Tarkin
Established Member
After seeing it in the April/May edition of 'The Router', I decided to buy an 'Accurate Guide' for my FT220 router (got it here, the only place in the UK I could find it). At £56 it's perhaps a little pricey, but after getting it and trying it out, it's £56 well spent!
First impressions are very good, it's a big lump of machined anodised aluminium (or should that be aloominum since it's from across the pond?
), it's very well made and everything slides about just right. Setting it up for my router (each version, there are 2 I believe, fits several types of router) took less than a minute.
For the uninitiated, it is set up to work with either 1/4" (for groves and sliding dovetials from 1/4" to 1/2") or 1/2" (for 1/2" +) bits. When attached to the router, its always the same distance from the back edge of the bit to the guide (assuming you push it right up to the router base anyway), so you can make a gauge block (well, 2 actually for the 2 bit sizes) to set it up. You mark out the groove or SD and then set up a straight edge using the gauge block, and make the first pass. Then the clever bit, the jaws of the guide open up and you pop in a couple off cuts of the material your cutting the groove for (plus a paper shim if you want glue space) into the appropriate section. There are two sections for each bit size. This then moves the far edge of the cutter exactly the right amount to open up the gorve to the correct size. It's one of those "oohhh, thats really clever but simple" type of things.
I gave it a whirl and it was very quick and simple and makes perfect joints. Takes less than half the time from the old way, and of course compleatly removes the 'give the straight edge a nudge' trial and error. Also, with a little inginuity, I suspent it could find uses elsewhere in router jigs...will have to get thinking on that one. :-k
All in all, I'd say it's an excellant piece of kit if not a little expensive, but if you cut alot of groves with a router, a worthwhile investment that will last quite a while I expect.
Oh, and sorry for the total lack of pics, I couldn't be bothered... But I'm going to be making quite a few projects in the next couple of months, and I will put those up, so you can see it in action then.
First impressions are very good, it's a big lump of machined anodised aluminium (or should that be aloominum since it's from across the pond?
), it's very well made and everything slides about just right. Setting it up for my router (each version, there are 2 I believe, fits several types of router) took less than a minute.For the uninitiated, it is set up to work with either 1/4" (for groves and sliding dovetials from 1/4" to 1/2") or 1/2" (for 1/2" +) bits. When attached to the router, its always the same distance from the back edge of the bit to the guide (assuming you push it right up to the router base anyway), so you can make a gauge block (well, 2 actually for the 2 bit sizes) to set it up. You mark out the groove or SD and then set up a straight edge using the gauge block, and make the first pass. Then the clever bit, the jaws of the guide open up and you pop in a couple off cuts of the material your cutting the groove for (plus a paper shim if you want glue space) into the appropriate section. There are two sections for each bit size. This then moves the far edge of the cutter exactly the right amount to open up the gorve to the correct size. It's one of those "oohhh, thats really clever but simple" type of things.
I gave it a whirl and it was very quick and simple and makes perfect joints. Takes less than half the time from the old way, and of course compleatly removes the 'give the straight edge a nudge' trial and error. Also, with a little inginuity, I suspent it could find uses elsewhere in router jigs...will have to get thinking on that one. :-k
All in all, I'd say it's an excellant piece of kit if not a little expensive, but if you cut alot of groves with a router, a worthwhile investment that will last quite a while I expect.
Oh, and sorry for the total lack of pics, I couldn't be bothered...
But I'm going to be making quite a few projects in the next couple of months, and I will put those up, so you can see it in action then.
