Foredom Inlay Router Guide Ring Base Adapter

I've been playing with wire inlay recently as there's 35 feet of it for the Angle Madness project. Along the way, I had to make some new base adapters for the Foredom inlay router base.  Mine is the William Ng version; it is based on an earlier version of the Stewart-MacDonald base that has since had some nice improvements (link is to the new one).  Both are fantastic.  William also sells the Foredom kit.

Also, the small router bits mentioned in the video are also from William's store; I prefer these to others because of collar on them is precisely placed the same distance from the tip. Once you set a routing depth, you can swap bits by dropping them to the collar and you don't need to adjust the routing depth with the different bit... saves a lot of hassle with inlay routing.

In this video, I just walk you through how I made a simple base adapter to act like a router guide ring (or bushing or copy ring or likely a dozen other names :)

This adapter will get used to route a nice curved opening in the back of each drawer tier for getting all the equipment wires into the back column, but also look good when there's no equipment on the surface as would be the case if it weren't used as an entertainment center.

There are some unique problems to solve for the Angle Madness wire inlay as there are for a table I made in a class with Michael Fortune. I'll be gathering up what I learned about it in a special episode outside the Angle Madness series since it'll cover more than I need for that project.

Review of Valfor Tools' GrooveCenter and 2-axis Depth Gauge

Awhile ago I saw some posts about Valfor Tools on a forum. Their GrooveCenter caught my attention because it works similarly to the Bridge City KM-1 and TM-1 in that it configures itself directly off your stock to "compute" an offset; no measuring involved.  Some time later, Sjoerd the CEO contacted me to give it a spin along with the 2-axis Depth Gauge.

The GrooveCenter works especially well for the daunting-to-configure locking miter bit; never used a locking miter where I could dial in the fence and bit height easily and have it dead on.  Its primary function is to provide a fence offset for your router table to center the router on the stock.

In this review, I talk about both products then show you how to use it for the locking miter bit. If you like using a locking miter bit, skip the bit vendor's configuration blocks that only work for certain thicknesses as this tool will work for any thickness (though a locking miter requires both pieces being joined to be the same thickness... they are not yet afflicted with angle madness).

In the video, I show a different procedure for the one-time calibration of the GrooveCenter than the one presented on their web site.  I did this because the unit I received had backlash; any gearing mechanism will show backlash without expensive per-unit processing so this is not a product problem.  The procedure shown here compensates for the backlash, which is always my preference.  In discussions with Sjoerd, he made a change to the design to virtually eliminate the problem and changed all the existing stock himself.  Very cool.  I haven't played with the new design; it will look the same as the change is in the internals.

This was recorded awhile ago, but we wanted to wait until the units were ready.



Hey! Whaddayaknow! There are lights in that corner of the shop now :) Had to install two more lights in there... after the dark grainy guiderail splinter guard video, I needed the MFT better lit.  Then, right after I closed up all the drywall, I face-palmed as I looked at the dark dingy router table area.  It's okay, I like doing drywall

No Comment #2 - Table Top

Normally a panel for a table is pretty trivial to put together: surface, joint, glue, done!  While that's not always the case, it would be the Cliff Notes version.

The table top for the Tim Burton table is another story with all the shaping on the underside, scalloped edges, and that it is a demi-lune pattern fanning out from a center.  In this build video, I'll talk about why Dominos were used (not actually needed on a Cliff Note panel), how the ramp for the router works, and some of the aspects of laying out where the wedges come from.

This episode doesn't cover the finishing as that will be covered in another episode.

As always, thanks for watching...

My Favorite Router Bits

I was typing an answer to a comment Jim posted on the OF-1400 demo when I felt a strange déjà-vu so I thought instead of typing it again, I'd make a posting instead :)

The déjà-vu was in answering which router bits I use the most.  Granted, that's just good for comparison if you have a drawer full of them, but if you're starting with an empty drawer, it might make a good start vs some 300-bit variety pack.

There's the motley crew:

There's a cluster of 3 spirals, a cluster of 4 "profiles", and a stack of slot cutters up front.  Lemme go through each.

The spirals:

The front two bits are basically the same except the double bearing on the leftmost bit.  They are 1/4" down-spiral bits from Eagle America.

The one with the double bearing (#120-0412) is used for flushing anything with a tight turn.  The double-bearing has better registration than just one.  I also used this in the MFK-700 for flushing banding nicely until I found an 8mm version (bigger diameter bits avoid 'scalloping' the surface).

The one without the bearings on the right (#106-0452) is for shallow cuts on the surface like for an inlay, mortise lock, etc.  The down-spiral will leave the surface clean although these aren't good for deep grooves since the chips get pushed to the bottom.  In fact that down-spiral is what I used for the French-knot floor inlay as well (not a typical use, I know, but any other bit would shred that cork; down-spiral left it pristine).

