Accessories for a milling table for wood. Attachments and capabilities of a hand router

Which significantly expand the functionality and facilitate the work.

I decided to post only additional (mostly homemade) accessories for the router, which I personally tested in my workshop, so the article will be gradually replenished with new ideas.

Cut along the guide

In order to make a straight cut exactly where you want it, you will need to use a guide bar. You can make it from any board with an even edge, for example, initially I used just a piece of 16mm chipboard with dimensions of 1200x150 mm. The principle is as follows: the distance from the center of rotation to the edge of the milling base is the same and you need to know it. Finding it out is easy. Screw the guide onto the waste piece of material and make a test cut. Measure the distance from the edge of the cut to the tire, add the radius of the cutter and get the desired value. For my Ryobi, it is 61 mm.

Next, we do the following (for example, I use a straight groove cutter with a diameter of 12 mm, i.e. its radius is 6 mm). We draw a line along which the cut is planned, we retreat from it a distance of 55 mm (61 mm - 6 mm) we draw another line. We attach the guide along it. We make a cut and make sure that its edge passes clearly along the first line.

Groove in the end of the board

If you need to choose a groove at the end of the board, then it is quite difficult to keep the router straight, without wobbling it from side to side when driving. To expand the support for it, simply pull a couple of boards or a block parallel to the workpiece with clamps, expanding the support. (in the photo I choose "" under the back wall on the already assembled one)

Another option for milling grooves in the end face of the part (again for a quarter cut) is to use two parallel stops, each inserting into the sole with only one "foot". At the same time, the milling cutter stands fairly stable and does not move left or right.

Rounding corners

Often, in our projects, we have to round corners, and, moreover, do it the same way on all parts. To facilitate this process, I offer you a template that will somewhat simplify and speed up the manipulation.

We work with it in the following way: thanks to the side stops, the template is easily installed on the parts. We press it with clamps to the part (the corner on it is preliminarily cut off) and we draw it with a straight edge mill (with a bearing) according to the template.

Compass - cutting circles

It is not necessary to purchase a milling compass to cut circles. Its role may well be fulfilled by ... parallel emphasis. As a rule, there is a hole in it (if not, then you can make it). We turn over the emphasis, install it in the holes on the sole upside down. We screw a screw into the aforementioned hole (it is advisable to provide it with some kind of bushing so that its diameter matches the diameter of the hole, I used a bushing from the anchor bolt).

Or like this: with a self-tapping screw already on the ejected part of the workpiece.

That's it, the compasses are ready. The change in radius is adjusted by extending the stop.

Dust collector

When processing the edges with a milling cutter, a huge amount of dust is generated, which cannot be removed by a vacuum cleaner at all. I bring to your attention a self-made dust collector for a router. It allows the vacuum cleaner to remove dust much more efficiently.

Master class on making this pribluda.

Another dust collector (the design is simplified, the material is the same) this time, for

Milling table

This is not even a device for a milling cutter, but a transfer of this hand tool to the category of machine tools. Two hands are freed up, it is easier to work with large blanks, and there are many more bonuses, which we will definitely talk about sometime.

About how I made my first milling table, I wrote in (I haven't finished it yet, because I haven't finished it)).

Edge base

To remove overhangs of 2 mm PVC edges, the sole of the router had to be slightly reworked,. Instead of the standard plastic sole, I installed a "step" made of textolite of a cunning shape. As a result, I got the opportunity to conveniently remove overhangs, almost like a professional trimmer.

Rip fence modification

The standard rip fence has a cutout in the center for the cutter, and not very long shoulders. Due to this, when cutting along it, entering the workpiece and jumping off it, the milling cutter can jerk. To prevent this from happening, you can lengthen the shoulders of the stop, for example, with a strip of laminate.

It turns out that a larger part of the stop (in comparison with the standard one) is constantly in contact with the workpiece, which ensures greater stability of the cut.

