# Router Table Fence Micro Adjuster



## minuteman62-64 (Mar 15, 2012)

Started playing with my new router table and quickly figured out that tapping the fence to make fine adjustments wasn't doing it for me.

I saw a lot if finely crafted micro adjusters on this and other sites. Attached is my version - kludged together from stuff I had lying around.

The screw is a 1/4" all-thread to which I had welded a wing nut for a long ago project. The receiving piece on the fence is an aluminum angle, drilled and threaded 1/4x20 to receive the all-thread. The opposite end of the screw is held in a 1/4" hole in another aluminum angle by a couple of flat washers held in place with jam nuts, adjusted to allow smooth rotation while minimizing lash.

I mounted the screw eccentric to the attachment to the table to clear the fence lock-down knob. To keep the unit from twisting when rotating the adjustment screw, I installed a 1/4" hex bolt at the front of the unit, with the head filed down to just fit in the "T" track like a shoe. 

Works great. I get a perfect 1/64" movement at the router bit with one rotation of the screw. I can get about 1/2" fence movement in either direction before the angle of the fence starts to bind the screw.

Only regret so far is that the movement is (for me) counter-intuitive - turning the screw clockwise moves the fence away from the router bit. If I get ambitious I'll make another one with the threaded aluminum angle on the table piece. I'll also attach one of the angle pieces so it will rotate, to adjust for the changing fence angle.


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

Now that's thinking outside the box. Send your picture and write up to ShopNotes. Who knows? you might get lucky like I did with my workbench or a component off. I'm excited to see it in next issue #132. But thanks for sharing...


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## WoodMachiner (Sep 19, 2013)

That's a really good idea, something to keep in mind is that for every revolution of the 1/4-20 bolt you are going to move that edge of the fence .050". That might help you when setting up.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

I've seen those around before. They are preferable to the High$$. Most I have seen use a 32 tpi thread though. The math doesn't work out getting "exactly" 1/64" adjustment per turn with 1/4"-20 stock. :huh:


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## minuteman62-64 (Mar 15, 2012)

jschaben said:


> I've seen those around before. They are preferable to the High$$. Most I have seen use a 32 tpi thread though. The math doesn't work out getting "exactly" 1/64" adjustment per turn with 1/4"-20 stock. :huh:


The 1/64" is in the center of the table, where the router bit would be. The adjuster moves the fence almost at the edge of the table, pivoting on the hold-down at the opposite edge. Out at the edge of the table, with 20 tpi, one turn of the screw should move the table 1/20". Because of the dimensions of my table, it happens (didn't plan it that way) that the movement in the middle is 1/64".


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Very nice. I think I have all of the parts ready and willing for me to build something similar. Now if only I can find everything. :-(


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## minuteman62-64 (Mar 15, 2012)

jschaben said:


> I've seen those around before. They are preferable to the High$$. Most I have seen use a 32 tpi thread though. The math doesn't work out getting "exactly" 1/64" adjustment per turn with 1/4"-20 stock. :huh:


You're right. Disregard previous post. I determined the 1/64" by measurement, not calculation. However, doesn't compute, even with the geometry of my setup. I'll check tomorrow and see where I messed up.


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## Wendel17 (Apr 20, 2009)

Just a thought, but if you had one at both ends of the fence, could you get more movement without the angle? I'm liking this. Great idea!


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## NetDoc (Aug 6, 2013)

Danno said:


> Just a thought, but if you had one at both ends of the fence, could you get more movement without the angle? I'm liking this. Great idea!


 Me too. One at each end would be perfect and end the guessing.

Would it be possible to have a picture of your entire fence. Back, front and side?


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

General rambling that can be used/abused in any way you see fit.


Same idea or principal...it can be applied to any adjuster that has a round knob where your hand turns it.

You can use whatever thread pitch you got.Obviously the finer the pitch the more fine the movement....duh.But each application has to be,atleast thought about.A std mic has 40 TPI....uhhh, a bit too fine for a pce of equip,yes/no.

Anyway,the "trick" isn't so much about the TPI...it's about the business end of adjuster.The larger you can make the "handwheel"...the more accurate the "practical" usefulness of the tool becomes.So that should rank in importance up there with you TPI choice.Make the knob/handwheel as large as possible.....using this as a guide in your design phase.

Next is rather simple.and we can look at a TS blade adj handwheel for the example.Wrap the outside of the handwheel/knob with masking tape.You'll need some kind of machine mounted "pointer".This is what....points.

Now you need some kind of measuring device.....lets keep it simple and use a dial indicator.They ain't the most accurate of indicators but will suffice in practical terms quite nicely here.

