# Panto-router build



## Chris Curl

I am starting on my trek of building a panto-router.

Since I am a DIY type, I did not buy Matthias' plans.

My first try at the floating router assembly will be made from the large free paint stirrers from Home Depot. I have good confidence that there will be no play with this approach. You will see that I mean when I get there.

This is sure to be a cobble something together type of thing, with more than a few re-dos. Pics and discussion as they are available.

Here is a sketchup of what I am thinking for the hinges ...


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## Chris Curl

another view of the general idea. i the router holder part is clearly not modeled yet ...


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## JohnnyG73

It will be interesting to follow along on this build. I hope to see pictures along the way.


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## Chris Curl

Here is how I am making sure the holes are all the same distance apart. The bolt in the 2nd and 3rd pics is fixed to the t-track. So after making the first hole, I use the bolt to locate the next hole. and then one more time for the last hole. That way, I am sure that they are all exactly the same distance apart.


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## Chris Curl

Proof of concept:


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## Toolman2

That looks like a good start to get what you want in a pantograph. There's also a lot of good pantograph builds over at www.woodgears.ca.

:thumbsup:


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## MasterSplinter

Chris Curl said:


> I am starting on my trek of building a panto-router. Since I am a DIY type, I did not buy Matthias' plans. My first try at the floating router assembly will be made from the large free paint stirrers from Home Depot. I have good confidence that there will be no play with this approach. You will see that I mean when I get there. This is sure to be a cobble something together type of thing, with more than a few re-dos. Pics and discussion as they are available. Here is a sketchup of what I am thinking for the hinges ...


Are you using he bought plans that are online


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## Chris Curl

Chris Curl said:


> ...
> Since I am a DIY type, I did not buy Matthias' plans.
> ...


No, I'm a cheap bastard.


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## MasterSplinter

Chris Curl said:


> No, I'm a cheap bastard.


Lol. I have them if you need something. Let me know. I haven't built mine yet. The cm thing slowed me down. Lol


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## Chris Curl

the spacers ...


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## Chris Curl

It is starting to come together ...

It is 16 paint stirrers wide, making it 4" front to back.

The cross pieces where the router will be held are 34" apart, so I can use 1x stock or 3/4" ply.


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## MasterSplinter

Looking good


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## Al B Thayer

Okay Chris we're all tuned in. Please Keep us posted. Hey are you in the Mallet swap?

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## Chris Curl

Will do on the updates. There is another mallet swap going on? Full disclosure ... I haven't been keeping up with this forum as I once did.


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## thegrgyle

*Watching with interest.....*

I am definitely interested to see how this plays out... 

I guess I'm going to ask the question..... How are you able to get so many of those stir sticks? At the home depot stores here, they give them out willingly, but not dozens of them....


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## Chris Curl

It is a little awkward asking for them. But there is one HD in the area that has them in a big bucket in front of the counter, so I don't have to ask for them. It is not far, so I just pop in there when I have a chance and grab a handful.

*edit* another option though would be to rip a 2x4 into whatever thickness you want to use. I like the 1/4" thickness because that helps make sure there is no play, but you could just as easily use 3/8" or 1/2" (or whatever) thick pieces.


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## Chris Curl

2 questions:

1. Is the guide at the top of the handle the same size as the bit that you would use in the router? I'm not sure, but I have this feeling that maybe it should be twice the size ... ?.

2. Is there a lubricant I can use in the joints to reduce the friction inside the joints?


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## MasterSplinter

Chris Curl said:


> 2 questions: 1. Is the guide at the top of the handle the same size as the bit that you would use in the router? I'm not sure, but I have this feeling that maybe it should be twice the size ... ?. 2. Is there a lubricant I can use in the joints to reduce the friction inside the joints?


It depends on the bearing sized used. As the guid to go around the template


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## Chris Curl

I know I didn't ask the question very clearly ... let me try again ... if the bit is, let's say 3/8", then would the diameter of the guide also be 3/8"? Or would it be twice the diameter of the bit (for this example, that would be 3/4")?

I am pretty sure it should be 2x the diameter of the bit, but I'm not 100% sure.

