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7/30/2019 Router Table Dovetail Key Jig
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/router-table-dovetail-key-jig 1/6
RouteR table
dovetail key jig
© 2011 August Home Publishing Co.
7/30/2019 Router Table Dovetail Key Jig
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/router-table-dovetail-key-jig 2/6
itering the corners o
a project is a good way
to give it a nice, clean look. But a
glued up mitered joint isn’t all that
strong. A great way to provide extra
REAR
BED
CL
1
!/4
BACKER
T-TRACK
#6 x #/8" Fh
WOODSCREW
FRONT
BED
#/8
2%/8
!/8
REAR BED(5%/8" x 16" - #/4" Ply.)
T-TRACK(16" LONG)
B
A
FRONT BED(5%/8" x 16" - #/4" Ply.)
BACKER(2" x 5#/4" -!/4" Hdbd.)
ABEVEL BOTTOM
OF BACKERAT 45°
!/2" RAD.
1 WoodsmithShop.com © 2011 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
Feature Project
routertableDovetailK ey jigDovetail keys are a great way to strengthen a miter joint. This jig takes
the hassle out of cutting the slots for the keys.
M
a.
b.
1
strength, along with good looks, is
to add dovetail-shaped hardwood
keys across the corners.
The challenge comes in accu-
rately positioning and cutting the
slots or the dovetail keys. The
solution is the jig you see above. It
securely holds the project at the cor-
rect angle while you make the cuts
on the router table.
7/30/2019 Router Table Dovetail Key Jig
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The Jig. The jig is just a pair o
angled bed assemblies that support
both sides o the project. They’re
attached to a hardboard base. A run-
ner attached to the base guides the
jig in the miter slot o your router
table. Note: I your table doesn’t
have a slot, you can leave the run-
ner o and guide the jig using your router table ence.
A piece o T-track that rests in a
groove in the ront bed is used to lock
in a pair o stops that keep the work-
piece in position during the cut. In
the rear bed, I cut a dovetail-shaped
dado to accept a replaceable backer
that helps prevent tearout (Figure
1a). You can read more about this in
the Shop Short Cut on page 5.
Finally, I rounded the top outside
corners and shaped the inside edge
o each bed, as in Figures 1 and 1b.Jig Assembly. Once the bed sup-
ports are completed, you can glue
and screw them to the beds using
braces, as illustrated in Figure 2.
Like the beds, the outside corners
o the supports are rounded.
The two beds are attached to the
base to create a cradle assembly.
I sized the base so that when the
beds were glued in place, it created
a small dust relie (Figure 2b).
Beore moving on and adding
the runner, there’s one thing to do
HG
F
RUNNER(#/4" x 12")
NOTE: STOP LEGS ARE#/4" PLYWOOD. RUNNER IS
#/8"-THICK HARDWOOD
#6 x 1" FhWOODSCREW
SHORT STOP LEG(2" x 4!/2" - #/4" Ply.)
LONG STOP LEG(2" x 5!/4" - #/4" Ply.)
!/4"-20 x 1!/4"FLANGE BOLT,WASHER, AND
THRU KNOB END VIEW
!/4"-20 THRU
KNOB
W/WASHER
!/4"-20 x 1!/4"FLANGE BOLT
RUNNER
#6 x 1" Fh
WOODSCREW
#8 x 1!/2" Fh
WOODSCREW
CL
NOTE: LOCATE
RUNNER SO SLOT
IS CENTERED OVER
ROUTER BIT
RUNNER
FRONT VIEW
ROUTER TABLE
MITER TRACK
RUNNER
#8 x 1!/4" Fh
WOODSCREW
END VIEW
1!/4
!/8
BRACE
FRONT
BED
BED SUPPORT BASE
REAR
BED
NOTE: BED SUPPORT AND BRACES ARE #/4"
PLYWOOD. BASE IS !/4"HARDBOARD#8 x 1!/4" Fh
WOODSCREW
C
D
E
BED SUPPORT (3!!/16" x 16")
!/2" RAD.
