 A simple jig every new woodworker should have. A router guide rail. Hola, woodworkers. Paul Carlson here with my cup of vodka. I mean my hot tea. You very often need to use your router or your plunge router to do a nice straight dado. Or in this case, I'm doing essentially a rabbit because that's the first part of cutting a tenon and on this large work piece. This is not a work piece. I'm comfortable going to the table saw or using a hand circular saw or using even a cross cut sled because it's just too big, too cumbersome for my small workshop. So my decision is to use a router to get the depth that I want. So I need a simple jig. Not exactly rocket science. Just get yourself a half inch plywood and a smaller, probably three-quarter inch plywood. In this case I've got hardwood because that's what I had available. And make sure that the piece you're going to put on top of the half inch plywood is very straight. Then just simply either screw it or glue it or probably preferably both a couple inches from one edge. And then you want this to be wide enough, maybe eight or nine inches. So you've got plenty of length here more than the distance between the edge of your router and your edge of your router bit because what we're going to do is use the router to cut. So we're going to get that all secured ready to be set up for final process. Put it down with some clamps and then simply run your router across it and you'll be cutting off right at this edge. Then from then on when you need to use it to let's say I wanted to do a rabbet right here or something then I can just secure this down and then simply run my router. I wouldn't run it in this direction. I run it from that direction. But run my router along here and I know with confidence as long as I keep it up against that rail that I'm going to cut a nice straight line with my router. Very simple. Hope you find it useful. Paul Carlson, small workshop guy, signing off.