Router Base Plate Template Guide

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I bought myself a Porter and Cable dovetail jig kit. The kit comes with different 'Router Template Guides' such as the 42040, for use with their 43776PC router bit on their jig. There are two router bits and template guides for each of their two styles of dovetail templates. The main router bit is the 43776PC which is described as a '1 7/32" 7º Carbide-Tipped Dovetail Router Bit'. The other 1/2 inch router bit is the 43743PC - which is described as a 13/32" Carbide-Tipped Dovetail Router Bit. The two other router bits in the kit are the 1/4 inch diameter 43777PC and the 43014PC. I have two routers that accept 1/2 inch shank router bits - so that is a tick. However, neither my Bosch GOF 1300 Ace or my Hitachi M12V router's base plates fit the special 30 mm diameter (1 3/16 inch) Porter and Cable template guides. So a cross for that result - or lack thereof.

Checked online ... yes Bosch do make an adapter kit that does include the Porter and Cable template guide ... for their more modern routers. No mention is made in the extensive list of compatible models for the GOF 1300 Ace. So an email was sent to Bosch Australia asking them to check to see if their kit with a product number of BOSCH RA1128 fits my version of their router.

No one on any forums matched the Hitachi M12V base plate adapters that suit the 42040 Router Template Guide. No runs on the board there either.

I went to three big brand tool shops in town and found a couple of Makita 240 volt routers that the 42040 Router Template Guide do fit to. Trouble is they are only 1/4 inch diameter shanks. The Porter and Cable kit only comes with 1/2 inch shank router bits to suit the 42040 template guide - that is another negative result.

I went online again and checked some hardware stores - if I did buy a new router that the 42040 Router Template Guide fits to no one makes a 1/4 inch collet up to 1/2 inch collet adapter. There are plenty of 1/2 inch down to 1/4 of inch adapters.

What about just getting some 1/4 inch router bits that I could use instead of the two Porter and Cable supplied router bits - that have 1/2 inch diameter shanks you ask (43776PC & 43743PC). Apparently, only one manufacturer - who is located in America - makes a 1/4 inch diameter shank router bit that is compatible with the 42040 Router Template Guide. Apart from the 1 7/32" diameter, the 7 degree pitch in the 43776PC poses availability problems in finding compatible alternatives to the Porter and Cable genuine bits. This means that there is the 43743PC bit - the other 1/2 inch router bit that still needs to have a compatible 1/4 inch alternative found to replace genuine Porter and Cable bit so it suits the 42040 template... and no doubt it is only available from the US of A. The 43776PC compatible bit costs $54 USD plus $56 USD postage by the way.

My third router is a Ryobi 1/4 inch shank. Unfortunately the Ryobi's base plate hole is far too large for the 42040 Router Template Guide. Ryobi do not make a Porter and Cable adapter plate for my Ryobi router either. So even if I did get the two 1/4 inch diameter replacements for the 43776PC & 43743PC, I do not have the correct adapter plate for the Ryobi router template guide. Therefore, forget the Ryobi 1/4 inch alternatives. Because it simply is not an alternative - another strike out in the field of play!

So tomorrow I am off to one of the local aluminium suppliers to by a 100 mm wide and 3 mm thick length of flat bar. I am going to make my own base plate adapter so I can fit it to my Hitachi M12V which will take the four Porter and Cable specialist dovetail router bits. I just have to buy a 30 mm hole saw so the 42040 Router Template Guide can be fitted to Hitachi's converted base plate. Plus a couple of plate retention screws.

All the fun of the fair just to get one bit of kit interacting with another manufacturer's bit of kit ... sigh! The score stands at: the bulk of my afternoon wasted; petrol in the car consumed driving from home to the tool shops; hours of research spent online. Then tomorrow - Ding ... Ding Round Two starts with my tracking down some aluminum flat bar and a 30 mm diameter hole saw... fingers crossed. Plus - I have to find my 1/2 inch to 1/4 reducer adapter... or buy a new one! Remember that my 1/4 inch Ryobi does not have the correct adapter plate for the router template guides... sigh!

I did also send an email to Porter and Cable to see if they manufacture 1/4 inch diameter versions of their four router bits for use in their dovetail kits. That 240 volt Makita was a nice middle size compared to my heavy duty Bosch and Hitachi routers and not as lightweight as the Ryobi. Do I need four routers though ... hmmm!

