Thorns with a milling cutter. Encyclopedia of Technologies and Techniques - accessories for a router for making grooves and tenons. Self-fabrication of the corner joint

In this article, we will introduce you to the process of cutting various joints with a hand mill, consider the process of making such additional devices to increase labor productivity as tenoning templates and a dovetail cutter.

How to make a tenon groove with a hand router

To make this spike connection, we will need the router itself and the working table directly. To facilitate the process, you can make an additional device such as a jig.

The procedure is as follows:

• • We install two rack-and-pinion stops on the plywood sheet, cut out the holes for the size of the groove for the drawer side and the projection. The rack stops must be fixed to the width of the router. They fix it across the work plane. To fix the longitudinal displacement, two other stops are set at the ends of the proposed location of the joinery machine installation site.
  • To move the workpiece along its length, we mount a pair of bars to the table top, which correspond to the dimensions of the workpiece.
  • We mark the axis and dimensions of the grooves. We install the additional device so that the markings on the workpiece and the jig completely coincide.
  • It is necessary to set and secure the stop.
  • Fasten the jig with self-tapping screws to the bars.
  • It is necessary to take a straight cutter and set the milling depth, taking into account the thickness of the manufactured jig. After that, it is necessary to fix the workpiece with a clamp and perform the processing of the groove.

Let's get started to the cutting of thorns.

• For small production volumes, it is best to do this on a circular.
• First, you need to measure the depth of the groove, which will correspond to the length of the tenon.
• We measure the resulting value on our workpiece. The length of the tenon will be determined by the difference in values ​​- the width of the workpiece and the length of the groove, the height of the workpiece and the width of the groove, halved. The resulting material residues should be removed to obtain a thorn.
• After that, you should set on the machine a size equal to the length of the groove, taking into account its width. The circular saw should be fixed at a level equal to ½ of the difference in the width of the workpiece and the length of the groove from the table top line. Make a couple of cuts along the length of the tenon.
• We fix the saw blade at a height equal to ½ of the difference in the heights of the workpiece and the width of the groove from the table top line. Two cuts are made from the end of the workpiece.
• We start sawing. To do this, it is necessary to fix the circular saw by the length of the tenon, while the distance from the disc to the stop must correspond to a value equal to ½ of the difference in the width of the workpiece and the length of the groove. We make two cuts across the width of the product on both sides.
• Correct the distance from the cutting disc to the stop. It should be equal to a value of ½ of the difference in the heights of the workpiece and the width of the groove. We make two slots. We round off the edges of the resulting thorn with a carpenter's knife and clean it with sandpaper.

Tenon cutter for router

Tenoning templates come in a wide variety of configurations. They serve to facilitate the work of cutting out joints such as tenon and groove, as well as to speed up the work. With their help, you will be able to make frames, box joints, cut out various joints for furniture. The size of the groove, as well as the evenness of its edges, will depend on the shape of the tooth of the template. To make a tenon cutter with your own hands, you will need guides, with the help of which the tenons will be milled. They should be mounted on two opposite sides of the case in a checkerboard pattern, placed equidistantly. Subject to these conditions, they fit perfectly together.

Dovetail milling cutter

They are most often used in conjunction with milling machines and machines for making grooves in hard and soft wood products. Manufactured from monolithic hard alloys.

Designed to work in tandem with cylindrical cutters.

How to choose a groove with a router

When performing this work, you need to know that its technique will directly depend on the location and dimensions of the groove. If it is open, then your tool is attached to the table top, the workpiece is guided along the cutter. Accuracy will depend on the position of the bar and the height of the cutter. To ensure that you do not have flaws in the sampling process, always make a test pass on wood waste. The selection should be performed in stages, while several passes should be made. After each pass of the cutting part of the router, to prevent its overheating, it is necessary to remove waste from the working surface of the tabletop. This can be done using a template cut out of plywood, which should be walked with a cutter with an upper bearing.

We hope that the information obtained while reading this article will be useful to you and useful for use in the household.

Accessories for hand router

Conductor for making grooves and tenons

Using a hand router, you can make perfect grooves and spikes in the joint of the sides of boxes and caskets. To do this, we recommend making a simple attachment for the milling table.

The advantage of using a milling table is that a straight cutter makes an ideal tenon (groove) with smooth sides and a flat bottom (unlike a circular saw) and also, the cutter has one size, which reduces the number of settings for the height and width of the tenon (groove). All that is needed to make finger joints on a milling table is a simple jig, which is shown in the photo below, and step by step follow our recommendations described in this article.

Conductor

The jig consists of three parts, the base of the movable sled, the main and adjustable stops.

