Drawer Lock Router Bit Setup

Next time you hear someone say "nice drawers" assume they're talking about the fine drawer box you made with the Infinity Tools Drawer Locking Router Bit and not your underwear.

When is the last time someone said to you "nice drawers"? If it's been a while, it's time to step up your game in the wood shop. When my goal is to make a strong and visually appealing joint quickly, I reach for the Drawer Locking Router Bit. The Drawer Locking Router Bit creates a strong interlocking joint with plenty of glue surface that only requires clamping in one direction during final assembly. The joint is also perfectly suited to be pin-nailed, allowing you to free up your clamps when making multiple drawers. New kitchen cabinets, anyone?

The interlocking profile of the Drawer Locking router bit increases the strength of the drawer from front to back.

The Drawer Locking Router Bit creates a an Interlocking joint that pulls both pieces of material together as clamping force is applied from the side. This geometric configuration means you don't need to put any clamps on your drawer face, which has the added bonus of saving you from putting pressure marks on the face of your drawer.

Another nice feature of the Drawer Locking Router Bit is that the joint can be pinned from the side with a brad nailer, allowing the clamps to be immediately removed so they can be used on the next drawer in quick fashion.

The Drawer Lock router bit will also allow you to create full overlay drawer fronts without using two pieces of material for the drawer face. This is a recipe for for a cleaner, more visually appealing drawer.

With the Infinity setup block (item #SET-512) you'll have perfectly fitting drawer fronts and sides in no time.

Infinity Cutting Tools also offers a setup block specifically for the Drawer Locking Router Bit. When it comes to material thicknesses, this block is designed to pull double duty. First, the block will help set bit height and fence setting when making drawers with 3/4" faces, 1/2" sides and with a 1/4" overlay. Second, the same block will set the bit height and fence to create a drawer with a face flush to the sides when using all 3/4" material for the box.

If you want to make drawers with different overlay or from material of different thicknesses you can still use the setup block to set the bit height and the fence setting for the drawer sides, leaving only the adjustment for the drawer face to be made via the fence setting. To add a greater amount of overlay, you'd simply move the fence away from the front of the table when cutting the drawer front. For a lesser amount of overlay, simply move the fence forward toward the front of the table when cutting the drawer front. It's as simple as that.

If the joint is loose, raise the bit half the amount needed to tighten up the joint. If the joint is tight, lowering the bit is the key.

If for some reason the joint is not fitting together perfectly or you want a slightly tighter or looser fitting joint, the Drawer Locking Router Bit is easy to fine tune. If the joint is loose it means the bit is set too low. Simply raise the bit half the amount that is needed to tighten the gap, this will tighten up the joint. If the joint is too tight the bit is set too high. Lowering the bit will loosen the joint up. Remember any adjustment made to the bit height will be doubled when both pieces are cut.

Setting the fence for an inset drawer face is simple, use a piece of drawer side material as a guide and use a second piece of scrap to set the bit to project the correct amount.

If the drawer overlap is not lining up or a custom overlay is desired, all that is needed is a fence adjustment. A quick way to set your overlay is to use a piece of you drawer side material as a guide. Set you drawer side against your fence, then stack a second piece in front and simply set the fence to allow the bit to project the same mount as the side material thickness. This will set the bit perfectly for a flush face/side joint. If you want an overlay of say, 1/2", simply add a piece of 1/2" material to the stack and move the fence back accordingly and you are set.

If a custom overlay is desired, simply add a piece of material the same thickness as the desired overlay to the stack and slide the fence back the desired amount. If you are making a large overlay, it is always a good idea to make multiple passes.

The Drawer Locking Router Bit simplifies drawer construction by eliminating finicky jigs and time consuming setup. What is left is a strong, attractive and versatile joint that is easy to make, fine tune and assemble. Adding a Drawer Locking router bit to your collection is sure to simplify your next drawer making project. And don't forget the drawer locking router bit setup block, it'll make an already easy to use bit even easier.