The bit in the back is a Whiteside 1/2" compression-spiral double-bearing flush trimming bit.  There are as many adjectives in that bit's name as the average Starbuck's order...  It's not cheap as it is solid-carbide so it'll last long.  Eagle America has an alternative like this one #120-0865 (nearly the same price).  For normal pattern flushing, I use this compression-spiral bit.  The fibers on the top and bottom surfaces are cut towards the middle ("compressed to the middle" ahhh....) so the surfaces have no chip-out or fuzzing.  When following a pattern, I prefer to put the pattern on the bottom of the stock to cut mostly so I can limit how far I extend the router bit; "pattern" bits with the bearing above the cutters on the shank require you to have the whole thing exposed.

For pattern flushing like that, you could just go with a down-spiral with double-bearing and get very nearly the same results (#120-0815 or #120-0835).  Why? Because the pattern at the bottom will back the stock being cut so the down shearing of the bit won't chip-out.  As you can see, though, the price of the 1/2" down-spiral is about the same as the compression anyway.

Using a router on a guide rail, I can also use the compression spiral to cut a very clean edge.  Rough cut the edge with whatever you like (bandsaw, rip blade, frenzied beaver).  Lay the guide rail so the bit cuts your final edge.  The bearings will be below the board in this case and not used.  Make sure the small bit of "up-spiral" at the end of the bit is against the bottom of the stock and the cut will come out fantastic even with curly grain.

As an aside, the CNC industry uses compression-spirals a lot for cutting stock cleanly like that.

Last bit that I neglected to put in the photo is a 3/8" up-spiral.  I use it for mortise cutting.  I use 3/8" because my mortise will be at least that wide; for wider mortises, I prefer a second pass anyway.  The reason mine isn't in the picture is it was a HSS bit that got way over-used and is all discolored :)  I'll be getting a new carbide version.  For spirals without bearings, I now always look at Vortex Tool first; great bits.  This three-flute will be the replacement: #1860 (or the cheaper two-flute #1260)  They make bits for the CNC industry (hence no bearings); these are competitively priced, but made to much higher standards than other spirals.  Have some fun browsing their bits; dovetail spirals? yeah, they have that, too.

Addendum: someone asked about plywood bits... :-/  plywood isn't a specific thickness so while those bits get closer to the correct size, they never are.  You'll have a gap or too tight a fit.  That's why I do dados/grooves in two passes with a smaller bit and use the Bridge City KM-1 to exactly size the dado.  Even if "plywood bits" were the correct size, straight flutes in plywood make a messy splintered top; the compression spiral is the solution to that.

Enough about spirals :)

The next group, "profile" bits:

The blue bit is a 45º chamfer bit.  Usually I'll use a hand plane to put a chamfer on something because the small variances add character.  On a large chamfer, I want a bit.  Another use for this bit isn't so obvious: jewelry boxes.  For a small box like that, cutting thin stock on a 45º bevel for mitered corners can be messy with chipout.  Instead, I put the squared stock in a coping sled (discussed later) and apply a perfect 45º bevel on the edge with the bit.  Just back the board in the sled to avoid splintering on the exit cut.

45º camfer bits can be had about anywhere.  The blue one is from Rockler and one of my first purchases. Since I have the Eagle America site open for links, here's theirs: #152-0645; they even give a table of degrees for such boxes.

The green bit to the far right is a dish carving bit.  That's a Woodcraft bit.  It basically has a flat bottom with vertical cutting sides and a radius.  Think of it as a cambered plane blade for your router.  As you move around (paying attention not to climb-cut) flattening a recess, the radius keeps you from getting "router tracks" that are a pain in the butt to sand out; ask me how I know...  that was the reason for buying this bit.  I got a couple of those green ones on a clearance sale; good to do since you tend to hog out a good deal.  But you can sharpen them up... more on that later.  It seems Woodcraft no longer sells the greens and have switched to Freud ("reds" :) so here is the equivalent bit Freud Dish Carving bit.  Oh, if you suspend a router on a track to 'joint' a board below it, this is the bit you want: the radius eliminates most of the router tracks and also makes moving the router easier than with a straight/spiral.

Big green bit in the back is a tabletop edge bit.  It has a second radius on it, but I don't use that often; typically I just use the swooping profile up top near the bearing.  Makes for a nice edge on the underside.  I cannot find this bit online from Woodcraft (Woodriver brand) or others.  It shouldn't have been in the picture; I use it often for parts of the profile, but I wouldn't say it's super handy for everybody.