MOBILE RIDING. The sled has a base made of hardboard or dense wood, 1/4 ″ thick, as can be seen from the photo above. A rigid fixed stop with two evenly spaced slots and an adjustable stop that allows you to change the size between the cutter and the guide.

GUIDE. The size of the guide is equal to the size of the cutter, which will make the spikes (grooves) of the product. For example, if the cutter size is 12 mm, then the guide must also have a 12 mm square.

Note: Each size needs its own guide and therefore the slide has an adjustable stop.

SLOTS. Allow minor adjustments to be made when setting up the fixture. To do this, it is necessary to make two slots in the main stop along the bolt diameter, they hold the adjustable stop in the desired position.

Adjustment and fine adjustment of the slide is done as follows:

The first thing to do in setting up the fixture is to lift a little above the slide and adjust the cutter to the desired height. Then adjust the cutter table stop so that the cutter shank ( step 1). Further, in order to protect the device from displacement during cutting, clamp the straight edge with clamps to the table, observe the parallelism between the main table stop and the straight edge ( step 2). Install a stop block on the main stop of the milling table to limit the linear movement of the slide ( step 3). Now we will adjust the dimensions of the spike (groove) using the adjustable stop. Set the distance between the guide and cutter. After making the adjustments, run a series of tests and check the connections of the sides of the box.

Note: To make ideal joints, the thickness of the workpiece must match the diameter of the cutter, tips for troubleshooting are given in the figures below.

Emphasis. Place the stop on the milling table so that the gap between the cutter and the guide matches the size of the cutter shank.

Wish. To ensure accurate cuts, clamp the ruler to the table, parallel to the main table stop.

Stop Block. Position the stop block on the stop so that the cutter does not pass to the main stop of the carriage.

TROUBLESHOOTING WHEN CONNECTING SLOTS AND PINS

Good Connection. Perfect fit in the joint has no gaps and the cleats are flush with the sides.

Short Spikes. In this case, the cleats are too short, the problem is that the cutter is set too low on the milling table.

Long Spikes. The cleats are outside the joint of the sides, this is because the cutter is set too high on the milling table.

Clearances in the Grooves. Slot gaps are caused by the guide being too close to the cutter.

Small Grooves. If the cleats do not fit into the grooves, then the guide is too far from the cutter.

Offset of the Sides. Misalignment can be caused by inaccurate positioning of the workpiece, guide or stops.

SEQUENCE OF CONNECTION PRODUCTION

In setting the distance between the spikes (grooves), the shank of the cutter, a convenient template for the initial setting of the distance between the guide and the cutter.

First and last. Start with the first and last tenon (groove) on the panel. When cutting a tenon (groove), make sure that the workpiece fits snugly against the guide and slide.

Guide and blank. To make the next tenon (groove), simply lift the workpiece, place the already finished tenon (groove) on the guide and make another pass. Repeat this until you have made all the tenons (grooves) on the product.

Front Panels. Continue making the tenon (groove) at the opposite end of the workpiece in the manner described earlier. After the work is completed, we move on to making the side panels.

Start, Sidebar. The next step is to make a tenon (groove) in the adjacent, side panels. The difference is that by using the bezel (or back) panel as a reference, you offset the location of the cleat (groove). To do this, install the last groove (spike) of the bezel into the guide, place the side panel close to the bezel and make the first pass.

Ending, Sidebar. After making the first spike (groove), set the bezel (or back) aside. Now make the remaining tenons (grooves) as you did before. After you have made the tenons (grooves) on one side, turn the workpiece over and repeat all the operations described above.

Bottom of the Box. If you are adding a bottom to a box, you need to make grooves in each panel. After assembling the box (casket), you need to cut the bottom-cork to the size of the box (casket) and insert the bottom-cork into place. When the glue is dry, sand the joints with fine sandpaper.

Stud Slides

When you need to make a tenon on a hand mill with clear straight shoulders and absolutely smooth cheeks, then make a simple milling table for the router and a simple device for milling tenons - sled.

Simple guide slide

There are several ways to make tenons - a router, a tenoning machine, attachments to a circular or even a band saw. But when spikes with perfectly perfect shoulders and cheeks are needed, then, as a rule, this can only be done on a milling table. Such results cannot be compared with any other manufacturing method. Unlike a saw blade, only a quick rotation of the cutter can create a perfectly smooth tenon cheek surface and a straight line at the shoulder. Therefore, when there is a choice on which machine to make a tenon, then a tenon made on a milling table may be the best choice. Another plus is that in many cases, setting up and setting up the milling machine equipment is faster, and sometimes a little more convenient, than setting up a table saw carriage. When making a tenon on a hand mill, you do not need a special and complex tenoning device. With the stop, straight bit on the milling table and height adjusted, you are ready to start making the tenon.

