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Tip
#53
Shopsmith Ovararm Pin Router
Click
here for a printer friendly version of Tip-
Pg. 1-4, Pg
5-8, Pg 9-12, Pg
13-16, Pg 17-20, Pg
21-23
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Mortising
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Figure
22-21.
Construction details of special fence extensions and
stops that can be attached to the routing system fence
to help limit and control stopped cuts. Click on image
for larger view.
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Mortises
are most commonly used for joinery in cabinet projects. However,
there are other applications such as hinge mortises, inlay
work and hollowed-out boxes of all types.
Hinge
Mortises
As a rule, most hinge mortising is performed with a chisel.
And, if you're mortising for hinges on the edges of wide or
large doors, this is still the best method because workpieces
that are wider (or thicker) than 12" will not fit between
the table surface and the router bit. However, if you have
a lot of mortises to cut in the surfaces of cabinet doors
or similar projects, the routing system can make them quickly
and accurately.
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Figure
22-22.
When working large doors or box lids, clamp the stops
directly to the door or lid to limit your cuts.
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First,
locate the positions of the hinges on the door surfaces and
mark them very carefully. If you're working with small doors
or box lids, simple shop-made fence ex-tensions and stops
can be attached to the routing system fence to limit your
cuts in both directions. Make the fence extensions and stops
as shown in Figure
22-21. When working with larger doors or lids that extend
beyond the edges of the table, simply clamp the stops to the
door or lid itself (Figure
22-22).
Measure
the thickness of the hinge very carefully. Make your initial
cuts with the smallest diameter straight bit you have so the
corners will be as close to square as possible. Set the depth-of-cut
of your bit to match the thickness of your hinge and make
a test pass on a piece of scrap to verify the proper depth-of-cut.
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Figure
22-23.
First, cut around the edges of your mortise with a small
diameter straight bit. Then remove the remainder of
the stock with a larger diameter straight bit.
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Make all
the cuts around the outer edges of your mortise (full depth)
with the small bit (Figure
22-23). Then, remove the remain-der of the stock from
your mortise by changing to a larger diameter bit or by rocking
your workpiece back and forth against the small diameter bit,
using the stops and the fence extensions to limit your cuts.
When you've finished, square all corners with a chisel and
insert your hinges.
If you're
cutting mortises for odd-shaped hinges or hardware, it's often
best to do this free hand. First, trace the outline of the
hinge onto your workpiece. Then, carefully rout away the stock
in the center of your mortise, being sure to stay about 1/16"
to 1/8" away from the outer cutline. Finally, rout away the
remainder of the stock to complete your mortise. Note: Trace
the profile of the mortise onto your workpiece with a razor
knife. Then, darken the line with a pencil. As you make your
final cuts to the profiled edge of the mortise, the router
bit will turn up a fuzzy wood burr at the edge of the cut
that will fall off as the bit reaches the line.
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Figure
22-24.
Mortised-out boxes like these are easy to make witn
me rowing.
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Figure
22-25.
When a great deal of stock must be removed from a mortise,
begin by drilling over-lapping holes on the drill press.
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Making
Mortised Boxes The routing system is perfect for making all
types of mortised-out boxes for jewelry, pencils, etc. (Figure
22-24).
The techniques
used here are very similar to those used for mortising hinges.
However, since boxes usually require that a lot of stock be
removed, it is suggested that you start by doing this with
brad-point bits or forstner bits on the drill press (Figure
22-25).
When you
have finished this process, cut out the scrap with a bench
chisel and clean-up the edges and bottom with a router bit
(Figure 22-26).
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Figure
22-26.
Once the stock has been removed from the center of the
box, clean-up the edges with a router.
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For this
job, you can use either a straight bit or a special 3-in-1
bit, which forms a flat bottom, straight sides and a coved
edge where the bottom and sides meet.
To control
the cuts, use the fence extensions and stops, much as you
would with hinge mortises.
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