Hi Darren, Can I ask why you opted for a dovetail groove directly into the MDF, rather than an aluminium T track. I am about to commence building an out feed table /construction table & and planning to incorporate similar options in the design. I would appreciate your comments. Cheers Peter
Hi Peter. I have aluminium T-Track mounted in the front of the bench, and it works well, but the Dovetail slots have a couple of advantages. With T-Track you have to route out a channel for it before installing it. It is a lot quicker and easier to rout a Dovetail slot. T-track is a lot wider than a single dovetail groove, and is held in place with small screws where as a dovetail slot is an integrated part of the bench or jig. Best of all, you don't have to buy T-track. Most people with a router already own a 12 inch 14 degree dovetail bit, so the only real investment is in a couple of dovetail clamps.
What about the center lines in the router’s base? I like your presentation. However, I think there’s something going to be serious loss of strength with the length of the dovetail. Please do an update in six months or so…
Hi Darren, Can I ask why you opted for a dovetail groove directly into the MDF, rather than an aluminium T track. I am about to commence building an out feed table /construction table & and planning to incorporate similar options in the design. I would appreciate your comments. Cheers Peter
Hi Peter. I have aluminium T-Track mounted in the front of the bench, and it works well, but the Dovetail slots have a couple of advantages. With T-Track you have to route out a channel for it before installing it. It is a lot quicker and easier to rout a Dovetail slot. T-track is a lot wider than a single dovetail groove, and is held in place with small screws where as a dovetail slot is an integrated part of the bench or jig. Best of all, you don't have to buy T-track. Most people with a router already own a 12 inch 14 degree dovetail bit, so the only real investment is in a couple of dovetail clamps.
Thanks for sharing the process of setting up and routing a dovetail groove Darren. The quick swap Festool router bases are next-level. Cheers 👍😎🇦🇺
Thanks John. Yes they are really convenient. There are a few different ones in the set for different tasks. Have a great day. 👍😎🇦🇺
For center-of-bit alignment, just use the centering lines on the the router’s base. They are designed to be dead on centerlines for all 4 directions.
What about the center lines in the router’s base? I like your presentation. However, I think there’s something going to be serious loss of strength with the length of the dovetail. Please do an update in six months or so…
He said down under🤭🤭🤭🤭