the panel with a large cutter, in one pass, is a risky business. Gaskets glued to the stop on the milling table will help to gradually, without constant adjustments, get a beautiful and accurate pattern on the part. Adjust the stop in relation to the cutter so that this is the last milling step. Then make eight spacers from plywood with a thickness of not more than 5 mm, glue them with double-sided tape on both sides on the stop.
You need to mill all four edges of each panel, then separate the gasket from each side of the stop, as shown in the figure. Continue milling each panel until all spacers are removed. The last step is to mill the products without spacers on the fence.
Edge Removal Tool
This device will help to mill the remaining edges on the part, without the risk of damaging the workpiece.
We cut out a square base measuring 200 x 200 mm and 18 mm thick. Then, with a circular saw, make a cut in the center of the base, but with a depth of no more than half the thickness of the base. Make a rectangle measuring 100 x 200 mm. The thickness of the workpiece for stability can be increased. Glue it to the base flush with the cut as shown in the picture.
Drill a hole in the center of the base to match the diameter of the straight cutter you are using. Insert the cutter into the router and set to a shallow insertion depth. Make sure when test milling that a thin layer of edge remains on the surface. Clamp the workpiece in a vise, turn on the router and cut off the overhanging edge of the strip. Remove residue with a knife blade and sand with sandpaper.
Quite a few people who are currently working with wood dream of acquiring a factory perfect fixture for a tenon cutter or a so-called template. It is perfect for cutting dovetail joints or straight spikes. Patterns for milling will help out if you need to complete a large number of parts in a short time. Very often, the manufacturer completes its products with the necessary devices to facilitate the work. However, this condition is not always met if you buy the manufacturer's products in the lower price category. Therefore, the woodworker often makes the necessary element himself in garage conditions. Moreover, it is not difficult to do this in modern conditions. Often, no drawing is required to make a template; all the necessary manipulations can be performed using a curly ruler and a pencil. Spending a little time on making a template will save you a lot of time in the future when it comes to routine cutting out shapes.
How to make a template for a router
As a template for a router, hardboard 6 mm thick or MDF sheets 12 mm thick are suitable. The advantage of these materials lies in their ease of processing compared to wood-based sheets. Their only drawback is that the corners of the material and complex contours are easily crushed and lose their shape when dropped or hit. Birch plywood is needed to make a high quality, durable template. The disadvantage of this material is the higher price.
The template is made on a scale of 1: 1 to the part. First, holes are drilled for cutting out the template, then a template is cut along the contour using a jigsaw. The indent from the cut line is about 1 mm. The edges of the sample are polished with an abrasive. In this way, the required number of patterns is cut out. Fixing the template on the working material is carried out using double-sided adhesive tape. Simplification of work is possible by inserting a cutter with a bearing into the collet of the machine, which will roll along the edge of the stencil.
Flexible template for milling
A flexible template is a strip of flexible material (usually rubber or plastic) that is attached to the work surface with self-tapping screws. To make a flexible pattern for milling, you will need a 25x3 mm steel strip. Behind the strip, it is necessary to screw the corners for attaching to the workpiece. You can use a motorcycle chain, after dividing it into segments and fixing it from above through spacers using clamps. The sole should be round, protruding beyond the main diameter should be no more than two to three centimeters. In the market of materials for milling, patterns from the company SMT are quite popular products. Such templates are used for milling on a manual router with end mills or for working on a stationary manual machine with manual feed. The smaller the section of your template, the smaller the radius of its bend will be.
Dovetail Router Template
The template itself was called "combs" or tenon cutters, since the shape is very similar to this element of the women's wardrobe. The pattern must be made of aluminum, a strip 6 mm thick is required. The depth of the slot of the sheet will be 26 mm, the width of the "comb" 18 mm, the distance between the ridges 18 mm. The width of the aluminum plate can be from 140 mm or more. This parameter will depend on the type of your router. For this design, the parameters of the cutters will be as follows: D=12.7; B=12.7; angle = 14 degrees. Both in the groove and in the jumper there must be ideal rounding radii. The ring of the nozzle on the router should have an outer diameter of 16 or 17 mm, its thickness should be 1 mm less than the thickness of the comb.
