There are certain woodworking skills that unlock new possibilities once you know about them. It’s like jumping through a pipe and starting a side quest in a video game. Template routing is one of those skills.
Template routing comes up in the torpedo level, play station, and kitchen chair — just from this issue. The technique is simple in concept: create a template of the shape you require, then use a router and a special bit to recreate the shape of the template onto a workpiece.
Template routing is usually associated with making complex profiles or when you need multiple copies. However, there are good reasons to employ this technique for everyday tasks.
The space constraints of a
