Not sure what happened..somehow this post ended up in the timber engineering section. here goes again.

Would anyone out there in timber frame land choose to share their favorite methods/templates for cutting housings, particularly blind housings with a router.

I am on my 5th frame, the first 3 being fully scribed but have just finished my first square rule frame and have another on the books. Quite frankly cutting blind housings with a chisel is driving me mad. It is the sort of job machines were made for.
I have tried playing around with a square cutting bit with the router held free hand but am not happy with the level of control. I have had a bit of a look at router jigs out there and they all seem to rely on using the base as a guide.
To me a pattern cutting bit with a template the same size as your housings makes the most sense.
Are there off the shelf, adjustable pattern cutting jigs out there? Do you make your own? Do you have a separate jig for each standard housing you cut?
Would love to hear your ideas.

I use porter cable's template set. http://www.build.com/porter-cable-42045-...;baid=501887902 It is a steel or brass fitting that mounts to the base of the router and allows you to use a straight bit for all of the cutting. The fitting acts like a sleeve over your bit, and allows you to take multiple passes at different depths for your housing. It has an offset so you jig will have to be slightly larger than you housing. We just make a simple jig of 2x2's on either side of the timber and half inch MDF to make up the jig. Just 4 pieces of MDF screwed down with a couple of drywall screws, this setup is then clamped to the timber and the routing begins. The porter cable template rides along the MDF and bit cuts roughly an 1/8th inch from the MDF. We have a few standard jigs (standard brace, 8x8, 6x8, etc.) but we often make new ones. There is a stack of MDF pieces in the back of the shop just for the jigs.

You could try to avoid blind housings. Square rule will aid in this. They do pop up but not so often to cause madness.

The problem with using the bearing bit is that the router rides on the surface of the timber, which may be rough, uneven, or not parallel to your reference face. We use jigs with a masonite bottom. The walls are the guide. The downside is that it will only work with a specific router. Find More Details on my web site.

This is more or less how we do it too. We used to use bearing bits but we always had problems with template damage/erosion.


I like these bits a lot. (Might not help you down under, though)
http://www.hersaf.com/shop/index.php/action/category/id/7/subid/11/

We use a 3/4" diameter head and the longer arbor. Rotating the carbide insert only takes a minute or two and you are back at it.

I hear ya man. Housings are my least favorite. I'd rather use circ saw, forstner bits in the corner, and then my edge tools with mass (slick).

A router sure would be quicker but, that damn whine is excruciating to me and my senses. So much that I think my next chamfers will be more organic with a drawknife. Have I said I don't like routers and timber framing?

Might I suggest this: If you have a Makita 710 mortiser think about turning your timber 90 and screwing the chain to the edge..... instead of plunging a mortise, plunge a housing.

One of various methods to cut housings....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lG1Jx_yt...mp;feature=plcp

Tim, always great videos.

As an aside: What kind of joint do you use on the other end of the joists when one end is connecting to the piece in your video?

Hi Mo, Tusk tenons on both ends for this particular job. A bit tricky to assemble but not really that bad. btw, it was plumb line scribed.

Plenty of food for thought. Thanks everyone.
I will have to keep playing to find what works best for me.
Have just spent the a day cutting dozens of blind housings freehand and have sore arms from holding the router so tight that it won't wander and eyes full of sawdust from watching that fine pencil line. A quick clean up around the edges with a chisel and everything looks the goods. No disasters so far but there has to be a better way.
I'll have to agree with Mo that listening to a router all day in no way to achieve the zen of timber framing.
So many blind housings because they look so much more finished that the alternatives when you can see the post on all four sides.
But with limited lifting equipment, a one man show and heavy australian hardwoods, full scribe layout starts to lose its appeal. (The last job I did was mostly framed with 20' 10"by10"s weighing at least 800lbs)

I have to import most of my tools from overseas anyway so it's always nice to hear from a few people who have actually laid their hands on them.

Anyway I ramble. Thanks everyone and keep up the good work.