The Amazing Self-Centering Mortising Jig

[@sandman2651]

You Sir have rapidly become my go to youtuber,i live on disability so any jig that works can save myself money thankyou

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks mike nicholas! I'm glad my content is helpful for you. Cheers 🙂

[@rickgauthier6597]

Great idea for us home wood working hobbiests

[@BryanCiminelli]

Really nice video! I made one of these myself a while back. The only difference in construction really was I installed the rails first and used the router to cut the slot and also cut the holes for the bolts holding the centering assembly. This way I knew that my centering bolts were lined up perfectly with my mortise slot. Thanks for sharing!

[@Spratlyk9]

Among all the videos i watched on mortising, yours is the BEST! Simple, inexpensive, easy to use, but very accurate. I'm gonna make one for myself. THANKS FOR SHARING AND MORE POWER TO YOUR CHANNEL!

[@rameshgknair8338]

I am thrilled by watching this video . Matter of facts,no frills . I will be building one of this kind. Thanks

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks @Ramesh GK Nair! All the best in the New Year 🙂

[@albatros1752]

Yeah make one , work great !!!

[@mitziseyfferdt3866]

Awesome jig, building mine tomorrow

[@yarrarat]

Very impressive and simple thanks for sharing my next project

[@josemanoelgferreira9418]

Nice job. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@lyntoncox7880]

The simple ideas are certainly the best. I shall definitely be trying this out but I think I will use plexiglass for the bottom and maybe add an rule scale somehow to use it also as a mark-out tool. Looking forward to seeing its partner tenoning jig. This wonderful basic model has inspired some ideas for a more decorative one and even one using some 3D printed components.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks lynton cox! Absolutely, there are a number of ways you can expand on this basic jig design. Enjoy 😀

[@wilfriedhoffmann4601]

Excellent work. Thank you for showing.

[@donx7]

Brilian idea👍👍👍

[@josevillanueva6992]

You know. Your version is better than others. I'll keep in mind for later. Thanks for sharing. Greetings from California.

[@johnshort1536]

Another winner.

[@tanvir7907]

Simple, easy, perfect. 👌

[@pablocastro9560]

I love it!! Thanks

[@mxfern854]

great job, great design, I can see this jig helping many people,

[@serenityprojects7364]

So awesome. Thank you very much!

[@lui1648]

I just finished making this jig following your instructions and I am pleased with being able to make an accurate mortise. Thank you for sharing your expertise

[@EricSorensenCanada]

That's Fantastic Gordon! Happy Mortising🙂👍

[@dandei7312]

A really great jig. Well done

[@stevenfoust3782]

Thanks for sharing this excellent idea.

[@chrislewispam]

Thanks, I've made one for myself. few points: To keep centred, the parellelogram you make with the mending plates needs to be drilled accurately. I ended up using 2mm thick pre-drilled metal strips so I didn't need to risk my own poor accuracy. I did countersink though - do this on your drill press' lowest speed. Since I used pre-drilled strips, I am able to unscrew and move the alignment arms if I'm doing something quite narrow. Don't be shy with having thick alignment arms. I used 9mm MDF and that split shortly after taking the screw. I'll rebuild these with real wood (maybe mdf faced for flatness) Instead of nuts and bolts to attach the mending plates to the base, I used countersunk screws (countersink the underside of the mending plate and the screw goes up in the my end stops) I made a "length piece" about the length of my tenon. This way I can line up the mortise with the zero-clearance cut, line my router up with my end stop, lay the "length piece" next to my router then clamp on an end stop so I know how long my mortise will be.

[@omartodologo6227]

Great and practical idea. Congratulations!

[@billyjay4672]

Nice job Eric I'll try it myself.

[@woodmanpk]

Cool idea.keep it up

[@hudi42]

Excellent insight with the self centering. Will be making one shortly

[@mikerichardson7038]

Clever design, well done and thanks for sharing :)

[@charlygrimtv]

Fantastic !!!!

[@telmogiraffadealbuquerque4660]

Well, my english is not so good, but enough to consider that your jig is, maybe, the best one I have seen for this kind of work! Congratulations! Very simple and efficient!

[@wb_finewoodworking]

Very well done. While I’m not a one who makes a lot of jigs this is one that I may make when I need to cut mortises especially on the end of a board that won’t fit on my mortiser.

[@tonysh0663]

excellent and pretty affordable

[@timoteoharvey]

I just made this mortising jig today after watching your video and it works really well! I have been wanting something to mortise with and this tool fits the bill perfectly. Thanks so much for showing me how! I made it 14" long and 7" wide so I can comfortably do mortises and tenons on a 72" x 18" side table with 5" aprons that I'm currently working on. I find that the metal bars make it a little bit of a challenge to get the router to sit squarely on the piece that I'm mortising since they're resting at an angle. I want to offset the mortises going into the table leg closer to the outside edge so I'll just put a piece of wood the appropriate thickness so that the wood moves over the right amount. Thanks again! Great idea!