The grey Whiteside bit in the back to the left is the Charles-Neil signature molding bit.  Over the years, he used a huge multi-profile molding bit, but only used one portion of it for nearly all his projects, so he refined that profile and had a custom bit made.  He gets a run of them made from time to time so if they aren't available, sign up for his email list and you'll find out when a run is being made (or send them mail so they know there's a demand!).  I don't put profiles on a lot of projects, but usually what I want is on this bit somewhere.  Whiteside bits are excellent.  As of this writing, he has 5 left.  No pressure :)  First consider if you plan on using profiles often; these are decorative ones.  Traditional furniture has lots of molding.

The last bits I showed in the first family photo is a screw with a bunch of slot cutters on it.  I bought this set from Eagle America: #199-4615.  That's the 4-wing set; they cut very smoothly, you can stack them for different slot sizes.  I don't use them a lot, but they seem to be more of a "only good thing to use here is a slot cutter"... there are times when they're the perfect solution, like routing a groove in thin stock you don't want to stand up on the router table or, more scary, table saw.

After awhile, you'll get a decent number of bits with bearings.  Getting a bearing kit like this isn't a bad idea; note that this kit is geared towards slot cutters.  I swap out bearings to change how deep a profile or rabbet goes; this is a good-to-have for later when you notice a lot of bearings on your bits.  Bookmark this page: Bearings and look at the bottom for related kits; all of those kits fit different needs; when you need a different bearing, go to that page and you'll find it after a minute or three.

So I mentioned a coping sled.  I use this Woodpecker's coping sled and really like it.  I like the easy adjustments, the quick ability to remove parts of it if you need more capacity, all the excellent hold-downs, lots of T-track for your own additions/jigs, and the best part: it rides against the fence, not in a "miter slot".  Since it rides the fence, you can do your usual fence adjustments on successive passes instead of readjusting the stock in the sled.  You can also use this against a start pin when using the sled to deal with small parts (oh, most "small parts" holders I've seen and tried were really lame; judge it in person before you buy one).  The only complaint I have with this sled? The top plastic that rides against the fence rides really close to a T-slot on my Woodpecker's fence :-/  Since I use a sacrificial fence on the fence anyway, it isn't normally an issue.

Last tidbit... get a bit cleaner and clean them; makes a big difference.  I also have a set of diamond sharpeners by Eze-Lap (here's a DMT equivalent)  Use these on the flat part of a bit's cutting edge to touch it up (never on the outside bevel).

Others that get used from time to time are bearing-guided rabbetting bits (I have two: one for 1/2" deep, and the other I swapped the bearing so it's a 3/8" deep rabbet).

Round-overs?  They seem like you'd use them a lot, huh... I use the 1/4" radius roundover for making shop-made oversized Domino tenons.  Everything else gets a hand-plane or rasp/file treatment.

Okay, sorry, that was longer than anticipated!

Utility of a Router Bearing Kit

I'm finishing up a gift box for my mom's Christmas present.  Yes, I know, today is the 27th... anyway, I had to raise a small panel twice with a big honkin' 3.25" coving panel raising bit.  Those things generate a healthy amount of respect, I tell you.  But me fessing up to being way more frightened of a panel raiser than a rabbetting bit is not the topic of this post, if nonetheless true :)

A reader brought up a valid concern: the photos below were all taken the day after I raised the panel; they are staged photos to show how I used bearings to accomplish the panel and to highlight a caution.  Use push pads, stock holders or even a coping sled to keep yourself safe from the bit...

I raised the panel twice with a cove to create a unique shape; this is for the top of her gift.  As an aside, get creative with the profiles you have as "stacking" them can make unique profiles you don't see elsewhere; this is especially useful for boxes.  In my case, this stacking of a simple cove panel profile mimiks the "linen fold" bit I used for other parts of the box.

To accomplish this profile, I had to change the bearing on the bit to set the inside shoulder distance from the edge. The two bearings right in front of the panel were the keys.  I had these bearings in a Slot Cutter Survival Kit from Eagle America.  Panel raisers stack their cutters on a shank used for stacking slot cutters, which is why this bearing set was so useful.  Note that it wouldn't be useful to replace the bearing on the top of your rabbetting bit as that is a different inside diameter (there are top-bearing kits for that), but that said, I grabbed a few of those bearings as well and converted a rabbetting bit I got in a set to a 3/8" rabbet from 1/2" to compliment the 1/2" I already had.  Very useful.

Back to the panel cutter, between the cove profile and the back-cutter was a bearing that would ride on your stock to set the standard profile.  That's the bearing I swapped out for these larger diameter bearings.  I also left off the backcutter as I didn't want that.  The problem, though, with removing the backcutter is that you reveal a section of the shank that isn't threaded... so how can you lock down the cove cutter?

For that, I stacked bearings and a thin shim between them (less wear on the bearings) to get to the threaded part.

