# Router Adjustable Dado jig



## EdsCustomWoodCrafts (Sep 21, 2014)

I need some ideas on this, I need to make a lot of dados for a project that I'm doing and usually I would just use my stacked dado set but the workpiece is very wide..

But I want it adjustable and I don't want the traditional side fences for the router to ride along.

I also just bought a 12 pack of router bushings so as that the router would just ride along the jig..

Is this feasible , usually when you determine the thickness of the pieces you just insert them between the fixed fence and then move the adjustable fence and then route away, BUT if there is a bushing surround the the 1/4" straight bit in my case it makes the diameter wider ..

So I'm guessing no.. I don't own a top bearing straight bit..

Any ideas???


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## joey502 (Mar 30, 2014)

Yes you can use a jig with a guide bushing. The width of the slot in the jig would match the bushing diameter not the dado width. You could make the slot wider than the bushing as well to make a dado wider than the bit you are using.


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## joey502 (Mar 30, 2014)

If you google "router dado jig" and click the images tab you get 4 zillion pics for an idea. Check out this video. His jig uses a bushing.

http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/exact-width-dado-jig/


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## EdsCustomWoodCrafts (Sep 21, 2014)

> Yes you can use a jig with a guide bushing. The width of the slot in the jig would match the bushing diameter not the dado width. You could make the slot wider than the bushing as well to make a dado wider than the bit you are using. The issue I see using a guide bushing vs a pattern bit would be the chance for layout errors. Your jig would have to line up with the center of your dado in order for the bit to be positioned correctly. Using a pattern bit allows you to set the dado width (on the jig) and then line the slot in the jig up to the lines on your work piece.
> 
> Hope this makes sense.
> 
> - joey502


But if I make s jig is it solely for one width dado


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## joey502 (Mar 30, 2014)

> Yes you can use a jig with a guide bushing. The width of the slot in the jig would match the bushing diameter not the dado width. You could make the slot wider than the bushing as well to make a dado wider than the bit you are using. The issue I see using a guide bushing vs a pattern bit would be the chance for layout errors. Your jig would have to line up with the center of your dado in order for the bit to be positioned correctly. Using a pattern bit allows you to set the dado width (on the jig) and then line the slot in the jig up to the lines on your work piece.
> 
> Hope this makes sense.
> 
> ...


In your first post you mentioned that you wanted it to be adjustable. I assumed you wanted the width of the dado to be adjustable.

I deleted the comment about the error in setup after I watched the video I linked. I was over complicating the idea in my head. My first thought was the slot in the jig would match the bushing for the full depth of the jig. The stepped cut in the video removes the error I originally mentioned.


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## EdsCustomWoodCrafts (Sep 21, 2014)

> Yes you can use a jig with a guide bushing. The width of the slot in the jig would match the bushing diameter not the dado width. You could make the slot wider than the bushing as well to make a dado wider than the bit you are using. The issue I see using a guide bushing vs a pattern bit would be the chance for layout errors. Your jig would have to line up with the center of your dado in order for the bit to be positioned correctly. Using a pattern bit allows you to set the dado width (on the jig) and then line the slot in the jig up to the lines on your work piece.
> 
> Hope this makes sense.
> 
> ...





> Your correct I do want the dado width adjustable and I was hoping to make a jig that o could route 1/4" dados but I guess this my possible because the bushing is 3/8" wide.. So like you said the bushing will need a wide jig setup to cut a narrower dado.. Wow this sound so complicated.. May I should just use the fence either side of the router to guide it and not the bushing at all
> 
> But if I make s jig is it solely for one width dado
> 
> ...


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I liked some of the dado jigs I saw on line, but, like many, everything I can do to speed the process makes it more likely I'll take it on. As such, I set out to design my own. Of course, some of the end result would repeat what others did.

In the end, I cam up with this design:

1) Initial set up takes just moments and relies on the wood you'll be fitting into the dado.

2) Subsequent cut set ups are faster than ANY other jig out there, including the Whisper's

3) It's accuracy depends, wholly, on the bit, equipped with a bearing of the same diameter the cutter makes in wood, a pattern bit.

4) It's a "what you see is what you get" jig. If you mark your dado positions well, just set the jig over the lines, give the one handle a turn or two and go.

The link to it, on this site, is: http://lumberjocks.com/topics/56294


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Mine works perfect. You would just need to make it longer to fit your material.

I am assuming you are using plywood thicker than 1/2 inch…
No guide bushings needed. I use a pattern bit. To cut the dado, cut along one side of the jig and then the other. Plunge a little more and repeat the process. Perfect exact width dadoes.

Hope this helps.
Mike


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

In case no one peeked, mine is like Mike's, but you do not need any external clamps, because the back moves, to allow you to clamp the jig by way of the single bar clamp on the front.


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