Shopsmith 555970 A plaque with external, decorative edging completed. We used, oval picture frame

MARK V – MOUNTED OVERARM PIN ROUTER 555970

Cutting decorative internal and external edges using a fixture

Figure 21 shows a finished plaque, still at- tached to its fixture. Only the top surface of the edge was cut.

Figure 21. A plaque with external

decorative edging completed. We used

a1/2", non-piloted core box bit to form our example edge.

Step 1. Set your router bit to produce the desired depth-of-cut. To do this, use your fixture to cut out a practice sample of your finished product. Be sure it’s the same thick- ness as the finished piece you plan to make. Use this practice sample to make a few cuts until you achieve your desired profile.

NOTE

When using a fixture to guide your workpiece through decorative edging cuts, you can alter the profiles produced by changing to a Guide Pin that’s smaller than your groove and/or changing the side of the fixture groove you guide against.

During operation, it’s important that you al- ways guide your fixture against the same side of the groove throughout your cut. If you’re using the outside edge of the groove, you must pull against the Guide Pin as you make your cut. If you’re using the inside edge of the groove, you must push against the Guide Pin as you make you cut. Remember . . . changing groove sides in mid- cut will alter the profile of the cut and ruin your edge.

Step 2. Cut the edge. The routing method used is similar to routing against a pin. Re- member to always move the fixture against the rotation of the bit, and keep the same wall of the groove against the Guide Pin at all times. Usually, only two passes are re- quired to achieve the final depth-of-cut. It’s OK to make about 75 percent of the cut on the first pass, and the balance on the second.

Cutting decorative surface features using a fixture

An unlimited variety of attractive surface decorations can be created by guiding an ex- isting (or additional) groove in your fixture over a Guide Pin, such as our Figure 22 ex- ample of cutting a V-groove in the surface of an oval picture frame.

Figure 22. Using a V-groove bit to cut

a decorative surface feature in an

oval picture frame.

Since the entire bit is in contact with the workpiece while making surfacing cuts, you must always use a Guide Pin that’s the same size as the groove in your fixture for safety reasons. As a result, the profile of your cut is controlled entirely by altering the depth- of-cut of the bit. Decorative surfacing cuts cannot be made with a piloted router bit unless a straight bit is used first to form a groove that the pilot can ride in.

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