PantoRouter

Assembly Guide

www.PantoRouter.com
Info@PantoRouter.com
+1-877-333-7150

Copyright January 2023 WoodCraft Solutions LLC

 Safety:
Woodworking is inherently dangerous. There are hazards inherent to using the PantoRouter® and many other
tools in the shop, whether operated by hand or electric power. Some of these hazards are discussed below.
Use common sense when operating the PantoRouter® and all woodworking tools, and use this tool in accor-
dance with the instructions. You are responsible for your own safety.

Read and understand the Assembly Guide, the How-To Guide and the Warning Label on the PantoRouter®.
Failure to follow instructions or heed warnings may result in electric shock, fire, serious personal injury or
property damage. Save these instructions and refer to them whenever necessary.

Warning: This product can expose you to chemicals including wood dust, which is known to the State of
California to cause cancer. The exposure can come from drilling, sawing, sanding or machining wood prod-
ucts. For more information go to wwwP65Warnings.ca.gov/wood. In addition, some types of dust created by
sawing, sanding, grinding, milling, drilling and other construction and woodworking activities also contain
chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. In addition, wood dust has been
listed as a known human carcinogen by the U.S. Government. The risk from exposure to these chemicals
and to dust varies depending on how often you do this type of work. To reduce your exposure, work in a well
ventilated area and work with approved safety equipment including dust collection, properly fitted dust masks
or respirators designed to filter out such dust and chemicals.

You are responsible for your own safety.

To reduce the risk of injury, the user must:
• Read and understand the operating guides before operating product.
• Wear eye protection, earplugs and dust mask.
• Do not wear gloves, neckties, jewelry or loose clothing. Contain long hair.
• Know how to shut off router in an emergency.
• Disconnect router from power source before servicing or changing router bit.
• Do not adjust the router until it has been disconnected from power.
• Securely mount the router in mounting bracket before turning power on. If
router motor cannot be securely mounted as described in the assembly instruc-
tions, do not use the PantoRouter®. Check router mount security prior to each
operation.
• Clamp material to be cut securely to table before starting router.
• Never use a bit not specifically designed for use in a woodworking router.
• Keep hands and clothing away from spinning router bit.
• Do not operate this machine while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• When servicing, use only identical parts.
• Failure to comply with these warnings may result in serious personal injury

2
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
SAFETY 2

BASIC COMPONENTS OF THE PantoRouter® 4

GENERAL ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM 6

ASSEMBLY OF THE PantoRouter® 8

INSTALLING THE ROUTER AND DUST HOOD 13

MACHINE CALIBRATION 14

SETTING THE THICKNESS GAUGE 17

FIND AND MARK THE CENTERLINE 19

ASSEMBLY OF THE CENTERING SCALE FENCE 21

SWING STOP AND CENTERING BAR 22

NOTES AND VIDEO LINKS 23

3
 Basic Components of the PantoRouter®

11
12
4
6 3
5

7
10 1
2
9

1. Table
2. Centering Scale Fence
3. T-Slot Lever Clamps
4. Template Holder With Template
5. Thickness Gauge
6. Template Holder Slider and Locking Lever
7. Template Holder Support Frame
8. Depth Stops - front and back
9. Pantograph Carriage
10. Pantograph
11. Guide Bearing
12. Plunge Lever
4
 11
12
4
6
5

7 10
1
2
9

8
5
 General Assembly Diagram

6
Recommended additional tools for assembly & setup:

Calipers Utility Knife 12” square Sharp pencil Small combo No drills or
Square
Impact drivers
The box marked “Hardware” or “Kits” contains the
screws, small parts and hex wrenches needed to as-
semble the PantoRouter®. You can find this Kits box
in the smaller of the two packages the PantoRouter®
arrived in. A digital or analog caliper will help to
dial-in the Thickness Gauge for ultimate precision.
We recommend not using a battery-operated drill
or impact driver for assembling the PantoRouter®.

You’ll notice we use mostly recycled and recycla-

ble cardboard for packaging and we ask that you
re-use or recycle when you’re finished with your
assembly. We’re always available by phone or email
if we can help in any way!

7
 PantoRouter®Assembly Guide ©WoodCraft Solutions LLC, January 2023

We thank you for your PantoRouter® purchase and we

hope you find great pleasure in creating all kinds of
traditional and innovative joinery. There’s no better
jig for mortise and tenons, box joints and machine-cut
dovetails, but this is just the beginning of the tasks you
can master with the PantoRouter®.