The photo shows how, when I had the larger diameter bearing, I had a smaller diameter bearing under it simply as filler.  The bearing kit, though, does have a variety of shims; I just opted to use another bearing rather than stack 6 or more shims.

This photo partly shows something I want to point out as a caution when stacking bearings and shims: as I cut this panel, I was constantly making passes and raising the bit a hair (small panel, big bit, hard Maple end-grain...)  Imagine the above picture as the bit goes higher. At a point, I'd be riding on the narrow edge of the bearing and it would be easy to get the stock underneath the bearing.  If I'm lucky, I maintain control but dig into my stock in ways that glue and sawdust won't fix.  A more likely scenario is that it catches the stock and throws it.  The hand nearest the starter pin might get hit like a kickback, but the other hand might get carried with the board into the bit.  So pay attention to the registration of the bearing on your stock.  Without stacking bearings (using the bit "as is"), there would be a back cutter on the top and a bearing sandwiched between them; the case can happen there, too, if you raise the cove cutter (pattern cutter) high enough to get the bearing about the panel.

I point this out because the bazillion cycles of raise-bit-route-panel can get you into inattentive repetition and you might move the bearing up or down off a safe registration on the stock.

I bought that slot cutter survival kit with a slot-cutter set, but I swear I've used it more often to modify other stacked bits than my slot cutters.  Highly recommend finding a kit like this and having it on hand.  Also recommend a few of the top bearings although usually you can steal one from another bit for a particular operation.

Sculpted Mahogany Vanity - Sculpting!

Finally getting to the sculpting! In this episode, we transfer a pattern I drew to the panels then mark them for pre-sculpting. The pre-sculpting is done with a router so I took the opportunity to give you a side-by-side view of the OF-1400 vs the OF-2200 each working a panel. The dust collection on both is fantastic.

Then comes the sculpting of each panel. In real-time, each panel took close to an hour depending on the complexity.  I won't put you through watching an hour of sanding :)  The clip is about 4 minutes to highlight certain aspects of the shaping process. I have a couple tips to share about using the RAS-115 and RO-90 at the end that get demonstrated.

Lastly, you get to see the three panels side-by-side in a fairly rough state; the embossing will be lowered considerably, but I talk about some effects I can use while they are still pronounced.

This week, I'll work on removing the old vanity as I need to get any plumbing changes done first before planning the depth of the drawers.  My neighbor (my plumber) has been out for a week so I'm behind on this!  Once the drawer sizes are decided, we'll go through doing those.  In spare time (!!) I'll complete the shaping of the panels as they won't be needed until after the drawers are built.

In the video, I mention using Iwasaki rasps and plane files.  I got some of mine through Highland Woodworking. D'oh! I shouldn't have gone there to get the link... there are so many more I'm interested in for other projects :)  Even if you don't plan on shaping anything, I'd recommend getting a set of the very fine files.  With the flat one, you can adjust tenons very quickly, clean mortise sides, and any number of other 'flat' corrections.  You'll be impressed by how they cut.

So scratch-n-sniff an offcut of Mahogany for that right-in-the-action sensation! Cue it up...

Now earlier this week, someone on the FOG had some questions about handling the RO-90 especially in rotary mode.  They wanted to see some raw footage basically so I took the raw footage of sculpting, removed the RAS-115, and sped it up.  Are you an insomniac? This is the cure!  Again, it is raw footage so just me sanding with the RO-90 for 8 minutes... the tune is good, though!

Sculpted Mahogany Vanity - Completing Top Segment

In this episode, I didn't get as far as I'd like.  Moving big tools for sale and moving new ones in place took a lot of time plus I think my boss is subscribed to my channel and thinks I have too much spare time whenever I post a video :)  (Hi, Bob!)


Floating panels get finished and installed, the upper case glued up, drawer fronts flattened, Dominos pinned, and a discussion of the placement of certain top structure members with respect to their function as part of an "integrated drawer webbing".

I also fix a boneheaded visual mistake with a quick router trick, but fast as it was, not making the mistake in the first place is still better!  You might find the trick useful for other types of surface repairs.

Pretty certain we'll get the panels ready and pattern marked out in the next episode.  There's some preliminary carving necessary to keep consistent.  That'll be before going hog-wild with the RAS-115 :)

Bridge City KM-1 Kerfmaker User's Guide

In many of my podcasts, I've used the Bridge City Toolworks KM-1 Kerfmaker to create exactly sized grooves and dados.  It can be shrouded in mystery if you are just looking at the catalog.  Come to think of it, it can be shrouded in mystery when you are reading the "user's manual".

In this video, I'll give you a tour of the KM-1, show how to effectively set the kerf using the actual cutters, and show how to use it in many situations on the tablesaw, router, mitersaw, bandsaw, and even the Bridge City JMP Jointmaker Pro.  There'll be a number of demonstrations with close-ups to unveil the shroud!