For full-fledged work with a hand router, in addition to the tool itself, material and the corresponding set of cutters, you must have one more component - accessories. In order for the milling cutter to form a workpiece in accordance with the master's intention - cutting the material exactly where it is required - it must be in a strictly defined position relative to the workpiece at every moment of time. To ensure this, there are numerous accessories for a hand router. Some of them - the most essential ones - are included with the instrument. Other tools for milling are purchased or made by hand. At the same time, home-made devices are so simple that you can do without drawings for their manufacture, using only their drawings.

Parallel stop

The most used accessory that comes with almost every router is a parallel stop, which ensures that the router moves in a straight line relative to the base surface. The latter can be a straight edge of a workpiece, table or guide rail. The parallel stop can be used both for milling various grooves on the face of the workpiece, and for processing edges.

Parallel stop for a hand router: 1 - stop, 2 - rod, 3 - router base, 4 - rod locking screw, 5 - fine adjustment screw, 6 - movable carriage, 7 - movable carriage locking screw, 8 - pads, 9 - screw stopping the stop.

To set the device to the working position, it is necessary to push the rods 2 into the holes of the bed 3, providing the required distance between the support surface of the stop and the axis of the cutter, and fix them with a locking screw 4. For accurate positioning of the cutter, you need to release the locking screw 9 and turn the fine adjustment screw 5 set the cutter to the desired position. For some models of the stop, the dimensions of the support surface can be changed by moving or expanding the support pads 8.

If one simple part is added to the parallel stop, then with its help it is possible to mill not only straight, but also curved grooves, for example, to process a round workpiece. Moreover, the inner surface of the bar located between the stop and the workpiece does not have to have a rounded shape that repeats the edge of the workpiece. It can be given a simpler form (Figure "a"). In this case, the trajectory of the cutter will not change.

Of course, a conventional rip fence, thanks to the recess in the center, will allow the router to be oriented along the rounded edge, but the position of the router may not be stable enough.

The function of the guide bar is similar to the parallel stop. Like the latter, it provides a strictly rectilinear movement of the router. The main difference between them is that the tire can be installed at any angle to the edge of the workpiece or table, thereby providing any direction of movement of the router in the horizontal plane. In addition, the tire can have elements that simplify the performance of some operations, for example, milling holes located at the same distance from each other (with a certain pitch), etc.

The guide rail is attached to the table or part with clamps or special clamps. The tire can be equipped with an adapter (shoe), which is connected to the base of the router by two rods. Sliding along the profile of the tire, the adapter sets the cutter to move in a straight line.

Sometimes (if the distance between the tire and the router is too close), the bearing surfaces of the tire and the router may appear in different planes in height. To align them, some routers are equipped with retractable support legs, which change the position of the router in height.

Such a device is easy to make with your own hands. The simplest option is a long bar fixed to the workpiece with clamps. The design can be supplemented with side stops.

Putting a bar on two or more aligned workpieces at once, you can make grooves in them in one pass.

When using a bar as a stop, it is inconvenient to place the bar at a certain distance from the line of the future groove. The following two devices are deprived of this inconvenience. The first is made from boards and plywood held together. In this case, the distance from the edge of the stop (board) to the edge of the base (plywood) is equal to the distance from the cutter to the edge of the router base. But this condition is met only for the cutter of the same diameter.... Thanks to this, the fixture quickly aligns with the edge of the future groove.

The following device can be used with cutters of different diameters, plus when milling, the router rests on its entire sole, and not half, as in the previous device.

Alignment of the stop occurs along the edge of the board folded on the hinges and the center line of the groove. After fixing the stop, the folding board leans back, freeing up space for the router. The width of the folded board together with the gap between it and the stop (if any) should be equal to the distance from the center of the cutter to the edge of the base of the cutter. If you focus on the edge of the cutter and the edge of the future groove, then the device will work with only one cutter diameter.

When milling grooves across the fibers, at the exit from the workpiece, when milling an open groove, there are frequent cases of scuffing of wood. The following devices will help to minimize scuffing, which press the fibers at the point of exit of the cutter, preventing them from splitting off the workpiece.

Two boards, strictly perpendicular, are connected with screws. On different sides of the stop, different cutters are used so that the width of the groove in the device coincides with the width of the groove of the part to be milled.

