Half lap/ stile router table jig

[Cherryville Chuck]

This is a jig I whipped up for doing half lap joints on the router table. I came up with this jig to use on my Lee Valley steel table top. You can't add miter grooves to that table so the only other option is a jig that follows the table edge which works with any router table. The advantage of using an edge guided sled is that you still have the entire height of the router bit to use whereas a table top sled subtracts the thickness of the sled from what you have available. It also gives something to clamp your work to. It will also work for profiling the ends of stiles on raised panel doors. As long as you don't extend the arm that sits on the table too far in it can be used in conjunction with the fence. In the picture I marked where the large straight bit cut the lap on the push arm and then I marked where I wanted the lap on my piece and lined the two up. Accurate enough for the job I was doing.

Another option that I more commonly use is a push block run along the fence. I've seen other use this method on youtube videos like Marc Sommerfeld. Just grab a square of some panel scrap and make sure it has square corners. Someone once said that he had trouble keeping the work piece from moving when doing the ends of stiles this way. If you drill a hole in the pusher block and square the near side with a jigsaw you can clamp the piece to the pusher.