Your PantoRouter® experience starts with a few min-

utes of assembly then grab our How-To Guide for basic
instruction and some ideas to help you get started.

Inspect the pieces for any possible shipping damage then lay them out and refer to the diagram to get a good
idea of how they’ll all fit together.

First, open the box marked Kits or Hardware where

you’ll find all of the fasteners and hex wrenches.
Together with this guide, you should be up and Pan-
toRouting in short order.

Kits K-1 and K-6 contain the screws for mounting

the template holder frame to the pantograph car-
riage, and K-2 contains the screws to secure the
carriage to the glide-shaft bearings.

Open K-1, K-2, K-6 and K-9; the hex wrenches

you’ll need for assembly. It’s helpful to keep the
label together with the screws from that bag for easy
identification.

We recommend using the supplied hex wrenches or similar hand-held wrenches. Using a drill or impact
driver for assembly can over-drive screws or strip threads.
8
 Leave for now.
Cut the straps holding the padding material but don’t Check the machined surfaces to make sure they’re
cut the nylon tie straps holding the pantograph to the clean and smooth. If needed, remove paint but don’t
carriage base yet. use sand cloth. A sharp blade will clean the surface in
a few seconds.

Loosely thread the K-6 cap screws into the nut plates Slide the template holder support frame (B) into place
on both sides. with the nut plates in the slots on both sides then snug
but don’t tighten the cap screws. Make sure the Tem-
plate Holder is facing the pantograph.

Template Holder
Hand-thread the eight K-1 cap screws
through the pantograph carriage (A) and
into the Template Holder Support Frame
(B). Face each other

Tighten the cap screws using the hex

wrench provided. Pantograph
Refer to the photo on page 4 for proper
orientation of the template holder support Pantograph
& template holder assemblies.
Carriage (A)

9
 Clean the machined landing pads from the under-
Using the hex wrench provided in Kit-9 tighten the
side of the pantograph carriage if needed.
cap screws to the plate nuts to secure the template
holder frame. Clip the wire ties to access these cap
Set the assembled pantograph carriage aside and
screws.
work on the base assembly.

Operator Side
Throughout the Assembly and How-To Guide,
the left side of the machine labeled with the “L”
sticker will also be referred to as the operator
side. This is the side you will be standing on
when using the PantoRouter®, you will notice
the depth stops and both operating handles of Depth Stops
the PantoRouter® are all accessible on the opera-
tor side.

Operator Side

Table Supports

Install both table supports from Box-F. The mounting screws for the table supports also come from Box-F.

The Left and Right supports are not interchangeable and both have locating pins to align the support to the base
frame. The part identification labels can be removed as you complete the assembly.
10
Install the rubber feet to the bottom of the base frame
without over-compressing the rubber.

Relocate the depth stop angles to the ends of Template holder

their track for the depth stop scale-holder post Frame side towards
to clear. Position the pantograph carriage on back of machine
the glide-shaft bearings and align the screw
holes.

Make sure the side of the pantograph carriage that Glide-shaft

has the template holder support frame is towards the Bearings
back of the machine and not facing the table sup-
ports.

Hand-thread the 16 screws (K-2) through the pantograph

carriage into the glide-shaft bearings but leave them
loose.

Move the carriage forward until the carriage base con-

tacts both glide shaft mounts. Press forward to align the
pantograph carriage, then tighten all 16 screws to secure Glide-shaft
the pantograph carriage to the glide-shaft bearings. Mounts
The pantograph carriage should now move freely on the
glide shafts.

It is normal for the glide-shaft bearings to make some

sound when initially moving the PantoRouter® carriage.
With normal use, the hundreds of ball bearings will seat
during a brief break-in period and the sound will dimin-
ish.

You can now clip any remaining tie straps and remove the cardboard cushions from under the springs on the
pantograph assembly.

11
 Tilting Table Location obstructs
Protractor Lever Knob table tilt
Loosen both Tilting Table Lever Knobs and hand- You can now loosen the lever knobs and test the
thread all four table mounting cap screws (K-3). Check tilting table.
the top horizontal surface of the two table supports to Install the front fence/stops to the front of the
be sure they’re clean of debris and the table is sitting table. Note, the table will not tilt to a full 90°
flat on both sides, then lock the two Tilting Table when the fence/stops are in front of the table
Lever Knobs. Next, secure the table to the protractor supports. Move them inboard to clear the table
by tightening the four screws with the provided hex supports or remove them if they’re not needed
wrench (K-9). when the table is tilted fully vertical.

