Thread: Mitre Track or not????

I personally wouldn't want a mitre slot at all. It runs the risk of filling up with chips, dust etc.
I can do featherboards easily enough with a clamped on piece of timber with hold-down's attached and jigs for the rest.

Burn

Definately need them for cutting the ends of stiles with matched cutters on RP doors.

Why not just a T-square jig?

Because there is always a chance the piece/t-sq jig could pivot against the fence.

Ditto, styles for raised panel doors


Cheers

I haven't to date, but am about to stick some sail track on the Penultmate Router table for featherboards etc.

The purpose of the Penultimate table is to try one of everything before I build the ultimate one!

I am going to try a sail track on the fence to slide jigs from there so I don't have to worry about a parallel fence, but if your system has a parallel fence, I suspect a mitre track could be useful.

Cheers,

P

On the other hand why not just go around to your mates house and use his jig... LOL

IMHO

It's better to have it and not use it than to have a NEED for it and NOT HAVE it

Personally when I eventually make myself a router table, that is one important item I would include. Maybe even more than one track!

IMO, the mitre slot is unneecessary on a router table. When using rail-and-stile bits, I just use a rectangular piece of MDF to push the workpiece past the bit. This keeps it square and minimizes tearout.

Rocker

Yeah thats what I've done too... but using my large dia rail/stile bits the fence faces are parted about 60mm, if your wood is less than 80mm wide there is always a chance that it can pivot and it does this easily no matter how hard you hold the backing plate/mdf. It soon can put a damper on your day...
Im installing one ASAP, just going to be a pain to line the fence up square with it!

I use my mitre track, but this is only possible because the fence on my router table is always parallel to it (router table is set into tablesaw extension, and the router fence is attached to the tablesaw fence).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Harry72

Yeah thats what I've done too... but using my large dia rail/stile bits the fence faces are parted about 60mm, if your wood is less than 80mm wide there is always a chance that it can pivot and it does this easily no matter how hard you hold the backing plate/mdf. It soon can put a damper on your day...
Im installing one ASAP, just going to be a pain to line the fence up square with it!

If you use a handscrew clamp, or a small Bessey K-body clamp, to clamp the workpiece to the MDF, it will not pivot.

Rocker

There are three reasons why I wouldn't put one in:

1. They are unnecessary. You can use a sled or some other device that rides along the fence or the edge of the table.
2. They fill up with crap and are likely to lift your workpiece off the table.
3. They may cause the table to warp (I read this one in a book on routers. I suppose it depends on what the table is made from - the authors Fred Matlack and Bill Hylton were anti-mitre slot).

Originally Posted by silent

some other device that rides along the fence or the edge of the table.

Didnt even think of that, got me thinking now!

Rocker, it can pivot I have clamped the pieces to the mdf backing plate... but theres still the chance the whole lot can pull away from the fence.