Thread: Router for Pantorouter

My old black and decker router come out of its base.
Ryobi still have a laminate trimmer RYOBI AUSTRALIA: Power Tools & Power Garden Equipment
It looks like it would also come out of the base, But thats ok for light stuff, no good for mortice's I thinks.

There's a guy on the forum by the name of hill panther that has made a pantograph router out of steel. Same question come up in that thread i think too. If you have a look at Sydney to. Com. Au they sell a makita handhold barrel and also Dewalt have a great unit that comes with the barrel and handles etc just like the yank porter cable routes do. I looked into this in Aus a while back and was pretty dissapointed with our options in Aus. That Dewalt unit looks like a winner for your pantograph

Thanks gents, I do wonder what sort of grunt the trimmers have. Will check out the Dewalt line Delbs, thanks for your advice. I've also seen Hillpanther's posts but would like to know if anyone in Australia has built one yet.

Looks like a goer:

Dewalt D26204K

I've got an Ozito router that detaches from its base.
From memory, it's this model,

I haven't used it since I bought the Triton but I could dig it out and take some pictures if it would help. I had planned to put it on a home built CNC router which never got built. .

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

I've got an Ozito router that detaches from its base.

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

From memory, it's this model,

Due to my budget constarints I was thinking of using this model too. I sent that link to Matthias and he thought it should work fine.

I am curious, where you will be getting some of the hardware for it.. i was thinking mostly bunnings, but I have also found hardware.net.au to be pretty interesting for some parts. I also have not seen the metal rods at bunnings, but to be honest I have note really looked that hard...

Originally Posted by pwatt01

I am curious, where you will be getting some of the hardware for it.. i was thinking mostly bunnings, but I have also found hardware.net.au to be pretty interesting for some parts. I also have not seen the metal rods at bunnings, but to be honest I have note really looked that hard...

Having done a little research this morning, I've come to the conclusion that some rod and linear bearings will be better than modified drawer slides for the slider. I've also look at Hillpanther's build which has made extensive use of aluminium extrusion. In fact, the more I look at the plans, the more I'm tending towards an all aluminium build. I'll report back with what I come up with later.

This type of router setup has grabbed my attention since coming across the plans along with hill panthers videos. I'm interested to see how you make progress with this.

Can I ask your opinion though, to me it seems a pain that whenever you want to cut something say a double or quad tenon like in the videos you need to make a template of the cut your guide will be 'tracing'. Of a ratio of 1.1. Does that mean that that template you make is only applicable to that size timber your using? That ratio you set when making the template would be dependant on the sizing of the material your using for each job yeah?

My point being that you'd need to make a lot of templates for the pantograph router to become useful.? I might not fully understand how it works. Seems like a great project though and am watching with keen interest

Originally Posted by delbs

Can I ask your opinion though, to me it seems a pain that whenever you want to cut something say a double or quad tenon like in the videos you need to make a template of the cut your guide will be 'tracing'. Of a ratio of 1.1. Does that mean that that template you make is only applicable to that size timber your using? That ratio you set when making the template would be dependant on the sizing of the material your using for each job yeah?

I assume the ratio your talking about is the template to router tip geometry?

I'm going to use the plans as a 'guide', so to speak. Consider my build an adaptation of what's going on. If you look at Matthias's webpages:

Developing the pantorouter concept and How it works

...the principle of the pantorouter is pretty simple as long as the 'lattice' dimensions are the same. That is, you should get a 2:1 ratio from template to your work. I'll test it out before I open my mouth anymore

Haha yeah testing sounds good. Yeah i was meant to say 2.1 not 1.1 rereading my post so you are going to make it out of aluminium or wood? I don't think I'd have the equipment to make it out of aluminium

Hey all,

Nathan (delbs) sent me a PM today asking me about the pantorouter, and I realised that this thread existed, so I thought for the benefit of others, I would post my response.

Firstly yes I have bought a Hillpanthers built pantorouter, in fact I believe it is the latest version (as he has made improvements as he builds them), my one is like this one: https://www.woodworkforums.com/f221/l...5/#post1637450

The bad news is that I have not used it yet, due mainly to illness and fingers in too many pies, I am most of the way through restoring an old Stenner table saw https://www.woodworkforums.com/f163/s...ration-157563/ (enter shameless plug) and it is my number one priority when I am able to get some stuff done in the workshop. The good news is that I can comment on the build quality, and the question of does it work is well answered by the fact that it is based on the Matthias design (who in my opinion is a genius, if you have not looked at his work go to this website Woodworking for engineers).

