Edward G. Burlington
08-15-2006, 06:56 PM
I put together this surface flush cutter jig in about an hour. I started with a piece of Phenolic sheet that was ¼ inch by 6 inch by 12 inch long. The bottom slider (in this case the black part) was made from this material. Several other materials are candidates for this part. The main considerations for selecting a material are it should be strong, smooth/slippery, non-marring, and about ¼ inch thick.
In picture one you can see the Phenolic slider mounted to the upper plywood support. The reason for the 90 degree angle pointing to the bit is to allow the jig to get into a corner without hanging up on the proud facing you are attempting to trim off.
1005
The upper support was made of ¾ scrap plywood and is meant to support the router above the Phenolic slider and provide stiff support for mounting gear and a handle. I made a modification to the original plan to allow the router to be easily added or removed without the usual face screw fumbling. You can quickly slide the router under the fount clips, turn the back clip to snug it up, add the top clamp and thumb screw it down.
1006
The last picture shows the bowl bit protruding through exactly ¼ inch (minus the thickness of a piece of paper). As you probably have already surmised it trims any proud surface to near perfect without damaging the adjacent flat surface. Note that other types of bits will work as well as long as it is flat bottom (plunging capability preferred).
1007
Of course the key thing when using this jig is to follow the usual router safety rules, and make sure you continually hold down the handle area to ensure the router does not tip. Any tipping and the cutter will catch the surface since there is only about 1/64th of an inch clearance. I have tested it on my assembly bench and it works great. Well worth the effort to make it.
Questions are welcome.
Edward G.
P.S. Phenolic is available at: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32045&cat=1,43455
In picture one you can see the Phenolic slider mounted to the upper plywood support. The reason for the 90 degree angle pointing to the bit is to allow the jig to get into a corner without hanging up on the proud facing you are attempting to trim off.
1005
The upper support was made of ¾ scrap plywood and is meant to support the router above the Phenolic slider and provide stiff support for mounting gear and a handle. I made a modification to the original plan to allow the router to be easily added or removed without the usual face screw fumbling. You can quickly slide the router under the fount clips, turn the back clip to snug it up, add the top clamp and thumb screw it down.
1006
The last picture shows the bowl bit protruding through exactly ¼ inch (minus the thickness of a piece of paper). As you probably have already surmised it trims any proud surface to near perfect without damaging the adjacent flat surface. Note that other types of bits will work as well as long as it is flat bottom (plunging capability preferred).
1007
Of course the key thing when using this jig is to follow the usual router safety rules, and make sure you continually hold down the handle area to ensure the router does not tip. Any tipping and the cutter will catch the surface since there is only about 1/64th of an inch clearance. I have tested it on my assembly bench and it works great. Well worth the effort to make it.
Questions are welcome.
Edward G.
P.S. Phenolic is available at: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32045&cat=1,43455