Now that I am collecting new router bits, the drawer which I used to keep them in ran out of room, so I thought I’d build one. Remember that your router bits need to be stored safely as they cost a lot of money and you don’t want to damage them. If you haven’t got any storage for them then this project is ideal for you…
If you have got Acrobat Reader then you can download the plans for this project here…
You start off this project by cutting all the pieces. The cutting list is included in the plans so you can get all the measurements from that.
Once all the pieces are cut to size….
Set your pencil gauge to 100mm and mark the outside faces on all the long 400mm base & top sides, at both ends.
Then with a ruler or tape measure mark 200mm in at each side and each end of the 400mm base sides. Mark 17mm in at each side and each end of the 400mm top sides.
Set your drill press up with a 10mm drill bit. Set the depth to about half the thickness of the sides. If you haven’t got a drill press you can use a handheld drill and set the depth by stick a bit of masking tape on the drill bit.
As the picture shows on the left, bore counterbores on the pencil lines which you made earlier. Do this on the two 400mm base and top pieces.
You now have to route the dado on the top and base pieces to accept the MDF sheets.
I recommend that you mark the sides on which you want the dado as this helps you later on.
Set your router up with a 6mm rebate bit.
The dado on the top pieces needs to start 5mm from the top inside face, the base pieces starts 5mm from the bottom inside face.
The 400mm length top & base pieces need a stopped dado right at the end (about 3mm) but the shorter pieces (170mm) don’t need to be stopped.
Using a 6mm bevel edge chisel, square off the dados on the 400mm pieces.
Assembly…
Assemble the base first. Take the two 170mm sides and attach them to one of the MDF sheets, by sliding the MDF into the dado’s as shown in the picture (right).
Then place glue on the ends of the sides (also shown in the picture on the right).
Now place one of the 400mm sides over the glue, making sure the MDF slides into the dado and that the 170mm sides are flush with the ends.
Pre-drill holes through the counterbores you drilled earlier then drive some screws into the holes.
Repeat this step and the step above with the other side.
You need to make some plugs now. You can do this with a 10mm plug cutter or, if you haven’t got a plug cutter you can use some 10mm dowel.
These are to go into the couterbores to cover the screw heads.
Add a drop of glue into the counterbore (over the screw head) then select a plug, trying to match up the grain. Once selected, hammer the plug in.
Repeat this with all the other holes.
Once the glue has had chance to dry, its time to trim the plugs flush. You can do this with a chisel.
Hold the chisel firmly and take off thin strips in a paring action, it helps is you slice with the grain!!
Once the base has been assembled repeat all the assembly steps with the top pieces.
Once the top and base have been assembled sand all surfaces. We started with 80G then 120G and finished with 320G.
We selected a mahogany finish which we put on with a foam brush. Three coats with a light sand in-between coats should be fine!
Select your choice of hinges and catches.As you can see in the picture (right) we chose a butterfly hinge.
For finishing touches we added four plastic shelf supports to act as feet, they work really well!!
Here they are finished. You might wonder why we have two? It’s just the day I (Charley) finished my router box, Tom came down for the weekend and he wanted one for his router bits, so we decided to build another one for him and upload the steps to the website. His is the lighter of the two – it had only had two coats of stain when the photograph was taken.
To really finish the box off you can add some foam to the lid (to protect the cutters).
As you can see in the picture (left) we’ve added blocks of wood to hold the router bits in, all you have to do is cut some timber down to the right size (we used hardwood) and drill holes for the bits. You need a 7mm drill bit for 1/4" shanks and a 13mm flat bit for 1/2" shanks.
We’re really glad we made this project as it’s very handy and it keeps our cutters safe. No doubt we will be making a larger one in a couple of years when our collection of bits grows. We hope you have fun building this and find it as useful as we have…
If you have got Acrobat Reader then you can download the plans for this project here…
You start off this project by cutting all the pieces. The cutting list is included in the plans so you can get all the measurements from that.
Once all the pieces are cut to size….
Set your pencil gauge to 100mm and mark the outside faces on all the long 400mm base & top sides, at both ends.
Then with a ruler or tape measure mark 200mm in at each side and each end of the 400mm base sides. Mark 17mm in at each side and each end of the 400mm top sides.
Set your drill press up with a 10mm drill bit. Set the depth to about half the thickness of the sides. If you haven’t got a drill press you can use a handheld drill and set the depth by stick a bit of masking tape on the drill bit.
As the picture shows on the left, bore counterbores on the pencil lines which you made earlier. Do this on the two 400mm base and top pieces.
You now have to route the dado on the top and base pieces to accept the MDF sheets.
I recommend that you mark the sides on which you want the dado as this helps you later on.
Set your router up with a 6mm rebate bit.
The dado on the top pieces needs to start 5mm from the top inside face, the base pieces starts 5mm from the bottom inside face.
The 400mm length top & base pieces need a stopped dado right at the end (about 3mm) but the shorter pieces (170mm) don’t need to be stopped.
Using a 6mm bevel edge chisel, square off the dados on the 400mm pieces.
Assembly…
Assemble the base first. Take the two 170mm sides and attach them to one of the MDF sheets, by sliding the MDF into the dado’s as shown in the picture (right).
Then place glue on the ends of the sides (also shown in the picture on the right).
Now place one of the 400mm sides over the glue, making sure the MDF slides into the dado and that the 170mm sides are flush with the ends.
Pre-drill holes through the counterbores you drilled earlier then drive some screws into the holes.
Repeat this step and the step above with the other side.
You need to make some plugs now. You can do this with a 10mm plug cutter or, if you haven’t got a plug cutter you can use some 10mm dowel.
These are to go into the couterbores to cover the screw heads.
Add a drop of glue into the counterbore (over the screw head) then select a plug, trying to match up the grain. Once selected, hammer the plug in.
Repeat this with all the other holes.
Once the glue has had chance to dry, its time to trim the plugs flush. You can do this with a chisel.
Hold the chisel firmly and take off thin strips in a paring action, it helps is you slice with the grain!!
Once the base has been assembled repeat all the assembly steps with the top pieces.
Once the top and base have been assembled sand all surfaces. We started with 80G then 120G and finished with 320G.
We selected a mahogany finish which we put on with a foam brush. Three coats with a light sand in-between coats should be fine!
Select your choice of hinges and catches.As you can see in the picture (right) we chose a butterfly hinge.
For finishing touches we added four plastic shelf supports to act as feet, they work really well!!
Here they are finished. You might wonder why we have two? It’s just the day I (Charley) finished my router box, Tom came down for the weekend and he wanted one for his router bits, so we decided to build another one for him and upload the steps to the website. His is the lighter of the two – it had only had two coats of stain when the photograph was taken.
To really finish the box off you can add some foam to the lid (to protect the cutters).
As you can see in the picture (left) we’ve added blocks of wood to hold the router bits in, all you have to do is cut some timber down to the right size (we used hardwood) and drill holes for the bits. You need a 7mm drill bit for 1/4" shanks and a 13mm flat bit for 1/2" shanks.
We’re really glad we made this project as it’s very handy and it keeps our cutters safe. No doubt we will be making a larger one in a couple of years when our collection of bits grows. We hope you have fun building this and find it as useful as we have…