The KM-1 is part of Bridge City's "Essentials".  While many commemorative tools are made only once never to be made again, the KM-1 is generally always available.

If there's one thing I could say to convince you of its utility, it would be this:

I've only used my dado stack in two sizes: 1/4" and 1/2"; the shims are still shrink-wrapped

(I've always wanted to use the word 'shrouded' in a blog posting; hurrah!)

EDIT: at the time I posted this, Bridge City was regrettably out of the KM-1s.  I just got confirmation from Bridge City that they will be back in stock in 6-8 weeks.  That puts them as available around the last week of July 2011/early August.  Put yourself on the list to get one when they are available.  Worth the wait.  I waited much longer as I got in on the first run!

Festool OF-2200 Review and Demo (OF-1400, too!)

I did a video review last night of the Festool OF-2200 router, comparing it along side the OF-1400 router we're more familiar with.  The last clip is a demo showing both routers in action.  Kinda wish I had a bigger bit to use for the demo, but these are certainly more common uses of either router.  Naturally the demo will demonstrate the dust collection as well.

Guided Tour of my Pimped SawStop :)

I ordered my SawStop 3hp PCS cabinet saw during the pre-release.  Since I received it, I've made a number of modifications to it that have been documented here such as adding a router wing with dust box, adding an overhead collection arm, wiring a single pigtail to the wall to power everything at the saw 'station'.  (All of these are easily found under the 'SawStop' label in my blog's sidebar)
Well, that's a lot to read.
Since I had the video camera out, I shot a tour of these SawStop modifications as well as one that has not been documented here before: a dust port for catching the dust when edging a board (cuts that aren't captured will spray dust to the side that isn't normally collected).
If you want your SawStop and router table to be as dust-free as possible, give these ideas a looksy.

Wiring the SawStop and Router Wing

I previously gave a tour of my router table installed in the right extension wing of the SawStop PCS.  Also showed how I made the overhead dust collection pipe with a light.  Thing is, between the saw, router, and light, that makes for a lot of power cords going to the machine.  Anyone who knows me knows I don't like cords or cables since I can be amazingly clumsy around them.
I recently took a couple weekends to install conduit in my shop in order to drop a number of 110V and 220V circuits; yes! finally I can run my drum sander without a long extension going into the living room.  I'm not kidding.
One goal of that wiring job was to consolidate the power cords going to the SawStop, router, and light into a single feed.  I'll walk you through what I did in case you find it useful for your situation.  Note that this doesn't presume a SawStop saw; any 220V saw could use this setup.

I'm not an electrician, though I'm comfortable wiring plugs and sockets like this. I'm explaining what I did. If you like the idea, feel free to research it further or hire someone to do similar wiring for you. If you blow something up, well, then, that's a bad start to your day. And it's also not my fault.
Okay, with that out of the way...

Shown here is the drop for the SawStop/Router/Light that we'll now refer to as shtuff.  The drop has 4 wires: ground, neutral (white) and 2 hots (red).  These come from the subpanel I just installed (and will document!).  The two hots come from the two hot buses of the subpanel, neutral from the neutral bus, and ground from the grounding strap.  Even if you are coming from a main panel (not a sub panel), you will need all 4 wires.  The reason I am specifying this is that people may read that a main panel ties ground and neutral together.  You might therefore conclude that you can just run one wire for both.  That assumption would lead to you having a bad (possibly short) day.  In my forthcoming posting about wiring the shop, I'll explain that in much further detail.

The image to the left was actually meticulously drawn on the computer then run through a filter to look like I scribbled it on paper then scanned it.  What this shows is how you form a 110V circuit or a 220V circuit from the two hot and one neutral bus in a panel.  For a 110V circuit, you take a wire from either hot bus and the neutral (neutral goes to the wide blade of a socket; hot to the narrow blade).  For a 220V circuit, you take wires from both hot buses; there is no neutral involved.  Naturally, all receptacles require ground.
The fourth plug configuration in image shows the configuration we are interested in.  Basically all 4 possible wires from a panel are brought to the receptacle.  In the drawing, I showed the plug configuration for a 30A circuit although I ended up using a 20A twistlock format you'll see next...

The 20A twistlock socket is shown to the left with the plug to the right.  I also bought 10' of 4-conductor stranded 12ga wire.  I need 12ga for the current load; four conductors for the four wires (yes, ground should never conduct but "extension cord" wire is ordered this way); stranded because it is more flexible for making this pigtail.

The socket has 4 screw attachments for wiring.  This first side shows a brass screw and a silver screw.  Brass always gets a hot so I'll wire a red hot wire here (either one).  Silver always gets a neutral (think of silver as whitish so it gets the white).  I'll wire the white neutral here.