[@EricSorensenCanada]

I'm glad it's working for you. The jig squares up and centers when the work piece is clamped between the two sliding blocks underneath. The pressure of the clamps will usually keep it square. The other method I use, instead of this jig is a simple set-up with my plunge router and the edge guide. You can see how I did that in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omO3iK15hpaZsNU

[@timoteoharvey]

@@EricSorensenCanada Thanks for the additional advice!

[@geef6770]

Bestechend einfach, einfach Klasse und gut durchdacht! Das mach ich nach. Thanks Eric!

[@davidharvey5672]

Looks like a good idea. Thanks

[@110welding]

Very kool, one of the simplest to make and looks easy to use... thx for sharing

[@moisesluna3624]

Excelente idea. Thanks from México

[@kishorekrishnan9085]

Great use of a paralleogram. Thank you.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Kishore Krishnan ! That is truly the geometric dynamic in this jig 🙂

[@jorgereyna7622]

Very nice Thank you!

[@HamidKhan-po1px]

Now its so easy to work... Thanks for sharing

[@lfcbpro]

great stuff, love it :D

[@GeeDeeBird]

Put dowels in the bottom of your stop block and drill holes at common widths. Low profile and balls-on accurate!

[@duklyful]

Simple but effective

[@Sly_Wolf_1]

Good job, nice video. Thanks 👍🏻

[@ralphlivingston894]

I really don’t understand KZbin… You should have half 1 million subscribers or more. Great videos, I really appreciate them and I learned a lot. (Now I just hope I can implement what you taught?)

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thank you Ralph! It's people like you that keep little channels like mine going🙂

[@KBBAKTHA]

great jig. Your build video is briolliant, like so many of your projects.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Bakthavathsal Kadambi! Cheers 🙂

[@yuwanacora9897]

Good job

[@scottadams2624]

Awesome. Making it...

[@jochenh54]

So genial wie einfach !

[@rhuynh]

Another great video. Imagine you have to keep track of the same reference side still to avoid any issues with it not be exact center due to minor man-made introduced errors such as how thick the mark was on the side of router, how the screws went in and possible pulled it a little etc. Also my router isn't flat on both sides so might make it complicated as to where the router sits inside the guides. Love your stuff!

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks! Yes, easy enough to avoid. All you really need to worry about is the length and start / stop point on your board. These days though, I often just use my domino joiner. But for those who don't have one, this is a great system.

[@foxcroc44]

Great idea, personally I would make the lower rails just wide enough to get the router between them, then clamp and cut the slot from below to ensuring it is dead center, also if the same rails were slightly longer and offset, only one clamp would be needed to fix both into position! Nice axes by the way! ;)

[@joaocampanella7202]

David Harper that’s what I thought. And you could even use the router itself to plunge the screw holes, to make sure they are aligned.

[@harrypowers9412]

A really great jig! 👌

[@inactive67]

I like it, the only thing I would change is add a center strip or reverse the pivot hardware. Just to avoid marring the edge. Thanks for sharing, really awesome idea.

[@peterdingle6959]

What do you mean? Thanks

[@CJGilliam]

Could also pad one side with shims to offset the center on thicker material if needed.

[@vahntalur7273]

Bravo Maestro! Another masterpiece of creative thinking!

[@GurinRex]

Muy buena herramienta para el taller... tienes un nuevo suscriptor... Saludos desde Perú...

[@Kkuts37]

Great! Thanks!

[@jiml9944]

Apply some paste wax to sliding surfaces. Great addition to the shop.

[@jamesb7651]

You can build this jib for a non-plunge router for open ended mortises as well by putting a larger diameter Forsner bit hole at one end of the slot to allow for router bit to descend onto the work piece. (Often making tables allows for an open (top) ended mortise, because the joint is just as solid and hidden below the top construction (tables)

[@mariomuranaka9751]

Big idea , thank you !

[@paulmunro3050]

Like this! Thanks for sharing 👍

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Kettle Vale ! Cheers 🙂

[@sapelesteve]

Awesome jig Eric! I could use one of those & really like how you set that one up. We all know that easy is better! Thanks................... :)

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Steve! More to come in next week's video on this jig and the loose tenons that I will use with it. Cheers 🙂

[@CrisM69]

nice jig sir, i hope next time the width of the mortise will be adjustable

[@BoldUniverse]

Smart! Thanks for the vid :)

[@jayejaycurry5485]

That came out very good. I've just one suggestion. You could use a wider bit to cut your slot incase you wanted to used wider tenons in your mortises.

[@achimboers]

Awesome.... !!