Just use the D.I. to measure the advance on blade,fence,whatever....marking the tape wrapped handwheel.

The advantage to tape is....you can mark it for specific setups....where if we took the time to inscribe nice neat little fancy lines(which should take about as long to do as write about)....it just makes it a chore when doing repeat setups.....the masking tape is faster.You're only marking what you need.

Repeatability is governed by other factors on the equip.But throw a nice handwheel diameter and a decent TPI...and simply check it for yourself.It can get more involved in the design phase if you start to think in right angles on adjusters.Cosine error can be eliminated.....it sounds WAY more complicated than it really is.Just pay attention to the angle of attack on the adjuster and how you want the part to move.Stick to right angles.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

minuteman62-64 said:


> The 1/64" is in the center of the table, where the router bit would be. The adjuster moves the fence almost at the edge of the table, pivoting on the hold-down at the opposite edge. Out at the edge of the table, with 20 tpi, one turn of the screw should move the table 1/20". Because of the dimensions of my table, it happens (didn't plan it that way) that the movement in the middle is 1/64".


OK, that makes sense. If your pivot point of the fence is exactly the same distance from the centerline of the bit as the adjuster is, the resulting adjustment will be exactly 1/2 of the movement of the adjuster or about 1.6 sixty-fourths per turn. Pretty close to measure but well within practical use for woodworking. Variations could be accounted for by small differences in the distance each point is from the bit. 
When I first got into this, I thought a microadjuster would be a "must-have" deal (I also thought scales on the table would be necessary too:blink. After using the table awhile, I discovered that stop blocks attached to the t-tracks used to attach the fence, worked just as well. If I find I need to adjust the fence I just use a spacer between the fence and stop block. If I need to move the fence backward, I put in the spacer and clamp the stop block, then loosen the fence and move it back to the block. Since the tracks, hence the stop blocks are equal distance from the bit, I can adjust either side or both down as small or as large as I want. Works for me.:smile:


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

With a router fence, only one end needs to move. The other end just pivots. There is no need for the fence to be parallel with the table. Seems to me the size of the hand wheel would be determined by the clearance for the table up to the threaded rod. Or it would have to extend off e back of the table. I made a homemade hand wheel by boring some holes around a circle and the cutting out the circle It turned fairly nice and made adjustments easy for my homemade router lift.


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## minuteman62-64 (Mar 15, 2012)

NetDoc said:


> Me too. One at each end would be perfect and end the guessing.
> 
> Would it be possible to have a picture of your entire fence. Back, front and side?


There's a picture of the entire table, including front & back views of the fence, at: http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/router-table-complete-now-55532/


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## minuteman62-64 (Mar 15, 2012)

OK, problem solved. A case of sloppy measurement. Taking the offset of the adjuster into account, the adjuster should advance (or withdraw) the fence 0.0268" per turn of the screw- a little less than 1/32" by my calculations. I checked by actually measuring (more carefully this time) (for 10 turns) and the fence moved a total of 11/32", a hair more than 1/32"/turn by my calculations. I'm going to call it 1/32"/turn and move on. I'm only good to 1/16" in my woodworking anyways 

Appreciate the comments. I don't see the need for a second adjuster on the other end of the fence at this time - maybe after I've used the table for awhile. I see the advantage of the larger adjustment wheel, but don't have room with this design. My memory was jogged in that I do have a good quality dial indicator - maybe I'll dig it out and use it to re-check my measurements.


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## Wendel17 (Apr 20, 2009)

MT Stringer said:


> With a router fence, only one end needs to move. The other end just pivots. There is no need for the fence to be parallel with the table. Seems to me the size of the hand wheel would be determined by the clearance for the table up to the threaded rod. Or it would have to extend off e back of the table. I made a homemade hand wheel by boring some holes around a circle and the cutting out the circle It turned fairly nice and made adjustments easy for my homemade router lift.


True, only one end needs to move. My thought was that if having one end adjustable limited the movement, maybe having it on both ends would allow for more.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Danno said:


> True, only one end needs to move. My thought was that if having one end adjustable limited the movement, maybe having it on both ends would allow for more.


Ah ha, I see where you are coming from.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Danno said:


> True, only one end needs to move. My thought was that if having one end adjustable limited the movement, maybe having it on both ends would allow for more.


Hi Danno, that would work, two would give about twice the amount of adjustment. But, from a practical sense, how much adjustment do you need from a *micro*adjuster? By the time you go to use it, you will likely be less than a 1/16" from where you want to be. :smile:


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## Wendel17 (Apr 20, 2009)

jschaben said:


> Hi Danno, that would work, two would give about twice the amount of adjustment. But, from a practical sense, how much adjustment do you need from a microadjuster? By the time you go to use it, you will likely be less than a 1/16" from where you want to be. :smile:


I hear you. I still use the old tapping method on mine. ;-)

To be honest, my router table is mainly used for jointing at the moment, so I have the fence fixed anyways. I'm loving this idea though.


