All-metal PantoRouter adds options and safety

The Hybrid PantoRouter, introduced at IWF 2016, is a template-guided router assembly for producing mortises and tenons, box joints, half-blind and through dovetails and more.

“The PantoRouter uses a pantograph mechanism with a 2:1 mechanical advantage to guide the router’s movement so the operator can control the cut precisely while his hands are well away from the spinning router bit,” WoodCraft Solutions principal Mac Sheldon says.

“Mortise and tenon has never been faster and more accurate and both can done using the same template. Box joints and dovetails can be evenly or variably spaced, quickly and easily. Custom templates can be made in most any shape to give a handcrafted appearance to the finished piece.”

The Hybrid PantoRouter is an all-metal version of the original PantoRouter invented by Mathias Wande. The work piece is machined horizontal to the router, so it can be of any length. The practical size limit for the work piece is 4” high x 8” long, but the piece can be indexed when cutting dovetails and box joints to make much longer pieces in multiple passes.

Commercial shops are using the Hybrid PantoRouter for prototyping and production runs, while schools are discovering it as a safer way to introduce students to using a router, according to Sheldon.

The Hybrid PantoRouter also features a spindle lock to change bits, micro adjustment capabilities, and a tilting table for compound angles.

The Hybrid PantoRouter sells for $1,095 with templates for mortise and tenon. It’s also available as a kit — with a router, dust collection accessories and additional templates for box and dovetail joints — for $1,849.

For information, visit www.hybridpantorouter.com.

This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue.