Routers and CNCs

In this Rockler demonstration, we take a closer look at the versatile Convertible Router Table and how it can also be used as a benchtop spindle sander .

In this Rockler Saturday Demo Video we take a closer look at the popular Rockler Compact Router Ellipse and Circle Jig .

Whether you use a router made long before you were born, like the 1950s Stanley or one of the technologically advanced models built today, either machine can perform a range of essential woodworking tasks that can’t be bested by any other power tool. If you’re a woodworking novice, I’ll go so far as to say it should rank near the top of your “short list” of tools to buy first, even ahead of a table saw — routers are that useful.

To save a bit of money and get more use out of his workbench, the author constructed his own quick and easy router table. A router table doesn’t have to cost a fortune or weigh a ton to deliver professional results. My version’s 1" thick top doesn’t even require a cabinet base or legset. It simply clamps to my workbench. The project features an adjustable split fence with dust collection, plus a router lift made from ordinary home-center hardware. By removing three pairs of carriage bolts and wingnuts, I can remove the lift, router and fence easily for convenient storage.

Putting together your own cribbage board project is a good use of a lot of different workshop talents, and the end result can be almost as fun as making it. During those long, cold winters I spent growing up along the shores of Lake Vermilion in the far north of Minnesota, one of the ways that we wiled away the long dark evenings was playing cribbage.

For those who like to work with their hands and build things, A router table is one of the most useful and versatile additions you can make to your shop. With the router mounted securely in a table, both of your hands are free for maximum workpiece control during the cut. That extra control makes some routing operations much easier – routing grooves or edge profiles, for example.

Using the the depth probe on a set of calipers can help you set the height on your blades and router bits. A dial caliper takes precise inside and outside measurements, but the depth probe on the end can also help you set exact blade and bit heights.

V-groove board is a decorative panel board similar to beadboard. It features chamfered edges that form a v-groove between each board. The v-groove creates a nice shadow line. You can purchase special router bit sets that will cut the tongue and groove joint and the v-groove in a single pass on each board, but you can also make these boards using more common router bits.