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I have a need to inlet a piece of hardware into an existing wood piece, fairly precisely. The hardware is essentially an inset mounting rail, sorta like t-track, and the wood piece is somewhat irregularly shaped (rounded off on the sides, flat on the bottom) but I have some ideas about how to clamp a jig to it.
What I'm struggling a little with is how to make a template for routing the recess for the hardware. I seem to recall there being a method that involved using the original hardware as sort of a template to cut another piece, then using that second template with a calculated offset to cut the final recess in the target piece. Unfortunately, all my old WW books are still in storage, and I'm coming up empty searching in forums and on YT.
Am I remembering the general process correctly? Can anyone here give me a lead towards a more detailed explanation and/or tutorial?
Thanks,
Monte
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Different ways to approach this, but here's my .02
Assuming the hardware is rectangular say 6" long x 1" wide, just make a plywood template with a slot 6 1/8" long x 1 1/8" wide. Use a 5/8" collet and 1/2" bit, make a couple passes back and forth and you end up with a 6" x 1" slot.
I swear by double sided tape when applying templates and use it all the time. I'd just tape the template to your work.
To make your template use two longer pieces along the sides and then rip a couple pieces 1 1/8" wide and glue in between the side pieces, space them 6 1/8" apart and you've got a perfectly sized template.
~Kris
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(12-18-2019, 04:02 PM)KLaz Wrote: Different ways to approach this, but here's my .02
Assuming the hardware is rectangular say 6" long x 1" wide, just make a plywood template with a slot 6 1/8" long x 1 1/8" wide. Use a 5/8" collet and 1/2" bit, make a couple passes back and forth and you end up with a 6" x 1" slot.
I swear by double sided tape when applying templates and use it all the time. I'd just tape the template to your work.
To make your template use two longer pieces along the sides and then rip a couple pieces 1 1/8" wide and glue in between the side pieces, space them 6 1/8" apart and you've got a perfectly sized template.
~Kris
I use piloted template router bits. Using them allows you to cut your template exactly the same size as the piece to be fit into the recess. So if the template fits the piece, the piece will fit the mortise it makes, exactly. 1/4" MDF makes great template material.
John
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The hardware is rectangular... sort of. Long and narrow, and probably tall/deep enough I could almost run a piloted bit off of it... but with rounded ends that probably aren't exactly the radius of any bits that I have. Which was why I was thinking of using the bushings to make a template off the actual piece, then use other bushings w/ an offset to get back to the original size, but with the correct width/length/radius of the original part.
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Monte, I am trying to make a template for a Soss type hinge, and I need to use a bushing, not a piloted bit. I vaguely remember what you describe, but what I did was a little more complex. I first put the bushing in the router base, inserted the bit, then made a template with a slot of the size of the hardware, then routed a test piece. I then used a caliper to measure the size of the cutout on the routed piece, and that told me the amount of the offset - which meant I had to increase the size of the template by half that amount. Unfortunately, it is a bit of trial and error to use a chisel to make the template larger, then rout out another test piece, measure, and repeat .
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I needed to do something like this to inlet a router plate into a repurposed counter top/router table. I used a 1/2" X 1/2" top bearing pattern bit and some strips of wood about 3" wide (to provide plenty of support for the router base). two pieces the width of the plate + 6" and two pieces exactly the length of the router plate. I put the plate where I wanted it and fastened the 4 pieces of wood tight against the plate with good double sided tape. As good fortune would have it the plate had a 1/4" radius on the corners so the bit created a nicely matching radius on the corners. I routed to the correct depth then cut the center out with a jig saw. I find top bearing bits handy for this sort of thing. The trick can be that the cutter of the bit is not too long so the template material doesn't have to be too thick for the bearing to ride securely on the template.
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(12-19-2019, 08:56 AM)KWaugh Wrote: I think you are looking for a inlay router bit kit.
That's getting closer to what I have in mind... just seems like I'd seen a more generalized technique that could be applied (with some math) to more than a specialized matched set of bit+bushings.
Might have to dig out the boxes of old WWing books this weekend and see what I can find.
The approach of scribing a template from the original piece, and then cutting/filing to the lines to make the template match the hardware exactly probably would work just fine. I just have low confidence in my ability to perfectly replicate that shape, even if it isn't that complex to begin with. I'd rather find a way to mechanically run off the original rather than hand-fit it, if possible.
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(12-19-2019, 08:15 PM)nuk Wrote: I'd rather find a way to mechanically run off the original rather than hand-fit it, if possible.
In general, unless doing many, I've found this is actually more work.
mike
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12-20-2019, 04:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-20-2019, 04:19 PM by mound.)
(12-18-2019, 03:00 PM)nuk Wrote: I have a need to inlet a piece of hardware into an existing wood piece, fairly precisely. The hardware is essentially an inset mounting rail, sorta like t-track, and the wood piece is somewhat irregularly shaped (rounded off on the sides, flat on the bottom) but I have some ideas about how to clamp a jig to it.
What I'm struggling a little with is how to make a template for routing the recess for the hardware. I seem to recall there being a method that involved using the original hardware as sort of a template to cut another piece, then using that second template with a calculated offset to cut the final recess in the target piece. Unfortunately, all my old WW books are still in storage, and I'm coming up empty searching in forums and on YT.
Am I remembering the general process correctly? Can anyone here give me a lead towards a more detailed explanation and/or tutorial?
Thanks,
Monte
I once needed to make a router template for an odd shaped piece.
I coated it in paste wax, set it centered in a shallow rectangular tray that was a few inches bigger than the part on each side and then poured epoxy into the tray filling it about 1/2" up the height of the part.
Once hardened, I popped out the piece, and was left with essentially a 1/2" thick piece of plastic with an opening shaped exactly like my part. That opening became the bearing surface for my pattern routing bit. Perfect template!
I hope that made sense, I can't find a picture.
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