How to Make a Router Mortising Jig | I Can Do That!

Andrew Zoellner shows how to make and use a clever mortising jig using the router of your choice. Make sure your mortises are centered and perfectly-sized for your next project using this simple jig.
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[@1973jdmc]

I’ve watched loads of Mortice jigs and this is hands down the best and easiest one by a mile. THANK YOU 🎉😊

[@stevecrawley2983]

Made this today. Was considering buying a morticer for making cuts in small pieces of wood. This is perfect and it saved me £300. Great work, look forward to seeing more. Steve

[@jlm3105]

Thank you! This has served me very well. A couple caveats- Make sure you make it wide enough for your router plate to be screwed down and not interfere with the through bolts-washers. Also I made the 'fences' out of 3/4" wide x 1 1/2" deep stock, and drilled through the 1 1/2" side to make the sides extra stable. I also used small knobs instead of the wing-nuts, those are hard to tighten for me. Last but not least, I place several pieces together in the jig if I am mortising thinner pieces, to create a wider platform for the jig to sit on and it works flawlessly.

[@glennlopez6772]

The most simple and practical mortising jig, when you need to do several of them on say for a bench back. I had to skip to the assembly to see what I was in for. You could have given a pre view at the beginning. For me, a good height to work at without bending too much and for a closer look . Thanks a lot.

[@errcoche]

Only thing for me is that I would have changed the orientation of the maple pieces so that the face not the edge, gripped the work, or maybe had hole slightly offset in both edge and face so I could swap.

[@adelker4884]

I'm amazed at the amount of undeserved negative comments. I mean..if a viewer thinks he doesn't need to waste his time, why on earth is he watching the video to the end? In fact, why is he watching the video at all?!!!! Andrew, keep up the good work and totally disregard the negativity.

[@ericwanjiru8866]

true

[@patrickcowan8701]

Exactly, I've been a carpenter for forty years and I watch all these videos,and hell I've learned some new ways of doing things, even from newbies.

[@adelker4884]

@@patrickcowan8701 That's the spirit, Patrick✌

[@AlessioSangalli]

Do you realize they have published a video where they broke the bit and did not even care to retake the scene? I mean come on...

[@steveisrome1719]

This is KZbin. The dumb, ignorant, attention whores rule these comment sections. Going back in my cave before they see me nice talking to ya!

[@errcoche]

Nice video showing another human being not some woodworking black belt going through the process in detail without accelerating the speed on the tool work. A lot of other videos are quite intimidating. Guys with a shop full of festool and industrial scale equipment making jigs that belong in an art gallery.

[@nosleepdelirium1214]

Yeah even as a beginner there were times I found myself twiddling my thumbs, but I'd rather have moments of being bored yet get all the information I need than be left with a bunch of questions. Unfortunately I don't prefer this jig itself , not the best

[@HugoAlfredoOrdonezCh]

Excelente guía para mortajas, gracias por compartirla.

[@showkatmir1432]

Thanks I saw so many teachers making Mortis and tenon it was very difficult to understand but u understood me very easily

[@hollysmith562]

Great jig this is the fastest and easiest mortise jig I have seen. Now I need 2 make me 1 thank u

[@stephenmayne4886]

Great video. Thanks

[@mikedisimile2478]

Nice job explaining everything 👍

[@robertbrunston5406]

Very good! Thank you.

[@gpdoyon]

Nicely done!

[@luvpostrock69]

Watched this today and it's a great idea for a quick jig to make consistent mortises (mortisi?). 😁 What I liked about this video is he doesn't have a big, fancy, fully loaded shop. Just an average Joe showing how to achieve a task.

[@toninhoferreira3197]

Works great

[@bijan4727]

Hello. This was an excellent jig and very well elaborated and demonstrated. I really appreciate it. I wish woodcraft would reopen the store in Ventura County in Southern California.

[@JonnyDIY]

Nice job, thanks for sharing 👍

[@DraRed73]

Good stuff!

[@adrianperalta7192]

Esto! 👍👏👏👏👏👏👏profesor excelente!

