Joinery Machines in the Shop

Joinery machines are much more than one-trick ponies. Here’s an intro, and why you should consider adding one in your shop.

There are several machines that come up as “shop necessities”. Table saws, jointers, planers, and band saws are the most common ones. In my opinion, there’s a new class of machine that needs to be talked about more than it is, and that is joinery machines. These are machines that are designed to help you cut joinery in your shop, generally powered by a router.

In this article, I’m going to focus on two different machines—the PantoRouter (PantoRouter) and the Multi-Router (Woodpeckers). One could argue that the Shaper Origin is a similar tool, and I wouldn’t disagree. However, I believe that’s in a separate class, and am not going to look at that here. I also want to point out that I’m not directly comparing pros and cons of each of these machines. Instead, I want to give you the broad-strokes of what they can do, and where each one excels. It’s worth keeping in mind that they both are within the same price range.

Why Have a Joinery Machine?

The idea behind a dedicated joinery machine is that they are a machine that you can rely on to produce repeatable joinery cuts day-in and day-out.  Sure, you can do similar tasks on other machines, but the idea is that this machine is set up just to do joinery. Let’s take your table saw for example. Instead of switching your blade out for a dado stack, you can leave it set up for accurate cuts. Likewise with your router table—it’s great for cutting profiles and routing grooves. However, tearing that down to set up box joints is probably not the best use of time.

Ultimately, it comes down to being able to get super precise results with the least amount of time. Now, on that note, I want to point out something. Many people look at a PantoRouter or a Multi-Router and say “great, it makes awesome mortise and tenons… so what?” Yes, it does. However, joinery machines do so much more than that. Both of these machines can do dovetails, box joints, dowel joints, slot mortises, and more. I think one of the worst things that a woodworker can do is buy a joinery machine and just think of it as a mortise and tenon tool. It’s so much more.

Multi-Router

Believe it or not, the first time I saw a Multi-Router and thought that I wanted one, I was probably about 14 years old, watching David J. Mark’s TV show, Woodworks. David had one of the original Multi-Routers, made by JDS. Fast forward a couple of decades, and Woodpeckers has purchased the rights to once again produce and sell the Multi-Router.

The Multi-Router works by combining three levers—one for each axis. The Z-axis moves the router up and down. The X and Y axis handles move the workpiece and table separate of the Z-axis (router). Having three levers sounds counter-intuitive (after all, I only have 2 hands, I don’t know about you), but it’s honestly not that big of a deal. The Multi-Router movements are all on linear bearings, and are super smooth. The entire machine has a stand available, and is made out of cast aluminum and is hefty. As with all Woodpeckers products, it’s made in the USA.

PantoRouter

I first introduced the PantoRouter a few years back in an “Editor’s Choice Tools” article. It was one of those tools that I wanted to hate, but I couldn’t help myself but to be enchanted by it. The PantoRouter was first designed by YouTuber Matthias Wandel and made out of wood. Matthias passed the design onto a company in the Pacific Northwest that produces them out of cast and machined aluminum.

In contrast to the Multi-Router, the pair (two) PantoRouter handles move the router only — the workpiece and table are fixed. This free-form movement feels a bit “looser” than the Multi-Router with its linear bearings, but once you realize how everything works, it’s very fast and accurate.

The Templates are Key

The secret to both of these machines’ repeatability and precision comes down to their templates. You can see these in the photos in their respective paragraphs.  The Multi-Router utilizes machined aluminum templates that are held in an aluminum holder. A stylus attached to the router head follows the template, allowing you to create the shape of the template. Any fine-tuning of the joint is done by changing out the bushing on the end of the stylus. Each bushing adjusts the fit ever-so-slightly, so you can dial it into what you’d like.

Flipping to PantoRouter world, the templates here are held on a template holder (located with a locating pin), and many of the templates are designed with a taper to them (photo 5). A bearing attached to the router arm follows the template, and you can adjust the fit of your part by pushing or pulling the bearing further up or down the taper. It’s a clever little system.

Both of the template systems work well. The templates for the PantoRouter are cheaper, but they’re also plastic, so one could argue they’ll wear with enough use. In contrast, the aluminum templates for the Multi-Router are well-made, but adjusting the fit is slightly more inconvenient than moving the bearing location. Both machines have templates available for dovetails, mortise and tenon,
box (finger) joints, as well as round tenons.

Work Holding & Locating

Both of these machines are great at repeatable joints, as long as you get your work in the same location. The PantoRouter has a sliding fence that you can adjust the position, based on your workpiece size. An optional swing stop allows you to set the workpieces in exactly the same spot each time.

The Multi-Router uses a machined table and dog system, similar to what you’d see in a Festool MFT table. The dogs have set spacing, and you may need to use spacers to position parts correctly, but it’s not a big deal. Both machines have standard hold downs, or have the ability to add pneumatic clamps for high-production environments.

Going Forward

Joinery machines don’t seem to be as common as I think they should be. The ability of one of these to replace several machines, especially in a small shop, is a huge benefit, not to mention the time savings they offer. Going forward, I’m going to make a concise effort to really show how I use these machines in my shop and where they shine. The biggest thing to remember is that a joinery machine is only limited by your creativity.  

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