How to make the poor man's router

Nov 19, 2020

2 minutes

If you do not own a router plane or a powered router, its quite simple to make a router using a chisel. You'll need a drill and a bit that's just slightly smaller than the chisel you'd like to use. I use a 1/2" chisel and a 3/8" bit.

drill	×	1
block of wood	×	1
chisel	×	1

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Make sure the drill bit is at least within 1/8" of the size of your chisel. 1/16" is ideal.

Shoot for a 45 degree angle all the way through the block.

When you're getting close, make sure the next hit won't send your chisel into a hard surface.

Adjust the cutting edge by either tapping lightly on the back of the chisel or the corner of the wood near the chisel.

When using, keep even pressure on the block of wood against your reference face

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Riddhish (9)

Jan 18, 2023

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How to make the poor man's router

Choose the right bit

Drill a hole in the block of wood

Tap your chisel into the hole with the bevel down

Adjust depth

Use your router!