Another tool for milling open slots can be pressed more firmly against the workpiece, which further minimizes scoring, but it is only suitable for cutters of one diameter. It consists of two L-shaped parts connected to the workpiece with clamps.

Copy rings and templates

The copying ring is a round plate with a protruding shoulder that slides along the template and provides the necessary trajectory of the cutter. The copying ring is attached to the sole of the router in various ways: screw it into a threaded hole (such rings in the photo below), insert the antennae of the ring into special holes on the sole, or screw it with screws.

The diameter of the copying ring should be as close to the diameter of the cutter as possible, but the ring should not touch its cutting parts. If the ring diameter is larger than the cutter diameter, the template must be smaller than the finished parts to compensate for the difference between the cutter diameter and the copying ring diameter.

The template is fixed to the workpiece with double-sided tape, then both parts are pressed with clamps to the workbench. When finished milling, check that the ring was pressed against the edge of the template throughout the entire operation.

You can make a template for processing not the entire edge, but only for rounding the corners. At the same time, using the template shown below, you can make roundings of four different radii.

In the figure above, a cutter with a bearing is used, but the template can also be used with a ring, only either the ring must exactly match the diameter of the cutter, or the stops must make it possible to move the template away from the edge by the difference in the radius of the cutter and the ring. This also applies to the simpler version shown below.

Templates are used not only for milling edges, but also grooves in the face.

The template can be adjustable.

Pattern milling is a great method for cutting out the buttonhole grooves.

Accessories for milling round and elliptical grooves

Compasses are designed to move the router around a circle. The simplest device of this type is a compass, consisting of one rod, one end of which is connected to the base of the router, and the other has a screw with a pin at the end, inserted into the hole that serves as the center of the circle along which the router moves. The radius of the circle is set by offsetting the rod relative to the base of the router.

Better, of course, that the compasses were of two bars.

In general, compasses are a very common device. There are a large number of branded and home-made devices for milling around a circle, differing in size and ease of use. As a rule, compasses have a mechanism for changing the radius of the circle. Usually it is made in the form of a screw with a pin at the end, moving along the groove of the device. The pin is inserted into the center hole of the part.

When you need to mill a circle with a small diameter, the pin must be under the base of the router, and for such cases, use other devices attached to the bottom of the router base.

It is quite simple to ensure the movement of the cutter in a circle with the help of a compass. However, it is often necessary to face the need to make elliptical contours - when inserting oval-shaped mirrors or glasses, arranging arched-type windows or doors, etc. The device PE60 WEGOMA (Germany) is designed for milling ellipses and circles.

It is a base in the form of a plate, fixed to the surface using vacuum suction cups 1 or screws, if the nature of the surface does not allow fixing with suction cups. Two shoes 2, moving along intersecting guides, ensure the movement of the router along an elliptical path. When milling a circle, only one shoe is used. The kit includes two mounting rods and bracket 3, with which the router is connected to the plate. The slots on the bracket allow you to install the router in such a way that its supporting surface and the base of the plate are in the same plane.

As you can see from the photos above, the milling cutter was used instead of a jigsaw or band saw, while, due to the high speed of the cutter, the quality of the processed surface is much higher. Also, in the absence of a hand-held circular saw, the milling cutter can replace it.

Accessories for milling grooves on narrow surfaces

Slots for locks and door hinges, in the absence of a router, are made using a chisel and an electric drill. This operation - especially when making a groove for an inner lock - takes a lot of time. Having a router and a special device, it can be done several times faster. It is convenient to have a device that allows slotting of a wide range of sizes.

To make grooves in the end, you can make a simple device in the form of a flat base, attached to the base of the router. Its shape can be not only round (in the shape of the router base), but also rectangular. On both sides of it, you need to fix the guide pins, which will ensure the rectilinear movement of the router. The main condition for their device is that their axes are in line with the center of the cutter. If this condition is met, the groove will be located exactly in the center of the workpiece, regardless of its thickness. If it is necessary to move the groove to one side or the other from the center, a sleeve with a certain wall thickness must be put on one of the pins, as a result of which the groove will shift in the direction from which the pin with the sleeve is located. When using a router with such a device, it must be guided in such a way that the pins are pressed from both sides to the side surfaces of the part.