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## Chataigner (May 30, 2013)

I've been using this system for years, it works really well, thought it is important to have no slop in the pivot at the other end of the fence or that introduces uncertainty.

In the interests of rigidity, I used a bigger and therefore coarser thread on mine, and that limits the ability to make very fine adjustments. I think I'll replace it with something more like the one you have made.


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## Noek (Jan 26, 2013)

Danno said:


> I hear you. I still use the old tapping method on mine. ;-)
> 
> To be honest, my router table is mainly used for jointing at the moment, so I have the fence fixed anyways. I'm loving this idea though.



I'm still new to woodworking but this is something I've never even considered. What router bit would be used for jointing and is this a fairly accurate way to do so or is it mainly just for smaller pieces. 

The reason I ask is, there are three main pieces of equipment I can afford but do not have the room for: a jointer, planar and band saw. If I could eliminate the jointer problem by using my table router, that would be awesome. Thanks!


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## Wendel17 (Apr 20, 2009)

Noek said:


> I'm still new to woodworking but this is something I've never even considered. What router bit would be used for jointing and is this a fairly accurate way to do so or is it mainly just for smaller pieces.
> 
> The reason I ask is, there are three main pieces of equipment I can afford but do not have the room for: a jointer, planar and band saw. If I could eliminate the jointer problem by using my table router, that would be awesome. Thanks!


I use a 1/2" diameter with a 1 1/2" cutter. I have it set to take off approx 1/32. I mainly use it for smaller pieces, but with a long enough fence longer boards can be done. 

To make it easier, I try to pick boards that are fairly straight to start with. They can also be straightened on the table saw before jointing.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

I have light grey laminate on the top of my router table, I just draw a line on the table close to the bit along the side of the fence that will move away from it with a sharp pencil. I use the tap method but a micro adjuster would be nice to have.


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## 4DThinker (Mar 13, 2013)

To solve the binding issue when you move too much, fasten each end down with one center screw rather than two. Then the ends can stay in line no matter how much the angle changes.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Noek said:


> I'm still new to woodworking but this is something I've never even considered. What router bit would be used for jointing and is this a fairly accurate way to do so or is it mainly just for smaller pieces.
> 
> The reason I ask is, there are three main pieces of equipment I can afford but do not have the room for: a jointer, planar and band saw. If I could eliminate the jointer problem by using my table router, that would be awesome. Thanks!


You can use any straight bit for jointing, the trick is in the fence. The out feed side must be proud of the in feed side by the amount of stock being removed. This is typically done with a split fence setup where the out feed side is shimmed by the amount of jointing desired. The fence is then set up with the out feed side even with the cutting edge of the bit. :smile:

Planning can also be done with a router by making a jig to support the router independent of the work piece and using a large diameter dado clean out bit.


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## Noek (Jan 26, 2013)

I sort of understand what you are saying but I have a solid fence and even if I didn't, I wouldn't really be confident enough to try what you are saying. 

That being said, I'm wondering if I could just use my table saw and if that is an easier solution to gaining straight edges on boards.

Your signature is great


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*that's easy to make*



Noek said:


> I sort of understand what you are saying but I have a solid fence and even if I didn't, I wouldn't really be confident enough to try what you are saying.
> 
> That being said, I'm wondering if I could just use my table saw and if that is an easier solution to gaining straight edges on boards.
> 
> Your signature is great


here's how to do it:

http://www.woodworking.com/ww/Article/Jointing-on-the-Router-Table-7319.aspx


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Just add a piece on to your out feed side. Very thin stock. Flush up the bit to the out feed.


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## Chataigner (May 30, 2013)

Noek said:


> I sort of understand what you are saying but I have a solid fence and even if I didn't, I wouldn't really be confident enough to try what you are saying.
> 
> That being said, I'm wondering if I could just use my table saw and if that is an easier solution to gaining straight edges on boards.
> 
> Your signature is great


It is far simpler, in my view, to use the router out of the table and simply use it to run along a good quality straight edge. You can buy aluminium masons straight edges here, up to 3m or even 4m long, clamp it to the workpiece so that the cutter just cuts at the "nearest" point when the router base tracks the straight edge. For deeper cuts use a bearing guided bit to track the first cut.


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## Wendel17 (Apr 20, 2009)

I just glued a thin peice of veneer to the oufeed side of my fence. Same as using formica. Then set the router to take off the thickness of the veneer. Pretty much what the article says.


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