[Closed] Routing a pocket.

I would:

- Scribe out the box with a knife
- Set the router to 1cm depth and rout out the box shape as close to the scribed lines as I could
- Finish the edges of the box with a sharp chisel

Does your router come with a guide bushing. A flange that screws to the bottom of the router and extends out
This acts as a guide for a shaped jig, a jig being made from a sheet of mdf with a round hole cut in it.
The edge of the bushing contacts the edge of the mdf and cuts the shape of it exactly. EG - A round hole in the mdf produces a round hole in your workpiece.
Or any shape, be it round ot as youll see heart shaped or anything, its an industry standard technique to reproduce the same shape size time after time.

When setting the depth, it is usual to set the cut at half the diameter of the bit used, soif the bit is 12.7mm(1.2") then the cut depth is about 6mm

Clock inserts will come in a range of diameters,a nd the back of the clock fits neatly in, and uses little sprung tabs to hold it in place. So the hole size for the inset has to be exact.
You can buy premade perspex jigs with a range of exact hole sizes. But most just take a bit of mdf, draw the circle size you need, taking into account that the cutter sticking through is slightly offset by the size of the guide bushing, and those range from 6mm through to about 1 1/2"

So a round hole 80mm in diameter the guide bushing will not cut the replicated hole to 80mm, rather whatever the distance is from the cutter edge to the round mdf hole. Using a bigger bushing in an 80mm jig will produce a smaller hole than 80mm, and so on and so forth.

The only thing you really need to keep in mind is to have the initial jig an exact shape. No use having a round hole thats not perfectly round, so you take time sanding with a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel or such so you can accurately sand it back to the scribed line as drawn by your compass. If you make a mistake, start again, its only a 12mm scrap of mdf, but accuracy is the key and the router will replicate it exactly.

If your router comes with a circle cutting attachment(which it should) cutting the initial hole accurately is a breeze.
EG

Once youve made your jig its good for dozens of holes and likely many of the woodies on here will have made jigs hanging on their walls, ready to cut whatever shape they need accurately and repeatable.

Sounds complex but it isnt.

This vid is a good example, but from the title of the vid you'll find many others and see that these jigs can produce the shape of anything you want.

So- anyone know how to use a router to cut a 6 cm square hole approx. 1 cm deep into a shonky but flattish board?

If you don't want to go with the guide bush / template route as described above...

If the board is particularly uneven, it might be best to make a board to place over the work. You can fix cleats to this to limit the travel of the router body and control the size of the hole you're making (without needing a guide bush) like this (doesn't need to be that elaborate - a couple of nails or some double sided tape works for one-offs):

Assuming you have a plunge router, the easiest way of actually cutting the hole is if you have a parallel cutter that is short enough to retract completely below the base at zero plunge and still be long enough to reach the bottom of your desired hole (including any board / template thickness) when plunged - I usually use a 12mm worktop trimming bit for this sort of thing (but the picture is of a 3mm cutter for guitar fretboard inlays!).

Set up your template or whatever and set the depth stop on your router so that the bit sticks out 2-3mm (past the base of the router if using the board or routing freehand, or past the template if using that approach). Retract the bit so that it clears the work.

Place the router on the work (with bit retracted) hold on and start it up. Gradually plunge the router down to the depth stop while simultaneously sliding it across the area you want to cut. Once it reaches the depth stop, traverse the work area systematically, observing the correct cutting direction.

When you've cut everything once, retract the bit and stop the router before lifting it off the work.

Clear out the chips, increase your cutter depth by another 2-3mm (more if you want to, and think you can get away with it) and repeat until you are at your required depth.

If you use a board, the bottom of your hole will be flat. Otherwise, it will somewhat follow the contour of your blank.

N.B. Probably goes without saying, but chock /clamp everything so that it doesn't wobble before starting to cut.

Thanks guys.

I sometimes rout clock backs, but often find it quicker to drill 4 overlapping holes with a forstner bit and chisel the excess out (assuming you access to a pillar drill).

This very week, a woodworking channel on YouTube covers exactly this subject. Search for New Brit Workshop. I'm not usually keen on the guy, Peter Parfitt, a bit old school Major for my tastes but sometimes you can learn from him. But remember, you can use tools other than Festool as well.

But remember, you can use tools other than Festool as well.

As long as you wash your hands afterwards 😉

Once you’ve got over the issue of using the router on a warped bit of wood, there’s the potential for the clock hands to foul.

Tilly dog are you routing fretboard inlays on a glass lapping plate balanced on a beer crate?!

If you need to flatten a wonky board there are many videos showing how to do it with a router using a frame.

Tilly dog are you routing fretboard inlays on a glass lapping plate balanced on a beer crate?!

Well spotted, Yes I am (was). What could possibly go wrong? 😀

Lols - I only checked into this thread coz I liked the title (it reminded me of otters for some reason). But Tillydog is clearly a man (or woman!) after my own heart 😂