Woodrat Template Routing
When making chairs, I am going to be making a lot of tenons, so I thought a way to template route on the Woodrat would be a good idea. There is the new Pathfinder, but it seems a bit elaborate for me, mainly due to it having to be able to do a large range of templates.
If you have a 3D printer then it's pretty easy to print a template specifically for each job, then you don't need a template grid with all sorts of different tenons etc.
So, I am attempting to make a template routing setup for the woodrat. A plate of MDF is attached to the workpiece extrusion that moves left and right. A recess is routed in the MDF to allow different templates to be inserted. A pin is used to trace the template and it fits into a pin holder that is attached with slots so there is some front and back adjustment.
This is the bracket at the front of the underside of the router plate. It holds the end of the MDF plate that is nearest the user.
The far end of the MDf plate is held with two brackets that slide in the extrusion slots. They are held with M4 hex head bolts attached with butterfly nuts so they can be tightened easily. This provides the left/right adjustment of the template so it can be aligned with the workpiece.
The template itself sits in a recess routed into the MDF:
There's a couple of tabs on the template which are used to attach the template firmly with a couple of screws. The tenon in that photo was cut with the template fitted.
The pin holder is attached to the router plate and has front/back adjustment.
I need to improve the stiffness of the pin holder and make a proper pin that has less friction than a bolt with a thread on it.
I also need to make a similar system that works on the mortice rail that I made so that I can cut repeatable mortices in the chair legs.
That will need a new pair of brackets and maybe a new MDF plate.
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