USING ROUTER TABLE AS JOINTER: If this is a familiar subject to you, it is because I wrote on it over a year ago. Since then, it has been very popular.    I have a jointer that I love. I keep it fine tuned, and, in return, it gives me straight edges. So, if you have a jointer that serves you well, this won't be of much interest.    That said, though, you can join boards very well, if you set up your router table right.    For the next few months, I will be making use of the SuperStation exclusively, therefore,  I decided to make a Jointer fence for the Incra TS III. The completed fence is in use in the photo at the left.
So far with the installation of the Incra TS III, I have only used the standard fence. As part of the assembly, they supply the alternate fence for router table operations. You can see that it has special brackets that allows it to be mounted quickly using the top T-slot.
	With the router fence add-on clamped tight, I checked for square. As you can see, it is close but not perfect.
Following the Incra instructions, I added a piece of tape above the T-nut.
	Is that right on or what? It took two tries but was well worth it.
I next installed the pattern bearing bit that I will use for jointing. I am using the CMT "Super-Duty Flush Trim Bit." You can see that it has a slight spiral to the carbide edge which is suppose to give smoother cuts. It does.
	The bit is 3/4" diameter, so I install a 1"  throat plate.
I am making my "jointer" fence from some of the "engineered" wood I had left over from building the table. I have ripped it to the same height as the Incra fence and am now marking where the bit will be. I really never need the full height of the 2" bit, so I am marking at about 1 1/2 inches.
	At the table saw, I use the Incra Miter Gauge to hold the fence steady, and I make multiple cuts to shape my bit opening. When done, there will not be much structural strength to the fence, but it will have enough to keep the two sides in alignment.
This is the cut-out. Now it is time to add Formica to the outfeed side.
	I am a great fan of white matte Formica for shop surfaces, so I usually have a scrap that I can use. The counter grade material is about 1/16" thick, and this thickness works very well for jointing.    I mark the shape leaving about 1/2". You can cut it on the table saw, but I find it easier to score with a carbide tipped laminate cutting tool and then breaking on the score line.
I have glued the laminate in place using some 3M spray adhesive. This is much quicker to use for small pieces like this.    After having pressed the laminate in place, I am using the flush trim bit to remove the excess Formica from the fence.
	You can see that I have laminated the white matte Formica only to the outfeed side of the fence. Here, I am using a smoothing file to bevel the leading edge of the outfeed side. That way, the wood being jointed will not catch on this edge.
This part might be the "neatest" feature of all. The Incra micro-adjustment fixture allows you to set the pattern bearing bit flush with the outfeed side. What is "neat" about it is that if gives you as close a fine tune as you could have with any jointer...and it is much easier.    You can see I am using clamps to hold the fence in place. I certainly could use the T-nut capability of the system, but the clamps work well and are very fast to take on and off. They do need to be placed high enough to allow for the stock to pass underneath.
	I move back to the table saw to cut an extra long feather board that I can use in the jointing operation. As I did last week, I am using the Incra template to move the blade exact amounts for each cut.
I have mounted the long feather board on the Incra miter slide and locked the slide in the table saw's miter track. I positioned the feather board so that it applies pressure right opposite the router bit.    Frankly, I like jointing wide boards this way. The router table takes most of the weight of the board and keeps it square to the fence and I only have to concentrate on keeping the board feeding smoothly — and the feather board helps me there.
	Here is the proof. The white oak boards fit with a perfect seem the entire length. These boards, along with others,  will be trimmed of the white portions, jointed and then used for the top to the Stickley writing desk that Maureen and I will be making next week.    By the way, we will be using biscuits and we will be cutting the slots using a slot cutter in the router table — that, too, works very well.
One last thing: I edged the test boards without any dust collection. It needs it, and bad. For routing like this, the dust exits around the cutter and in collects in back of the fence. By adding just the shop vac nozzle as illustrated here, about 90% of this dust was picked up. This is good enough to prevent  the dust from compacting behind the cutter, which is important.    The dust pick up here is temporary. As can be seen in the right view, there is only about a 1/2" between fences and no stops at either end — a very inefficient vacuum chamber. I think I can build a fence that will be a much better dust collector for all bits.

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