Making a thorn on a hand mill

Adjustments to the manufacture of a tenon on a hand mill do not require a lot of time.

First step settings, set the cutter and the height of its immersion in the workpiece. A large cutter diameter will do the job faster, but when a larger plunge depth, a smaller diameter cutter will work better. Basically, we use cutters of two diameters: 25 mm and 12 mm.

The shape of the cutter with which the spikes are made is shown in the photo, such a cutter creates perfect spikes.

Second step in the manufacture of a spike on a hand mill, setting the milling table, set the stop at a distance equal to the length of the spike. The stop should provide a smooth surface to the tenon and an even edge along the entire shoulder. The stop in conjunction with the cutter immersion device on the router works well.

Third step, you need an effective way to hold the workpiece tightly against the stop. Instead of using a trimmer, I suggest using simple guide slide that slide along the stop (shown in the photo).

This milling attachment gives you much more control and ensures that parts are always squared against the stop.

Milling of dowels begins with preliminary adjustment of the height and position of the stop. The cutter height is set slightly below the marks of the future tenon and the stop is also not set to the entire length of the tenon. Don't try to get to the basic parameters on the first try. The idea is to leave some space to help you get to the final settings later.

After milling with the initial settings is complete, the next step is focused on setting the final cutter height. Raising the router bit, mill the tips of the tenon on both sides. Check the fit of the cleat into the groove and then adjust the cutter to the desired height. Since you are removing wood from both sides of the cleat, recheck the fit of the cleat and readjust the cutter height. When the final height and thickness of the tenon has been determined, you can start removing the wood towards the shoulder line. The best way to make a tenon perfect with a hand router is to do the job in a few easy passes. Then turn the piece over and repeat the process on the opposite cheek. When making cuts, hold the workpiece firmly against the table and slide. A tightly clamped workpiece will help you get a perfectly smooth spike and avoid distortions.

Milling the exact length of the tenon ends with the production of a straight line at the shoulder, and this requires fine adjustment of the stop. This adjustment ensures that the final milling of the shoulder will be done on all parts of the cleat very easily and easily. The initial setting of the stop usually leaves a small amount of wood up to the main mark. And, as with the adjustment of the cutter height, in order to approach the main shoulder mark, it is necessary to make a fine adjustment of the stop and check the fit of the cleat after each cut.

Slow feed will make it possible to avoid skewing at the trailing edge. But a slow feed speed can cause the wood to burn in the shoulder. It is good practice to make two passes in the final stage of making the tenon on a hand router - one to remove the remaining residue and one to finish quickly. To mill the cleat on the short sides of the workpiece, follow the same procedure as for the cheeks, working from the edge of the cleat to the shoulder. Apply light pressure to the workpiece and to the stop for the final cut of the shoulder.

Thorn Making Tool

The thorns are the most important part of the connection. The cleats are created by removing wood from one or two edges of the plank. In most cases, a tenon-to-groove connection is one of the best connections. Below is the sequence of making the studs on the router. It should be noted that in such a connection, a thorn is first made, and based on the dimensions of the finished thorn, a groove is made and then the groove is adjusted to fit the thorn. The first thing to focus on is making the battens with the exact final thickness and width, calculating the total length of the battens, trimming the battens to the same length, making sure the edges are accurate and have a 90 ° angle. Consider the direction of the filaments on the rail, the filaments continuously directed around the frame look nice. To do this, cut the pieces sequentially and mark each piece in sequential order.

Setting up the dowel tool

Fasten the auxiliary base with the router installed on it, position the router relative to the router table horizontally and tighten both fastening nuts of the horizontal base.

Adjust the cutter height using the cutter base. Loosen the latches and lift the base slightly until the cutter is above the table, fix the base.

Set the length of the cleat. For adjusting the length of the tenon, the device is responsible for the immersion or the depth of cut with a cutter on a milling machine, immerse the cutter until it touches the shoulder of the tenon. Secure the position of the cutter to the router. (See photo).

Since you are removing wood on each of the four sides of the plank, the basis for forming an accurate tenon is the dimensions at the edges of the plank, only the dimensions that are closest to the required will give a good result. Any mistake in setting the cutter height is doubled. If you set the router bit slightly higher, your cleats will be too thin if below - thick... The best way is to get to the desired height, sequential milling and readjustment of the cutter height for each tenon.

The length of the cutter is equal to the length of the tenon. Use the template to set the depth and length of the cutter to cut the tenon.

Height adjustment. With the template in place, adjust the cutter height to match the shoulder of the cleat.

First shoulder. Keep the thin edge of the rail upright and push the slide to cut the first shoulder.

Second shoulder. Rotate the rail 90 ° and mill the face.

Third and fourth shoulder. After milling the second shoulder, complete the tenon milling on the other two sides of the workpiece.

The thorn sank lower. The lower shoulder of the thorn is cut off much more, and the upper one is small, as a result the workpiece was below the edge of the leg.

The thorn was higher. The lower shoulder is cut too little, and the upper one is too much, as a result the workpiece is higher than the leg.

All cuts are correct. The shoulders are milled at the same level and touch the leg in the same plane.

We test the made spikes, check the fit.

It is important that the spike fits snugly into the groove. Well-made cleats slide smoothly and enter the groove without clogging, do not twist the rail in different directions. When the cleat is fully inserted, visually inspect the joint to ensure a perfect fit. By pushing the cleat down, up and in different directions in the groove, again make sure that it does not move and that it fits snugly.

The second important issue in fit is the tight fit of the spike shoulders to the leg. In fact, the hanger may not be cut straight, too deep, or not cut too far. In any case, the last step is always a test fit of the tenon into the groove and fitting the joint with a chisel.

Make sure the length of the cleat matches the depth of the groove. The spike should not be longer than the groove. In fact, ideally, it can be somewhat shorter, leaving room for excess glue during assembly (see photo).

Well-fitted cleats should fit well and tightly, and the glue serves as a lubricant during assembly, but not a filler for the gaps.

The spikes made have square edges, they are rounded with a chisel so that the edges of the spike are oval and fit tightly into the groove.

Maps adjust the height. Use playing cards to help you adjust the cutting height of the tenon.

There are five situations you will likely encounter when making tenons with a router. When making settings for the router, proceed from the settings, depending on the specific situation.

If the thorns are too thin, it means that the base of the router is very high above the table. Do not readjust and make a tenon, the groove for such a tenon will be individual. Then loosen the locking knobs and lower the height a little, very little.

If the thorns are too thick, then the depth of immersion of the cutter is too small. Measure the thickness of the spike and groove with a caliper. Subtract the groove thickness from the tenon thickness, divide the result by 10 and round up to a whole number. Calculate the number of playing cards that represent this number, plus one more card. Loosen the locking knob and position the cards under the clamp as shown in the photo above. Tighten the handle.

If the edge of the workpiece is lower than the edge of the leg, carefully inspect the dry assembled spike and determine which side needs to be raised or lowered by milling. Another option is to use a bandsaw or a hacksaw to reduce the width of the stud. As a rule, the top of the tenon is trimmed.

If the edge of the workpiece is higher than the edge of the leg, carefully inspect the dry assembled spike and determine which side needs to be raised or lowered by milling. Another option is to use a bandsaw or a hacksaw to reduce the width of the stud. As a rule, the bottom of the thorn is trimmed.

If the thorn is too long, do not adjust the length of the tenon on the machine and do not need to adjust the depth of the cutter for milling, as these actions will change the dimensions between the feet. Another option - to reduce the length of the spike, you can gently use a band saw, chisel or hacksaw.

Tool for making straight tenon and dovetail joints

Tenoning devices used for milling the profile of finger joints. In the manufacture of the latter, great accuracy is required, which is almost impossible to provide manually. Tenoning devices allow you to quickly and easily profile even complex joints such as dovetail.

Spike connections

The figure below shows an industrial prototype of a tenon cutter for the manufacture of three types of joints - "dovetail" (blind and through version) and straight through connection with a straight tenon. Two mating parts are installed in the fixture with a certain shift in relation to each other, controlled by pins 1 and 2 , then they are processed. The exact path of the cutter is determined by the shape of the groove in the template and the copying ring of the router, which slides along the edge of the template, repeating its shape.

Stud milling attachment

Milling tenons

Milling tenons

Milling tenons

Tool for making dowels

Joiner's dips and grooves are the basis of connections. If you are interested in finding an alternative to such a connection, you can consider the dowel joint, which takes a slightly different approach to fabrication. Here's how to do it. The traditional mortise dowel and groove method can be replaced by a dowel method. The bottom line is that instead of a groove in one part and a mating thorn in the other, there are grooves in two parts, and the plug-in thorn is a separately processed block of wood, respectively (see photo).

This difference in connection has several advantages. On the one hand, this method makes it easier to work with parts in terms of dimensions. Moreover, such a connection will always be more accurate. The traditional mortise spike requires separate operations and various fixtures to manufacture. The proposed connection method suggests making all the grooves and the dowel using the same settings. Instead of making all the grooves in the drilling machine and then cleaning them with a chisel, a milling machine will be used, controlled by a simple device.

