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Setting Up Rail and Stile Router Bits |
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Author: Tom Hintz Setting Up Rail and Stile Router Bits
The quality rail and stile router bit sets available today make the process of machining these parts far less labor intensive than in the days of hand planes and elbow grease. The biggest obstacle is setting them up correctly to produce clean-fitting, flush joints.
Note: The rails are the horizontal pieces of the frame and the stiles the vertical parts.
When I first started using my rail and stile bit set, the joints were functional, but often required considerable sanding to get the adjoining surfaces flush to each other. The router bits were doing exactly what they were designed to do; I had not mastered the art of setting them up properly.
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Setting the stile bit up includes being sure there is sufficient material at the rear of the groove (Top in this photo) to support the panel.
Click image to enlarge |
After struggling through several ineffective setup procedures, I discovered a method that works very well for me. Now my rail and stile joints fit properly and more importantly, are nearly dead flush when assembled. My sanders appreciate it greatly.
The first step is making sure all of the parts to be machined are the same thickness. Cutting all of the rail and stile pieces from one board helps. Having a thickness planer helps more.
Even small variances in thickness among the pieces is trouble. Planing all of the pieces to the same thickness makes this task much easier. However, be careful not reduce the stock too much. Bits are usually designed to work with a specific range of wood thicknesses. If the wood is undersized, the bits may not be able to cut their full profiles. So far, I have not had to plane more than 1/32nd of an inch to equalize my pieces.
One additional step I recommend is making a set of test pieces from the stock being used for the project. It takes a little longer but can save considerable time and expense in the end. Once the correct setup is accomplished, a good "test set" can be saved and used as gauges to speed the setup process on future projects.
Making setup blocks also lets you make sure the tongue is ...
MORE HERE
http://www.newwoodworker.com/ralstilbitset.html
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