When I’m working either on site or in the shop, I often need to profile a small piece of material quickly using my router with a bearing-guided bit in an inverted position. Setting up my router table is too time-consuming for a little job such as this, so instead I use a handy little fixture that I can set up in seconds. I’ve been using this method safely for years.
As shown in the drawing, I make the fixture out of a scrap piece of 1-in. thick plywood. The length and width of the scrap will depend on the kind of router I intend to use. For my 1.5-hp Porter-Cable router, I need a piece about 6 in. by 12 in.
With my compass placed on the scrap’s lengthwise centerline, about a third from one of the ends, I draw a circle the same diameter as the router’s motor barrel. Then I rip the plywood into equal halves, using a thin-kerf blade. To complete the fixture, I cut out each semicircle with my bandsaw.
To use the rig, I span a bar clamp around the fixture, capturing the router between the two halves. Then I use a pair of big C-clamps to affix the whole affair to my workbench top. I find this fixture so handy that I carry one with each of my routers in their carrying cases.
Alan Ferguson, Qualicum Beach, None