Layout of the slats for the plug-in spike

To ensure accurate positioning of the paired grooves in the battens, the most important step is to find the centerline of the width in the cross and longitudinal battens. You can find such a line on each rail using a metal ruler and mark it with a pencil (step 1).

Then you need to transfer the centerlines to each mated connection. Finally, transfer them to the ends of the rails (step 2).

Later, this centerline will be aligned with the centerline on the milling fixture to ensure it fits accurately in order to get identical grooves (step 3).

To ensure accurate alignment of the grooves in parts, the most important step is to find the centerline of the strip width. It is easy to do this on the slat using a metal ruler.

Finally, move the centerline to the edges of the lines to be connected. These lines will be used to position the router attachment.

Making grooves using a dowel

Now, at the locations of the grooves, the router will do the work to create the grooves for the plug-in dowel. But for this you need to make a stable base in order to protect the router from tipping over and to guide the router during cutting with a hole in the center. This T-piece serves both of these purposes. Such a device is quite simple to make. It has a base with a hole in the center for a cutter and a copying sleeve, plus a clamping block that is used to attach the fixture to the workpiece. The key factor in a dowel tool is the correct hole size in the base. You must consider not only the size of the cutter you are using, but also the size of the guide sleeve that goes around the hole. The figure below shows how to size the window based on the dimensions of the sleeve used. In addition, there is another condition that the clamping block is positioned so that the center of the hole coincides with the center on each part of the part. Finally, mark a center line in the hole of the fixture, which will easily help align the part with the fixture before milling the slot.

Once the dowel tool is assembled, milling the grooves is a fairly straightforward task. After aligning the centerlines, fix the fixture to the part (step 4).

By immersing the cutter deeper and deeper, make a groove. After making the groove, you can repeat the manufacturing process on other parts of the product (step 6).

First, align the center mark in the hole in the base with the centerline on the slat. Then press the fixture tightly against the rail with a clamp.

A milling machine, equipped with a spiral cutter and a guide sleeve, will help make a groove by making a series of shallow cuts of the cutter.

Identical actions are performed on the edges of the end strips for slot milling. Align the marks as before and clamp the fixture to the rail. Then re-mill the groove to full depth.

How to make a dowel bar

After all the grooves are ready, you can pay attention to the manufacture of spikes. It is necessary to prepare wooden slats according to the size of the grooves. Their creation requires several steps, which we will now consider. The most important aspect of a tenon is its thickness, which corresponds to the width of the groove.

Check that the cleat fits into the groove before each cutting or plowing. In this way, a good connection can be obtained. Once you have reached your desired cleat thickness, the next step is to adjust the cleat width. It is not necessary to make a very tight connection. There are several reasons for this. First, it gives you some extra space in the joint for the glue. It also allows you to customize the connection for perfect alignment when you assemble the final piece. Making the grooves with a milling machine certainly removes the work of the chisel in making the groove. But the cutter in the groove creates oval edges.

When forming a plug-in thorn, it is necessary to make ovals along the edges of the thorn so that it fits freely into the groove. This is achieved with an oval cutter on a milling table. After milling the four sides of the cleat, check its fit into the groove, make the necessary adjustments if necessary. Now all that is left is to cut the spikes lengthwise with a miter saw.

A plug-in dowel, of course, is slightly different from a mortise dowel, but it also has many advantages, in particular, in projects with a large number of grooves, it eliminates a number of operations associated with fitting joints.

Tool for making round tenons

Round tenons are usually made on a lathe. But if you don't have a lathe ... The photo shows a simple device for making round tenons using a hand mill.

It is not difficult to make it from a U-shaped blank, which is attached to the trimming device. The U-shaped device consists of a rear part and two support blocks. Support blocks have large holes drilled into them to help machine the part with a straight cutter. The fixture works best if the holes are about 1/32 inch.

Fixture setting

To set up the device, insert a workpiece into the holes in the support blocks. Next, determine the length of the tenon and place the stop behind the cutter (fig. B).

Making a round tenon

How to use the device for making a thorn, see in detail in Fig. A. Raise the workpiece slightly above the cutter and make small circular movements with the workpiece to form a tenon. Then rotate the workpiece counterclockwise and move it back and forth until the tenon is fully formed. Raise the cutter slightly and repeat the process until you get a tenon of the desired diameter.

Device for making dowels on long workpieces

In most cases, studs are made on a milling table. But there are times when this is not the best option. It is difficult to form a tenon on a milling or circular table when the length of the workpiece can be 1.5-3.0 m. This is because it is difficult to hold a long workpiece in the desired position for an accurate cut and all attempts usually fail. So, when you need to cut a tenon on a long workpiece, the device shown in the photo above will help you.