If you attach a second rip fence to the router, you will also get a device for milling grooves in the edge.

But you can do without special devices. For the stability of the router on a narrow surface, boards are fixed on both sides of the part, the surface of which must form a single plane with the surface to be processed. During milling, the router is positioned using the rip fence.

An improved version can be made that increases the support area for the router.

A device for processing balusters, pillars and other bodies of revolution

The variety of works that are performed by a hand mill sometimes dictates the need for independent production of devices that facilitate the performance of certain operations. Branded devices are not able to cover the whole range of works, and they are quite expensive. Therefore, homemade accessories for a router are very common among users who are fond of working with wood, and sometimes self-made devices either surpass branded counterparts, or have no branded counterparts at all.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to mill various grooves in the bodies of revolution. In this case, the tool below may be helpful.

The device is used for milling longitudinal grooves (flutes) on balusters, posts, etc. It consists of a body 2, a mobile carriage with an installed milling cutter 1, a rotation angle setting disk 3. The device works as follows. The baluster is placed in the body and fixed there with screws 4. Rotation to the desired angle and fixation of the workpiece in a strictly defined position is provided by disc 3 and a locking screw 5. After fixing the part, the carriage with a router is set in motion (along the guide strips of the body), and is carried out milling a groove along the length of the workpiece. Then the product is unlocked, rotated to the required angle, locked and the next groove is made.

A similar device can be used instead of a lathe. The workpiece should be slowly rotated by an assistant or a simple drive, for example, from a drill or screwdriver, and the excess material is removed by a working router moving along the guides.

Stud milling attachments

Tenoning devices are used for milling the profile of tenon 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.

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 a straight through joint 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.

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It is possible to significantly expand the functionality of the milling equipment by using special devices. Serial accessories that can be found on sale are quite expensive. That is why many craftsmen decide to make accessories for a wood router with their own hands. Most of the manufactured elements are intended for the correct positioning of hand tools in spaces. In addition, devices for can significantly increase the accuracy of processing. Some instruments are supplied with ancillary accessories initially. However, they are not highly specialized equipment, they are often not suitable for the assigned tasks. Let's consider the most common equipment in more detail.

Parallel stop

The rip fence can be used for straight and curved cuts. This device is very popular today, it is included in the delivery of many tools. This milling attachment includes several structural elements:

1. Guides, made in the form of rods for niches formed in the body of a wood router.
2. The locking screw is used to fix the device in the desired position.
3. A screw designed for precise spacing between the axis and the surface of the workpiece.
4. Contact sponges. They are required in order for the router stop to be based on the surface.

The side stop for the router is applicable for a wide variety of work. You can prepare it for work as follows:

1. As noted earlier, there are holes in the base of the wood fixture to accommodate the rod. It is inserted into them and fixed in the required position with a locking screw.
2. After fixing the device, the locking screw is slightly loosened, the adjustment changes the position of the stop.

Knowing the design features of the device, you can make it yourself. To do this, you need bars and metal elements, as well as screws. There are quite a large number of different models of parallel stops on sale, which are selected directly for the features of a router designed for working with wood blanks.

Guide rail

When processing wood, it is important to control the position of the tool used. The guide rail, like the previous equipment, is designed to ensure that the router moves along a strictly straight path. All wood milling devices are made so that they can be used in certain jobs. The following points can be called the distinctive features of this device:

1. The guides for the hand router can be positioned at any angle relative to the edge to be machined. Due to this, the device provides accurate movement of the tool in any direction within the horizontal plane.
2. Often, plywood is processed with a milling cutter in order to obtain holes that are located relative to each other with a certain pitch. The considered design may have additional elements that allow you to get holes with specified parameters.
3. A special clamp for a milling machine is used to fix the device. If the delivery set does not include clamps, they can be replaced with conventional clamps.
4. Some models come with a special milling table adapter.

The simplest homemade design can be made from a long bar, which will be attached to the workpiece with clamps. In order to make it comfortable to use, you can equip the bar with additional side stops.

