# Has anybody done edge jointing with a router/router table?



## gideon (May 26, 2010)

how were the results? 

I have 1" thick material I'd like to clean up the edges on and thinking about this as an option.


----------



## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I have done this. I would not be eager to do this again.

I clamped a piece of laminate on the exit side of the fence to give me the thickness offset needed.

I did not get as good a result as if I just use my robust straight edge clamped on the board and a hand held router.

If the board is short it may work for you better than my results.

The challenge is the router table fences are not very long, so it is easy for a slight deviation along the length of the board.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*there are 2 ways*

First way is to use a straight edge guide that's longer than your workpiece and run the edge with a trim bit. It will be as good as your straight edge and your control.

Second way is to use an offset fence on the router table. This is less accurate because of the length of the fences. 

There's a new post on edge jointing use a table saw jig. I made a sled/jig for straight edging boards. You can use a board straightening jig/sled if you have a great many to do.
Board Straightening Jig for Table Saw


----------



## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Best way if you use laminate is to use it as a shim behind the outfeed fence. You need a split fence to do this. I use a thinner infeed fence. Either way works, you just need the outfeed side even with the cutter and the infeed side slightly behind the cutter. I haven't got the budget nor the room for a dedicated jointer so this works fine as long as I have a straight bit long enough to joint the board I'm working on. :smile:


----------



## Quillman (Dec 30, 2012)

Can be done within limits.


----------



## gideon (May 26, 2010)

this is kind of what i thought. 

I have two boards at 59" which I need to joint. 

I'm waiting for a jointer fence for my hand planes to come in. I'll do it that way. I'm not really good at doing that free hand.


----------



## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

I have started doing this recently on 4/4 hardwoods and have been satisfied with the results. Here is a link to a post I made on the subject a little while back:

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/router-table-fence-roundup-44715/index2/#post431796

I need to eventually find a longer large bit to increase my capacity some. One limitation is the length of fence, which is 28" in my case. That would be on the short side for a jointer table in most cases, but it can be effective. If your wood is starting really far from straight and square on the edge, a straight line jig for the TS might be a better place to start. 

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f12/jointing-vs-table-saw-15789/#post123392
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/poor-mans-jointer-jig-table-saw-28549/
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/board-straightening-jig-table-saw-16999/


----------



## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Phaedrus said:


> I have started doing this recently on 4/4 hardwoods and have been satisfied with the results. Here is a link to a post I made on the subject a little while back:
> 
> http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/router-table-fence-roundup-44715/index2/#post431796
> 
> ...


I find a feather board at or slightly beyond the bit, mounted to the table surface, helps on longer boards.


----------



## sonofbuster (Mar 28, 2010)

i tried with my cheesy split fence and couldn't get it straight so i did the reference straight edge thing and it worked great. the only problem was having to clamp the piece and not being able to route where the clamps were (the boards weren't wide enough to avoid this) leaving some wasted wood. amazing how much better a piece turns out with that one straight edge to start with.


----------



## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

sonofbuster said:


> i tried with my cheesy split fence and couldn't get it straight so i did the reference straight edge thing and it worked great. the only problem was having to clamp the piece and not being able to route where the clamps were (the boards weren't wide enough to avoid this) leaving some wasted wood. amazing how much better a piece turns out with that one straight edge to start with.


A metal staight edge can be attached with double faced tape or hot glue. MDF or wooden straight edge can be attached with headless pins (23 guage). :smile:


----------

