Shop-made slot morticer

**Rocker** · 30th November 2004, 11:12 AM

The shop-made slot morticer featured in the current FW (#174, p.78) looks like a fairly simple solution to the problem of cutting mortices accurately. However, it seems to me to have some limitations. Because the height of the router is not adjustable, it relies on spacers to position the mortice relative to the face of the workpiece. It seems to me that it would not be too hard to make the router's height adjustable, perhaps by mounting the router assembly onto a board hinged at one end, and raised by means of a wedge at the other end of the board, and then clamped in position.

Nevertheless, the resultant jig is heavy and clumsy, and will take up a lot of shop space. I much prefer my morticing jig, see

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ead.php?t=5633

which is more accurate, and can easily be hung on a hook on the wall of the workshop, when not in use.

Rocker

**Termite** · 30th November 2004, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by Rocker

I much prefer my morticing jig,
[Rocker

So do I, and thanks once again for one of the most useful jigs I have.

**silentC** · 30th November 2004, 11:31 AM

Ditto.

There was a plan in another yank mag for a horizontal router table that allowed the router height to be adjusted by means of a pivoting base plate. The plate is secured at one corner and it has a semi-circular slot at the other which takes a bolt with a wing nut.

I think one of these horizontal tables would be useful if you ever needed to present a wide board to a router bit parallel to the bit's shaft. For example when using a vertical panel raising bit. In a normal table setup, you need to hold the board on edge. With this setup it's easier to lie it flat.

With these horizontal tables, they spend a lot of effort trying to make cross-slide tables that are accurate and stable so that you can have the router stationary and move the board past the bit. Routers are designed to be used hand-held and it's so much easier to have the board stationary and restrict the movement of the router in some way with a jig or template guide.

**Rocker** · 30th November 2004, 12:32 PM

SilentC,

I actually built the jig you are talking about, but found it pretty useless, since the mounting arrangement for the router tended to flex, leading to inaccuracy. It might be OK for a light-weight router, I suppose.

Rocker

**scooter** · 30th November 2004, 06:18 PM

Rocker and silent, I've also seen the horizontal router table you speak of. I have a Hitachi router that is a bit weighty, so had thought that flex may be a problem. What did you use for the router mounting board, I have some engineering plastic offcuts that if size is kept to a minimum should possibly be rigid enough.

I think this type of table wuold be handy as mentioned for using a vertical panel raising bit, as well as for routing bevels if the table top is hinged allowing adjustment to the angle the workpiece is presented to the bit. I have seen a piccie somewhere for this arrangement and it appeals to me as I'd like to be able to make raised panels just using a straight bit.

A shopmade equivalent of the Triton bevel ripping guide could also do this, as could Sturdee's adjustable high fence arrangement detailed on the forums.

Sorry for getting away from your mortising topic.

Cheers..........Sean

**Rocker** · 30th November 2004, 06:42 PM

Scooter,

I don't see any reason why you can't use a vertical panel-raising bit in a normal router table, so long as you use a fence at least 150 mm high. I have raised panels 700 mm tall in this way with no problems. Raising panels much taller than this would be a problem. I just used a coving bit in a hand-held router to raise panels on bed ends.

Rocker

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