Perhaps it's irrelevant most of the time, but when using it for things that need to match up, like mortise/tenon joints (or dovetails), it might make a difference.

Splinter, are you saying that ratio of the diameters of the bit and the guide is not constant?


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## MasterSplinter

I believe but can check at home. That the bearing is a constant. The template change per tenon size. I'm sure the bit is a constant also. There are some video of him explaining how he gets the bearing to the size he needs. I believe it was double. But again I will need to check


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## thegrgyle

Chris Curl said:


> 2 questions:
> 
> 
> 
> 2. Is there a lubricant I can use in the joints to reduce the friction inside the joints?


 I have used paste wax on drawer slides on furniture, and it helped... Perhaps you could try that.

My father worked (retired) for home depot, and when I visited him last yesterday, I saw he had a bunch of those sticks... He said that since he worked there, they had no problem giving him some, but that they are usually pretty stingy on giving them out. I will have to try in the future. He also offered to give me a bunch, but I saw that he was using them extensively on his model railroad layout, and didn't want to diminish he supply.


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## Chris Curl

thegrgyle said:


> I have used paste wax on drawer slides on furniture, and it helped... Perhaps you could try that.
> 
> My father worked (retired) for home depot, and when I visited him last yesterday, I saw he had a bunch of those sticks... He said that since he worked there, they had no problem giving him some, but that they are usually pretty stingy on giving them out. I will have to try in the future. He also offered to give me a bunch, but I saw that he was using them extensively on his model railroad layout, and didn't want to diminish he supply.


Thanks .. I'll try the paste wax.

Re the sticks ... I'm not surprised that other people use them for things other than stirring paint ... I think I'd like your dad.

Assuming you have a table saw, you can make your own sticks like that by ripping 2x4s. If you rip it into 1/4" thick pieces, it would probably net net about 40 sticks.


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## mdntrdr

Chris Curl said:


> Assuming you have a table saw, you can make your own sticks like that by ripping 2x4s. If you rip it into 1/4" thick pieces, it would probably net net about 40 sticks.



Ripping 1/4" pieces from construction grade lumber will give you fits. The rips will twist/bow/cup/etc. The paint sticks are dry, construction lumber is not. :smile:


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## Chris Curl

mdntrdr said:


> Ripping 1/4" pieces from construction grade lumber will give you fits. The rips will twist/bow/cup/etc. The paint sticks are dry, construction lumber is not. :smile:


oh ... never mind then. thanks for the info. 

then again, most of them have a "KD" on them, which means that they are supposed to have been kiln dried ...

i guess that is still not sufficient?


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## mdntrdr

Chris Curl said:


> oh ... never mind then. thanks for the info.
> 
> then again, most of them have a "KD" on them, which means that they are supposed to have been kiln dried ...
> 
> i guess that is still not sufficient?



Construction lumber is only dried to 18-19% (wet). :yes:


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## Chris Curl

The bin and yesterday's payload ...


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## MasterSplinter

For A minute there I thought the first picture was what you have. Lol


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## Al B Thayer

Chris Curl said:


> The bin and yesterday's payload ...


You are tighter than bark on a tree. 

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## USMC_Buckaroo

"...*Ripping 1/4" pieces from construction grade lumber will give you fits. The rips will twist/bow/cup/etc. The paint sticks are dry, construction lumber is not*..." 


What HE said....



Also, on the "lubricant" query.......consider trying simple graphite. 


*Buck.*


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## MasterSplinter

Sorry chris i forgot about the info you needed. Here is a link on how to calculate the template.

http://www.woodgears.ca/pantorouter/tenon_setup.html


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## MoHawk

I am following your build with great interest however your drill press table caught my attention. Did you build the table?


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## Chris Curl

MoHawk said:


> I am following your build with great interest however your drill press table caught my attention. Did you build the table?


It is a Craftsman 15" drill press. Yes, I made a new top for it that I bolted onto the stock landing zone. Here is my thread about is on the site I frequented at the time:

http://www.routerforums.com/tools-woodworking/37402-drill-press-table-version-2-a-2.html


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## Al B Thayer

How's the build going? Does this type of router require doing math problems to figure out the template guides? Offsets? 