The comb should be fixed to the table on the corners, which can move freely up and down. This property is needed to adjust the template to the thickness of the part. This design has adjusting rings for precise positioning of workpieces. There are two stops at the front and top of the milling template, spaced apart from each other in order to ensure that the teeth of the workpiece exactly match when working. To fix the part, eccentrics are used that press on a spring-loaded metal plate that has a bolt at the back to adjust the thickness of the part. When preparing for work, the part must be inserted and fixed at the stop, then clamped with an eccentric. After that, you can safely produce its milling.
Of course, today the easiest way is to pay and buy the necessary templates for full-fledged work. However, if you are not satisfied with factory production, you like to make things with your own hands, then it will be a pleasure for you to work according to your own made patterns.
One of these devices is a parallel stop. This is a component of the basic set of any router, and the owner of the tool does not have to make the stop himself. It is needed for the direct following of the cutter along the surface of the base, which can be the smooth edge of the part or workbench.
The stop allows you to process edges and grooves, firmly fixing the part.
This useful addition to the milling tool consists of the following parts:
- rods included in the recesses on the milling cutter;
- screw fasteners tightening them in the desired position;
- adjusting screw for fine adjustment of the distance of the cutter axis from the edge;
- the supporting part that holds the structure on the base.
To bring the stop for the wood router to readiness, it is necessary that the rods take up position in the recesses on the tool body and are tightened with a stopper. By loosening the stopper, you can make small adjustments if necessary with the adjusting screw.
With a slight addition, the parallel stop allows you to make, in addition to straight cuts, more complex ones. Adding this is a wooden block with one even side. The other side has an angular or round notch. The bar is inserted between the supporting part and the edge of the material, which has a curved shape.
The bar is in contact with the support with its even edge. The side where the notch is in contact with the curved base. Manipulate the tool with such a device should be extremely careful, as the bar introduces an element of instability.
Guide bar
Having a similar purpose to the rip fence, the tire is responsible for the accurate running of the cutter in a straight line. The time spent on work is significantly reduced due to the use of the tire. It also allows you to guide the tool on the table at any angle to the edge.
Note! You can fix the tire on the countertop or material with clamps.
Some serial production tires have a separate component in the kit - a shoe. It is connected to the router with rods and, passing along the tire, moves the milling head along a given trajectory.
The tire is best combined with a tool whose base is on retractable legs. This eliminates the difference in height between the bar and the router.
It happens that the functionality of mass-produced tires does not suit the user. You can always create an individual version of the guides for the router with your own hands. The most elementary is a long, even bar, in other words, a ruler. The master only needs to provide it with fasteners, and the tire, in fact, is ready. For the manufacture of a simple fixture, a drawing is not even required.
Of course, such a homemade version will not be sustainable. A combination of a plywood base with a board nailed to it will turn out to be more stable in work. The edge of the milling base will rest against the board, and the edge of the base will indicate the processing area. This design is used in the case of using cutters of the same diameter.
Another option works when wood cutters can be of different sizes. Here, the board, acting as a ruler, is not nailed to the base, but is reinforced with clamps. Thanks to this, it can adjust the distance from the working area according to the diameter of the cutter.
Templates and copy sleeve
The copy ring is a circle with a ledge that slides on a pattern, guaranteeing the accuracy of processing. The ring can be screwed to the base of the router or secured with antennae. The diameter of the fixture is selected in such a way that it does not come into contact with the working part of the tool.
The ring template is fixed on the processed material, firmly adjoining to a table-top. Reliable clamping is provided with double-sided tape and clamps. After finishing the part, you need to make sure that the bushing fits snugly along the edge of the template when working.
A do-it-yourself template for a router will also be used for processing the corners of a part, when it is necessary that they be round. Depending on the location and dimensions of the template, the radius size of the rounding can be any.
The template design often includes bearings or rings. If this is a ring, then it should be selected according to the size of the cutter. With a difference in diameters, it is necessary to add stops to the design of the template, with which it will be possible to move the fixture from the edge of the part.
Among the auxiliary devices for the router, the most flexible templates, in addition to processing the edges of the material, also allow cutting complex grooves. The special arrangement of the accessory makes it possible to effectively create recesses for door hinges. With the help of a template, you can even carry out decorative work with a router, for example, cut out wooden patterns.