The other side has the other brass screw for the other red hot wire as well as the ground, which is always green.

Here's a wiring diagram from Ugly's Electrical Reference.  The pencil points to the L14-20R configuration that is the twistlock shown earlier.  I wired the twistlock socket according to the screw colors discussed previously.

Now, on to the pigtail for the shtuff.  The idea is to have the one cable go to the saw and break out our power requirements.  I stripped the insulation from the 4-conductor cable per the plug specs (read the box to know how much insulation to strip and how much to strip from each wire).  Push the wires through and screw them to the correct plug blades.  The plug comes with documentation.  As a hint, that "hot to brass; neutral to silver" storyline comes into play.

The other end of the pigtail goes to a metal 2-gang box.  One side of the box will have a 20A GFCI 110V duplex socket.  The other side, a 20A 220V socket.  The shtuff will plug directly into this box mounted to the router's dust box.  Here you can see the box wired up.  I should have taken more step-by-steps of producing that, so here's some narrative: the GFCI plug is wired with one hot to its brass screw, neutral to the silver screw, and ground to the green grounding lug.  The 220V socket gets a hot to each of its brass screws and ground to the grounding lug.  Notice that I'm not naming wire colors.  The four conductor "extension cord" has a white, black, red, and green "conductor" inside.  I wired neutral to white, ground to green, one hot to red, and the other hot to black.  Likely this will be your case as well, but it is also possible to get other combinations; keep track.  Note that red or black wires are assumed hot unless otherwise labeled in household wiring.

At this point, the wiring is done.  Reverify.  After turning on the breaker for the twistlock receptacle, I used a multimeter to verify all the voltages were correct.  After wiring the pigtail, I verified continuity from the plug blades to where that current should go; I also verified that all the other places did not have continuity.  The multimeter shown here is a $4 meter from Harbor Freight; for continuity, it works well.  It isn't a Fluke, but if you screw up and burn it out, it's basically a Venti Soy Latté out of your pocket.

Lastly, I needed a cover and the configuration with a rectangle and a round isn't typical.  I took a plate with a rectangle and an old-style flip switch opening (small rectangle) and drilled a hole for the round.  This picture is from me doing it to a different cover for elsewhere, but gives the idea.  I screwed a single cover with a round to the cover to drill then used that hole to place a 35mm hole (Euro-hinge Forstner bit) right where I needed it.  Couple seconds of filing to get a perfect fit.

Here's the box surface mounted to the dust box in the router extension wing.  The 110V GFCI receptacle has the router and light powered while the 220V receptacle has the SawStop powered.  All cords are strapped and tucked away under the rear fence rail so nothing for me to trip over!
While this whole process may see long and laborious, it really isn't.  Whenever you run a 220V line for your saw, run a neutral as well and you can easily do this wiring.  Also, this wiring isn't some freak of nature: this is how older dryer drops were wired and how generators are wired.  That I broke it off into separate receptacles on the saw itself is likely the only unique thing.

Here's a way you can save money and time doing this.  For the pigtail, I bought a twistlock plug and the 4-conductor "extension" cord from a commercial electrical supply house.  It was, ahem, pricy.  For half the price and a third the effort, you can buy a 12ga 25' generator extension cable from Harbor Freight shown here.  Cut the cable however many feet you need from the plug-end of the cable.  This is molded cable so stripping the outer insulation back is tricky work with a cutter, but I've done it to literally a dozen extensions.  Once the inner insulated wires are revealed, you just run them to the box on the saw.  I actually would have preferred this route had I realized it first because I like their yellow/black extensions (highly visible); molded insulation like that doesn't get twists in it so easily; the plug is molded onto the wires... no screws and half the size.  Oh, and I paid double for just 10'!
The picture also shows the cover of Ugly's Electrical Reference.  Definitely recommended, but only if you need a reference; it isn't a how-to.

Fixing Big Router Chipout

While making a simple applied frame for a mirror, I had to flush trim an edge to the main frame face. Duh, how easy?! Thing is, I didn't notice that one piece to flush had a crack in it. The second the router bit hit it, a pretty large chunk splintered off. This is how I fixed it, which didn't look as good in the end as I hoped, but I'll tell ya afterwords how it could have been done correctly.

I cleaned up the chipout with a chisel to make it a neat scoop with a straight edge on the left of the scoop.  I have some hide glue in the recess to better show it.

Next, I had several thin strips of walnut from the bandsaw in the garbage so I pulled them out (for the curious, no, I don't empty the cutoff garbage very often ;)

Basically, I made a kind of bent lamination of the strips into the recess.  You'll see that the frame and these strips have a lot of sapwood in them.  I really don't care about the sapwood as I'll equalize it with dye then stain and glaze it with General Finished Black Walnut to match an existing vanity... though it makes this repair look bad later :)

Voilà, walnut sandwich in the recess.