[@fireflyvtxr]

Drill over a piece of scrap wood, will help eliminate or reduce the ripping at the exit.

[@patrickcowan8701]

How do you like that 3hp DeWalt been torn between the power of that or the 2 1/4 HP plunge fixed DeWalt has discontinued that model but love the simplicity

[@ramwall1500]

I already knew this but this was a good reminder when drilling holes you really need to clamp your work piece down

[@PIANOSTYLE100]

I'm stopping and commenting. I've been looking for a jig like that. I try to make mortices, but they are hit and miss..btw excellent photography..to the point and accurate.

[@crafts_avenue]

can I enlarge that to mortis say in a 8" piece?

[@kennethkolman7367]

Center line of bit would be helpful to line up center of board

[@ThePirocadoida]

A tip. When drill a hole with a forstner drill, drill from both sides to in so as not to chip at the edges

[@steveisrome1719]

And instead have 2 holes that don't meet up because you measured off just a tad lol

[@steveisrome1719]

@Buddy Austin I didn't say it's not impossible, just seems impractical when a full set of forstner bits can go for 35 bucks. So. Yup

[@senordiy8216]

Or, use a sacrificing scrap piece of wood on the back.

[@dermotbrowne9658]

how do you centre the mortice?

[@FStewartIII]

what is the brand name of that adjustable square used in the video?

[@Zerostar369]

I think it is a 12" LASQUARE COMBINATION SQUARE - 2" BASE

[@joecox9958]

thanks. if the wood is 2x2 and I want the mortise to be a the end, how could it be done?

[@MultiKtm300]

Get another piece of stock the same dimension and essentially make your workpiece longer to give the jig something to ride on.

[@texasfossilguy]

So you have to have the small router jig to build the big router jig.... what is this router ception

[@jimlaw6017]

How can you see and feel the start and finish reliably?

[@andyfreeman2996]

What are the dimensions of the plywood base plate you used?

[@efrancis19]

Hi Andy. The dimensions of the plywood base can be whatever you need them to be. All you need is a piece wide enough so that your router base plate fits between the guide slots. I believe the piece used in this video is 3/4" thick, but 5/8" should also work fine.

[@ronmiller7916]

this really should be made out of acrylic

[@MosquitoMade]

One thing I've learned from watching other people use routers on KZbin: I'm way nicer to my router than a lot of people it seems...

[@johnmunoz8845]

How do you make sure your straight when your lining up your jig on the stock? It looks like you risk not cutting straight if you don't tighten the jig correctly.

[@klm8156]

As long as your stock is straight/square, the mortise will be.

[@HoUsEoFcAtS78]

Probably should have done the slots in 3 passes with the baby colt router.

[@pawelmolin]

Don’t you think to make your device so that it is possible to center a place of mortise such as while installing hinges?

[@lwoodt1]

I have that same square ..

[@paulgoulden9988]

You made a fence. Why not make a jig instead, with end stops. That way you wont go over your mortise lines, and the cut is repeatable on all your similar work pieces.

[@johanvandyk6532]

Use Plexiglas for the base instead

[@grimsoul0]

That's how I made mine. Based off of the one The Samurai Carpenter made.

[@rossmcgarry8055]

Johan Van Dyk - Hi - Yes, I've seen the video of The Samurai Carpenter making his router base out of Plexiglass. And I agree with the comment of some other guy that he'd have been better off mounting the Plexiglass on the diagonal rather than the square: more stability. Must say that just watching Samurai Carpenter wears me out with all that manic talking and moving and arm-waving. But when it comes to woodworking, he's very smart and clever.

[@Recovery12Life]

With this style jig the fastest way to get a good result is plunging all the way and then cleaning up with a sliding cut.

[@loretospiteri3626]

Can this work with a regular router or do you need a plunge router?

[@gregblake2764]

You need a plunge router.

