With the help of your own plunge router and router bits, this cleverly engineered jig from Woodpeckers will cut beautiful mortises up to 1/2 in. thick and 3-1/2 in. wide. The router is guided by a bushing that is supplied with the kit.

Setup is very easy. The vertical clamping face has a grid of dovetail-shaped grooves for use with Match-Fit-style F-clamps (sold separately). Woodpeckers also sells little clamp handles for making your fences for repeat positioning. The system works great.

Once the workpiece is clamped in place, setting up the jig for a specific mortise is just as easy. You slide the top of the jig fore and aft to position the mortise on the thickness of the part, and then adjust a pair of sliding rulers to determine the length of the mortise. Pointers inside the mortise opening make it easy to align the jig with layout lines.

The fit and finish of this jig are also excellent, and I especially love how the sliding action of the table can be adjusted. The clamp slots are a little tight at first, but they break in quickly. Also, the 3/8-in.-thick top has a bit of flex, but that doesn’t affect mortising, and a thinner top maximizes the depth of the mortises you can make. Also, you’ll need to center the guide bushing in your router in order to cut accurate mortises, which is normal for a jig like this.

This is a great jig at a great price. It’s especially great for making matching mortises in mating pieces, for use with “loose” (separate) tenons.

—Mike Farrington is a pro woodworker in Aurora, Colo.

Woodpecker’s Mortising Jig is $230 at the time of posting.

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