Router-Scribed Shingles
A foolproof method for cutting outside corners on a shingled wall.
I’ve seen a number of tips for cutting outside corners on shingled walls, but none is as simple or foolproof as the method shown in the drawing. As illustrated, I use a bearing-guided flush-trimming bit in a small router to trim the overlapping shingle as the bearing follows the profile of the guide shingle.
— Will Hesch; Atascadero, CA. Edited by Charles Miller.
From Fine Homebuilding #119
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What a neat idea for my Colt... Thanks.
Careful with this one! The bearing will leave a track in the adjacent shingle, white or red cedar is soft. Also, it's tricky to not score the face of the adjacent shingle with the cutters. Even if the depth of the bit is set for the thickest portion of the shingle, it is hard to not bite in as you cut through the thinner portion. I would suggest saving this tip for the 2nd story shingling.
Mark_Pollard makes a good point about damaging the shingles even with a bottom bearing bit. One way I've reduced the risk is to hold a thin piece of metal over the shingle the bearing will run on. That prevents cutting into the face of the shingle (especially prefinished). Unfortunately there's no way to prevent grain runout other than cutting very slow