[@borisjohnson1944]

If you need to do double mortices then add a piece of wood half the thickness of the distance between the mortices to one of the rails underneath. Cut one mortice then turn the jig 180 degrees and cut the other.

[@ProDMiner]

boris johnson forgive my ignorance, is a double Mortis mean to parallel mortis to each other on the same work piece ??

[@wisprngwind]

Needed a quick way to do some mortising and this looks perfect. One item though and someone may have already pointed this out. I check 5 routers I have in my shop and none have the center line marks you pointed out in the vid. This may be a feature found only on the brand you are using. It won't really change anything but if all of them had that is might make things simpler.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

That is pretty unusual to have no center marks or arrows on the router base. It does make using jigs and edge guides much easier. You also might want to check out my video on Loose tenon joinery: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omO3iK15hpaZsNU

[@flaviodelisa]

Prático,super inteligente.

[@derekcavan6000]

Clever jig. Thanks for sharing! p.s. Rub some candle wax (un-melted) on the bed of the jig where the router slides. It will make for a much smoother transition from left to right and leaves virtually no mess at all, but lasts for ages. ;)

[@WoodworkingBrewer]

Brilliant idea Eric, I suppose if you get everything set correctly you wouldn't need a Festool Domino. Keep the great ideas coming buddy. Tony

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Tony! In the long run you can do a lot more with a plunge router, it's a better investment IMHO. Cheers 🙂

[@cliffwalden4038]

Is it just me or does it sound like John Malkovich narrated this? LOL Neat jig. I'll be making one of these.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

@Cliff Walden Yeah, I get that a lot - Cheers🙂🍺

[@RunarMagnussen]

Great jig! Do you think maybe one of the stop blocks could just be permanent? That way you could have the same starting (or ending) point every time and reference that to the mark on your work piece.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

@Runar Magnussen Thanks-you! Yes, you can customize this jig in a few different ways. I keep mine flexible so I can adjust the length in either direction.

[@vulcanville]

That was great! You've got a new subscriber from Terrace, BC.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Robert! Always nice to get some folks from the mainland 🙂

[@karmasee]

Great video and great jig! Love how you made it so simple for beginners to make it. Would it be possible for you to make a self centering mortising jig that you can insert different templates for a door lock? The available door lock jigs are quite pricey already and even more expensive for me to import to Thailand.

[@vulcanville]

I made it today. Works really well. I wish there was something to do with those bolts that hold the mending plate on. The workpiece ends up resting on them. Anything you do to avoid that would have to be part of the mending plate otherwise it would get in the way during rotation. The nuts also limit the minimum workpiece thickness. I think the solution would be to tap out the mending plate so it becomes the bolt. Also, you're making it look like some sort of miracle when you just drill holes in those bottom holding boards at they are exactly the right distance apart. I had to do it twice. :-) All good though I have a nice jig now.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Robert! Good to hear! I like your solution of using a tap wrench on the mending plate holes. I might try that one myself. I trimmed down the bolts on mine but I still have a 1/8" on the mending plate from the nuts. I've seen other folks use a shim underneath theirs to ensure an even depth. I can still get a good 1" - 1 1/4" deep mortise out of it, which is good enough for most of the stuff I do.

[@richardlug6139]

Thanks for the video. Another idea for getting rid of the nut is to spot weld the nut. Then turn it over and put it between the wood and metal plate. You will have to countersink it into the wood. Well that is what I did anyway.

[@patrickcowan8701]

@@EricSorensenCanada Great jig. A simplified solution would be to use a Rivet,smooth semi flush.

[@tleveque]

@@richardlug6139 I have another idea... why not just put the nuts on the top? Since they will be just where the stop blocks are, it should be easy to cut a dato into those. Could also countersink the top plate to hide the nuts.....

[@tcbridges]

Great Idea I am going to make one. Thanks for the lay out to make one. I happen to find 2 pieces of Steel 275MM X 45MM X 3MM Heavy Duty Flat Corner Brace do you think these would work. I know there a little bigger. But there here. Happy Holidays and stay safe

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Give it a go with the hardware you have. Worst case is you'll need to run out and buy some flat bar. Cheers🙂

[@alfaomega4381]

GENIOUS =)

[@206Seaman]

Cool jig, thanks for sharing. I’m curious about the jig base. If you used plexiglass, with a center line drawn on it, couldn’t you do the layout of the mortise and then be able to see the cut? Wouldn’t that eliminate the need for end stops?

[@EricSorensenCanada]

The nature of routers is that they tend to try and get away on you. The stops make it so I don't need to think about it, or risk an over-cut. The plexiglass would be a great idea if you can find any. Since the pandemic, it's scarce where I live.

[@embwee]

Nice work...BTW John Malkovich called. He wants his voice back!