The above proposal is not always comfortable to use. The following homemade design is more popular:

1. The fixture is represented by a combination of two boards that are parallel to each other and the plywood sheet.
2. The design in question is used only if milling cutters of the same diameter are used for milling.
3. Due to the use of two boards, the processing accuracy and the stability of the template during milling are significantly increased.

In the case when cutters of different diameters are used, it is advisable to use a slightly different design. It is characterized by the presence of a folding board, which is fastened with hinges. The purpose of this structural element is to fix the template. After fixing it, the board leans back and you can use cutters of various diameters.

It should be borne in mind that clamps are used to fasten homemade templates in almost all cases.

They provide reliable fixation of the equipment. During operation, the fixture will be pressed against the surface of the template, due to which the processing accuracy is ensured.

Router compass

When working in a home workshop, you may often need hand router attachments to make it easier to mill a round surface. An example is a special compass, which you can make for a router with your own hands. The main recommendations for the work are as follows:

1. To create the simplest design, you will need: a bolt with a nut, a small piece of plywood, several self-tapping screws and a wooden lamb. In the manufacture, the milling cutter itself is used, as well as a saw with a screwdriver.
2. On the surface of the used piece of plywood, an area is marked with a width of about 50 mm and a length of 150 mm. Note that the width must be larger than the router platform, the length must be larger than the machining radius.
3. After marking the working part of the platform, holes should be made for the fastening bolts. You can drill with a perk, the diameter of the holes obtained should be 20-30 mm.
4. A through groove is created along the center line. Its width should be less than the width of the axle bolt.
5. On the reverse side of the created platform, a recess is created for a nut with a washer, the second nut is fastened in a wooden wing.
6. The central axis is being assembled. As a stud, you can use a bolt of the required length, from which the head is sawn off.

After creating a homemade compass, it is attached to the router and you can check the device in operation.

Copy ring

A wide variety of accessories for a hand router can significantly simplify the process of processing various workpieces. A copying ring for a router is a kind of product that acts as a side. During the work, the ring slides along the used template, setting the position of the router on the tree. Machine versions can be produced in a wide variety of materials. At the same time, various fastening mechanisms are created:

1. Screw.
2. In the form of a threaded hole.
3. When using special tendrils.

It should be borne in mind that the rings used must have a diameter that is close to the mill. However, during processing, it should not touch the ring, as this will damage the cutting tool.

The attachment of the copying ring can also be carried out using common clamps. The rings are made of steel designed to withstand the application of force. Soft alloys are not used due to the fact that they can deform, and this will lead to serious errors.

Router templates

Templates are very widespread. They are made for the production of specific products. That is why the question of how to make a template for a router with your own hands has become quite widespread.

The milling template has the following features:

1. Some versions are designed for milling a workpiece along a straight contour, others at an angle or round shape. A very common use is a template for milling rounded corners of various radii.
2. Some models of the equipment in question are equipped with rings or bearings. They are suitable for hand routers. If a ring is used, it should be taken into account that it must not come into contact with the installed cutting tool during milling of the workpiece.
3. Creating grooves of an unusual shape can be called a rather difficult task. Recently, the milling of grooves has been carried out when using the particular equipment in question. For example, you can quickly make a stencil for woodcarving with a router or to create a groove that fits on a door hinge.

Do-it-yourself templates for a router are often made of wood. This choice can be attributed to the fact that such a material is characterized by a high degree of workability. That is why it is much easier to obtain patterns on wood with a hand mill, since the template will completely repeat the geometry.

On sale you can find a variety of templates, for example,. However, almost all craftsmen are faced with the fact that they have to create such a product with their own hands when making unique parts for furniture or other products.

Wood attachments

Depending on the complexity of the work being carried out, the equipment of the wood router may differ significantly. An example is the case when the task is to mill grooves on narrow surfaces. Standard attachments for milling machines in this case may be less effective, and then special attachments are used.

The key features of the applied nozzles include the following points:

1. when using special nozzles, processing will be carried out in a strictly limited area. That is why it is possible to significantly improve the quality of the grooves obtained.
2. The design is represented by a base, which can have a wide variety of shapes.
3. Two pins are installed on the base. It is they who provide the linear movement of the cutter during the processing of the workpiece.