2
BASE(9!/4" x 16")
BRACE(2!/2" x 2!/2")
CUT CENTEREDSLOT AFTERASSEMBLY (DETAIL ‘a’)
CL
FRONT
BED
FRONT VIEW
1BED
SUPPORT
BASE
#/4
2 WoodsmithShop.com © 2011 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserve
a.2
b
a.
b.
3
at the table saw. And that’s to cut a
centered slot in the jig to provide
clearance or the dovetail bit, as you
see in Figure 2a.
RunneR & sTops. With the slot cut or
the bit, you’re ready to add the run-
ner that guides the jig (Figure 3).
It’s just a strip o hardwood cut to t
the miter slot o your router table.
You’ll need to locate the runner to
center the slot over the bit and install
it square to the ront edge (Figures
3 and 3b). Finally, I added the stops.
Each is simply two small pieces
o plywood glued and screwed
together at a right angle. They’re
locked in place using a fange bolt,
washer, and knob, as in Figure 3a.
7/30/2019 Router Table Dovetail Key Jig
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Cut Slots. The jig positions the proj-
ect securely to cut a dovetail-shaped
slot for a key.
DOVETAIL
BIT
ADJUST DEPTH
OF CUT TO MATCH
LAYOUT LINE
END VIEW
Once you have the jig completed,
cutting the slots or the keys, like
the ones you see in the photo at
right, is a snap. It’s a simple step-by-
step task that only takes a ew min-
utes. To complete the joint, you’llmake the dovetail-shaped keys and
glue them in place. And nally, trim
and sand them fush.
Routing the slots As I mentioned earlier, the jig makes
routing the slots or the keys easy.
The rst step in doing this is setting
the depth o cut.
seTTing The DepTh. I’ve ound that the
easiest way to do this is to install the
dovetail bit and position the jig over
it. In Figure 1 you can see a layout line drawn across one corner o the
project. This line represents the
MARK
CENTERLINE
ON BACKER
FOR
REFERENCE
BACKER
STOP
FIRST: ALIGN
LAYOUT LINE ON
WORKPIECE WITH
CENTERLINE ON
BACKERSECOND:LOCK STOPS
AGAINST
WORKPIECE
THIRD:ROUT
SLOT
LAYOUT
LINE
FLIP WORKPIECE TO
ROUT SYMMETRICAL
SLOT
CENTERLINE
OF SLOT
ALIGNS WITH
LAYOUT LINE
FLIPPING WORKPIECE
ENSURES SLOT
SYMMETRY
u J
4
3
21
a.a.
desired depth o the key slot and pro-
vides an easy reerence or adjusting
the height o the bit to match.
posiTioning The pRoJecT. That takes
care o the depth o cut, so you can
move on to the next step — position-ing the project in the jig. To do this,
you need to know exactly where the
bit will cut. As illustrated in Figure 2,
I marked a layout line along the top
edge o the backer to indicate the
centerline o the bit.
Now that you know where the
centerline is, you’re ready to position
the project using the stops. They’ll
keep it rom shiting side to side. To
do this, make additional layout lines
on the sides o the project.
Each layout line indicates thecenter o a slot, and the number and
spacing o the lines will depend on
the project. The main goal is to mark
the layout lines on one side so they extend above the top edge o the jig
(Figure 3). This makes it easy to
position the project to align with the
centerline on the backer. Then, sim-
ply slide the stops against the sides
o the project to lock it in place.
RouTing A sloT. At this point, creat-
ing a slot is just a matter o turning
on the router and making a single
pass. To cut a slot on the other three
corners, just rotate the project and
make an identical pass.
I your slot layout is symmetrical
along the corner o the project, you
won’t always need to reposition the
stops to cut a slot. As you can see in
the example in Figure 4, fipping the
project takes care o locating the slot
identically or the next our passes.
I you have more slots to cut in a di-
erent location, simply readjust the
stops and repeat the process.
CReating the keys
Cutting the slots is just hal the job. The nal task is to add the dovetail-
shaped keys. The nice thing is that
you’ll stay right at the router table
and use the same bit.
sAfeTy fiRsT. Because the keys are
small, it’s best to start with a long,
extra-wide blank. This way, you can
work saely and more accurately.
