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Keeping track of the dovetail pieces
Asymetrical Array. The PantoRouter can be
used to make asymetrical arrays of dovetails and
when doing so it’s especially important to keep
track of which sides of the piece you’re cutting.
It helps to layout the joint with marks showing
which edge will be registered to the operator’s
side.
The tails piece will be cut upside-down so it will
have the arrow pointing toward the table. The
pins side will have the arrow pointing up.
Always start with the tails. Reference the A-Edge
toward the operator’s side of the table and the outside
face down against the table, then cut the tails.
Cut a sample piece of the tails so you can fit the pins
while the pins piece is still on the PantoRouter
TM
table. The sample piece should be in the same stock
as the workpiece and about 6” long.
Cut all of your tails exactly the same. Remember that
routing is a subtractive operation so if you go back
over a cut it will take at least a tiny bit more off the
piece. Whatever you do to one cut should be done to
all of the others.
Tail
s Pie
ce
This S
ide
Facin
g Ta
ble
Pins P
iece
This S
ide
Facin
g Up
Op
era
tor
’s S
ide
Opera
tor’s S
ide
Cut the Pins. Cut the pins and fit them to your sam-
ple tails piece. Once the fit is perfect, cut all the pins
pieces at once.
It’s important with dovetails to glue them up right
away. We recommend milling the wood to rough
dimension and letting it rest for as long as it takes to
minimize movement. Do your final milling just be-
fore cutting dovetails or box joints, then immediately
glue it up to minimize board warp and make your
joints tighter and easier to finish.
A-Edges
A-Edges
Please watch our Dovetail How-To Video in the Support Tab on our website to see more tips and tricks for mak-
ing perfect dovetails on your PantoRouter
TM
.
A-Edge
A-Edge