Considering nozzles designed for wood processing, it should be borne in mind that the main requirement for their design is the location of the guide pins in line with the center of the cutter used. When this condition is met, the groove will be located strictly in the center of the end surface.

In conclusion, we note that the design of most of the equipment is quite simple, and therefore it can be made by hand with a small amount of money and time. However, some versions are difficult to manufacture, and the quality of processing largely depends on their accuracy. That is why it is better to make some products yourself, others to buy in a specialized store. Recently, more and more universal designs are found that are more expensive, but are suitable for use in the processing of a wide variety of products.

To make it easier to work with a milling machine, some auxiliary devices are often required. Making accessories for a hand router with your own hands is quite simple, but you should understand what exactly is needed for a particular job. This is necessary in order for the cutter to follow a strictly defined trajectory (this allows you to make a clear, not blurry pattern / line).

Homemade accessories for a milling machine allow you to hold the workpiece in the desired position relative to the cutter.

Given that such ancillary tools are usually quite expensive, they can always be easily made at home. In fairness, it is worth noting that some accessories come with a milling machine. What is needed to work on it will be described below.

What and why

If the master has a milling machine, it is possible to cut grooves in various blanks without any problems and carry out a beautiful engraving. The peculiarities of the device for household needs are the small dimensions of the device and the not very convenient layout of the machine. If small size is a positive feature, then the device and layout are not always well thought out. This requires a special approach to the work process.

Simplification of manipulations with blanks will significantly improve the quality of their finishing.

This can be achieved by creating auxiliary tools. It is no secret that it is advisable to make a device for a specific job on your own, since often industrial products for these purposes are less convenient and practical. The creation of an auxiliary tool will allow you to make it specifically "for yourself" - in size, shape, for specific purposes.

What is most often made to work on a milling machine:

1. Parallel stop. It ensures that a straight groove line is maintained during operation. Very often comes with the machine. However, those devices that come with the tool often have a significant drawback - they are short and not wide.
2. Guides. Usually the tire acts as such. In terms of its functions, it is similar to a pantograph. However, it allows you to give more room for "maneuver" when working. It can be installed at any convenient angle at any distance from the machine. This allows the cutter to be cut quickly and evenly.
3. Copy ring. These devices allow you to provide the best and necessary trajectory of the cutter. They are often installed on its sole. To ensure all the necessary work, so many rings are made to cover all the necessary needs.

Only the minimum required tools are listed here when working on a milling machine. There are other devices that are used for more delicate work, for example, a pantograph, clamps, etc. Since each master himself determines what he needs and what does not, it is not worth considering other devices in detail. All that is required from the devices in addition to the above is done based on our own work experience. This is due to the fact that often people try to be like a super-master, making and purchasing everything that is possible, but in most cases the tools just hang on the shelf. Therefore, let us dwell in more detail on how to make the listed products.

Back to the table of contents

Parallel stop

Usually this element is included in the design of a milling machine. It consists of 2 guide rods and a clamp between them. The cutter runs between the guides and is limited by their length.

Very often, the standard stops that come with the machine have very short guides, which significantly limits and complicates the work with long parts and workpieces.

Many manufacturers of milling machines also sell accessories for them, including numbers and stops.

However, the cost for additional devices (even if they suit the person) is often comparable to the price of the tool itself, which makes it not cost-effective to purchase them. Therefore, craftsmen often try to replace the factory emphasis with a homemade one.

To make it, you will need metal rods or pipes for the guides. Their diameter should be equal to the diameter of the latter. It is best to use stainless steel or brass rods as material for the guides. If their diameter is larger than the holes for the guides in the machine, then the excess metal is removed on the turning tool.

The finished rods should be smooth so as not to impede the cutter's movement. To do this, they should be sanded and, if necessary, varnished or painted.

The next important element that is required to create a parallel product is a stop, which is attached to the rails (at the end).

To supply the new guides with a stop, it is recommended to remove it from the parallel product that came with the cutter and install it on the new guides.

If it is required to strengthen the emphasis or it is not possible to dismantle the machine tool, in this case it is made independently. As materials, use stainless steel for the body and clamps, lead for the weighting agent.