The goal is to rout dovetails along
the edges o the blank that t snug
in the slots, as in Figure 5.
7/30/2019 Router Table Dovetail Key Jig
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sizing The Key. To start, adjust
the height o the bit to cut slightly
deeper than the depth o the slot.
Then, sneak up on the size o the
key by making a series o passes.
The extra width o the blank allows
you to rout a key along both edges
o the blank. Just be sure to check
the t requently, as in Figure 5b.Rip The Key sTRips. When you have a
good t, you’re ready to rip the keys
rom the edges o the blank (Figure
6). I positioned my rip ence to cut
the strip ree right along the shoul-
der line, as you see in Figure 6a.
glue in The Keys. Ater cutting indi-
vidual keys ree rom the strips, dou-
ble check the t o each key beore
you glue any o them in place. You
may nd you have to sand one side
o each key lightly to get a perect
t. To avoid installing a key in the wrong slot, I ound it easiest to t
and glue each key in one at a time,
as shown in Figure 7.
finAl DeTAils. Give the glue time
to dry, and then use a hand saw to
remove most o the waste rom each
key. Just make sure not to mar the
ROUT
KEYS ON BOTH
EDGES OF BLANK
KEY BLANK
PUSH
BLOCK
RIP STRIPS
FROM BOTH
EDGES OF BLANK
RIP
FENCE
KEY
NOTE: CUT INDIVIDUALKEYS TO SIZE, APPLY
GLUE TO SLOT AND KEY,THEN PUSH KEY IN PLACE
USE FINE-TOOTH
SAW TO TRIM
AWAY MOST
OF WASTE
WASTE
SAND KEYS
FLUSH WITH
SIDES
HARDWOOD
SANDING BLOCK
KEY
BLANK
TEST
FIT
KEY INSLOT
KEY
BLANK SIZE
KEY
SLIGHTLY
DEEPER
THAN
SLOT
SHOULDER
KEY
BLANK
Check the Fit & Glue. Check the fit
of the keys as you make them, and
then glue them in place.
Trim & Sand Flush. Once the glue
dries, trim off the waste and sand the
keys flush.
6
7 8 9
a.
b.5
a.
sides o the project. I like to use a fush-cut saw, like the one shown in
Figure 8, because it’s the simplest
way to avoid marring the sides as
you make the cut.
All that’s let is sanding any remain-
ing waste fush with the sides. To
ensure a smooth, fat surace, I like
to sand with the grain and back my sandpaper with a hardwood block,
as in Figure 9.
Dovetail keys are a great way to
strengthen a mitered joint and give
a project an appealing decorative
touch. The jig makes the whole pro-
cess quick and easy.
7/30/2019 Router Table Dovetail Key Jig
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tiPs From our shoP
shoP shortcut
INSERT
RIP
FENCE
NOTE: TILT BLADE TO MATCH
ANGLE OF DOVETAIL BIT
2
NOTE: MAKE SEVERAL
BACKERS FOR
DIFFERENT BIT SIZES
REAR
BEDBACKER IS
CENTERED
OVER BED
BACKER
REDUCES
TEAROUT
SLOT FOR
DOVETAIL BIT
2
DOVETAIL BIT
REAR BED
RECESS
MATCH
THICKNESS
OF BACKER
When using the router table dovetail
key jig to rout slots, it’s important to
support the back o the workpiece as
the bit exits. This way, you’ll reduce
tearout and leave a nice, clean edge
to highlight the dovetail keys.
The dovetail key jig incorporates
a replaceable hardboard backer just
or this purpose. It slips into a dove-
tailed recess, as you can see in the
drawing at right.
I cut the recess at the router tableusing a dovetail bit. The depth o cut
should equal the thickness o the
hardboard you’ll use or the backer
(detail ‘a’). Ater routing the two
sides o the recess, clean out the
waste with multiple passes.
Making the insert is an easy task
at the table saw. I made several to
have on hand by ripping long stock
with the blade tilted (detail ‘b’).
Dv k Bcr
b.a.