# Beginner wondering if this is the way to go about this router job?



## LumberJoe (3 mo ago)

Hi all - summary, I'm new to woodworking. Had an idea to build a shoe rack using 9mm plywood. I made the choice to use 9mm 'slots' or cut-outs in the plywood to fit it together. (see crude pic below) I got some help with ideas from people on here and realise I might need to baton at the back. The pic below isn't all of the shelves , there's 2 more horizontals .

I decided to buy a second hand Ryobi palm/trim router, as my only other tool that might have done this job was a circular saw, which I thought I might not be able to achieve uniform 9mm cut outs.

Now I have the router and a 9mm cutting bit, I realise that I have no plan on how to achieve the uniformity of all the 150mm long x 9mm wide cuts

Is the way I am thinking for using an offset of plywood to make a guide for the router to run in going to be the best way to do it? Will that work? (that is in picture 2) Using a clamp or 2 to hold the guide and the piece together.

There are 21 slots to cut , so I need a fairly repeatable solution that gives me the accuracy I need.
Am I on the right lines?

I realise that if I had a table saw this would be 10x easier. But that's never going to happen


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

That looks OK to me. The router must slide in freely, with no wobble. I'd put a ledge on either side of the front edge as a stop.
Depending on your router and bit it may require a few passes to make each slot or the bit will over heat, or the router will bog, down or the bit will break off!
You'll need reference marks on the workpiece to register the edge of the jig up to for uniformity in spacing.
You'll want an easy way to clamp the jig securely in position so it can't move and make a wider cut.
A few hours/minutes making the jig "fool proof" will save money in the long run, no spoiled pieces.


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## LumberJoe (3 mo ago)

Thanks @woodnthings 
I won't need to make passes as I got a 9mm cutting bit, so it's literally going at each slot once.

So, I need to mark the 'far end' of the work piece where the jig will sit and that will line up my cut line with the router bit? I think I get what you mean there, thank you

I think my trickiest issue is where, and how to clamp it all secure before making each cut. If I can get that bit sorted, then I think I can do this.


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## LumberJoe (3 mo ago)

Just spotted this on YouTube that might also work for me - although I can't understand why this guy hasn't pushed his work piece up to the far end of the jig to get it lined up and more secure? Unless it was just to demonstrate


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

your plan is not as simple as you might think. That system requires extreme accuracy to allow everything to slot together. One slot out of line by 2 mm and none of them will line up.

A much simpler way is to keep the horizontal shelves whole, but put 4 mm slots across at each section, and then cut the uprights to the shelf height. That way you can slot each one in and pin and glue it, and you have leeway if one or more of your cuts is slightly off.
Then nail a one piece backing board to the back to stop the whole thing racking like a pack of cards if someone leans on one corner.


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## Dave McCann (Jun 21, 2020)

LumberJoe said:


> Thanks @woodnthings
> I won't need to make passes as I got a 9mm cutting bit, so it's literally going at each slot once.


As was previously pointed out, you may still need to make more than one pass, increasing the depth of cut each pass.
Taking the full depth 9mm in one pass may result in what woodnthings mentioned.


woodnthings said:


> Depending on your router and bit it may require a few passes to make each slot or the bit will over heat, or the router will bog, down or the bit will break off!


===============================================

Yes you have a full width bit. 
A full width bit is NOT always the best choice. Utilizing an undersize bit allows one to remove the bulk of the material first, by routing a path along the centerline of the slot. Followed by a finish pass on each face of the slot for final width. This procedure will usually result in a cleaner cut on both faces of any given slot.


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## LumberJoe (3 mo ago)

Thanks @sunnybob and @Dave McCann - I totally take your point and understand.

I've only just picked these comments up and will definitely take them on to the next job with this system of slotting plywood. I chose it because I dont have many tools and also I have next to no experience with wood. Now I have actually 'got my hands dirty', I realise that there's quite a lot to think about. And maybe easier ways to do this.

So - I got a gap in the weather this morning , and despite being quite cold here, I went outside and got the workbench out.
I used a large speed-square clamped to the work piece & bench to get a straight edge to work from. I really don't enjoy using a router - maybe it would have been better using a plunge router , but I couldn't afford one. Because every time I got to the end of a cut, it was so tricky to either pick it up out of the slot , or try and hold it still while I turned it off - a couple of times, I moved the router just slightly and it hit against the 'opposite side' of the cut. That jig that I saw on youtube would have prevented that I think, and I might make one for the next thing I make using this method.

Anyway - here's the finished thing. I haven't tidied it up, sanded or sealed it yet, I just wanted to see if it fitted together and then I wanted to see it in-situ with shoes on.
It might need a back pice or a brace across it as 9mm thick material isn't much at all, and I think if it were any longer it would just bow across the length of it too.

I might add some handles and sand and seal it, and learn some lessons from it and move on.

Thanks everyone on here for all the help and to get my first designed and made project done (almost)


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## Olwoodguy (1 mo ago)

Yah did good pardner. I generally measure from the edge of the bit cutting edge to the edge of the router. Put the blade down a bit n hold it to your edge n mark it. Done. Now you know where to clamp a straight edge. Make sure that your going in the correct direction with your router. Counter clockwise. If you're cutting a slot or rabbit stop just before you break through. Then come in backwards to provent tear. What I do anyways, good luck on future projects that shelf unit looks great


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## Olwoodguy (1 mo ago)

I did a shoe rack for a customer that lived on a lake. Folks brought sand in. I designed it with grates and cookie sheets just under each shelf like an oven. They could the sand n easily cleaned. Painted with a nice accent color for their (cabin) with rustolium. Touch up easily, left them a new can. Frame was knotty pine to match the log walls.


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