Raised panels on Horizontal Router Mortiser

[jteneyck]

I used to say that I think you could make raised panels on my horizontal router mortiser. I can change that to you can make raised panels on it, because today I did it.

The bit I used was a Whiteside vertical panel raising bit.



I used a variable speed router with dust pick up. Let me tell you, you definitely want dust collection doing this! It didn't capture all the dust, but it made it tolerable.



I modified the mortiser by adding two pieces of 3/4" plywood to the top of the X-Table so I could bury the bit in it with no permanent damage.



I locked the X-Table stops against it, and put a clamp behind the Y-Table across one of the risers. That prevented both tables from moving. To raise the panels I just slide them over the bit, from left to right, with the work piece against the backrest. I added a small piece of 1/4" wood to the backrest on the left side of the router mounting plate so the work piece had a longer fence to ride against. You can see it in the photo above. Here's a picture of the largest panel ready to push across the bit. It's so long that I added some outboard support so it would be stable on the mortiser table.



I took shallow cuts, about 1/16" per pass.



After several passes they were done; not a fast process, but they came out great.





With that done, I relieved the back side of the panels to create a 1/4" tongue. Then I test fit the two smaller ones in their frames.





And there you have it.

John

[Ken Vick]

John, most people would mount the bit in a router table and run the panel past the bit with the panel on edge (thus the "vertical" in the bit's name). Having done that and similar operations a few times over the years, that is a method fraught with possibilities for disaster. Your method is so much safer and undoubtedly gives a better result because of the stability of the panel, sliding on its side rather than its edge past the cutter. Nice work. Ken

[jteneyck]

Hi Ken. I definitely would not have wanted to do the ends of that nearly 50" long panel vertically on the router table, even with a TALL fence and feather board. And you're right, the finish on the raised sections was terrific; very smooth, nice crisp corners, and no tear out. It only took a few swipes with 150 grit to remove any scallops left by the bit.

I normally use my shaper for raising panels, but I didn't have a cutter the correct size so I had to buy something. So, that being the case, I decided it was a good opportunity to try doing it on the mortiser. It turned out to be so easy that I may use it any time I have to buy new tooling. Router bits are usually cheaper (this one cost $65) than shaper cutters and in all honesty the finish was just as good. I'm sure the router bit won't do as many linear feet before it gets dull, but probably will do more than I'm likely to ever need it to do. If not, I can get it sharpened for $4 at Dynamic Saw.

I keep saying I'm going to sell my shaper as I almost never use it. Proving that I can easily make raised panels on the mortiser gives me one less excuse to keep it.

John

[Richard D.]

You could probably waste a lot of material on the tablesaw before taking it to your router. It would save time and make less dust.

[jteneyck]

Thought I'd show you all the rest of the story. After the door and drawer fronts were glued up I completed routing the edge profile with the Roman Ogee bit, but I used the horizontal router mortiser again because the parts could be handled flat, same as with the raised panels. It would have been impossible to do the ends of the door on the router table. I would have to have made some sort of hand held router jig to do it any other way with this bit.

Here's what the bit looks like:



As you might be able to see, I'm only using a portion of the bit's profile. I processed the parts in the same way I made the raised panels, sliding them from left to right.



And here are the finished parts.



The edge detail was very smooth and crisp, just like with the raised panels.





There are lots of uses for the horizontal router mortiser besides it's most obvious application. It's becoming one of the most useful and often used machines in my shop.

John

[Hoosier25]

Looks great.
Never so quoted price for your Kit.

Roger

[bennybmn]

I feel like I've asked you this before, but do you have a preference or opinion between burying the bit in the table vs passing the work between the bit and the table? I feel like I've seen it done both ways. My intuition is to bury the bit, much like a normal router table and fence.

[jteneyck]

I think burying the bit in the table is safer. The workpiece can't get trapped nor ruined if it lifts up, as it would if the bit was above. It also allows the guard to be positioned lower, better protecting you. You have to make the extra sacrificial table in order to bury the bit, but that doesn't take long and you only have to do it once. I used a toilet bolt to hold it to the mortiser table in one of its slots and recessed the nut in the sacrificial table.

John

[Dara]

I really need to get around to building one of those...maybe my next project

[AztecKing]

John,

What's the size of the base on your setup? I'm thinking from all I've seen so far I need your setup vs. a regular router table. It seems that with your setup I can do anything a regular router table can do and be something I can store on a shelf when I'm not using it.

Jeff