DEVICE MANUFACTURE

This is a simple plywood fence. The jig is assembled separately for each workpiece to make the tenon milling more accurate.

Determination of the size of the fixture. There are points you need to pay attention to in the manufacture of the device. The key factor is the length of the cleat, on this device it is determined by the distance between the stop block and the stop.

Emphasis. Measure from the outside edge of the router bit to the edge of the router base, then add the length of the tenon. This will be the shoulder of the thorn.

USING THE DEVICE

Once the fixture is ready, making the spike is straightforward. Attach the fixture to the location of the spike, as shown in the photo below. Install the router and check the dimensions of the future tenon before starting milling. The best results are obtained with a spiral cutter, it cuts clean shoulders on a tenon without chips.

Experts' recommendations on how to make a thorn with a hand mill ensure the convenient use of this tool in the production of furniture, supporting structures made of lumber. Elements of tables and chairs are assembled on thorns of a simple configuration. For the manufacture of frames of cottages using half-timbered technology, spikes of complex configurations of increased reliability are used.

Figure 1. Diagram of the root spine.

To create a thorn with a milling cutter, it is enough to ensure the fixation of the workpiece relative to the guide surface for the sole of the power tool, set the required height of the working body - the cutter. Self-made devices made from scrap materials significantly improve the quality of the stud, safety of work, and are convenient for mass production of identical elements or tool joints on blanks of various sizes and configurations (Fig. 1).

The choice of power tools, cutters

The standard tenon is a double-sided cut of wood from one edge of the workpiece. For this, any manual router with a 12 mm or 8 mm collet is suitable. The rectangular slot cutter is perfect for machining two parts used in this joint:

• lateral surface, lower end are required to create a groove;
• a tenon is made by a hand mill with the end edge of the tool.

Figure 2. Scheme of a device for milling tenons.

Thus, having tucked the cutter once, the master gets rid of the need to reinstall the equipment, which is very convenient for construction, serial production of furniture.

The dovetail spike is more reliable, durable; for its manufacture you will need a similar cutter with the same name. However, the adaptation in this case will be completely different. The manual dowel router is a versatile tool, so it does not need to be replaced. The power tool of this type has comfortable side handles, wide sole, fixation of the spindle from turning when changing equipment. The overhang of the cutter at the time of cutting cannot be changed due to the side stop.

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Making a device for taking a thorn

Unlike a professional machine tool, the working tool has no fixation in space. It is fed onto a fixed workpiece with both hands. Therefore, the manufacture of a fixture for clamping a part at the first stage is a reasonable necessity. The simplest device for this is a structure (Fig. 2) of fixed guides (top, bottom, side), a movable bar, which adjusts the length of the sample. To assemble it, you need to follow the sequence of actions:

• fix the side vertical elements of the same height with central cutouts on a piece of plywood (along its edges);
• cover them with guides along which the sole of the router will move;
• put side strips, limiting the course of the power tool along the upper guides;
• install a movable element on the bottom plywood, which adjusts the overhang of the edge of the workpiece, which is subjected to milling.

Figure 3. Scheme of a thorn sampling.

To fix the movable bar, a standard thumb screw or special fasteners are used. The dimensions of all structural elements are selected individually:

• the height of the upper guides is equal to the thickness of the workpiece in which the spike is made, taking into account the small gap for installing the fixing wedge;
• the width of the cut in the vertical elements depends on the length of the tenon created by the hand router.

A manual milling cutter of any modification, manufacturer, is suitable for working on this device, since most models provide for adjustment of the cutting speed, feed, and extension of the working body.

For the dovetail thorn, a device with the opposite principle is used:

• in a sheet of plywood, located horizontally, the power tool is fixedly fixed;
• its body is located below, the cutter comes out from the reverse side of the sheet into the through hole;
• a block of hard wood (beech, birch, oak) is attached to the desktop;
• a 2.5 cm piece of board is fixed on the bar, which is a consumable (used once with a certain cutter diameter).

Structurally, the fixation of a hand router in a sheet of multilayer plywood is solved in several ways - clamps, self-tapping screws. It is important that the fasteners do not protrude onto the working side of the plywood. The sheet itself can be attached to a workbench, lean on a couple of chairs, fixed on several rows of timber, trestles, scaffolding.