The design can be any: it can copy factory devices or be of its own design and idea. All this will provide the necessary comfort while working.

The extended stop allows you to exclude the possibility of vibrations, abrupt stops, which significantly improves the quality of the cutter.

Making wood products at home is a good business, but first you need to buy specialized materials and equipment. A milling machine is a power tool, without which it is difficult to process wood, especially if there is no complex of cutters available that allows you to create diverse and multifunctional products. It is important to choose the right model, which will be complete with all the fixtures.

There is nothing complicated in self-assembly of the cutter if you follow the step-by-step instructions. In addition, even a novice craftsman will be able to provide the mechanism with all the necessary functions and auxiliary systems. For example, a restraining system, without which it will be impossible to work. The movement of the rotating cutter is chaotic during the processing of wooden parts, which leads to strong vibration that the master cannot compensate, even with excellent physical preparation. Fixing and guiding devices, installed additionally, are responsible for the strong installation of the device.

When purchasing this equipment, all guiding and fixing elements are included in its complex, but they perform only simple working movements, which are not enough for high-quality and beautiful processing of wooden products. Complex work processes require the purchase of additional retaining templates, which cost a lot of money, but it is easy to make such devices of a wood router with your own hands.

Many experts prefer to use blueprints when assembling the restraint system, but this is not correct. It is better to initially understand the design of the machine and carry out independent calculations that will satisfy all the necessary requirements. At the same time, the efficiency and reliability of such structures will be better, and this is not to mention the knowledge of the structure, which the master can repair himself at any time.

There are a wide variety of attachments that increase the functionality of the milling machine. Of these, there are:

• parallel emphasis;
• guide rail;
• compass;
• copy sleeve;
• templates;
• nozzles.

The milling table rip fence design is the simplest of all types of retention systems. It will not be difficult to make it yourself, if you first understand the principle of its work.

To begin with, select an object that will serve as an emphasis. It can be an elongated product that easily connects to a lockable bar. Next, a guide plane is chosen, along which the router is constantly moving. In some cases, instead of a guide element, a flat side of the workpiece is chosen. This part must be smooth and level so that it can slide freely along it.

For the normal movement of the cutter using the workpiece guide, a control groove is preliminarily made in it and the distance from the edge to the zero mark is measured. As a result, the stop can be easily moved along the bar, setting any acceptable distance, but it is important to remember that when working with two bars, they must be fixed at the same time.

The rip fence is a unique tool that is great for edging, quartering or slot milling. With its help, workpieces are cut according to the width set in the settings or rounded parts are processed. For processing products with a rounded surface, a special gasket with an obtuse angle is installed between the stop and the end of the workpiece. Such a device is more useful than a jigsaw, which in the process creates many defects and defects. For example, a cut when sawing along the width with a jigsaw of wooden blanks is crooked.

The principle of operation of the guide bar is similar to the thrust guide, but there are significant differences that make this mechanism more preferable for work. The rip fence performs only directional movements, unlike the rail, which allows you to choose an angle for processing wood products.

To achieve the ability to choose the angle of movement of the cutter is obtained by installing a clamp or suction cups. It is easy to make such an option yourself, using corners of a suitable size or profile. For example, an old curtain rod is perfect as a base. In this case, the main thing is to create conditions for the free movement of the carriage in the guiding direction and to fix it stably by using two rods, and not one. Sometimes the workpieces are wider than the rip fence and therefore a guide bar is the best option.

If work is required that requires milling grooves along a broken line or trimming an edge with a curved path, then the guide bar is easy to handle. For such work, it is necessary to stop the router at the break point, loosen the fastening of the guide and turn the tire to the side at a given angle. The milling cutter in the process of changing the angle remains in place, representing the axis of rotation. Then the milling cutter is fixed again in the new set position, and milling work continues.

There are also more advanced models that can change direction vertically. This way of processing wooden parts significantly expands the functionality.

The purpose of a compass installed on a milling machine is known to many experts in this field. With its help, circles are easily cut out of wooden blanks. Its principle of operation is similar to a simple compass, but there are some peculiarities.

