Page 22 - Router Boss Manual

Lay Out the Socket/Pin Centerlines
Traditional dovetail drawer joints have a half-pin
on each end, which means the sides will have a corre-
sponding half-socket on each edge. For our first drawer,
we won’t worry about laying out our pins and sockets
that precisely. We’ll just “eyeball” a layout on the “A”
end of a side piece (at right) so you can see how the
Router Boss can cut perfect dovetail joints no matter
what the spacing.

We’ll be using a 7/16”-diameter dovetail bit to cut
the sockets. The layout marks we make represent the
center line of the socket cuts in the drawer sides, as well
as the center of the corresponding pins that will be cut Lay out a socket pattern on the end of one side piece
in the drawer front and back pieces. with each mark representing the center line of the
dovetail bit. Position of the marks doesn't have to be
precise; the pattern just has to look right.

Positioning pins at 0
degrees

Set Up the Router Boss
First, you’ll need to install the adjustable guide
rails. Loosen the binding bolts and set the wings to 0
degrees. Align the fixed straight edge of the left hand
guide base flush with the edge of the base plate (as
shown in the inset) and tighten the mounting screws.
Slide the router plate against the left hand adjustable
wings, then loosely tighten the binding bolt. Now push
the right hand guide rail against the router plate and
tighten the mounting screws.
Finally, loosely tighten the right hand binding bolt. Binding bolt
If edge of right hand guide is not flush with base plate
then use a pencil to mark the location of the guide rail’s
fixed edge on the base plate. (Use this line to ensure that
the X-axis stays consistent between the socket and pin
cutting operations.)

Align the fixed straight edge of the left guide rail with
the edge of the base plate.
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