In Tricks of the Trade

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As hard as I try to avoid it, every now and then I need to mill a small part on the router table. I’ve learned the hard way that you should never hold that part by hand, for three good reasons: first, your fingers would be way too close to the bit; second, the part makes very little contact with the fence; and third, small parts can easily become projectiles.

So here’s how I do it: I lock the small part in the jaws of a handscrew. To make a broader bearing surface, I clamp a second handscrew around the first one, adjusting its position so that its tips bear against the fence. –John English


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