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Thorn sampling: straight version, dovetail modification

Video 1 shows in detail how to make a spike at home by making a simple device for one-time or batch production. The technology of work on the created device for a straight tenon is as follows:

• the part is placed on the lower reference plane on the side opposite to the movable bar;
• the edge of the workpiece, on which the spike is milled, extends into the cutout of the upper guides until it stops in the movable element at the required distance (length of the spike);
• the movable bar is fixed with a wing or a clip;
• the workpiece is wedged with a special element between its upper plane, upper guides;
• the hand router is placed on the upper guides;
• the bottom end of the rig removes wood from one side of the thorn;
• the workpiece is turned over, the operation is repeated for the other side of the tenon.

Dovetail connection diagram.

Technology provides high performance for identical parts. Thanks to the device created once, it is possible to make a spike on parts of any configuration and size. The router is set up after installing it on the upper guides:

• the cutter is lowered all the way to the bottom plane of the plywood;
• the thickness of the part is measured;
• the tooling is raised to the required height (usually the thickness of the workpiece divided by 4).

Straight pins for high-quality fixation in the mating grooves are usually connected with glue.

This provides a high connection resource, prevents loosening of the supporting frame of buildings and structures during the operation of furniture (Fig. 3).

The choice of cutters for the dovetail connection is arbitrary, experts recommend a groove of about half the thickness of the part. A simple way of making a structure with this connection is shown in video 2. The sequence of operations is as follows:

• horizontal placement of a sheet of plywood with a hand router fixed on the underside;
• fixing one side of the guide bar with a screw (the consumable piece of the board is attached to the bar from the side of the cutting tool);
• setting the guide bar to the required distance from the center of the cutter with fixing its second edge to the plywood with a clamp (width of the workpiece minus the diameter of the dovetail cutter in the wide part, halved);
• selection of the groove to the desired length (width of the workpiece with the spike);
• installation of the guide bar at the required distance to select the spike (the clamp is removed, the cutter cuts into the consumable piece of the board in such a way that the distance from its vertical plane to the center of the cutter is: the width of the part minus the width of the groove, divided in half);
• securing the second side of the guide bar with a clamp;
• sampling of the side surfaces of the workpiece.

After fitting the tenon into the groove, the thickness of the tenon is adjusted. It should fit into the mating groove without effort, with a small gap necessary to accommodate the adhesive. If necessary, the guide bar moves, the milling is repeated until this condition is met.

Dovetail, detachable spike connection (trapezoidal grooves), used in mechanical engineering and joinery for reliable fastening of parts to each other. In this material, we will consider the manufacture of devices that facilitate the production of grooves in a tree using a hand router.

DIY wood router accessories

The machine itself is a very ancient invention of mankind, descriptions of the principles of milling appeared in the 16th century, and the prototype of the machine was the invention of Leonardo da Vinci, who proposed rotating a round file to increase the processing of a product, which can be considered the first analogue of a cutter.

And already the American inventor Eli Whitney, over the years from 1765 to 1825, brought to mind all the scattered attempts to create a full-fledged machine, for which he is rightfully considered the creator of the first milling machine, although not all scientists agree with this statement.

And since the machine has such ancient roots, there are a great many adaptations for the manufacture of various parts, it is not possible to describe them all in the light of this material, and therefore we will consider only some of them, in my opinion, the most important and useful.

Universal joint for tongue and groove connection

factory plate for making a thorn-groove connection

It is used with a router to cut the corresponding grooves and tenons, it is installed in a vice, and the part is pressed with a clamp to the device. Usually sold in stores.

connection appearance

Consider devices for milling grooves

Saw out the top - a table top made of 18 mm plywood, 40 cm long and wide enough to cut the thickest workpiece you plan to dowel.

Cut out two 5x10 cm bars by sawing them off the same length as the top. In the future, the bars will play the role of pressing the workpiece and centering it relative to the groove in the table top. To prepare the top, draw a line in the center of the top, then mill a groove along the line at one end.

schematic representation of a tooling

note

The indentation should be the same width as the copying ring that you will use with your router bit. The indentation must be long enough to match the length of the longest slot you are about to cut.

Then, mill two adjustment slots perpendicular to the center line. Finally, drill an inspection hole between these two slots. To assemble the entire structure, screw the bolts into the jaws and secure the top to the bars with wing nuts and washers.

To use our equipment, draw a groove on the workpiece and mark a center line on it. Loosen the thumbs and place the workpieces between the bars so that the center line connects with the top line of the fit, check that the edge of the workpiece is opposite the top edge.

Pinch the lambs. Align the router bit to one end of the groove drawing, then mark the construction lines on the top of the table along the edge of the router base.

How to properly work with a thorn groove rig

Repeat this one more time to mark the lines at the other end. Mill the groove, at the bottom, starting the cut by aligning the router base with the first reference line, and stop milling when the insert reaches the second reference line.