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks @embwee ! LOL

[@jeffreyt7177]

Very nice jig. Any thoughts on a way to set up evenly spaced repeating cuts, without measuring??

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Your best bet is a story stick or story tape. That way you can make your center marks in the right place every time.

[@nelofernandez1459]

Nice Gig. I could use that on the window shades im recovering, problem is the mortises are at a 45º angle. have to figure a way to make it work. Been using a chisel to make them, lol. Big thumbs up

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Nelo Fernandez! If you're making a lot cuts for the window shades, it might be worth making a custom version of this jig with the holes drilled so it orients the top plate at 45 degrees.

[@Stevelemontrudy]

I'm kind of new to routing. Could you cut your slot an inch wide so you could use different sized bits to cut different sized mortises? I don't think you'd need a guide bushing because of the self-centering feature. Thanks!

[@EricSorensenCanada]

@Stephen Brockhoff You could do that if you're using a router that accepts 1/2 inch shanks. The alternative is moving the guide rails for the jig wider apart, so you can cut your mortise in 2 or 3 passes, no guide bushing required.

[@Stevelemontrudy]

Nice. Thanks!

[@alpaca6766]

@@EricSorensenCanada You could use the same self centering mechanism on your guide rails to allow for a wider mortise doing multiple passes with the smaller bit.

[@sankarstriker]

Hai bro ,i have the same router and the plunge depth is 35mm and i want to drill 6mm and 8mm dia through hole in 42 mm depth wood how to do it from single side plunge with spiral bit ?

[@EricSorensenCanada]

@sankar narayanan The best way is to just use a drill or drill press and go straight through. If you really want to use the router, you'll need to start with a small pilot hole using a drill (keeping the drill straight ). You won't be able to do a plunge all the way through from one side, but you can use the smaller pilot hole to help you plunge on each side towards the middle to get your full-through hole.

[@tuesday630]

Cool. How do you position the target board? Is that part of the jig?

[@EricSorensenCanada]

@tuesday630 Thanks! You can add center marks to jig and then line it up with where you want to place your mortises along the edge of the board. Use a mechanical pencil or a thin exacto knife.

[@sathaasivamnandakumar7576]

Nice jig but I m having a problem cutting at the edge of the long work pice? The thickness of the self centering metal cause an angle cut. Have any solution?

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Sathasivam Nandakumar! You probably need spacers approx the same thickness as the metal mending plates to stabilize the jig as you're cutting. Either that or the screws at the bottom of your plate are sticking out and need to be trimmed off.

[@twoweary]

I like Smorto's idea (down below). Also it might be agood idea to make the rails longer so that when you clamp the work piece, it's held between TWO rails instead of just one rail and the side of the work piece. Nice jig though.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks twoweary! That's the beauty of this jig, it can be customized in a number of different ways. I added a little something to the design I found in Wood magazine and I encourage everyone to keep improving the design.

[@Robert-zt5cx]

Instead of the spring clamps try using wedges for a low profile solution to keeping the end stops in place.

[@gcranch9913]

How long are the mending plates? I tried to make one and it didn’t work. Apparently the plates were too short or the bottom guides were. Any suggestions ?

[@EricSorensenCanada]

@GC Ranch You need a 6 inch mending plates. And you will also need a mill file to file down the bolts or trim them with bolt cutters prior to assembly. Hope that helps!

[@gcranch9913]

Eric Sorensen thanks for your reply. I think I had some short mending plates which would not allow the jig to sandwich as closely as needed for it to come together on a piece of ¾ “ stock. Guess I missed some of the details .

[@frankthornal9489]

Great Video and an excellent Jig. I will be making one today. I think by permanently placing the stop blocks, Loose tenon joinery will work. And, I tried to contribute on Patreon, but the website would not let me. On the checkout page it just kept on searching and searching. Not able to become a Patreon contributor.

[@EricSorensenCanada]

@Frank Thornal Thank-you! Fixing the stop blocks is a great idea if you want a quick one size system. One less thing to think about. Thank-you for attempting Patreon. They are having issues with their website right now, hopefully it will be resolved soon! Cheers 🙂

[@garenne0169]

great jig. congrats. if you have to cut a mortise lager than the bit...?

[@EricSorensenCanada]

Thanks Garenne01! You can increase the span of the guide rails, if you need to accept a thicker tenon. I work with a lot of 3/4" material, so 1/4" wide is plenty for me. If you make your own floating tenons, you'll want to pick a standard size and stick with it for the majority of your projects.

[@garenne0169]

@@EricSorensenCanada thanks

[@JimboJet737]

I guess spacer blocks in between the self centering rails and the workpiece, would allow this.

[@AlexeiZacepilinUniversalRemont]

Некоторых русских смотришь и не понимаешь, а тут ни слова не знаю зато все понятно