4
If the shank of the guide bushing is deeper
than the thickness of the template, sand the bottom of the
guide bushing shank until it’s just less than 1/4" deep. Test
it in the hole of the template to make sure it doesn’t extend
beyond the template.
These instructions cover use of the
template to rout 3/4" diameter bench dog holes spaced
4" apart on center.
If you’re only looking to rout dog holes along the edge of
your worktop, it’s a good idea to place painter’s tape over
the top three holes on the template so you don’t mistakenly
rout those holes, too.
Preparation and Setup
1.
Make sure that the baseplate of your plunge router is
perfectly centered in relation to the collet. If you’re uncertain
about this, follow the manual that came with your router to
center the baseplate.
2.
With your plunge router turned off and unplugged, install
the included guide bushing on the baseplate of the router
and secure by tightening the retaining ring.
3.
Chuck a 1/2"-diameter straight or up-cut spiral bit in your
router. Set the plunge depth to go 1/4" beyond the bottom
of the lip on the guide bushing. You will need to increase
the plunge depth by 1/4" after each pass until you’re able
to cut through the full depth of your worktop material. (Many
plunge routers allow you to set multiple plunge depths with
a built-in depth stop and turret mechanism. Refer to the
user’s manual to see whether your router has this capability.)
4.
Map out the pattern of bench dog holes you want to rout
into your worktop. This is very important, because the
pattern will affect which holes in the template you use and
the sequence in which you rout the holes in the worktop.
The process will be different if you’re routing a single row
of holes around the perimeter of the worktop than it will
be if you’re routing a full grid across the entire surface.
5.
Insert the four edge-registration pins in the small holes along
two edges of the template, making sure the heads of the pins
are seated in the template.
First, Rout Along the Worktop Edges
1.
Position the template in the lower left corner of your worktop,
with the edge-registration pins tight against the top’s edges.
Routing the dog holes all the way through
your worktop will require several deepening passes with
your router while the template is secured in the same
location. You can do this by routing all holes to the same
initial depth; stopping and increasing the router’s plunge
depth by 1/4"; routing all holes with the new setting;
stopping and increasing the plunge depth by an additional
1/4"; routing all holes with the new setting; and repeating
this process until the hole goes through the entire thickness
of your worktop. Or you can make all passes on one hole
to cut all the way through and then move to the next hole
and make all passes and so on. These instructions will use
the first method, as it requires fewer total adjustments and
therefore is likely to be faster.
To help make this process easier, Rockler offers a
1/2" Shank Router Baseplate Centering Guide (80548,
sold separately).
Fig. 1
Edge-registration pins
Clamp
Route
holes
outline
in red
