Thread: Making a template

Hi Jill,

I've just been through this, it's fiddly work but just make the template about 5 cm's bigger than the router plate. This will allow you to drill out the corners on the drill press.

When placing on the table you need to use a straight edge to make sure you place the template square and also mark out roughly where you want it first.

You need to be as accurate as you can and also when routing to join the corners. All in all just take it slow, double check all measurements and it's not that bad.

Good luck.

thanks for this Brett.

Actually, after a bit of further googling and a bit of thinking with pen and paper, and a trip to the shed to locate suitable router bits, I was thinking of putting the insert on the template board, then nailing some MDF offcuts against the perimeter of the template in a snug fit, removing the template and then using a 1/2" pattern bit against this timber. This will end up with a template opening the exact size of the insert. ( not sure about the radius of the corners matching the insert)

How does that sound for a Step 1?

To cut out the opening on the router table top, Step 2, I would then carefully clamp the template to the router table, in the manner you have indicated above, and again using the pattern bit create a 1/2" wide groove 10mm deep against the outer edge of the template, the depth of the insert thickness. The insert will eventually sit on the bottom of this groove.

I would then run a jigsaw along the inner edge of this groove to remove the unwanted centre, where the router fits.

Ahhh... problem just occurred to me! The pattern bit from bottom of the cutting bit to top of bearing is 32mm. If the groove is to be only 10mm deep, then the template board will have to be at least 22mm thick for the bearing to engage properly. So much for masonite as template material.

Even in Step 1 above, making a template out of 22mm material will be hard going on the poor old pattern bit. Back to the drawing board!!


Alternatively, I have a router with a 27mm OD guide and a normal 1/2" , 18mm, 19mm straight bits. Perhaps they could be used somehow? You can see that I am trying to avoid using the Forstner bits on the corner as recommended in the instructions.

Help!!

please excuse the rambling,

Jill

Think I have it this time. 10pm on a Sunday night after a very long day is not conducive to clear thinking.

If the offset of the bushing guide ( distance between outer edge of guide and outer edge of straight bit) is, say, 7.5mm, I need to make the template hole 7.5mm wider than the insert all around the perimeter, and then I can use a masonite template and then use the bushing guide and drill bit for Step 2 above.

QED ??? ( for those Latin buffs, Quod Erat Demonstrandum or " Quite Easily Done")


good night all,

Jill

What a dill! Came to me at 5am. Once I have finished the Step 1 above, with 19mm MDF fixed to masonite, I have an exact template of the correct thickness to allow the use of the pattern bit to make a 10mm deep groove in the router table.

See link for what it will look like: http://www.templatesbynumbers.com/?q=mortiseoutlines

You may have realised it by now, but the corners are less critical than they seem. The insert will be accurately positioned by the sides, and the only requirement for the corners is sufficient clearance. Just make the rounded corners at a smaller radius than the rebate. A Forstner bit can still be used there, in a hand-held drill at slow speed; drill deeper than the rest of the rebate for bottom clearance - it doesn't even need to be perfectly square to the table top. Drilling these holes first will reduce drama, too.

If you think the pattern might not be EXACTLY right, it will be beneficial to make it deliberately odd-shaped, so that the insert can be placed in only one correct way. This is much easier than trying to keep track of it with positional markings, which can wear off.

Cheers,
Joe

Originally Posted by JillB

What is the best way to make a template in masonite? I am making a router table, and wish to make an accurate template of the insert (9.25" x 11.75" x 3/8") to use on the table. What is the best way to go about this using only a router?

The instructions recommend cutting corner holes with a Forstner bit, then using a router and straight edge to join them up. With a router table 800mm wide, this is just about impossible to do on my drill press ( 170mm from post to drill centre).

Hope someone can assist,

regards,
Jill

You need four straight pieces of wood, say 400x90x6 or so. I had some machined flooring 10mm thick.

Double-sided sticky tape.

See this for the basic procedure:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3J3Do8coBw"]YouTube - Fitting a Router Table Insert Plate - Routing Big Mortises[/ame]

I have a rather long, straight router bit with a top-mounted bearing. There's a problem bringing it to bear, the solution is a jig comprising a block of wood to sit it on. I laminated two pieces of 18mm or so MDF to get the distance.

If you have a rebate router bit able to cut the appropriate depth, you can cut the hole first (jigsaw?), tidy it up, then cut the rebate with the rebate bit.

Careful attachment of the jig will allow you to cut the rebate directly if necessary. Simply mark the outside with the insert in place.

Many thanks joe and johncs for your help. I particularly liked the video, and the clues for using the long pattern bit supplied by johncs. I think it has helped get my mind around what I have to do.

They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. How many is a video worth?

regards,
Jill

From way back when

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ghlight=insert