AW #131.pdf - Karatunov.net

You use the jig (Fig. A, right) to
make the sockets and the router
table to make the dovetails.
Shims make it easy to
create the tapers.
TnpEn
DrvEtrtstoNS
The dovetails and
sides of each dovetail and
sockets
increase in width at the rate of
l/lGin. every 12 inches. (Both
socket
are tapered, so each side increases
by I/32-in.) Shims milled to I/32-
in.-thickness create perfect uPers
on the l2-in.-wide workpieces
shown here. To maintain the taper
angle on assemblies wider or nar-
rower than 12-in., simply adjust the
shims' thickness.
Mnrce rHE Jtc AND
Rour rHE SocKETS
Use a sled to make the jig's
tapered guide boards (Photo 1).
The sled and both guide board
blanks must be squarely cut. Mark
the taper's l2-in. run on the sled.
Position the sled flush against a
block and a stop. Thpe a shim on
the block, above the mark you've
just made on the sled. The shim's
l/32-in. thickness constitutes the
taper's rise. Butt the guide board
blank against the stop and the
shim and nail it to the sled. Mark
the tapered edge and the direction
of is slope. Then cut the taper
(Photo 2).
Assemble the jig (Photo 3). It
should fit snugly over the cabinet
sides. Make sure the tapered guide
boards angle outward from front to
back. The distance between the
guide boards at the front of the jig
determines the narrow width of the
dovetail socket. For example, to
make a 5,28-in.-wide socket using a
l,/2-in. dovetail bit, the distance
between the faces would measure
the diameter of your router's base
plus 1,/8-in. This socketwould swell
to 11,/1Gin. at the back of a 12-in.-
wide workpiece. Tapered sockets
(and dovetails) of this width are
perfect for the 3,/4in.-thick stock
shown here.
Frc. ,A
ROUTING JIG
This jig consists of two
parallel rails and two guide
boards.The inside edge of each guide
board tapers outward at the rate of 1/32-in' per
12-in. length. On a 12-in.-wide board, this jig creates a
socket that increases in width by 1/16-in' overall'
I Fasten the jig's guide boards to a sled for tapering, using a block, a stop and a
I shim for positioning. Buttthe sled to the stop and the block.Then tape on the
shim. lt's thickness and location determine the taper's slope. Butt the guide board to
the stoo and the shim.Then nail it to the sled'
C)taper the skewed edge of each guide
lboard. Holding the sled against the
rip fence skews the guide board's back
end toward the blade.The taper is very
slight, so indicate the tapered edge and
the taoer's direction.
QAssemble the jig around the cabinet
Jside. Butt everything against a block
to guarantee the jig goes together
squarely and the guide board tapers run
true. Spacers elevate the rails for fastening
the guide boards.
American Woodworker ocToBER zoot 67