Popular Woodworking 2002-10 № 130, страница 15

By swapping a few pieces of hardware, you can use this system as either a small (top left) or large (bottom left) circle-cutting jig, or simply as an edge guide.

SHOP-MADE

ROUTER GUIDES

For a few dollars worth of acrylic and some

hardware, you can add a versatile and valuable system to your router at a fraction of the cost of aftermarket guides.

The router is one of the most versatile tools in any shop. With the addition of this shop-made modular router base system, it will be even more valuable.

The router base system starts with a special offset base (a good thing by itself) that's designed to accept other accessories without having to remove your router from the base. It takes less than a minute to switch accessories, which include: a circle jig, edge guide and a flush trimming attachment. An extension increases the maximum size of both the circle-cutting jig and the edge guide.

The Individual Pieces

The circle-cutting jig cuts circles from 2¹/z" to 20" in diameter simply

by sliding the aluminum circle guide along the channel in the offset base. With the extension added, you can expand the circle-cutting capacity up to a full 56" diameter.

The edge guide works with any router that has the offset base attached. With it, you can adjust the edge guide from 0" to 7" from the center of the bit. Using the countersunk wood screw holes, you can add a larger wooden fence that's flush and below the edge of the guide. With the auxiliary wooden fence in place, the extension increases the maximum width of the edge guide to up to 20" from center.

The flush trimming attachment added to the bottom of the offset base allows a straight bit to extend

by Michel Theriault

Michel Theriault is a Canadian who writes and works wood for a hobby. He's published more than 130 articles in Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States. His full-time job is in facilities management, managing a portfolio of buildings.

Photos by Al Parrish