Router Table Indexing
Jig
Recently
I had to cut a series of evenly spaced dadoes across the sides of some small
display shelves I was making. I wanted to make the dadoes on my router table,
and I needed a way to space them evenly. That's when I came up with the idea
for an auxiliary table fitted with an index pin as shown in the photo.
To make the auxiliary table, I started by cutting a piece of ½"
MDF (medium-density fiberboard) that fit on top of my router table. Then I
drilled a hole in the center of the MDF for a router bit.
Next I inset a
strip of wood into the top to serve as an index pin for spacing the dadoes, see
Figure 1. I made sure that the distance between the router bit and the index
pin equaled the spacing I needed for my dadoes, then I clamped the top to my
router table.
Now cutting evenly spaced dadoes is easy. Simply butt one
of the workpieces against the index pin and push it forward with a backer block
to cut the first dado. Now just shift the workpiece so the dado you just cut
fits over the index pin and cut a second dado. Repeat this process until all
the dadoes have been cut, as you can see in Figure 2.
Have a nice
weekend,
Joel Hess
Online Editor, Woodsmith
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