Let's make a device for making thorns with our own hands

Product for making thorns

Made of wood and plywood, the jig shown above can cut rectangular tenons with two shoulders. The object to be processed is located with the front surface below under the jig, while the router moves along the stop from above, removing the excess in two passes.

The product consists of two parallel base bars, a stop and a stop - all made of wood of the same thickness as the part, in this case from 25x75mm bars, as well as the top surface and support made of 18mm plywood.

Base bars should be approximately 400 mm long; Cut the top surface of the plywood about 200 x 250 mm and screw it to the blocks as shown in the figure. Screw the stopper onto the ends of the base bars along with the support. Place the stop approximately 25mm from the end of the top surface.

cut a thorn with a device

Countersink holes for all screw heads and make sure all corners are square. Drill an inspection hole in the top surface to accurately position the workpiece exactly on the markings.

Quite a lot has already been written about such tenon cutters, so I do not pretend to be original. But the thing in the workshop is definitely useful. Therefore, having assembled a tenon cutter for a straight box thorn, I decided to talk about it in my blog.

Such tenon cuts are usually made on the basis of a milling table or circular saw. But, of course, options are also possible - depending on the invention of the master - on a band saw, a jigsaw, but even on a chainsaw!
I did not become original and made a device for cutting a straight box spike for my milling table (more about it here :).
Sometimes they use bearings and different guides to facilitate sliding, but I decided to do without them. The only condition is that the opposite edges of the table must be parallel. To do this, you can walk over them with a router with an emphasis on the other edge.

The first step is to cut out the base of the future tenon cutter from plywood. The dimensions of this base depend on the table itself - it should be wider than the table by the width of the side stops. I took the stops about 4 cm. The length of the stops should be the same or slightly less than the width of the table - then they will not wedge. He glued all the details of the tenon cutter with carpenter's glue and fixed it with self-tapping screws - perhaps redundantly, but I just wanted to.

All screw heads are recessed.

To find the correct position of the second stop, put the workpiece with the first stop installed on the table, resting it (the first stop) against the edge of the table, apply glue to the second stop ...

And having laid a sheet of paper between the second stop and the edge, we fix it (the second stop) in this position with clamps. The gap left by the paper will be ideal for the tenon cutter to move freely along the edges of the table without dangling.

For purely aesthetic reasons, we cut the edge so that the stops are flush with the main part.

The carriage for our tenon cutter is ready

Further, a stop will be installed on this carriage, which can be adjusted and which must always be perpendicular to the direction of movement of the carriage. In order not to check this perpendicularity every time, I made a ledge at the edge of the carriage with correct angles.

On the same ledge, using an M8 bolt, I installed a handle from the adjusting mechanism of an office chair.

The handle is located exactly in the middle between the stops - this is another degree of protection against jamming of the carriage. The handle is quite grippy and reliable. It also provides a safe position for the right hand. It is convenient to use it.

The stop is fixed with two M10 recessed head bolts and wing nuts. The stop can move along the ledge with the handle in both directions.

It is important that the plane of the stop is perpendicular to the plane of the carriage.

The carriage is made of 18 mm FSF plywood. I am sure many are now choking - where is such a thickness, this is some kind of monster! Well, yes, it could have been made thinner, but I like things with excess strength where possible. Here's my trick.
Therefore, I had to buy a special cutter. All characteristics and part numbers are visible in the photo.

Insert the pin into the gutter that is obtained in the stop. I made it from 6 mm PCB.

The device is ready. The design is quite simple, I talked longer than I did))

The first launch showed that, in general, the device works, but requires configuration

The height of the cutter and the width of the tenon require careful adjustment. After a while, it began to work out.

It is more convenient to handle the details in batches - at least two each. At the same time, the external parts are not sweet - a straight cutter mercilessly tears out of them not just individual fibers, but whole layers. Therefore, the details must be processed, covering them with unnecessary bars on both sides.

See what happened to the parts that were external in the package. I don’t know how in magazines and in videos they manage to process the details one by one. You can use spiral cutters - maybe this will solve the problem, but usually they are many times more expensive than straight cutters.

Therefore, we simply cover the workpieces on both sides and get an excellent result. Here you also need to pay attention to which side and in what sequence to process the details, so that they then fold into a product.

In general, the result is not bad. These were test bars, but since it worked out well, I decided to follow through and make a box.

Cut out the bottom of the box on a circular saw

And then one more nuance came out - for grinding the protruding spikes, the device for cutting a straight box spike should be equipped with a belt sander or a disc grinder or something like that. The eccentric sander fails to fill up the edges. Otherwise, I am satisfied with the purchase - it works as it should.