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## Chris Curl

Al, not much progress lately. It has been really cold, and it is an unheated garage. To top it off, the cold caused the cut off valve for one of our outside spigots to burst open, getting water all over the stuff in the corner of the garage. This weekend has been mostly cleaning up from that fun.

I think that no matter the size of the guide, there will have to be some math involved. But at least the guide doesn't need to be twice the size of the bit.


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## Al B Thayer

Chris are you using a plan from that guy that builds everything and makes everything with gears on the cranks?

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## Chris Curl

no, i'm winging it on my own. i have watched many of his videos on it though and have a pretty good feel for how he made it.


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## captainawesome

Really cool stuff Chris, I'm excited to see how this turns out.

When it comes to the sticks, figure out a way to show them this thread, the amount of views it has gotten, and the fact that their name is all over the product of interest. I bet they'd be willing to give you the entire barrel!


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## Masterofnone

While Matthias 1000 times smarter than I, I also tend to think he over-engineers some of his stuff. No problem using his design and making your own plans!

Keep up the great work!


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## Al B Thayer

Chris Curl said:


> no, i'm winging it on my own. i have watched many of his videos on it though and have a pretty good feel for how he made it.


That guy is a wiz. 

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## Al B Thayer

Masterofnone said:


> While Matthias 1000 times smarter than I, I also tend to think he over-engineers some of his stuff. No problem using his design and making your own plans!
> 
> Keep up the great work!


He does and it puts a damper on his plan sales IMHO. Some of his projects could be three different plans. But I sure do admire him.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## MasterSplinter

Chris how's it going with the build?


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## Chris Curl

as is typical with me, i go in spurts. or as my mother-in-law used to call it, spinning my wheels.

it has been very cold, and that valve burst, causing me to have to do a cleanup. that provided the incentive to finally get the RAS i bought last fall setup. that caused me to need to re-arrange things to make room for it. that resulted in breaking down old jigs that i was never very happy with, which took me down the path of finally making that router based exact-width dado jig i have always envied. so ... yeah ... one distraction leads to another, and before long, i have totally gotten off task.

sound familiar? if you are not like that, i envy you.

in the middle of all that, my blood sugar and cholesterol levels are up, so i need to do more exercise, and i don't have (make) time for it in the morning or lunchtime, so there goes another hour in the evening that i would otherwise spend in the shop (or watching hockey).

at this point, all that stuff is pretty much resolved, so maybe i'll be able to get some traction on the pantorouter project again when i'm not watching hockey or exercising.


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## MasterSplinter

I'm the same. That's how I'm finishing my basement . I too need to get back into the workout routine. I use to do P90x religiously. I feel it now ugh.


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## Al B Thayer

Hey Chris

I'd like to see that exact width dado jig too. I made a conventional one and have been using it quite a bit on this monster project I'm on. Post away dad!

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## Chris Curl

Here is the exact witch dado jig I put together. It is for my router with a 1/2" straight bit. The piece on the back is 90* from the business edge of the jig, so that makes it easy to line it up on the piece that is getting the dado.


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## Al B Thayer

Okay that one is like mine. Quite simple but effective. I used it on a project I'm still working on and have cut over 50 slots 24" long. All perfect except for two that were user error. I'll post pictures in action when I get back into my shop.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## woodnthings

*hey Chris*

Next time you post a photo of a jig try not to have 7 other projects underneath it and a trash can in the photo....just sayin' :yes:
It's hard to figure out what is waht...?


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## Al B Thayer

woodnthings said:


> Next time you post a photo of a jig try not to have 7 other projects underneath it and a trash can in the photo....just sayin' :yes:
> It's hard to figure out what is waht...?
> 
> http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/attachments/f27/89599d1393076511-panto-router-build-p1020716.jpg


Shoot Woodn, that's his bench on steroids.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## w1pers

What is a panto-router used for?


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## rrbrown

w1pers said:


> What is a panto-router used for?


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