[@robertw.1499]

That back fence you locked off first needs to have some sort of scale showing external to the edge of the base to make sure the first adjustment is always parallel to the centre of the workpiece before you lock off the second fence. If not, you'll always be eyeballing it. The idea is great though 👍

[@Christophernaz]

The long side fences do that automatically, by aligning themselves with the side of the work piece. When both fences are locked in place, now along both sides of the work piece, it cant do anything but track the work piece exactly in the center. Does that make sense to you, cause now that I re-read it, its a little fuzzy. Could be my smoking choice at the moment...lol

[@craigmayhan8620]

@@Christophernaz NO, it's guess work to find the center. need to have a way of finding center. once found, then yes it would stay straight.

[@bigjuliedive]

May I suggest that your bench is too low as it requires you to keep bending down? Perhaps fit some lockable wheels?

[@terristroh3965]

Why use a small forstner bit for a small hole through thick board when a bigger sized hole by a hole saw would provide better visibility of the mortise markings without compromising the jig? Maybe use plexiglass instead of that bottom board?

[@shanehartley484]

I can't believe all routers don't have a trigger power control. They are hard to balance with one hand and and if you are in distress you have to choose between trying to turn it off, which is only possible by letting it go of one of the handles, which is crazy, I would almost rather let go with both hands which hands which is obviously only as a last resort but there are those situations where you have no other choice but to let go and back away, obviously doing major damage to the tool and i imagine it would cause some embarrassment but you would hopefully avoid injury but the tool would take some damage, as it an expensive tool most people including myself which I actually had to do today, would choose to ride it out, holding on with both hands but losing sight of the blades and for a split second control of the unit, while trying to regain control of the unit, which is a little unnerving when the blades actually contact something unknown and it started screaming, it was loud but still not as loud as buddy using the router in the video here. The crazy part is during this moment of uncertainty you know its not going to turn off. What the &*^%. I used one for the first time today and it tipped into the hole. Luckily I chose to hold on and it did some serious damage to my bench. At least the manufacturer could have the switch in a spot so you can turn it off while still holding on, if they are too cheap for a trigger. The little ones seem even worse as they look like they could pop out of your hand easily. Am I missing something here and they aren't as dangerous as I think? It tunneled a big hole and the wood is black where it made contact and that's just from it getting off balance and leaning half inch off off of the surface I was working on for a split second. Be safe

[@runtfan71]

That's a great point. My plunge router (an old Craftsman) does have a trigger control, and I never gave it a thought. I have the same Bosch trim router as the one in the video and you're correct - trying to find that little power switch in a hurry is tricky.

[@whosaidthat5236]

You need to find a new hobby

[@HobbyNatura]

the grip is better if the two blocking bars are higher

[@jesterraj]

That porta cable look like the dewalt a lot

[@phillipleighton9160]

when you drilled the hole with the forsner bit before you got thru you should have turned the peas over and drilled thru with the forsner bit to stop taer out

[@grenvillebamford1205]

Lower the work in the vice until your guides stop wobbling good simple idea, made mine from aluminium.

[@gsh319]

Don't push so hard on your drill. Let it do the work and it will also keep it clean.

[@joecox9958]

I made one, then found no reference to keep router in central line of the material.

[@landoncarter6452]

That was the same concern that I had when watching the video.

[@MrFreakwent]

Why use up your bit length by making a base 3/4 " thick?

[@harizummer3233]

Make template in horizontal mode the waste need to push out.

[@robertlopez1913]

Soooo you need a jig to make a jig...nice

[@jonno8183]

After hearing the router bit screaming on the last pass - did I see a broken router bit emerge at 16:02 ?

[@vileguile4]

Either that or he used the invisible kind :) Well spotted!

[@Exodus5K]

Also he intended to take 3 passes and only took 2. Probably due to his broken bit.

[@johnconklin9039]

You sure did, it's clearly broken. Why in the world would you publish a video with something like that in it?

[@jac_builtWoodworks]

The whole video was awkward. This guy was very awkward and clearly is a newbie.

[@gerardfallon9204]

Come on guys.... I know that content is King but you can do better than this.

[@renoholland7090]

I just use a drill press, a sharp chisel and a mallet.

[@kevinbenedict5443]

Your forstner bits will work better with your drill on low speed.

