Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
Sofa-bed continued:
One problem with the router set up like this is the action happens at the bottom of the piece of wood you're moving across the table where you can't actually see it.
If you're routing along the entire length of the wood this isn't a problem. Just run the piece through. But on each of these frames there are two pieces where I need to make two separate cuts, neither of which extend to either end. There might be a better way but this is the method I can up with and it worked for me.
Rotate the router bit till one cutting edge is parallel to the direction the wood will travel. You move the wood on the table from right to left so consider this the leading edge of the bit.
Take a combination square and align one edge with the cutting bit.
Use the combination square to mark off a line across the router table.
Carefully lay a strip of masking tape along the line to make it easier to see. Then again using the combination square do the same measurements for the trailing edge of the router bit.
Lay down another strip of masking tape along the second mark. You now have a guide to the width of the router bit. The shows where it will cut.
Start by routing the three 10" long pieces of frame. The two that are 5" wide are routed along one complete edge. The 6" wide piece has both edges routed. NOTE: In this picture the three pieces are not in their correct orientation. The two end pieces should have their routed edges facing the middle.
Dry fit the frame pieces together. Letter and mark each piece so when it comes time to reassemble they will match up. There are two 74" long frame pieces. On these two pieces use a ruler to mark where the routed edges of the middle pieces line up. Draw these lines across the width of the boards.
Draw marks on both edges that are continuations of the previously drawn lines.
Now here is where it gets tricky. It's real easy to get confused at this step. Use the marks on each edge of the board to line up on the masking tape where the router cut should begin. In this picture you can see the mark is lined up with the inside edge of the left masking tape. Since the board will move from right to left this shows I'm beginning a cut.
Use the mark on the side of the board closest to the router bit to keep the board perpendicular as you slide it close to the bit before powering on the router. In this picture the bit is at the bottom.
Power on the router then slide the board against the bit and the fence. Then move it to the left. In this picture the mark is on the inside edge of the rightmost masking tape. So here I was finishing a cut.
That's it. Do the cuts on both boards of this frame then do it all over again for the other frame. I did make one mistake. There was a small knot on the edge of the board and I thought it was my mark. It wasn't. I had plowed straight past my mark while looking at the knot.
One more thing. You'll notice the router leaves a rounded corner. Will come back to that later.
continued -
One problem with the router set up like this is the action happens at the bottom of the piece of wood you're moving across the table where you can't actually see it.
If you're routing along the entire length of the wood this isn't a problem. Just run the piece through. But on each of these frames there are two pieces where I need to make two separate cuts, neither of which extend to either end. There might be a better way but this is the method I can up with and it worked for me.
Rotate the router bit till one cutting edge is parallel to the direction the wood will travel. You move the wood on the table from right to left so consider this the leading edge of the bit.
Take a combination square and align one edge with the cutting bit.
Use the combination square to mark off a line across the router table.
Carefully lay a strip of masking tape along the line to make it easier to see. Then again using the combination square do the same measurements for the trailing edge of the router bit.
Lay down another strip of masking tape along the second mark. You now have a guide to the width of the router bit. The shows where it will cut.
Start by routing the three 10" long pieces of frame. The two that are 5" wide are routed along one complete edge. The 6" wide piece has both edges routed. NOTE: In this picture the three pieces are not in their correct orientation. The two end pieces should have their routed edges facing the middle.
Dry fit the frame pieces together. Letter and mark each piece so when it comes time to reassemble they will match up. There are two 74" long frame pieces. On these two pieces use a ruler to mark where the routed edges of the middle pieces line up. Draw these lines across the width of the boards.
Draw marks on both edges that are continuations of the previously drawn lines.
Now here is where it gets tricky. It's real easy to get confused at this step. Use the marks on each edge of the board to line up on the masking tape where the router cut should begin. In this picture you can see the mark is lined up with the inside edge of the left masking tape. Since the board will move from right to left this shows I'm beginning a cut.
Use the mark on the side of the board closest to the router bit to keep the board perpendicular as you slide it close to the bit before powering on the router. In this picture the bit is at the bottom.
Power on the router then slide the board against the bit and the fence. Then move it to the left. In this picture the mark is on the inside edge of the rightmost masking tape. So here I was finishing a cut.
That's it. Do the cuts on both boards of this frame then do it all over again for the other frame. I did make one mistake. There was a small knot on the edge of the board and I thought it was my mark. It wasn't. I had plowed straight past my mark while looking at the knot.
One more thing. You'll notice the router leaves a rounded corner. Will come back to that later.
continued -