Is your head hurting? I know mine is! Something that should be so 'simples' buy a kit, fit the guide template to your router and away you go making dovetails...

By the way, the alternative to the Porter and Cable dovetail bit (43776PC) is the Whiteside Router Bit product code D7-530


Kind regards
Lionel

[gromit]

You must be planning to do a lot of dovetail joints to justify a jig.
I've just hand cut dovetails on a toolbox I'm making. I did contemplate a Leigh jig and could have used one at the local Woodwork Club I belong to but by the time I'd learnt how to use it I could hand cut mine.

If finger jointing will do, Triton made a finger joint adapter for their router bench, I have one somewhere.
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Colin

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

At close of play today I had two router base templates made and fitted. Both routers can now accept the Porter and Cable template guides. The 1/2 inch shank Porter and Cable router bits are handled by the Hitachi M20 V's new base plate adapter. The little Ryobi palm router has a new 1/4 inch shank base that accepts the Porter and Cable template 1/4 inch template guides. I did buy a 1/2 inch to 1/4 reducer for the Hitachi. However, since the Ryobi's base plate is only held on by four Philips head screws I figured I could make 2 new base plates and fit the Porter and Cable template router guides. Each base plate would be already set up with the template guide, and be ready to go. The Hitachi is even simpler with only two screws holding the base plate adapter. So, tomorrow will be a rinse and repeat of today's efforts. Accept that all the materials are now on hand and I have had a trial run that was successful. Today was pretty much experimental, so things took a while to work out.

By Sunday lunch-time I should be ready to start experimenting with sections of 238 mm x 19 mm pine dress all round and the Porter and Cable dovetail jig. The end goal is two bookcases for my study. Fingers crossed.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

You must be planning to do a lot of dovetail joints to justify a jig.
I've just hand cut dovetails on a toolbox I'm making. I did contemplate a Leigh jig and could have used one at the local Woodwork Club I belong to but by the time I'd learnt how to use it I could hand cut mine.

If finger jointing will do, Triton made a finger joint adapter for their router bench, I have one somewhere.
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Colin

Hello Colin,

Thank you for taking the time to read through my earlier post. I thought I was writing to me, myself and I. Yes, another good Joan Armatrading song (accessed 5th August 2023 from, Joan Armatrading - Me, Myself I (Video HQ) - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kavu_vuD2QM)).

Yes, the dovetail jig will be getting a good workout on a decade or two of postponed projects. Call it an investment of time. If I do work on the house I can go and play with Land Rovers and trucks!

The bookcases are a 'me' job though. I am trying to clear my overflow desk in the study of piles of books. The worst thing about horizontal surfaces is that they attract stacks.

Kind regards
Lionel

[gromit]

Hello Colin,

Thank you for taking the time to read through my earlier post. I thought I was writing to me, myself and I. Yes, another good Joan Armatrading song (accessed 5th August 2023 from, Joan Armatrading - Me, Myself I (Video HQ) - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kavu_vuD2QM)).

Yes, the dovetail jig will be getting a good workout on a decade or two of postponed projects. Call it an investment of time. If I do work on the house I can go and play with Land Rovers and trucks!

The bookcases are a 'me' job though. I am trying to clear my overflow desk in the study of piles of books. The worst thing about horizontal surfaces is that they attract stacks.

Kind regards
Lionel

Lionel,
I must admit I didn't read all your post.

Search MarketPlace & Gumtree for a bookcase, they come up cheap when people move house or change furniture.
I've made a few items of furniture but it's often so cheap secondhand and allows more time to work on Land Rovers. I only make things I can't easily buy or to meet a specific need.

I'm making a storage box at the moment for my woodwork planes. I've found that if I make the storage box look attractive it's allowed inside the house which means the tools are always in the warm & dry !

Colin

[Lionelgee]

Lionel,
I must admit I didn't read all your post.

Search MarketPlace & Gumtree for a bookcase, they come up cheap when people move house or change furniture.
I've made a few items of furniture but it's often so cheap secondhand and allows more time to work on Land Rovers. I only make things I can't easily buy or to meet a specific need.

I'm making a storage box at the moment for my woodwork planes. I've found that if I make the storage box look attractive it's allowed inside the house which means the tools are always in the warm & dry !

