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It is
always nice to receive notes from woodworkers. Last week, one reader asked why I didn't
use the Locking Miter Bit for making legs. I said that I simply hadn't gotten that far
yet. But now I have and here it is.
It isn't easy, but it is possible. But why would you want to make a leg this
way rather than from a solid piece of wood? Here is why: a typical leg cut from thick
stock is going to have two sides with edge grain and two with face grain. In some woods,
that can look fine but in other species, it isn't what you want. That orientation can also
be weak. This picture shows a walnut leg cut from 1 1/2" stock.
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Using the locking miter bit to make this
leg is not an original idea at all. But I did learn some things, which I will show
you here.
First, the stock must be jointed flat and cut to the exact measurements. If
the legs aren't perfect going in, the joint is not going to be perfect.
For this test run, I am using some 3/4" mahogany and I have jointed one
side of each of the 4 boards.
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I then cut them to
exactly 1 1/2" width. You might be tempted to make this width a bit proud and then
run the 2nd side through the jointer, but that isn't necessary. The ripped edge will be
removed in the running of the locking miter bit shape, and my ripping blade gives me a
very smooth cut.
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I have already set the router table
up with the high fence and carefully adjusted the bit height and the fence
depth—exactly as I detailed on the earlier Locking Miter bit pages.
(Click here to go there now. Use your browser's "BACK"
button to return here.)
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I learned one thing
in an earlier sample: route each of the four pieces the same, i.e. run one edge flat on
the table and the other edge flat against the fence. This way, any minor errors will
cancel each other out.
The picture at the left is the earlier test where is routed two opposing
sides running both edges flat against the table, and the other two opposing sides flat
against the fence for both edges. You can see that a minor fence or router bit height
error gets amplified and the leg is not exactly square.
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It doesn't matter if you run the leg
pieces flat against the table first. I did it that way purely arbitrarily.
I set up feather boards to press the piece down on the table both before and
after the bit. These are narrow pieces and I do not want to have to get my hands closer
than I have to. They will also assure a smoother cut.
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I use two rubber soled push blocks to
guide the stock through the cutters.
Remember to lower the speed of the router to match the width of your bit. In
my case, I set the speed at 14,000 rpm.
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Running the 4 pieces took just a few minutes. There
was some chip out at the very end, but we will discuss that in a minute.
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The second edge of each piece will be routed flat against the
fence. While at the beginning, there is enough flat surface for the piece to be steady, at
the end of the cut, the stock is only resting on the cut apex and can easily swivel away
from vertical.
Using a feather board to hold the piece against the fence, is not the answer.
In fact, it will put more pressure on the stock and accelerate the swivel effect.
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My answer to the problem is two part:
1) I made a simple push-stick that would fit the entire length of the stock and would bear
pressure on the vertical mid-point. The end of the push-stick has a cut-out to grab the
end of the stock...giving me better feed control.
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The second part of the solution is to
cut the stock 2" longer than will be needed. I found that if I were very careful at
the end of each pass, I could minimize the amount of movement, and therefore reduce
snipe...but there is no guarantee, so allowing the extra inches makes sense to me.
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