Compass
This auxiliary tool is designed to create round and oval cutouts. The basic compass scheme includes a rod with a pin fastening at the end. By inserting the fastener into the hole in the center of the circle along which the groove is made, you can change the size of the circle by simply moving the rod.
Note! The convenience and reliability of the design is enhanced by the addition of a second rod.
There are various auxiliary elements that work on the circular principle. They give the advantage of creating different radii of circular grooves. An obligatory component of such auxiliary devices is a pin with a screw for adjusting the length of the radius.
If a small hole is being cut, the circular design must be adapted to fit on the base of the router. The pin when machining the part is located directly under the tool.
A wood router, in addition to round ones, is also able to cut elliptical holes. The device for this can be assembled with your own hands from the following parts:
- base with fixation on the material of screws or suction cups;
- shoes moved on crossed guides - 2 pcs.;
- rods for mounting - 2 pcs.;
- bracket for connecting the structure to the tool.
The fastening bracket, thanks to the grooves intended for this, allows the frame of the structure to be in the same plane as the base of the router. Cutting round openings is done using one shoe. If you need an oval hole, both are used. This auxiliary design makes it possible to make holes more accurately and faster than other tools such as a band saw or a jigsaw.
For grooves on narrow surfaces
Recesses for locks or door hinges can also be made with a drill and a chisel, but a router is much better suited for this. You just need to equip the tool with a certain device. It consists of a flat plate that is attached to the base of the device. The shape of the plate can be round or rectangular. 2 pins are made on it, ensuring a smooth running of the tool during operation.
The main parameter that must be followed in the manufacture of such an element is that the axis of each pin must be on the same line as the center of the cutter. Subject to this parameter, the groove will be cut exactly in the middle of the workpiece, regardless of the thickness. If it is necessary to shift the groove to the right or left, a sleeve of the size required for the desired shift is put on the corresponding pin.
Using this design, the router is driven with the pins firmly pressed against both sides of the workpiece.
The same effect is achieved if two parallel stops are used with the router.
Even one stop may be enough. It is necessary to strengthen the workpiece between two surfaces, such as boards, so that all three elements are in the same plane. The problem of insufficient part width in this case is eliminated.
When you often have to work with narrow surfaces, a good solution would be to build a special table from two halves. By clamping the material between them, the master will easily achieve the effect of one plane.
Solids of revolution
When working with round blanks, such as poles or balusters, a structure is made up of a frame, inside which the part is placed, carriages for the milling cutter and a rotary disk. The part is inserted into the frame, securely fixed, after which the carriage with the tool is extended to the area for processing. The position of the part in the frame can be changed by means of a rotary disk.
The same frame with a milling cutter in the carriage can serve as a lathe. All you need to do is turn the disk while the router is moving along the guides. This can be done by an assistant master or a drill connected to the disk.
Tenoning devices
Such devices provide the creation of joints based on spikes. Requiring high precision of material processing, such profiles are easily performed by a milling cutter.
Using a manual router, the master brings it to the material freely. Therefore, the material needs to be securely fastened for error-free tenon cutting.
Such conditions can be created by a simple device made of the following parts:
- rigidly fixed guides, lower upper and side;
- a bar with one degree of freedom, which will limit the sample.
The parameters of the parts depend on the specific tool for which the device will be assembled. The assembly order is as follows.
Equal-sized vertical ribs with cutouts in the center are installed along the edges of the plywood base. Rails are attached to these ribs, on which the tool will move. For the safety of the movement of the router on the rails, they are locked with limiters, which can be simple wooden slats.
A movable part is attached to the plywood base - a regulator for sampling the edge of the part. The latch can be a wing screw or another fastener at the choice of the master.
Regardless of the manufacturer, a hand mill with the addition of such a structure is able to easily cut a simple tenon profile.
Another tool for the production of spikes is the jig. It consists of a base, stops and a movable part in the form of a sled. Already experienced users are starting to manufacture and use it for very small and precise work.
Hidden Features
The listed case of auxiliary tools may seem redundant when the master performs only the simplest operations with a router. But if you look at this tool from the angle of its potential, then a number of directions arise before the user.
Those works that the master did not even think that he could carry out turn out to be quite affordable - one has only to build a few auxiliary structures. As if this is not a simple manual milling cutter, but a CNC coordinate machine.