Colin

Hello Colin,

The bookcases are actually bespoke. They are made to fit within the width of two sets of double sash windows in my combined overflow study and cat's room. The top of the bookcases will incorporate two currently existing 238 mm x 19 mm pine cat walkway platforms that are positioned in line with the bottom window sill. The space between the window sill and the floor will form the main storage area of the bookcase. The area under the currently installed cat platforms is effectively dead space. The construction of book 'shelves' will make the space useful and assist me clearing my desk.

So second-hand bookcases were not really an option. Well, unless there were two sets of similar size bookcases that could be 're-purposed' to make fit. However, it can take longer to re-purpose something for a new application than building something from scratch.

Kind regards
Lionel

[MikeCaerdydd]

Hi Lionel,

Thanks for the very informative post, I came across it when searching for a solution after buying the Porter Cable 4216. It came today and the problem occurred as soon as tried to fit the guide bushes to the router.

After reading your posts on this subject I am left wondering if I have made a mistake in purchasing this jig?

Anyway, any further advice on how you solved the problems you mentioned would be extremely helpful and appreciated. Did you make the base plates yourself?

I see you mentioned the 30 mm hole saw, could you advise if you also made a wider partial cut though to allow the guide to sit flush with the base plate?

I have just joined this group and left it open for you to email me if you prefer.

Also you mention the whiteside router bit, do they also do any other of the bits that are suitable for this PC jig?

Thanks in advance,

Mike.

[Lionelgee]

Hi Lionel,

Thanks for the very informative post, I came across it when searching for a solution after buying the Porter Cable 4216. It came today and the problem occurred as soon as tried to fit the guide bushes to the router.

After reading your posts on this subject I am left wondering if I have made a mistake in purchasing this jig?

Anyway, any further advice on how you solved the problems you mentioned would be extremely helpful and appreciated. Did you make the base plates yourself?

I see you mentioned the 30 mm hole saw, could you advise if you also made a wider partial cut though to allow the guide to sit flush with the base plate?

I have just joined this group and left it open for you to email me if you prefer.

Also you mention the whiteside router bit, do they also do any other of the bits that are suitable for this PC jig?

Thanks in advance,

Mike.

Hello Mike,

I found that buying the Porter Cable jig was well worth the money. My modifications to allow the kit to fit my old Hitachi M12V router just involved making two aluminium plates, cutting some holes and drilling some holes. I needed to make the largest 'base' plate because the Porter Cable router bit guide sat too proud of the original Hitachi base plate. It meant instead of the rounter bit following the central slot the base of the threaded guide sat proud of the original base plate which offset the cut. It also meant even when I took care to line up the main central slot on the router bit guide the whole router was left teetering on the 30 mm wide guide. It was very unstable and that instability caused play and inaccurate joints being cut.

The large base plate I made and fitted over the Hitachi original base plate allowed the right amount of clearance for the router base plate to fit flush on the Porter and Cable jig. No slop and much more accurate cuts.

There are two smaller adapter plates shown in the photograph. One of the smaller plates has arches cut out to allow the wood shavings to clear themselves out during each cut. The second smaller adapter plate has the Porter and Cable router bit guide fitted to it. This one was the one I used the most. The next time I use the router I will cut the arch holes in both the large base plate and the adapter plate that holds the router bit guide. During full length trenching cuts the wood shavings build up and start to choke. I included both router guide adapter plates just to show how one had extra slots cut into it. I only use the main base plate and one of the smaller adapter plates.

I found that the Hitachi M12V while really powerful was cumbersome to use for long periods of time. I think a smaller sized router would offer a Goldilocks advantage in handling.

I wound up sticking with the router bits that came with the Porter Cable jig. The main advantage of the Whiteside router bit is that they have a thinner shank than the Porter Cable jig. These thinner shanks could provide more advantage if I did buy a smaller router to use instead of the Hitachi M12V. Other things than buying another router are higher on my tool purchase priority list. So, unless I have another big routing job come along I will stick with the Hitachi.

The Porter and Cable router jig is quick to set up and easy to use. There are plenty of YouTube clips to study to gain insight into how to set up and use these jigs. Once they are set up they can be put back on a shelf and be ready for you to start using within less than five minutes.

I hope that has come some way towards answering your questions, Mike. Good luck with your projects!

Kind regards
Lionel