Clamp the sandwich like a Dagwood...

...and later marvel at how you turned an ugly recess into a hideous wood wart!

Flush the surfaces with a flush trim saw.  Note that this laminate will likely chip out more than the original cracked wood if you hit it with a router.  Even with a spiral bit.  The initial chip out was from a spiral bit.

Voilà the result with some mineral spirits to show the color.  As you can see, it is pretty painful from a color matching point of view, but I'm equalizing the sapwood and heartwood with dye later.  As I write this, I've already glazed them and honestly I have a difficult time finding this repair.

How to do it better if you are clear coating?  Well, for one, I would have picked thin slices that were all heartwood so they would have a consistent color.  Second, depending on whether or not all sides of the repair are visible, I might consider laying shorter slices deep in the recess then top with one that will form the entire visible portion of the repair.  This method, though, might show small voids on the side facing you in the picture and that may not be what your project can tolerate.  In my case, that side is the side mounted to a wall a could easily tolerate small voids to make a better show side.

Best repair? Notice the crack beforehand and hit it with cyanoacrylic...

Ultimate Wide-Base of the OF-1400

Everybody discovers this when they get their new Festool OF-1400 router, but I'll point it out to those who don't have it to figure it out.

Routing on an edge always leaves at least half the base off the stock making the router less stable.  Add to that the higher center of gravity of a plunger like the OF-1400 and you can easily make a mess of that edge.

The OF-1400 comes with two guide rods intended for use with the edge guide or the guide stops (the pads that let you run it on the rail).  Thing is, the guide stops sit level with the router so I use them all the time as a very extended handle and wide-base for the router.  Used this way, it is nearly impossible (oh, but I'll find a way...) to tip the router on the edge.


In this configuration, the pad is out nearly a foot from the bit!  The added stability is amazing and offers a lot of control for guiding the router.  On a recent project with a lot of a shaped profile requiring climb-cutting on material very prone to chip-out, I used this configuration to bump-route much of the edge; the little bit of climb-cutting I did was very safe and controlled as that long arm to the base gives you a lot of mechanical advantage.

Now, I like to use the edge guide even with a bearing-guided bit for certain situations where I want to make multiple passes rather than hog off the whole profile in one shot.  You can still get the advantage of this wide-base setup by simply extending the rods as far as possible to the opposite side of the router.

French Knot Walnut Inlay in Cork Floor

I took several pictures while doing this project because the Festool "system" surrounding the OF-1400 router was key to its success (yes, yes, you could make your own rail or do it by hand, but this was fast, easy, and, uhm, smart :)  I also posted this entry in a shorter form on FestoolOwnersGroup.com as part of a contest I won't win.

Here, I have my new entryway :)  I took 2 sheets of 1/8" luan plywood and cross-laminated them together to form a substrate that was water resistant and able to be directly attached to my slab foundation.  I covered it in a nice cork in a herringbone pattern; in dry-fitting the layout, I found the herringbone pattern didn't telegraph the seams as much as others.  I then laid out a French knot pattern with masking tape that by chance was very nearly the same width as my extremely bowed scrap of Walnut :)  Center stage is the OF-1400 router and a guide rail.  Those two made this process ridiculously easy.

To route the recesses in the cork, I'm using a 1/4" down-spiral bit.  My process is to route away the outside edges of the recesses then go back and eliminate the part left behind with another bit.  I just don't want to buy another bit to avoid the 10-minute pass with another bit to finish it off.

To make sizing the recess dead-nuts accurate, I'm going to use the KM-1 by Bridge City Toolworks.  The KM-1 works by using the size of your cutter (a router bit in this case) and the size of the dado (recess here) to create 2 offset fences that you'll see as I go along.

Set the 'orange' jaw of the KM-1 to the width of the bit your using.

Next, set the grey jaws of the KM-1 to the width of the walnut we're inlaying.  Keep it close by :)

Okay, this picture has several important points.  I swapped the stock base with the table widener.  In this case, I don't need the added stability the widener gives the OF-1400, but rather the added thickness that lets me use the guide stops off the back of the rail so the router is sitting on the stock instead of on the rail (I generally don't like it sitting on the rail since I never get the compensating support foot to lock solidly).  Note how I do not have the micro-adjusting screw of the guide stops attached between the stops.

Position the bit so it will cut the inside edge of the recess (inside meaning closest to the guide rail).

 I do use the dust guard, but find that I had much better visibility if I left the front part of the guard open.  It didn't change the dust collection much.  Remember that this is a down-spiral bit so most of the waste was left in the wake of the recess.