The guide bar is one of the main elements that acts as the leg of a compass and has grooves or special plates with hole calibration, which allow you to readjust and set the desired diameter. The router bit is at the other end of the stud. The whole structure moves around a fixed pin that stands in the center.

Factory models differ only in the device for changing the diameter. To do this, use a hinge with two rods to increase the stability of the craft, support platforms, plates or hole calibration.

You can assemble homemade equipment if you use any durable and even material. Many craftsmen use textolite for this. When assembling, you need to remember about the reliable fixation system, which helps to do the work with the highest quality. Cutting out a circle is difficult and it is simply impossible to correct mistakes as a result. That is why vibration of the structure must be minimized to prevent displacement of the apparatus during the cutting of the circle. For fastening the cutter on the device, special holes must be provided and slots for moving the carriage with a fixing device must be cut.

The compass on the circle cutter is the simplest model, the functionality of which can be easily expanded by using a support with a cross groove system. This option allows you to cut ovals by constantly moving the grooves that form an even figure. This tool cuts ovals near and around the accessory thanks to a wide range of cutter paths.

This element of the milling machine belongs to the systems of the new generation, which greatly simplify the work and expand the functionality of the equipment. A copying sleeve is needed in cases when it is necessary to cut a complex pattern on the workpiece or make the same cut on several products. In some cases, it is necessary to cut door hinges or similar parts into a piece of wood. For the convenience of performing such work, you need to know in advance how to make a template for a router and only then start producing it. One of the most common patterns is the tenon cutter.

For precise movement of the cutter according to a given pattern, copy rings are used. The principle of operation is that the bushing creates a support for the template, and the milling cutter exactly copies it during operation. When choosing the diameter of the copying sleeve, it is important to remember that it must be larger than the working diameter of the cutter. That is why the craftsmen, when making templates, keep track of the difference between their radii, and not their diameters. This is due to the fact that the router, while moving inside the template, will cut the drawing of a smaller size, and working outside it, the figures will be larger.

Having learned how to use a copying sleeve for a router, craftsmen get a good assistant in processing various wooden parts.

Making templates

Many craftsmen use templates, especially when it comes to creating a series of wooden parts. It rarely happens when a template is used to cut out one part, but such cases also occur, for example, during restoration.

In most cases, such a device is used in production:

When making a template, it is important to initially select a high-quality and durable material. Even taking into account the minimal contact of the machine milling cutter and the edge of the template, it is erased over time, and the drawings lose their original accuracy. Such problems can be easily avoided if durable materials are used initially:

• metal;
• textolite;
• multilayer plywood;
• some types of plastics.

Naturally, it will be difficult to prepare a template from metal, but it will last for many years without deforming and retaining the original dimensions and strokes of the drawing. It is better not to experiment with such a device and to make a template specifically for the necessary part of a wooden product. There are no high-quality universal devices.

Woodworking attachments

The processing of wooden blanks gives a wide scope for using the router. Professional joiners and carpenters use automatic machines that accurately and quickly perform specified functions, but manual settings are also good at their job. Some, with the help of tenoning parts or attachments, allow you to work miracles. In some cases, it even turns out to make carvings on the parts necessary for collecting furniture.

Each nozzle is designed for a specific type of wood and is able to easily give the end part any shape. With their help, skirting boards, panels, cornices, balusters and much more are made. An experienced craftsman with one nozzle is able to perform various patterns on the surface of the workpiece using a different angle. In addition, experts often make such adaptations for a hand-held router with their own hands.

Special kits

In the woodworking industry, there are often kits designed for special jobs. These include, for example, the production of a tie-in for hinges. This set is a custom made template that is immediately equipped with fasteners for milling.

Most of these parts are made by craftsmen themselves. It is enough to install a second persistent jig on the rods and then a router will be securely attached to the end of the door leaf, which can easily cut holes for hinges or a door lock. This method is useful, but inconvenient, therefore it is more suitable for a one-time use.

Milling work is a great way to earn extra income by machining wood blanks or just while away your free time. These works require minimal investment, and most of the devices, it turns out, do it yourself.