An introduction to the Overhead Router
- Thread starter ScottyT
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ScottyT
Established Member
Great to see that there are still people out there making good use of these great machines. I had a light dig about didn’t find as much as I thought I had on the photo front but never the less there is a couple to show.
Here’s one set of the couple of louvres the overhead knocked out in their finished state. Came out pretty well and didn’t take long at all. Not sure about them finishing flush? The boards will widen and then protrude the stiles unevenly up and down but I only follow the drawings I am given. The traditional way would always be my preference
Here’s a four panel door I made a few months back, slight curve ball here the overhead actually got me out of trouble as the bevel block chewed it’s clamping screw so I couldn’t machine the raised panels on it, but the overhead did it for me using a small angle cutter with a few passes. Not first choice but ideal given the circumstance.
It’s a job like this gate where the machine really hits the ground running. All of the halvings in the curves in the top section of the gate and all of the halvings in the lattice work in the bottom section are done on the overhead. One template and off you go, super quick, super clean and superb results.
This is the back of the gate, it’s showing it’s plugs! On the far stile (right hand side of photo) there is a detail on the top and then a V cut all the way around it, that’s also done on the O/H. I have only made a couple of these in my time as they are really expensive but if I do get the chance to make another one I will document it to show how immense and invaluable the O/H is for joinery like this.
If you are accurate in making templates then the machine will do all the rest for you over and over again.
Stop chamfering, chamfering, arrising (especially curves) is superb on this machine too. I wouldn’t be without one in my shop. Thanks for sharing and thankyou for taking the time to look at this thread.
Here’s one set of the couple of louvres the overhead knocked out in their finished state. Came out pretty well and didn’t take long at all. Not sure about them finishing flush? The boards will widen and then protrude the stiles unevenly up and down but I only follow the drawings I am given. The traditional way would always be my preference
Here’s a four panel door I made a few months back, slight curve ball here the overhead actually got me out of trouble as the bevel block chewed it’s clamping screw so I couldn’t machine the raised panels on it, but the overhead did it for me using a small angle cutter with a few passes. Not first choice but ideal given the circumstance.
It’s a job like this gate where the machine really hits the ground running. All of the halvings in the curves in the top section of the gate and all of the halvings in the lattice work in the bottom section are done on the overhead. One template and off you go, super quick, super clean and superb results.
This is the back of the gate, it’s showing it’s plugs! On the far stile (right hand side of photo) there is a detail on the top and then a V cut all the way around it, that’s also done on the O/H. I have only made a couple of these in my time as they are really expensive but if I do get the chance to make another one I will document it to show how immense and invaluable the O/H is for joinery like this.
If you are accurate in making templates then the machine will do all the rest for you over and over again.
Stop chamfering, chamfering, arrising (especially curves) is superb on this machine too. I wouldn’t be without one in my shop. Thanks for sharing and thankyou for taking the time to look at this thread.
Some very nice work has been done there, shows the ability of the overhead router but would a spindle do the same ?
ScottyT
Established Member
Thank you
Pretty much all of the above work I have mentioned cannot be done on a spindle, either not at all, or not practically (mainly not at all)
That’s why it’s such a significant machine to have use of in the shop.
Yojevol
Clocking on
worn thumbs
Established Member
An excellent machine as long as you can work with the 3 phase supply it needs.
ScottyT
Established Member
This is as near identical to the one I use, looks to be just a later edition with the modern Wadkin colouring and some other minor details.
No bed extensions that I can see though, and the collets look scarce.
On the flip side a decent selection of pins with it, they cover most of the standard size tooling, I always have one spare in silver steel that I can turn to what I want job dependent.
Great machines.
1Will
Member
Could you elaborate a little on the process used for making this, order of operations, what joints and fixing methods you used? very impressive dude,
thanks
ScottyT
Established Member
Thanks for the kind words.
There is quite a lot of basic detail on the lodge gate that applies to almost anything else in traditional joinery methods. Very briefly it’s stub morticed and tenoned in all of the joints, including the lower lattice work and the upper curves.
The rails are fixed with 1/2” dowel in an age old fixing process called drawboring, this rids the construction of exposed end grain for the harsh Dartmoor environment this was set in.
the halving’s for the lattice work and the curves were machined on the overhead router from jigs I made up to run from the pin.
There is no glue used in the lattice and curves, they simply go into the rails and stiles during final assembly, where they’re locked in until it’s time is done.
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