Free Excerpt: ‘The Ultimate Router Guide: Jigs, Joinery, Projects & More’

I love routers. In fact, as I write this I can hear the high-pitched whine of a 2-hp router bearing into the edge of a piece of wood begging to be formed. OK, I love most things about routers. They are a little noisy, and they do make dust – but I see those as necessary by-products of an incredibly versatile workhorse that will always have a home in my shop.

From edge treatments, to joinery, to inlay, to cleaning up rough cuts and in some cases using them as a jointer or planer, the router can do almost everything in the shop. They come in a wonderful array of styles and sizes, and I honestly feel that a shop with less than three routers is woefully handicapped.

This new book, “The Ultimate Router Guide,” is a collection of the best information on routers ever published in Popular Woodworking Magazine. Starting with a terrific primer on all things router by Nick Engler, you’ll learn how to choose the right router for each specific job, then learn all about bits, maintenance, applications and, well … everything you need to know.

Then we’ve collected some great articles on router joinery, with pros, cons and variations that will teach and also make you think about other ways to put the router to work in your shop.

To follow that section we have router jigs to make using routers easier … and expand the useful horizons of these wonderful machines. And lest we forget what may be the best of all router attachments, we’ve included a section on using routers in tables. Even more variation!

To round things out we’ve added a few woodworking projects that put the router to work in all applications.

Whether it’s a small trimmer that fits snuggly in the palm of one hand (offering terrific control) or a 3-hp monster mounted in a router table creating cope-and-stick joinery for an entry door, routers are amazing tools!

For a free PDF excerpt, “Edge & Surface Treatments,” click on the link just below:
EdgeandSurface

And click here to order your copy of “The Ultimate Router Guide.”

— David Thiel

p.s. Here’s the Table of Contents:

1 A Router Primer
Fixed-base Routers
Plunge Routers
The Router Table
Router Joinery
Use Your Router to Build Boxes & Drawers
Edge & Surface Treatments
Advanced Techniques for the Router

2 Router Joinery
Mitered Half-lap Joinery
Make Accurate Half-lap Joints
Better Dados for Casework
Mortises by Router
Router-made Mortise & Tenons
Template Mortising
Half-blind Dovetails
Sliding Dovetails
Cope & Stick Joinery
Lock Joint Joinery
Complementary Curves
Quarter Columns

3 Router Jigs
Dirt-Simple Router Jigs
Magic Trammel Jig
Precision Trimming Jig
Router Dado & Rabbet Jig
Taming the Top-heavy Router
The Joint Maker

4 Router Tables
$50 Router Table
Benchtop Router Table Stand
No-nonsense Router Table
One-weekend Router Table
Tilting Router Stand

5 Router Projects
Arts & Crafts Mirror
Hannah’s Inlaid Chest
Line & Berry Chest of Drawers
Voysey Mantel Clock