How to make the poor man's router

Dayne Dayne (57)
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

Howchoo is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate, we may earn a small affiliate commission at no cost to you when you buy through our links.

Choose the right bit

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

Drill a hole in the block of wood

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

Tap your chisel into the hole with the bevel down

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.

Use your router!

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

Keep reading if you are curious but on the fence about the router.
0

The Google Nest WiFi Router is a user-friendly, affordable mesh router with high-speed connections. But how does it measure up when compared to other mesh routers?