Pantorouter

I have said it before, and I will say it again. There are very few tools in my shop that are one-trick ponies.

If a tool has the ability to perform multiple functions, the odds of it earning a spot in my small shop goes up. The Pantorouter is one of those. On the surface, it may seem like a glorified slot mortiser, but it's so much more than that. By following a template, not only can the Pantorouter create mortise and tenons (lower photo) in a total of 154 sizes, but you can cut dovetails, finger joints, and more. And because everything is referenced off the centerline, it makes setting up the Pantorouter straight forward, even when cutting joinery on the ends of workpieces with compound angles. The function is simple: one lever controls the plunge action, while the other controls the movement of the motor around a template. The machine itself is one of the better built pieces of equipment that I have used in a long time, and has one of the most robust assembly and how-to manuals around. The best feature of all may be that the Pantorouter has dust collection on it that actually works.