Jig Makes it Safe to Rout Small Pieces
My table-mounted router seemed ideal for shaping 3⁄4 " stock into knobs for a box I was building, but the small blanks—only 11⁄2 " square—made the job hazardous to my hands. So I built the jig, shown at right, to hold onto the blanks. I cut Baltic birch plywood scraps to the dimensions shown for the jig's base and sliding L-shape guide.
To make the jig adjustable, I cut two slots in the guide and attached it to the base with knobs screwed into threaded inserts in the base.
A toggle clamp holds the workpiece firmly against the base and the guide. I routed the front edge of the base, as shown, to clear the bit. Then, I set up the appropriate bit and a zero-clearance fence on the router table to machine the knobs.
—Bob Lasley, Broken Arrow, Okla.