Measure from the guide rail to the inside edge of the recess as you'll use this to properly align the guide rail to the recess for all future cuts after the initial setup is completed.  Note that using a triangular bench rule like this one is nice since it butts up to the guide rail eliminating some error.

At this point, the router is ready to route the inside part of the recess, but we want this to be as "faster, easier, smarter" as can be so we need stop blocks calibrated with the KM-1.

In this picture, the leftmost guide block is first locked in place.  The KM-1 is placed between the guide blocks in the "long" position and the rightmost guide block is moved to touch it and locked into position.  The rightmost guide block will never be moved again in this project.  You'll notice something to the left of the leftmost guide block (apologize that it wasn't in the previous pictures).  That is the microadjuster for the MFK-700 as it fits perfectly on the rods and locks.  I use it as a well-sized stop block.  Butt it up against the left guide block and lock it in place.  You won't move it again.  Note that the "microadjust" ability is not used; it just sits there like a dumb brick marking a stop location; I plan on ordering another by digging through the Festool EKAT parts system.

Next, flip the KM-1 to use the "short" fence.  Loosen the leftmost guide block and move the router over until the KM-1's short fence is between the guide blocks.  I have a stop collar from a drill-bit set to the right of the leftmost guide block (right behind the KM-1... it's small).  It doesn't fit as well as I'd like, but worked.  Tighten this stop collar to mark the short fence location.  You can return your KM-1 to its hand-made walnut keeper chest now; the collars will mark our offsets.

This is where your router bit should be located right now after the adjustments using the KM-1 (if not, verify you didn't budge the guide rail).  Also remember that in my case, the tape is nearly identical width to my walnut; YMMV.

So now you are ready to crank through the routing operations.  Note in the original picture that several recesses line up within a French knot and to an adjoining French knot.  This is by design.  Even if your tape isn't perfectly laid out, using the guide rail aligned across all co-linear segments will make the whole that much better looking.

Here's the steps:

1. Place the guide rail the distance noted above from the inside edge of a recess to route.  Clamp the rail because patching this cork is not an option.
2. Loosen the leftmost guide block (one between stop collars) and slide the router until the guide block abuts against either stop collar.
3. Plunge and route; I usually scribbled with a red Sharpie at the ends of a segment so I could be forewarned when looking through the router window.  Stop early as it is easy to square the corner with a sharp chisel.
4. Loosen the leftmost guide block again and slide the router until the guide block abuts against the other stop collar.
5. Plunge and route.
6. Go to step 1 until you have no more recesses.  This is a very fast cycle.

Once the recesses are done, chuck up a straight bit (1/2" in my case) and freehand between the "moats" you just made to clear the waste between the edges.  This won't be neat.

Occasionally the rail didn't make it the whole way across the board.  It missed by inches.  For that, I inserted the rail connector into the rail and put a small piece of home-sawed veneer under the connector before clamping it down (veneer simply takes up the space under the connector so it doesn't pop the rail up).


Next up, cutting the walnut to length and mitered corners.  This isn't difficult, just tedious.  One tip: when 7 segments go in first-try and the eighth is being, uhm, fussy, check for new posts on your favorite forum.  Really, you just need to walk for a second.

So the rest of this has less to do with the router, but finishes the story of the floor.

Here's the walnut dry-fitted into the recesses.  You want a very snug fit, but try not to fully seat anything while dry-fitting since pulling it out can shred edges of the cork (this is why an up-spiral bit isn't appropriate).

 Paint the recesses with contact cement and let it flash off (about 30 minutes).

Paint the back of each inlay piece as well.  Note that I labeled each piece on the back to know where it goes.  Put pieces in order into the recesses.  I found that gently pushing them in and aligning the neighbors was the best way before pressing down hard.  Once you press down hard, it's done.  You'll want a scrap of cork glued to a block so you can use it to mallet the inlay pieces afterward to ensure they are seated and glued.

I used a shoulder plane to flush the walnut to the cork.  I preferred the medium shoulder plane mostly because the blade was just marginally wider than the walnut.  This greatly reduced the chances of striking the cork.




Voilà, the finished inlay!

For context, it will be in the entryway at the bottom of a set of stairs I refaced almost 2 years ago.  Here are some photos.

Bottom step will have the riser attached after the entryway is installed over the tiles you see to the right in the photo.

The landing has a French knot, as well.  It was done in a much more difficult manner; I was more stupid back then.  Oh, the lopped off corner of the entryway inlay is where the door is for the entryway so the entryway and landing will look the same from the top of the steps.  I have since installed base molding.

The bullnose of the existing treads was cut off and replaced with triple-beaded walnut.  Risers are home resawn lacewood veneer.  The corner molding you see here was custom cut and has continuous grain from the topmost step to the bottom.  Now, that molding is trivial, back then, it was tricky.  Guess I learned something :)