dremel pin router

Hi all. I've been looking around for a way to make
it easier to do custom inlay.

Through googling I found a lot of really complicated
solutions (like pantographs) but also some pretty
simple and elegant ones, like Nick JD's pin router.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/269590-mini-pin-router-inlays.html

Most pin router designs rely on getting a really good
alignment of the router travel and the pin.

I recently stumbled on an alternative design, by Richard
Nice, that I think is really ingenious.

http://richardniceguitars.blogspot.com/2011/12/hinged-pin-router-for-dremel-and-43mm.html

Here's my copy of Richard's design.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tFnAxJNyTW8/T8ugvx0u6pI/AAAAAAAAF9c/TyOt3NyIo0E/s800/IMG_0173.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hNRyCocbPzc/T8ugwxTnR7I/AAAAAAAAF94/I_3taVwLwNg/s800/IMG_0178.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xQbULD3giM0/T8ugvgpXJNI/AAAAAAAAF9Y/ovRiyDt6ArA/s800/IMG_0175.JPG

The hole in front of the dremel is for viewing; the bolt with
the wooden know is for height adjustment. There's a block
of wood under the bolt just because I didn't have a long
enough bolt.

The router bit is 1/16" diameter. The pin is a piece of
1/16" steel that I broke off a 1/16" drill bit with a hammer.

Setting up for a test:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9M_19ScOC3w/T8ugxf8B64I/AAAAAAAAF-A/HAsxoVcv-_w/s800/IMG_0179.JPG

This is some pickguard material taped to 1/4" MDF.
The piece in the center is my pattern -- a 12th fret
inlay design. The other pieces are just to keep the
MDF stable.

Some mother-of-pearl taped on the opposite side
of the MDF, just over the pattern.

You put the MDF down over the pin, pattern side down.

Then you adjust the height until the router bit until
it just starts to touch the mother-of-pearl. You make
routing passes, each time adjusting the height a little
lower.

It was working well on the first test until the mother-of-pearl
became loose:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oyOmc5D1txs/T8ugyqoqKpI/AAAAAAAAF-k/3VxFmatMbMI/s800/IMG_0183.JPG

I tried again, using more tape, and it seemed to work well:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_GlVaRI6spM/T8ugzDBduGI/AAAAAAAAF-0/cJt8ItU427c/s800/IMG_0186.JPG

I used a pattern with straight sides so I could detect any
little errors.

I stopped just short of finishing because I was worried that
the little bit of tape right under the routed shape wouldn't
hold.

Here's another shot where you can see that it did a good
job.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GFNxns-Ill0/T8ugy_mIE5I/AAAAAAAAF-s/dcFcGGzumQU/s800/IMG_0185.JPG

There were a few tricky issues in getting things working,
not all of which I've solved.

1. Aligning the pin and the router bit. It's hard to get this
exactly right. In the end I attached the back part of the
jig to the base with bolts, using holes a bit larger than the
bolts so that I can align the router bit and pin and then
tighten the nuts.

2. Mounting the dremel. The dremel fit tightly in a 3/4"
hole I drilled in some MDF, but it was loose in the plywood.
I put some masking tape around the dremel to tighten the
fit, but I need a better solution.

Nick solved the problem with epoxy (as usual :lol:), but
basically dedicated the screw-on piece on the tip of the
dremel to his jig.

3. Height of the back piece. You can see in the pics that
I've used 3 pieces of plywood to get the height of the
hinge right. You want the height of the moving piece
to be about parallel to the base when you rout.

In a better design the height of the hinge would be easily
adjustable. Richard Nice says this is possible in his jig,
but I don't see how.

4. Mounting the mother-of-pearl to the moving template
holder. How to do this in a way that the material is
really secure but easily removed?

I'm intrigued. Any chance of getting a video to see it in action?

Cheers

Cool!

What about adding a vacuum port behind the dremel? That MoP dust is nasty.

Could the hinge be attached to a slidable (up and down) part to compensate for thickness? Do you really need to compensate?

