A Guide to Guide Bushings
7 simple jigs make it easy to rout mortises, slots, holes, and more

Synopsis: A router equipped with a guide bushing is often the simplest way to make accurate and repeatable router cuts. Used with simple shopmade templates, bushings make it easy to cut mortises, bore dowel and shelf-pin holes, and rout evenly spaced stopped dadoes in a carcase. With bushings, you can plunge-cut and use spiral bits, cut into the middle of a workpiece, and avoid the worry of burnishing the edge of the work. Gregory Paolini shares seven simple templates and patterns that will make your router much more versatile.
From Fine Woodworking #207
Routers need guidance, something firm and fixed to make sure the bit goes only where you want it to. Think bearing-guided bits, edge guides, and fences.
But there’s a type of guide that woodworkers often overlook: the guide bushing. It’s often the simplest, fastest way to make accurate and repeatable cuts—some of them difficult or impossible with any…
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