This revision of James Gier’s router mortising fixture (Fine Woodworking #78, p. 10) is made entirely from wood and so it is less expensive and it doesn’t require any metal milling. In addition, the table pivots on my fixture to locate the mortise, providing an easier and more consistent adjustment than Gier’s fixture, where the router pivots.

First, mount the router to a plywood or particleboard backing plate; a sink cutout from a countertop is ideal for this because it’s about the right size and comes faced with plastic laminate. On the back of the plate, rout out a seat for the tool’s base, leaving about 1/4 in. of material, and mount it in the seat with machine screws countersunk in the top surface. The adjustable hardwood table is attached to the backing plate with a pivot bolt on one end and a bolt and wing nut through a slot on the other end, as shown in the sketch on the previous page. This approach allows for very fine adjustments, because when you raise or lower the end of the table, it moves only half as much under the bit.

Incidentally, you can make a fine router table by screwing a cleat to the underside of the plate so that you can hold the fixture in the vise horizontally.

Stephen Hjemboe, St. Paul, Minn.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, June 1991 No. 88

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