DIY Precision Router Guide Rail Adapter - Solid Aluminium - For Mafell and Bosch Guide Rails
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- In this video I set about making a guide rail adapter compatible with my Bosch and Mafell guide rails for my Bosch GMF 1600 CE router. The design of it could be adapted for any router or guide rail combination really, be they Festool, Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee etc. Key measurements are the height from benchtop to the bottom of the rods from the router and, of course, the height of your guide rail.
Made from solid aluminium plate, my adapter includes a generous handle for comfort and control. An ample 30mm of travel available via the micro adjust and, fine tuning of fit and friction between guide rail and adapter.
Not the prettiest but functionally perfect. This project doesn't need and fancy machinery or tooling in your workshop. You can make it using just a bandsaw or jigsaw and a drill, tools just about any woodworker has.
Not only is aluminium easy to work with but, it can give your shop made adapters and accessories an industrial feel and should last a long time. Aluminium is almost endlessly recyclable/reusable too!
What's not to like?
Hope you enjoy the vid.
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A good idea and well executed. You can't beat a smear of beeswax to lubricate sliding components without clogging everything up with dust👍
Cheers! 1001 uses for beeswax +1😉 I have a tin of axminsters machine wax. I find it very good for a slippery surface. Buffs dry so doesn't collect dust either👍
Great idea and love the fact you use up all the little bits to get what you want. 👍
Thanks mate. The little odds and sods of aly always come in handy. I do take a bunch to recycling periodically though.👍
This is a project Hongdui should partner with you and make!
Great project fella, then end result looks the business as well. I’ve been playing with adapting a 3d printed adapter, but certainly not for something that heavy duty.
A Hongdui collab has crossed my mind. I've already quite a few tool/accessory designs. I've got a decent idea for making a router guide more universal. That might be one I'd share with them. For things like this, 3d printing is ideal. Hell, even if it was just to print a knob for the M8 micro adjust bolt!👍
👍👍👍 Great job. Thank you
Nice one mate👍
That’s top work Man. My only nit picking suggestion is with the micro adjustment. Maybe stronger springs and a finer pitched thread. The springs to ensure the mechanism is always bearing against one side of the screw thread, and the finer pitch for finer adjustment. But, that’s the sanding equivalent of going up to 4,000 grit.
Cheers buddy. Believe or not, the m8 is twice as fine a pitch as that on the bosch ofa! Any finer pitch and, to be honest, I'd just get frustrated with how slow it would be. A couple of slightly stronger springs would be nice though to cut down back lash. The ones I'm using are from the micro adjust on the bosch "deluxe" fence. Always appreciate your input and ideas mate👍
Nice idea and execution. I would have looked to use some phenolic or HDPE to run against the rail nib to avoid the binding/friction issues you had to overcome with aluminum sliding on aluminum.
There was no friction issue aly on aly bud. The adjustment allowed me to increase or decrease the friction. I actually like a nice glide but with a little resistance. 👍
Another great idea from you. I do have the same problem, now I just have to find the time to copy it.
Thank you so much! Do you have the Bosch OFA? This is a big improvement I think. Yes, time for these things is always difficult...but worth it 👍
@@BischBaschBoschYes, I have the OFA as well, it is ok, but sometimes it is a pain to use.
Yeah , it's the screwing the router to the OFA I find a pain. 👍
@@BischBaschBosch Me too, but i leave the router most of the time on it and use my other routers for the different tasks, what is actually a waste of money but taking it off and screwing it on again, is something i really hate.
Nicely executed mod there mate. I'd love to have Mafell tools but they are ridiculously priced over here. I like Bosch but what I get here is made in the far east. I don't mind coughing up for proper gear but when Mafell want 1200 ish for their track saw and the Bosch is close to a a bag of sand I go elsewhere.
I love making crap out of ally. When I was in school at shop class I used to make drum cymbal arm clamps
Cheers buddy. Yeah, Mafell still make like 90% or something of their tools in house, in Germany so carry a premium. They are excellent though. That said, these days, in terms of plunge saws and routers, even the budget brands are good. Just be sure to get soft starts! With some tinkering, hopefully folk could adapt something like this for whatever router and rail. One downside of the bosch mafell rails compared to festool pattern rails is they're more difficult to accessorize. If you don't mind playing with a bit of aly, anything's possible 😁👍
@@BischBaschBosch Even the Bosch version over here is $$$ and it's not made in Germany.
I'm still on the fence as if I'm going to restart woodworking again or not. I bought a 21mm Wen plunge saw that fits the fezzy type tracks. Think I paid under 2 ton for it. Did the right thing though and be a Freud rip and cross cut blade for it. I'll see how it goes. Might need two sets of rails if the rip kerf is diff from the cross cut. Once I find my mito cally's I'll be able to check. Since I've moved, everything is is boxes still and none of them are labelled.
I hope it's not the price of gear that has you doubt whether to get back into wood working or not mate. It's not a cheap hobby or profession but, you don't need flagship tools. The budget options are more than capable and there's a healthy second hand tools market. The valuable asset is what's in your head - what you make - not the tools you do it with. You did the right thing for your saw. Blade upgrade is money well spent.👍
@@BischBaschBosch I appreciate the reply mate.
As for woodworking, I'm weighing up may options.
I could do it in the basement but I have a furnace in there which I don't think is kosher.
The other option is to use my back shed. I'd have to ask the landlord if I can knock out the partition. in between, The rafters go left and right so it's no load bearaing.
After that I'd have to decide to add ac and heating. I'm 58 now and weighing up on if I can be bothered.
I know it sounds like a cop out.
I started a small outside office shed business, I got one sale and lost my arse on it. I'm on the wrong side of the US despite all the press I got.
I'm an architect by trade, not sure I'd make much money doing woodwork,
A very neat solution and looks far better than the Bosch one.
Have you ever had any thoughts on making parallel guides for the Mafell track?
Thank you mate. Yeah, considered a way to do parallel guides for Mafell track but, in honesty, I wouldn't really have a use for em these days. Between my table saw, rail square and mft bench rail, I'm pretty well covered.👍
Nice job, i love making jigs and adaptors for my tools. Do you have any millwright experience? I ask because i was one in a past life and it has helped me work out a lot of problems i have come across in the shop and on the job.
Thank you. Me too. Not a millwright no but, I did a HNC in mechanical engineering some 14 years ago and did a brief stint as a machine setter. Long story but wasn't for me. I was happy to return to carpentry with a new perspective 👍
@@BischBaschBosch The way you approached the build i new you had some background. Same with me i have been a one man show doing custom woodworking the last 25 years and it was the best career switch i could have made.
Find something you're happy doing and you'll never work a day😁👍
never use the flat side of a router base always the circcular side
With the circular side, using that router bit, it was impossible to keep it against the rail. Hence using the flat side. Flat side was an improvement but, as shown, still wandered toward the end.
I should add that the very reason a router base has a flat side is for running against a straight edge - like a guide rail.
I never use the circular side, I've 15 or so high quality routers from various manufacturers and none of them are perfectly concentric. Close but not perfect. When your doing precision work the circular edge is rarely up to it. Ok for rough stuff.