The build quality (based on the one I have), in my opinion is very good, does it look like it was made in a factory....no, but to me that is a good thing, you can tell that the process has involved a human being, and that each part has been made to fit, assembled and tested. I did not get the unit with the linear bearings as I already had some 20mm's laying around from a different project, so I got Singh (hillpanthers) to modify the hole layout (and as a test, not because I can't measure, I emailed him the wrong dimensions, which he quickly questioned and it was corrected, which was good as it showed he had experience in what he was doing), he was happy to make the change and at one stage we also discussed changing the size of the router mount, but I decided I would keep it that size and make a bushing if I used a smaller router. Everything on it seems solid, with no play and I am confident that when I get around to it, it will do what it was designed to do and last a very long time.

I would highly recommend for anyone who is considering purchasing this item or for that matter making their own, that you look at his youtube videos Dovetail mortise and tenon joint - YouTube (this is one of them, I picked it for no other reason than it was the first one I found, but from this one you should be able to see the other videos he has produced). He is unlikely to win any movie awards, but they are very informative (in fact he seems to send his customers emails with video links as he makes more videos). The last one I saw he had not realised that he was recording the pantorouter while it was on a fold up table, the table was rocking around in the video, but it made it look like the pantorouter was flimsy, I sent him an email to let him know and he did the video again, this time on a sturdy table (so if you saw that one, don't worry it was the table and not the pantorouter that was flimsy). If you want any other information, I would suggest contacting him using a PM, and perhaps setting up a time to skype or talk to him over the phone (he called me a few times to let me know how things are going), I think he would be the first to admit that his written english is not the best (it is understandable, just a bit off), but he speaks english perfectly, so talking over the phone or by skype is probably best for technical questions.

Now to the real question everyone is probably asking, why didn't you just make it yourself? Well it's a good question and something that probably goes against everything I stand for. Given the option I will purchase an old woodworking machine in terrible condition, spend a lot of time restoring it, maybe even a fair chunk of change in the process, instead of going down to the local woodworking shop and buying a new one, and I do this because I love it, I think they should be saved, and because I think in the long run I will have a far superior machine. To be honest I purchased this for 2 main reasons. Firstly it was a birthday present, and secondly I wanted something that would last and I was either too time poor, or too lazy to do it myself. I feel confident that if you bought the plans most people could easily make the machine themselves out of timber, and with some basic welding skills, accurate drill press, tap and die set you should be able to make it out of steel and aluminium.

Ultimately at the time, after deciding that the way Singh (hillpanthers) makes it, would probably be the same way I would make it, doing some quick mathematics on what the cost of materials etc, would cost, I just didn't feel passionate enough about the actual building process to take the project on, so when my wife said "what do you want for your birthday", what could I do.

I think the biggest issue is definately what router to use (I would prefer a half inch router), at the moment, I intend to try to use the Makita RT0700C trimmer (so now you know what I got for Christmas, not so much for the pantorouter, but because my other routers are the large triton units and I wanted something smaller). I am concerned about how it will go (will it have the power), but I generally prefer to take smaller passes than just plunging it in anyway, so I think based on the work it has done for me so far, it will be up to the challenge. I will need to make a bushing as this router is smaller than the current router mount, but that's no big deal and it gives me the option to try a larger unit in the future.

So I guess for me, if you have an interest in making it yourself and the spare time, I would say definatley make it!! If you don't and you have the money, I think you will be happy with the build quality that Singh provides.

Cheers,

Camo

Note: I do not know Singh personally and can only make comments on his quality of build and customer service based on my experience, which like I have said was excellent.

Originally Posted by pwatt01

Due to my budget constarints I was thinking of using this model too. I sent that link to Matthias and he thought it should work fine.

I am curious, where you will be getting some of the hardware for it.. i was thinking mostly bunnings, but I have also found hardware.net.au to be pretty interesting for some parts. I also have not seen the metal rods at bunnings, but to be honest I have note really looked that hard...

The main drawback with the Ozito router is that it only takes 1/4" bits.

That dewalt combo is good, got one for xmas. Dunno about for a pantograph but the package itself is great hand held and all the fences etc work well.

Sam

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

The main drawback with the Ozito router is that it only takes 1/4" bits.

I don't disagree, but for $60 @bunnings i cant really complain..unless someone can point me to a better model for a not too much higher price...