Good tools/bad tools

**Toggy** · 31st October 2004, 09:41 PM

Had a play around today with the new Gifkins dovetail jig. What a pleasure to use. The trays from pinus feralus

almost look too good for the shed.

The $39 GMC routers did the job well. A bit fiddly changing bits; but OK.

Now for the bluddy GMC router tables. BOTH of them are nice & level back to the mitre groove; then raise up around the hole for the bit. Maybe they made them with a camber to take the weight of the router

. Will have to check out the car head reconditioners & see how much to run them over the milling table.

Unfortunately the uneven surface causes a bit of runout in the join.

Ken

**Wood Borer** · 1st November 2004, 09:55 AM

Toggy,

Good to hear about the Gifkins Jig. It would be my first choice closely followed by Leigh if I was going to buy a jig. I haven't even built my router table yet even though I have two routers (TR12 and a Pentagon TR12)!

Have you considered making the dovetails by hand?

**Grunt** · 1st November 2004, 10:26 AM

Have you considered making the dovetails by hand?

You're having us on? Right?

**Wood Borer** · 1st November 2004, 10:55 AM

Grunt,

I was being fair dinkum but if cutting them by hand isn't to your liking then use a jig. In production runs jigs are probably the only option.

**Toggy** · 1st November 2004, 10:32 PM

Wood Borer,

The fingernails are too short & blunt to do them by hand.

Seriously though, the end result I expect probably exceeds my abilities and patience. Practice and more practice would help; but don't have the spare time. This is the reason I opted for the alloy table. As it turns out; not a real wise choice. I had another look at the tops today and ran a straight edge over them. About 3mm runout. Far from acceptable for a top job. They appear to have been sanded, not milled. I have just found out that I should be able to get it milled at a local engineering shop.

Ken

**Toggy** · 5th November 2004, 09:59 PM

Another update on the router tables. I took both of them back to the Big "B" today and returned them under the 30 day satisfaction deal. Yesterday I spoke with one of the blokes in the tool section; who quickly made the suggestion of return due to the manufacturing fault. They were quite gracious about the returns; so can't fault them there.

Almost picked up a Triton table, but resisted the urge.

It was not worth trying to deck the units, as they had a about 3mm rise in the centre, and most likely not enough material left after machining. Besides it would cost almost the same as the table did.

Ah well; back with WoodBorers problem; haven't got around to building the router table yet.

Ken

**Iain** · 6th November 2004, 08:23 AM

I made a table from 12mm perspex and mounted two small Rhino routers to use with the Gifkin jig.
First box was good then the joints started spreading, one of the cheap routers has 1/8 play in the bearings and the damned thing climbs up into the work.
How are the GMC's standing up as I may consider using these two as sinkers and trying them (GMC).
I am loath to spend $300+ for Makita's or whatever for the amount of use it will get and I don't want to use my big routers, just something that I can pull out when I need it and already set up.

**Toggy** · 6th November 2004, 10:21 PM

Iain,

I haven't given the GMC fixed base units a lot of work yet. One is slightly noisier than the other. There doesn't appear to be any runout in the collet either. The slow start works OK; certainly different to immediate full power on the old "D" handle Makita. I find them quite good to use and well worth their $39 on the runout special.

I was going to have a twin dovetailing system; but now will just make a single good table top and mount one of the GMC's. When it dies, will fit the other.

Ken

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