Replies

1. 
   whiteoak590 | Oct 27, 2005 12:36am | #1

   Check out one of Pat Warners books on Routers; he describes the formula you use which is not diffulcult. I cant remember it.

2. 
   jerrymayfield | Oct 27, 2005 06:01pm | #2

   Why make a template ? Lay out your mortises,set up stops and use 1/4 bit for one and 3/8 for the other.

   Regards
   jerry

1. 
   scooter1 | Oct 27, 2005 07:21pm | #3

   Pat will even sell you one of his kits, if they are available. Or buy one of his out of print books, and he has a design for one.The basic design has not changed in probably 15 years. You need to make a mortising block, which at its simplest is a 4x4 chunk of wood to which your piece is clamped or secured. Your plunge router runs on top of the 4x4 for stability. The router's fence is attached to the router and runs along the other side of the 4x4. One nails or secures a stop block to the 4x4 for the beginning and ending of the mortise. No guide collar needed. Set up on scrap.Another jig is merely a 5x12 piece of mdf with an elongated hole in the middle, which fits your guide bushing, say half inch or five eights, OK? To the underside of the jig, you glue or screw a fence which will center the mortise on your piece. Clamp the jig onto your piece, while the whole mess is in your bench clamp or otherwise secured and then you use your guide bushing.There are also commercial models available for mortising as well, or you can buy a dedicated mortising machine. Good Luck.Regards, Scooter"I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow." WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

1. 
   willy | Oct 27, 2005 11:33pm | #4

   I appreciate the comments.  The reason I was leaning towards a template is I have 30 mortises to cut - 3 different sizes.  On previous mortises, I have used the "guides and stops" approach and maybe I'll revert to that method - - however - - in my search of my 20 year library of FW, I found an article in # 121 - Dec 96 on templates and template guides.  Yes, Jerry, I do have the time to go the guides and stops approach.  My only deadline is with the mortician.  

    

    

1. 
   scooter1 | Oct 28, 2005 01:00am | #5

   With that degree of repeatability, either one of my methods would work. The template jig with the guide bushing that I described, would be stupidly easy and cheap (less than a $1)to make and would be a throwaway after the project is done.I have a dedicated mortiser to and use stop blocks for repeatability for those items as well.Good luck.Regards, Scooter"I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow." WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

1. 
   WillGeorge | Oct 28, 2005 06:50am | #6

   would be stupidly easy and cheap YES If ya KNOW how to do it!

2. 
   scooter1 | Oct 28, 2005 07:27pm | #8

   This wasn't your post, but I'll try to tell you about my mortising post I use.It is a 4x4 post about 3 feet long. You can use any kind of stock, but I think I would stay away from green Doug Fir. Mine is a couple pieces of Alder glued and jointed together.One side has a series of holes for hold downs to be screwed in to the side and to hold the stock of varying width. I make the holes as I go, and it looks like a piece of swiss cheese.On the other side, I've attached an "L" shaped 2 part wooden trough. The inside of the trough is slightly wider than a half an inch. Indeed, I set it to the thicknes of a half inch piece of wood with two pieces of paper. The trough points up. The trough is about an inch and half deep, measured from the top of 4x4.I then take the fence to my router and afix a new fence which goes below the depth of the subplace by an inch and a half. The fence is exactly one half inch thick. The router sits on the 4x4 and the fence sits in the trough. Because I've adjusted the thickness of the trough, the fence glides nicely in there. Now, when you mortise, the trough keeps the router from moving right to left, but at the same time, enables it to move forward and back without binding. The mortise depth is set by measuring the bit depth. The mortise layout, right to left, is set by the fence. The mortise length is up to you, and you can do it manually by eye, or if you have repeated pieces, set up a quick stop block with a small piece of wood and a small nail or some hot melt glue.You can also make registration brackets on the hold down down side at each end of the piece ("L" brackets) to exactly fit your piece, and if you have 30 exact pieces, each piece will go into the mortising block at the same location, so the stop blocks work for each piece.I'll try scan and post something next week.Regards, Scooter"I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow." WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

3. 
   willy | Oct 28, 2005 09:00pm | #9

   A picture is worth a thousand words.  I'll keep an eye for your picture

3. 
   TomT226 | Oct 28, 2005 02:08pm | #7

   I make a lot of face frames, and do them all on the router table.  Just make a fence from white Melamine about 8" tall, and attach it to your esisting fence.  Chuck your largest bit, center and raise it to the highest setting you'll need, and pull the fence toward you, making a through slot in the fence.  Take a true square and draw lines from each edge of the slot to the top of the fence.  You need to make two sets of lines, one for the 1/4" and one for the 3/8" bit.  Center the bit and fence to what width stock you're gonna use.  If you're doing a mortise in the center of stock, the centering is not critical, just make a pass from both sides and your slot will be centered.  Mark the start and end of all mortises on the sides of all pieces.  If they're all the same. mark one, clamp'em up, and mark all at once.  To mortise, raise the bit to a level you feel comfortable with, and start and stop the mortise using the lines on the fence and on the work.  When possible, always move the work over the machine, instead of vice-versa.

   What if Schrodinger's cat has nine lives?