Pro's Corner

If you make your own cabinet doors, eventually you'll need to make beaded panels, and different jobs will call for different bead spacing.  Here's a router jig that makes it easy to make those panels.

Start with a 12"x12" piece of your favorite jig-base-plate material - I like 1/2" Birch ply.  Cut a 9" long slot 4" from one edge of the baseplate.  This slot needs to be slightly wider than the diameter of the screws that hold your baseplate to your router. 

Next, pass two mounting screws through your router's stock baseplate and into the slot you just cut.  This will allow you to determine where to cut the slot for the remaining mounting screw(s).  Mark this location and cut a 6" slot using the same steps as above. 

For the next step, put a 3/8" or 1/2" router bit in the router, and use an edge guide to route dadoes over the slots.  This dado will allow the heads of the base plate mounting screws to be recessed into the baseplate.  Make sure the dadoes are deep enough to allow the screws to pass through the baseplate into the router base.  Another option would be to cut the dadoes all the way across the baseplate, using a dado blade on the table saw.

Now, determine the shape of the cut that your beading bit will make.  You will need to make a 12" guide strip that has that same profile.  My jig is for a 1/4" half-round bead, so I was able to simply use a 1/4" dowel for my guide strip.  Perpendicular to your screw slots, cut a 1/8" deep groove to receive your guide strip.  The groove should be in the same side of the baseplate as the dadoes, about 4" from the edge.

Now glue the guide strip into the groove. 

Please see "How To Make a Beaded Panel - Part 2"

Tags: jig, router, beaded panel

Categories: Jigs & Tools