4. Mounting the mother-of-pearl to the moving template
holder. How to do this in a way that the material is
really secure but easily removed?

You can use a different double sided tape. The 3m tape for window film (look in the weatherstripping aisle at the local Ace Hardware) is super sticky stuff and works better for me than any other product of this sort. The only drawback is it only comes in 1/2" width so you have to use multiple strips. Use naptha (lighter fluid) to release the piece from the tape.

You could also make up standard size 3/16" or 1/8" plywood blocks that the MOP glues to. You would build up a perimeter on the moving template in which the plywood blocks fit snuggly. Once routed, the blocks are soaked in hot water for a few minutes to soften the adhesive and release the MOP.

To align the pin I just dropped the dremel bit right down until it drilled a hole. I found it's a good idea to have the "base" of the device that holds the pin removable (a double base) so you can change pins and bits (and correct any misalingment issues).

I use sellotape brand double side tape and it doesn't slip - it's a permenant tape and is a PITA to remove, but nothing that some solvent won't solve. The CNC guys who I talked to about getting a few sheets cut into logos said to glue it ... and then soak it in a solvent that'll dissolve the glue. MoP won't be affected. Using a water-based glue like Wheelie says is a good idea.

Stewmac sells just the attachment bar (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Routing/Precision_Router_Bases/Tool_Mounting_Bar.html) from its dremel router base. You may find that is easier to attach to the template using epoxy or whatever, and will provide a stable and easily removable access for the dremel.

Aren't pin routers great!!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll want a biggie soon! I use mine all the time and with it you're able to machine a complex design so easily.

Only drawback with a pin router.............YOU'RE TEMPLATES MUST BE SPOT ON!

Cool!

What about adding a vacuum port behind the dremel? That MoP dust is nasty.

Could the hinge be attached to a slidable (up and down) part to compensate for thickness? Do you really need to compensate?


In addition to a vacuum port to remove MOP and other dust, how about a vacuum fixture to hold the part being routed, and for that matter, your pattern piece? Maybe a 1/4" thick piece of Plexiglass (Perspex to some of you) drilled into the thickness, with branching ports drilled through to the surface, served with a branching line of flexible, but not collapsible line that takes vacuum from your dust collection line. (Have the concept, but not the application completely in mind.)

In addition to a vacuum port to remove MOP and other dust, how about a vacuum fixture to hold the part being routed, and for that matter, your pattern piece? Maybe a 1/4" thick piece of Plexiglass (Perspex to some of you) drilled into the thickness, with branching ports drilled through to the surface, served with a branching line of flexible, but not collapsible line that takes vacuum from your dust collection line. (Have the concept, but not the application completely in mind.)

The pattern must move around the pin.

To align the bit to the pin on my full size unit, I use a block of plexi -glass with the appropriate size holes drilled through it @90degrees and pop it over the pin, wriggle the router frame assembly around until you can drop the bit neatly into the hole above the pin, and tighten everything up! No probs.

I like this! But since I've never done inlay, I'm just wondering what else I would use it for? Like that really matters, right? I'm makin' one! :lol:

I worked for a counter-top company a few years ago making corian tops; we used hot-melt glue to hold the corian securely to the work bench while we routed it. Never had any problems and we were using large routers. Should work in this application. I'll be trying the jig out too; great idea!

Last night I tried again, using a MOP piece as the design. It didn't
work very well:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aUvxY5mraVw/T8zxLuO4V1I/AAAAAAAAF_E/lkxwQWVpk1k/s800/IMG_0189.JPG

On the right is the piece used for the pattern. On the
left you can see problems near the "tail", and that the
stem looks too skinny. I'm thinking that perhaps the
MOP piece rotated during the multiple passes of routing.

I'm not sure this jig is the way to go for small, intricate inlay.
Maybe it's okay for larger, simpler things like Les Paul fret
markers.

The biggest problem is keeping the pin and router bit
aligned when the size of the work piece changes.

A problem I was worried about was slop in the hinges,
but the funny thing is that, unless you install them
perfectly, the slop will go away.

