Hey everyone! I'm a hobbyist woodworker planning to sell some plant stands. I've made a few beautiful ones using chisels, but I want to speed things up with power tools. So, I created a router template, marked everything out, clamped it down, and got to work. I used a 1/4" template plunge bit with an MDF template slightly over 1/4" wide to fit the bit, and I ended up using a ton of clamps!
Unfortunately, the mortises turned out with inconsistent widths and alignment issues, and it felt like I wasted a lot of wood. I'm looking for any advice or recommendations to improve my technique!
1 Answer
It sounds like a tricky situation! A solid approach is to lay out your mortise on both sides of the wood. Start by drilling halfway through from one side, close to the corners, and then flip it to drill from the other side until the holes meet. You can clean up the middle with a chisel afterward.
I appreciate that! Just so you know, I did it by hand before, but I'm looking for ways to speed things up. Any other suggestions?