Thread: Router table fence

I thought the idea of the mitre slot is for when you are not using the fence.

Say for cutting tenons - set a half inch straight bit in the router and adjust to the depth of tenon, put timber against mitre gauge and run past cutter?

Your idea is fine IMO

I'm with Dazzler, am about 3/4 of the way finished with my router table and it will have a mitre track for exactly that reason. Will be making rail and style panels (cope & style for you Seppos) and need the mitre track for those.

Then again if you can't think of a good reason to have a mitre track, leave it out, you can always add one later.

Basically a miter track allows you to cut end grain and keep the work piece perpendicular to the bit. That is more difficult with just a fence.

Using a fence and the miter gauge, with the fence parallel to the track, the depth of cut can be more carefully controlled.

However, with just a fence you can often clamp or hold the piece against a longer sacrificial support (bit of scrap) and achieve good results without a miter gauge.

Tex

With or without the miter gauge, a sacrificial backup is a good idea for end grain cuts. Tearout goes in the scrap instead of the work.

Joe

G'day Chumley,
I also like the pivoting fence idea.......Doug Stowe (box maker) uses this method extensively, as it saves squaring the fence.
However, I reckon you also need mitre slots (running parallel to the fence) for box joint jigs/tenon cutting. and lots of other things.
My new router table will incorporate mitre slots for jigs and a pivoting fence.

Another reason for having a mitre track made so that it can be used with t-bolts is for attaching feather boards for pushing stock against the fence if you are making mouldings etc

Originally Posted by Big Shed

I'm with Dazzler, am about 3/4 of the way finished with my router table and it will have a mitre track for exactly that reason. Will be making rail and style panels (cope & style for you Seppos) and need the mitre track for those.

Then again if you can't think of a good reason to have a mitre track, leave it out, you can always add one later.

Hi Guys,

I did not include a mitre track into the top of my router table because I wanted a totally flat and uninterupted surface. Could see myself getting things caught in there. I have cut many tennons and made many doors on my table but use a sled instead of the mitre guage. The sled has a fence on the bottom that runs against the front of my table and is very stable.

Cheers,

Buz.

Things shouldnt get caught in a mitre track its ment to be recessed below the surface slightly, would you have a table saw with no mitre tracks?
If you worried about them you can always make up some blanks to fill them when not in use... best of both eh!

To keep a fence square you can install 2 Ttrack's exactly 90° to the mitre track then under the fence you have runners that run in the Ttrack. The Ttrack doesnt need to butt up to the mitre track, only needs just enough hold the fence and allow range for adjustment.

Originally Posted by Harry72

Things shouldnt get caught in a mitre track its ment to be recessed below the surface slightly, would you have a table saw with no mitre tracks?...................

Actually, neither my saw or router table have mitre slots because they both have sliding tables . My saw because it's a full size sliding table panel saw, my router table because I made it so. Worth looking at and thinking about.

Mick

Errr yep, your's technically isnt a table saw its a full blown panel saw and not many would have a power feed on a router table!(nice on both counts!)

The Dad and Dave duo from the woodworkingchannel.com use a sled of sorts. They put a guide bush on the router, then have a type of sled, where there a sheet of phenolic with a slot cut the width of the bush. Attached to the phenolic is a backing piece to which they have attached a couple of toggle clamps to hold the workpiece.

Seems simple as all get out, No trouble with adjusting a fence if it gets out of whack with the mitre track. You just need to ensure your backing piece is dead square to the slot.