I'm going to keep trying a bit more with this jig, maybe
my problems will go away once the dremel is mounted
better, and the material is held more firmly.

I'm intrigued. Any chance of getting a video to see it in action?

I'll try -- it may take a while.


What about adding a vacuum port behind the dremel? That MoP dust is nasty.

Could the hinge be attached to a slidable (up and down) part to compensate for thickness? Do you really need to compensate?

The dust port is a good idea; thanks. I wore a mask, and
surprisingly, very little of the dust flew up in the air.

Yes, you need to compensate. For example, if you align
the pin and router bit with them almost touching, you see
a big lateral change in the router bit even if you lift the
router just a 1/2".

You can use a different double sided tape. The 3m tape for window film (look in the weatherstripping aisle at the local Ace Hardware) is super sticky stuff and works better for me than any other product of this sort. The only drawback is it only comes in 1/2" width so you have to use multiple strips. Use naptha (lighter fluid) to release the piece from the tape.

You could also make up standard size 3/16" or 1/8" plywood blocks that the MOP glues to. You would build up a perimeter on the moving template in which the plywood blocks fit snuggly. Once routed, the blocks are soaked in hot water for a few minutes to soften the adhesive and release the MOP.

Thanks, Wheelie, those are good ideas.

To align the pin I just dropped the dremel bit right down until it drilled a hole. I found it's a good idea to have the "base" of the device that holds the pin removable (a double base) so you can change pins and bits (and correct any misalingment issues).

I use sellotape brand double side tape and it doesn't slip - it's a permenant tape and is a PITA to remove, but nothing that some solvent won't solve. The CNC guys who I talked to about getting a few sheets cut into logos said to glue it ... and then soak it in a solvent that'll dissolve the glue. MoP won't be affected. Using a water-based glue like Wheelie says is a good idea.

Thanks, Nick, good ideas. I did the pin alignment just as
you did, but as mentioned above, if the hinge is raised even
a little the alignment is lost. The alignment has to be set with
the router bit at the height it will be in operation.

I used Scotch brand permanent double-sided tape, and it
generally holds very well. In my earlier test where the MOP
piece slipped, the problem may have been that I didn't press
the piece hard enough onto the tape.

Stewmac sells just the attachment bar (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Routing/Precision_Router_Bases/Tool_Mounting_Bar.html) from its dremel router base. You may find that is easier to attach to the template using epoxy or whatever, and will provide a stable and easily removable access for the dremel.

Thanks, Kwerk!! That is great to know for any dremel-based
jig. At $13 US it's not very expensive, either.

Aren't pin routers great!!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll want a biggie soon! I use mine all the time and with it you're able to machine a complex design so easily.

Only drawback with a pin router.............YOU'RE TEMPLATES MUST BE SPOT ON!

If I can get this working well with small inlay I'll be happy.

As Nick shows in his thread that I linked to in the original
post, I could use the pin router to do the headstock part
of the inlay work, too. (I'm sure you're aware of this,
Dave.)

To align the bit to the pin on my full size unit, I use a block of plexi -glass with the appropriate size holes drilled through it @90degrees and pop it over the pin, wriggle the router frame assembly around until you can drop the bit neatly into the hole above the pin, and tighten everything up! No probs.

Thanks a good idea, thanks. I used a small square block
to do the alignment. With this jig I'd need multiple plexiglass
blocks.

[



Thanks a good idea, thanks. I used a small square block
to do the alignment. With this jig I'd need multiple plexiglass
blocks.[/QUOTE]

The pin holder on my overhead router is the 1/2" router in the table and the pins I use are four different sizes. The pins are 1/2" aluminium rod turned down in the large bottom router using a file and emery paper until they get to the desired size. I have a plug which fits over the pin and covers the hole in the router table, and I have a plexi strip with the four different size holes in it.

The overhead frame on top is free to move around and when the top router bit fits neatly into the hole which is over the pin everything is locked up and Bob's your uncle!