a week or so ago I showed you how to make an inexpensive compact router table from a few scraps of wood and a little trim router today I'm going to show you how to use it to make Flawless box or finger joints using stuff you probably already have just a few scraps of wood and a straight router bit with this you'll be able to make sturdy drawers boxes even cabinets proving that fine craftsmanship doesn't have to cost a lot of money I wanted to keep this simple and my initial plan was to just make a jig that attached to the base of an inverted handheld router then I started thinking about how you would hold this securely as you worked on the base so I built a box around it and before I knew it I had a fully functional compact router table that could do a lot more than just cut finger joints in the last video we built this router table there are no plans to buy all the details are right there in the video I'm going to place a link to it below so you can go back and watch it because the key to cutting finger joints is in the sliding fence that I designed designed for this table if you are wondering why I designed the fence the way I did you're about to find out in this video I'll take this fence I'll add a couple more pieces and I'll Transform it into a finger joint jig that will not only work with the compact router table but you can also use it on a full-size router table or whatever you happen to have in your shop I'll show you how to do both so no matter who you are this video will really up your woodworking game now let's talk rotor bits I don't want you to have to buy anything special I'm going to use a qu in spiral bit but a simple straight bit will work just fine and it doesn't have to be a quar inch 3/8 or even a/ inch will work you'll just get chunkier looking fingers and of course this will work with any metric equivalent now I'm going to need about 60 seconds to grab some supplies then I'll be right back but in the meantime check this out when I was a kid a new set of durels for my toys was like gold I would have lost my mind if I had one of these back in the'80s this is the Duracell m150 portable charging Hub and it is one big old battery 150 watts enough to charge a cell phone half a dozen times but it is so much more than just a battery sitting on a table it's a charging Hub with outlets for multiple devices plus the top is a wireless charging pad for your cell phone but unlike typical charging hubs the m150 can be lifted off its stock and the power can go with you in the car on a plane on vacation anywhere you need extra juice to run your devices it holds your phone for viewing while you charge giving you massive battery life while you watch a movie or video conference it weighs less than 2 lb there's a convenient light ring with multiple brightness settings and the onboard cord storage keeps everything you need right in one place if you need more power from a reliable source check out the Duracell m1150 at the link below okay I've got a piece of plywood that's a couple inches longer and slightly taller than my rotor table fence I clamp it in place and with my bit raised a little less than a/4 inch high I slide the fence forward to cut a curf all the way through the panel the tape is just there to keep the veneer plywood from splintering now I've carefully cut a strip of hardwood that will fit well in that curve not too tight that I have to bang it in just a good friction fit the strip is long enough that I can cut it into a few 3 or 4 in long pieces you really only need two but it's a good idea to have some exas in case you screw up one of these gets glued in the curve as an indexing pin make sure it's perpendicular to the face of your panel once it's dry return the panel to the front of the fence and use another piece of your wood as a spacer between your router bit and your indexing pin rotate the router bit in your fingers to make sure that the spacer is against the widest part of its cutting wings now clamp the panel in this position and drive two or three screws from the back of the fence to secure the panel permanently you now have a finger joint jig here's how to use it adjust the bit height slightly above the thickness of the work pieces you wish to join together place the edge of your first piece against the indexing pin and make a cut all the way through it and your fence panel now rotate that work piece 180° and slip it over the indexing pin then place the edge of the piece you wish to join with your first workpiece right beside it making another cut in this position rotate the first workpiece back so it's in its original position and slip it over the indexing pin again and place the second work piece in front of it up against the indexing pin as you see here and make another forward cut going through both pieces now you can advance forward cutting both mating work pieces at the same time after each cut simply move the indexing pin to the newest curve be sure to blow away any sawdust that might build up along the fence that could keep the work pieces from fully seating on the rotter T table top each cut indexes the position for the next one until you have fingers all the way across the entire width of both mating work pieces if you built your jig carefully the two sets of fingers should fit together perfectly if they don't fit the problem is likely that you weren't careful enough when you set the distance between your router bit and your indexing pin if you have an extra pin or two just grab another scrap of plywood and try again I've made several of these and they all worked on the first try so you shouldn't have much problem and don't forget a little glue and some clamps often is all it takes to close up any fine gaps in your joint now I did promise that I'd show you how to do the same thing with a regular or full-size rotter table for those who don't want to build the compact version so here's how you do that I've cut a piece of plywood that fits between the runners of my fence perfectly obviously you do have to build the fence if not the whole router table and again you'll find those instructions in that last video I've attached a strip of wood to one end to serve as a cleat that goes against the front edge of my router table the length of the panel then extends about 9 in past the router bit and you can see that I also made a cutout from that end to allow the bit to pass through the panel clamp the panel to your router table and then follow the same steps I just showed you to make your finger joint attachment including cutting the slot for the indexing pin and then using a spacer between it and the bit and so on this vers of The Jig works in the same way as the first the only trick is getting it realigned on the rotor bit the next time you want to use it I successfully did it by ey but it wouldn't hurt to just put a scratch on the front edge of your router table so you can get it right back in the exact same position in the future and that
