Canadian Woodworking Magazine eNewsletter

You can quickly tell how useful a tool is by counting the number of times you use it, and if using the tool leaves you thinking, "that was easy!" then it gets bonus points. When the Router Ease Guide first arrived, I thought it was a pretty neat idea. In the past six months I’ve used this tool extensively and I've been impressed every time. In fact, I'm still finding new uses for it.

The tool consists of a track with a guide arm fixed at 90º on one end and a second movable guide arm on the other end of the track. Additionally, there are two more stop arms mounted on, and at 90º to the guide arms. This gives four fences to guide a router mounted on the base plate. The unit comes with a set-up block that couldn’t be simpler to use. The block is designed for use with 1/2", 3/8" and 1/4" bits, and is also used to square the jig during set-up. To get the most out of this tool, you need to build a tabletop clamping jig.

One operation this jig shines at is routing dados for bookshelves. You lay out the edges of your dado on the work piece and put it in place under the guide. Using the appropriate side of the set up block you move the wood over until the first side of the dado lines up with the edge of the block. You then clamp the wood down, and flip the block over to the other side, bringing the second arm over and clamping it in place. For a stopped dado you repeat this with the other two arms. Set the depth of cut on the router and move the router along the guide. It’s that easy. If you have multiple dados, simply keep moving the board along the clamping jig – each dado will be exactly the same as, and parallel to, the first dado.

As you can imagine, having a safe and secure way of guiding a router during these types of cuts makes it easy to use the router for many other things as well. The Router Ease Guide can be used just as easily to cut holes in the center of panels. Before you install you new kitchen counter, lay out the location of the new sink, adjust the guide and cut out the hole with your router for a perfect, professional finish.

Another area where this tool really simplifies matters is when cutting mortises for hinges and other hardware. Using the pair of fences it is possible to limit the movement of the router to the exact area needed for the mortise, again with professional results. If your project calls for adjustable shelves, this jig can handle that as well. Using a spiral cutter in the router you can drill perfect shelf pin holes faster and cleaner than any drill-based jig. You’ll have to build a little jig, nothing more than a scrap of wood with a shelf pin in it, to index your work piece for whatever pin interval you choose.

The most useful configuration for this too, in my opinion, would be the custom 36" model (# Tool-Cust-36) with one or two extra guide arms. That way the tool could be permanently mounted square to the clamping jig with the two outer arms, with the inner arms being easily adjustable for the task at hand. Currently this unit is available directly from the manufacturer. You can order directly from their web site. This is an affordable, effective, easy to use tool that will increase the utility of your router while increasing operator safety. It has certainly earned a full time place in our shop.

Reviewed by Michael Kampen

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Router-Ease Guide
starting at $175.99 US
Reg. Inc
Order on-line from the manufacturer or call 508-763-4136