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Invert the R9Plus joinery jig at the router table

November 19, 2011 By

 

A joinery jig that works well both right-side-up, and also upside-down, is a huge plus. I have already shown the Leigh R9Plus “right-side-up”. It worked great. But I was curious about the upside-down configuration, on the router table. I was in for a surprise, as it is a breeze to use this way, although it took me a bit to get used to feeding the jig into the router bit. How is that for a total newbie?

A huge plus of doing the joinery using this jig on the router table is dust collection (DC). I was pleasantly surprised, as nearly 100% of the dust and chips were taken by the DC system I have on the old router table. I just wish I could use this jig on the Laguna cast iron router table. But, without the proper insert, it is impossible to use the eBush designed to work with the R9Plus. I will follow up with the people at Laguna Tools, to see if it is possible to machine some inserts to use on their router table, and I will my readers know.

Here we go: the R9Plus on the router table, as I get to know it in this configuration. What do you think?

My personal opinion: This will be terrific, especially for very large work pieces, as it becomes trivial to make sure the work piece IS flush under the template. Or, should that be ON the template?

Stability: Used upside-down, the wide template rides on the surface of the router table, stabilizing the work piece. I must try this with a very large and wide board. I will report results.

I love it!

 

 

Disclosure: Leigh sends me jigs on occasion, for testing and evaluation.

— Al Navas

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, Dovetails, Finger joints, Jigs, Joinery, R9PLUS, Video Tagged With: , ,

Finger joints on the new R9Plus jig

November 16, 2011 By

 

The concept to machine finger joints using the Leigh R9Plus jig is very straight forward.

Machining finger joints

I machined 3/8-inch joinery as follows:

  • Set the side stop to the 3/8 mark.
  • Set the eBush to “5″, in preparation for a test joint.
  • The boards are placed flush under the template, and tight against the side stop.
  • Machine the fingers with the comb set on pin position 1.
  • Move the template to pin position 3, and machine the sockets on the second board.
  • Test the joint fit, and adjust the eBush to tighten or loosen the fit. The joint was loose by close to 0.013″, based on measurements of the width of the fingers, and the width of the sockets.
  • Repeat the procedure. It required only a second try to get a nice, tight fit; I simply moved the eBush to the “8″ position, making the fit tighter. Three division means 0.006″ adjustment on each board, making the joint fit by only 0.001!

Initial eBush position at “5″:

 

Final position at “8″, for great fit:

Summary

The R9Plus is an extremely versatile jig, with a low price point. It will be very attractive to woodworkers who are considering buying a new jig. The template is machined beautifully, and is very easy to set up on a beam for just about any width required for a small or a very large box.  The flexibility to machine either dovetails or finger joints is terrific; select either by simply changing router bits, and by adjusting the template position.

Disclosure: I sometimes receive jigs from Leigh for testing and evaluation.

Music: In order of play – Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag, Black Twig Pickers’ Don’t Drink Nothing, Moore and Gardner’s Chinese Blues (Gershwin piano roll), and The Breakmen’s Km19.

 

— Al Navas

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, Dovetails, Finger joints, Jigs, Joinery, Leigh jig, R9PLUS, Video

Through dovetails using the Leigh R9Plus jig

November 13, 2011 By

 

Now that the setup of the R9Plus jig is complete, it is time to machine through dovetails. The following steps are essential to accomplish good, tight joinery. It seems like a lot, but I have broken down all the steps you will see in the 4:47 minute video. No kidding – it takes only a few minutes to do it all — it is that simple to cut dovetail joinery. Once you try it, you will wonder why you waited so long.

OK, enough waiting. Here goes the way I did it on the video. Here is the procedure for

Through dovetails on the R9Plus

Update: I must change from a numbering sequence to bullets, as the formatting is not working properly.

  • Make sure you have square work pieces. This is a requirement. You won’t be a happy camper if these are not square. Be nice to yourself, and use a “nice” wood. I would avoid white oak for the initial tests. I used walnut. Pamper yourself. Use cherry, if you feel like splurging. But don’t be overly tough on yourself for the initial tests. Later you can do it — heck, use poplar, if you feel like it.
  • Mark the work pieces properly, and learn which side of the work piece faces you during machining. I will be giving a test.
  • Make sure the latches are locked – always. You will fail the exam if you don’t lock the latches.
  • Clamp the first work piece so it is flush with the template, and also solid against the side stop.
  • With a pencil, mark the thickness of the matching work piece on the clamped work piece.
  • With the eBush on the router base, mark the router base permanently with a small arrow where you wish to always have the “5″ on the eBush as the starting point. Tighten the eBush with the arrow pointing to the “5″.
  • With the router disconnected, adjust the router bit depth to split the line you marked in Step 5 above.
  • Put on eye protection, and hearing protection. Don’t overlook safety in the shop.
  • Machine the dovetails — or the pins — first, if you prefer. It’s your call.
  • How closely to splitting the line did you get? It you split it nicely, add 100 points to your score.
  • Did the backer board prevent tearout? Are the cuts nice and neat?
  • Great! Keep going.
  • Undo the latches, and remove the template.
  • Rotate the template 90°, and insert the latches in the key holes on the rear of the template. Don’t do like I did…I felt silly for not paying attention; one ended on the rear, and one on the front…
  • Now clamp the other work piece in place, using the same steps: flush under the template, and snug against the side stop.
  • Using the part you machined earlier, mark its thickness on the new work piece now clamped in place.
  • Change router bits, and adjust the router bit depth to split the line you marked above.
  • Put on eye and hearing protection.
  • Machine the pins — or tails — this time. Take your time, and make sure you machined all.
  • OK, take a breather. I did. Remove the work piece from the jig.
  • Try assembling your first dovetail joint made with the R9Plus. How does it fit? Too loose? Too tight?
  • The fit of the joint can be micro-adjusted using the eBush provided with the R9Plus.
  • This is the reason you marked an arrow on the router base: Turn the eBush clockwise to make the joint tighter; or counter-clockwise for a looser fit. Which way to turn is marked right on the eBush.
  • I normally tighten or loosen in 2-division increments (0.004″ for each cut, or 0.008″ total joint fit adjustment) following my very first try. Much of the time that is all that is required to fine tune the final and “perfect fit”.

Let me know what you think

  • Does it look easier to make dovetail joinery with the R9Plus than with your jig?
  • Which jig do you now use to make dovetails?
  • If you don’t currently have a dovetail jig, will you now consider buying this one, given its nice price point?
Disclosure: Leigh sometimes sends me equipment to review and evaluate. I write my own reviews, independent of Leigh influence; my opinions are my own, trusted by many fellow woodworkers and peers.

 

— Al Navas

 

Filed Under: Blog, Dovetails, Finger joints, Jigs, Joinery, Leigh jig, R9PLUS, Video Tagged With: , , , ,

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