Some woodworking machines are solely meant for manufacturing work. It’s because it takes an excessive amount of time to set them up for only one reduce. Alternatively, when you plan on making the identical reduce or joint time and again, a manufacturing machine is the best way to go. The benefit of utilizing a manufacturing machine is repeatable accuracy with pace. Time is cash and high quality is every little thing.
On this article, we’ll check out the JDS Multi-Router, an costly however pretty compact stationary woodworking machine that may make quite a lot of joints together with mortise and tenon, angled mortise and tenon, box joints and dovetail joints. The Multi-Router incorporates a router and varied router bits to make extremely exact cuts in wooden. The joints are made by a ball-bearing-tipped stylus monitoring in aluminum templates which might be simply mounted to Muilti-Router. The workpiece is clamped on an aluminum table which might transfer out and in, left and proper and up and down, and which is managed by 3 hand levers, one for every axis.
Motion alongside any axis may be stopped with clamping screws and collars integrated into the Multi-Router. A specific reduce might require that the machine be allowed to drift freely in two instructions whereas being restricted from any motion alongside the remaining axis.
For instance of how the Multi-Router operates, I’ll focus on how I’ve made manufacturing runs of dovetailed jewellery packing containers. The motivation to make use of a manufacturing machine is pure and easy: If you are able to do correct, element work in a brief time frame, you may produce high-quality objects in quantity and thus make extra gross sales and due to this fact more cash. You may as well demand more cash for high-quality particulars like dovetailed corners.
Earlier than getting began with my jewellery packing containers, I needed to decide what dimensions would work greatest, contemplating that I might be utilizing a machine to make equally-spaced dovetails of the identical measurement. I discovered that I may make two dovetails within the corners of a jewellery box that measured 2 1/4″ excessive. Three dovetails would have required rising the peak of the completed box and I made a decision that that dimension wouldn’t be as pleasing to the attention.
The following step concerned inventory preparation. The completed inventory needed to be of constant thickness and width to work on the Multi-Router. The ultimate thickness was to be 3/8″ for the jewellery box sides and high. The jewellery box backside was to be 1/8″ plywood, lined by a velvet pad. The plywood backside fitted right into a 1/8″ noticed kerf, reduce ¼” above the underside of the within wall of the jewellery box.
For economic system’s sake, I selected to resaw three items every out of every piece of two” (8/4) lumber. Earlier than resawing, I reduce the two” lumber into items a bit wider than the ultimate dimension of two 1/4″ (about 2 1/2″). I set the resaw to chop three equal items out of every piece of uncooked lumber. I then used my SuperMax Drum Sander to thickness dimension these items down to three/8″ thick @ 220 grit. These items there then trimmed to ultimate width (each edges) on the table noticed. The ultimate lengths of 12″ (jewellery box fronts and backs) and seven” (sides) have been then reduce on the miter noticed utilizing a Forrest ChopMaster blade that leaves a mirror-like reduce.
On the Multi-Router, one template is used to chop the tails with a dovetail cutter and the opposite template is used to chop the pins with a straight spiral cutter. Setup takes some time and wastes some wooden so it’s advisable to have some low cost wooden obtainable of the identical dimensions and thickness as the ultimate wooden species. Table changes must be made on the in/out axis to get the proper depth of reduce which is then locked in place. An in depth handbook is included with the Multi-Router, so I will not trouble to duplicate that right here. Suffice it to say that the work piece is clamped into a hard and fast place on the table and the left/proper and up/down axes are left to drift free whereas the stylus tracks every template. Trial and error will ultimately offer you an ideal slot in your scrap wooden and, as soon as that has been achieved, you can begin manufacturing on the ultimate work items. Tails may be reduce on each ends of the jewellery box sides and pins on each ends of the back and front items or vice versa, when you want.
Now, it is again to the table noticed to chop the grooves for the plywood ground. You could cease your cuts simply in need of going by the ends of the work items. Mark pencil strains on the table noticed table to indicate you the place to start and the place to cease. The concept is to decrease the work piece into the noticed blade which is about to 1/8″ above the table. When the work piece hits the table, it must be only a bit forward of the entrance cease line. Pull the work piece again to the cease line earlier than pushing it ahead to the rear cease line. Cease the noticed earlier than lifting every work piece off the blade for causes of security.
The completed, dovetailed jewellery box items are pushed along with a little bit of Titebond glue whereas inserting the plywood backside into 1/8″ pre-cut groove. Clamp the box sq. for 45 minutes.
Box tops may be made oversize, sanded to three/8″ @ 220 grit after which trimmed to suit the jewellery packing containers. The tops may be both overlay with hinges or inset with brass pins drilled into the again corners. After getting decided the ultimate dimensions of the highest, it is best to be capable of safely match all the packing containers as a result of accuracy of your Multi-Router-made packing containers. I wish to rout all corners of the box and high with a 1/8″ round-over bit earlier than sanding.
The jewellery packing containers and tops must be sanded to at the very least 220 grit with a random orbital sander and by hand earlier than ending. I selected to spray on a gloss end (catalyzed varnish). You could want one thing else. If you’re going to spray, I might wish to counsel that you simply make your self a lazy Susan ({hardware} components obtainable from Woodworker’s Supply).
Take a number of items of 1/8″ ply the identical measurement because the box bottoms, drill a gap in every nook and insert vivid flat head box nails into the holes. The holes must be drilled the identical measurement or smaller than the shafts of the nails to maintain the nails from slipping again out of the plywood. Place the ply, nail factors up, on the lazy susan and place the box on high of the nail factors. As soon as a box is sprayed, you may choose it up by the plywood and set it apart to dry. When spraying tops, the sharp nail factors won’t depart seen marks within the end router bit set B09TR8Z82F TOOLDO.
The ultimate contact is the velvet lining. You have to poster board, 3M spray-on adhesive, 1/8″ foam padding and velvet. The velvet may be discovered at any dry items retailer and the opposite the opposite objects at an arts and crafts retailer like Ben Franklin or Michael’s. Reduce the velvet to increase 1″ in all instructions past the pre-cut poster board. Reduce out 1″ x 1″ squares from every nook of the velvet (you might have to regulate this to accommodate the froth padding.) Spray glue the padding onto the poster board. The padding must be reduce a bit undersize on the subject of the poster board. Wrap the velvet over the padding and glue the flaps onto the again of the poster board. The poster board must be pre-cut to precisely match the box with the velvet wrapped across the edges. This may occasionally take some experimentation however the ultimate dimension may be repeated time and again.
You may as well discover velvet, compartmentalized jewellery box insert trays on-line. These normally are available customary sizes so if you’re taken with utilizing these as a substitute of the straightforward wrapped backside padding described above, you’ll have to design your packing containers across the dimensions of the velvet trays that you can be utilizing.
In closing, I assume that you may now see that in such a manufacturing run, there’s a huge quantity of set-up time which must be greater than off-set by the effectivity of repeatable accuracy. Alternatively, I may reduce the dovetails for one box by hand however they might not look as tight and clean as these reduce by the machine. In brief, if you’re fascinated with buying a brand new or used Multi-Router, plan on making a variety of jewellery packing containers (or no matter) in every manufacturing run.
Bob Gillespie
Woodworker
© 2010 Robert M. Gillespie, Jr.