Router Table Not Flush With Insert

[WallNutz]

I’m making a charging station for electronic devices and decided to use sliding dovetails to connect the sides/front/back to small legs. The power brick will sit inside this box while the devices will rest on top.

I cut the dados into two 6” pieces, then split them in half to get four legs. No problems thus far. When cutting one of the tails, a piece ~2”, it became apparent that the insert plate around the router bit was not flush with the mounting plate. Besides causing the piece to catch when cutting, it created a pin with the wrong depth. I’ll square the dado or trim the tail later, but first I need to prevent that gap along the entire dovetail.

I am trying to avoid changing the bit depth because I am doubtful I will get it to match the already-cut dados. Is there anything I can do to raise the height of the insert?

 

[Melinapex]

I’m making a charging station for electronic devices and decided to use sliding dovetails to connect the sides/front/back to small legs. The power brick will sit inside this box while the devices will rest on top.

I cut the dados into two 6” pieces, then split them in half to get four legs. No problems thus far. When cutting one of the tails, a piece ~2”, it became apparent that the insert plate around the router bit was not flush with the mounting plate. Besides causing the piece to catch when cutting, it created a pin with the wrong depth. I’ll square the dado or trim the tail later, but first I need to prevent that gap along the entire dovetail.

I am trying to avoid changing the bit depth because I am doubtful I will get it to match the already-cut dados. Is there anything I can do to raise the height of the insert?

I had that problem and shimmed underneath the insert plate with plastic I cut from some of the cards we get all the time in the mail. Not pretty but works fine…

 

[WallNutz]

I had that problem and shimmed underneath the insert plate with plastic I cut from some of the cards we get all the time in the mail. Not pretty but works fine…

This worked, thank you. And bonus points for finding something useful to do with junk mail.

 

[Rwe2156]

Is this a homemade insert? It's easy to install some adjusting screws by drilling holes in 4 corners, tapping and using some allen grub screws.

You may want to do this, b/c "things happen" and one day you may find the insert is off again. DAMHIKT, but I've heard it can happen. It's those pesky shop leprecauns who come in a night do all manner of mischief. Some of their favorites are hiding your dial indicator, cupping a board, or taking the top off your shellac jar.............

 

[WallNutz]

I’m using the insert that came with the table, but to your point it would probably be better in the long run to make my own.

It seems like the leprechauns in my garage are more brazen than yours - mine take pencils and hand tools away while I am in there working. But your nighttime variants appear to be more sinister.

 

[BobbyB]

I am a new member so late to this post but I have used painters tape or electrical tape as a shim in the areas where needed.

 

[ArtVandelay]

I gave up on trying to shim plastic inserts and bought an Incra. Their inserts are metal and held in place with magnets. They are perfectly flush.

 

[Wilsoncb]

I gave up on trying to shim plastic inserts and bought an Incra. Their inserts are metal and held in place with magnets. They are perfectly flush.

Dido

 

[Cuprousworks]

Dido

You're both luckier than me. I found that two of the set - including my most commonly used- were proud and needed to be filed down. They were punched steel, and the minor flash around the edges had to be removed.

All of which to say, I love the Incra metal inserts but there's a lot of machinery and jigs in this craft that require tweaking to work optimally. Even on some of the high-end manufacturers.
Mike