Turn the router on and gently ease the bit into the work, letting the guide bushing gently contact the template. Facing the dovetail jig, start at your left side and work to the right, following each template finger in and out. Ensure that the router base and guide bushing stay in firm contact with the tem- plate. See Figure 19.
Hint: If you are using material thicker than 7/8", cut it in two stages. First, remove the material IN FRONT OF the fingers. Second, remove the material BETWEEN the fingers. Use care when the router bit exits the work- piece to reduce the risk of
3.Remove both pieces from the jig and join the dovetails. See Figure 20.
4.It may be necessary to tap the two pieces together with a hammer and wood block. If alignment is so poor that the two pieces will not fit together, line up each piece as much as possible and determine the direction and degree of fine adjustment.
If the two pieces do not fit, it is usually because they were not milled square or the pieces were not flush with each other in the jig.
Figure 20 shows a finished drawer
and 2 sides ready to be joined.
TIPS FOR OPTIMUM RESULTS
Don’t clamp your work down too tight.
Maintain steady, even pressure on the router when cutting. Remove materials in several smaller passes, rather than one large pass. This will lessen the chances of damaging your project or your router bit.
Use pieces of scrap wood the same thickness as your workpieces to provide an even base for the template and clamping mechanisms. Place them at the oppo- site end of the template and clamps before tightening the jig.
Be sure the template is sitting flat across the length of your workpiece before routing to ensure even cut depth.
OPERATIONS
Figure 19 shows the dovetail jig in use.
Woodstock Intl., Inc. D2796 | - 15 - |