[@navret1707]

How do you ensure the jig is square to the work piece? If not your mortise won’t be straight.

[@broadexuk]

The router bit spins on the vertical axis so angular alignment to the guide is not important, just the distance from the centre of the cutter, in contrast a circular saw need to be aligned because it spins horizontally and needs to be parallel to a fence for a correct cut.

[@peterfido8735]

Using Just a router with a fence will give you the same result in less time .

[@juliegfoster1]

Didn't work for me. I hope this jig helps improve my mortises.

[@J-Chong]

👍 🇵🇪

[@MRrwmac]

Looked like that was still pretty tipsy.

[@nonparticipant4671]

Yeah, let the router jig ride on top of the table not the workpiece. It's good that these folks are trying to help, but he clearly does not have a lot of experience. You also notice that he doesn't show the underside of the jig. I believe that's because it probably blew out completely with that huge bit. If you care what it looks like, why not take a minute to turn the piece over half way through and drill from the other side, much cleaner that way. Just my .02

[@junbecks]

@@nonparticipant4671 question, do jigs need to be perfect or a little blowout is ok?

[@LastEmpireOfMusic]

but isnt it easy to accidentally adjust the fences not straight, ending up with fucked up mortise

[@rdg515]

Joe Rogan is pretty handy

[@righthook27]

Quick and simple, but definitely not a design I would go with... looks pretty unstable. I don't thing I've ever seen a jig move with the tool. A router is very unforgiving because of its tremendous speed, the slightest lateral movement can ruin the workpiece.

[@mattivirta]

lot better hsve self centering jig, build to plate little fences were self-centering ewerytime, lot better than this amateur system.but this is good others dove make need only longed adjust holes can use far at plate too.

[@markkulepisto1159]

To make a jig first you make a jig to make it. It’s jigs all the way down.. (kidding of course!)

[@jameslucas6589]

Nothing like overtaxing your tools by 100%. You have s small finish router doing the work of a heavy router. Why? And the rated values are 99% of the time are bullsh** such as my Porter Cable top of the line 3HP router. If it was a true 3 HP motor, I could barely pick it up. That said, the best and easiest way to mortise exactly, is to use a base plate (clear acrylic) with two pins, one on each side of the center bit. Lay the router down over the stock, turn the router and base left or right. The base now has your router perfectly centered over the stock. Plunge the bit down into the stock the desired amount (in increments if need be) and rout the mortise. It’s easy. No adjusting. Never. No jig with mechanical adjustments. Why did not this type be shown? These guys are supposed to know what they are doing. Or may be I am all wet here. I dunno.

[@robertmeyer75rm]

You should make a video.

[@carbonitegamorrean8368]

This would have been painful to watch live.

[@OrangesII]

This is literally what Jay bates made like 4 years ago

[@nc3826]

lol FYI-He never said it a one of kind design its decades like 99.9% of whats posts on youtube...

[@douglaspierce7031]

looks lie he broke the bit

[@jerrydoe2786]

Kinda bulky .......

[@edt5276]

👎 Too many commercials.

[@GrantSR]

This is what happens when people are more interested in filling minutes than actually providing useful information. I don't need to watch you drill every ..... single ....... hole. Not to mention how badly that thing was designed.

[@davidbenning7356]

Andrew thanks for the video. As a beginner, what are your recommendations of the router bits which must be in the tool box...your help is appreciated as I don't want to waste money as a novice

[@HoUsEoFcAtS78]

@@davidbenning7356 do not, I repeat DO NOT buy cheap bits! I'm not saying don't buy inexpensive bits. But cheap(Harbor Freight) bits will not do well. Even for a beginner. That's my advice.

[@shantaymadison3808]

Thousands of lifetime projects with Woodprix plans.

[@jeffreycunningtown5730]

I prefer to build with Woodglut plans.

[@shannanschisler8485]

Great to see it. I did it too. The plans from Woodglut helped me a lot :)

[@chavirawiser5010]

I am sure you will find a good way to do this on the Stodoys website.