Insert cap screw K-5 through the plunge lever (D) Insert pin K-4 through the plunge lever arms and
mounting bracket as shown with a washer and nut template holder support post using a washer on both
on the back. Snug the screw to give a small degree of sides and lock with the clip.
resistance to the plunge. This can be adjusted for more
or less friction as you get to know the PantoRouter®.
Scan code with your smart phone camera to
see video tips on this step

Inch Scale Metric Scale

Choose the inch or metric side of the depth stop scale then mount it on the depth stop using a business
card or four thicknesses of paper for clearance over the front depth stop angle.
12
 Bosch 1617EVS Router (other brands will mount differently)
With the router unplugged, insert the Bosch
Router locking
router into the mounts as far as it will go, then
screws
rotate so the power switch and variable speed
control dial are in-line with the router motor
locking screws. The cord should be positioned
as in the lower photo. Don’t tighten the router
mount lock screws yet.
Router controls
Note: The template holder support frame has
been removed from these photos for visual
clarity, please complete all prior assembly steps
before installing the router.

Two screws and two nylon washers are packed

along with the dust collection hood and brush.
Insert the two screws with their nylon washers through
the dust hood and loosely thread them into the tapped
holes in the pantograph. Align the dust hood so the col-
let spins freely and does not contact the hood. Tighten
the two dust hood mounting screws.

Tightening these screws will push the router back in the

mount. Nudge the router back in the router mount so it
clears the dust collection hood by about 1/32” (0.8 mm),
then tighten the router mount lock screws. Use the pro-
vided wrench (K-15) to tighten the lock nuts.
Tip: The brush attaches to the dust hood by snap-
The last step is to snap on the dust collection hood ping into place with spring tension. The fit can be
brush, and you’re ready to PantoRout! made tighter by overlapping the two ends and squeez-
ing it into a slightly smaller circle.

1/32”
Gap

We recommend using a hose that fits over the discharge port, not inside it. We supply an excellent hose with
some of our packages and it sometimes helps to soften the hose end cuff by holding it under hot tap water. Once
warmed-up it should slip onto the dust collection hood and as it cools it will grip tenaciously.
We prefer to use a dust extractor or Shop-Vac with a cyclone chip separator rather than hooking up to large dust
collection ducting. We have found the higher air velocity collects more chips and fine dust particles keeping
your shop cleaner and your lungs healthier.

13
 Align the Template Holder Support Frame
The template holder support frame assembly is aligned at
the factory but can shift slightly in transit so the following
procedure might be necessary to bring it back into perfect
alignment. Many people can feel variation of about a thou- Rail
o s s
sandth of an inch (0.025mm), so aligning by touch is often Cr
adequate.

If adjustment is needed, loosen the screws holding the tem-

Template Holder
plate holder support frame cross rail to the Template Holder Support Post
Support posts. There are two holes on each side to access
these screws. Flush the top, front and back of the cross rail to the posts then re-tighten the screws on both sides.

Calibrate the Template Holder

Alignment of the template to the pantograph and table
is critical for accurate joinery. The template holder must
1
be perfectly aligned to the frame and must slide freely on
the posts. Adjusting it is quick and easy using the follow-
ing method.

1. Move the operator’s side Template Holder Slider so

it is flush with the top of the template holder support
post then lock the slider with the lever knob. Don’t
worry about anything else at this point, just the slider Slider
and the top of the operator’s side template holder
support post.
2
2. Keep the operator’s side slider locked in place and use
the 8mm wrench provided in your PantoRouter® pack-
age to loosen all four acorn nuts holding the template
holder to the sliders on both sides. A 5/16” wrench or
nut driver will also work for this.

3. Align the slider opposite the operator to the top of the 3

template holder support post and lock the lever knob.

Both sliders should now be flush with the tops of the

template holder support posts and the template holder
should be slightly loose on the sliders.

14
 4
4. Align the template holder to the top of both template
holder support posts then tighten the four acorn nuts
with the 8mm wrench. Be careful to not over-tighten
these small nuts.

5
5. Double check template holder alignment on both
sides.

6. The template holder should now slide up and down

freely and it should stay aligned to the template holder
support frame. It’s a good idea to periodically check 6
the template holder alignment by touch or using a
straight-edge to make sure it’s still accurate.

To watch a video on this process on our

website, go to “Dialing in the PantoRouter®”
video on the “Videos & Tutorials” page at
https://www.PantoRouter.com/video-library-
overview-and-how-to Or simply scan the QR
code on page 23.

Calibrate the Pantograph

The template and template holder must be coplanar to the
table and the workpiece to produce high quality 1
joinery. This can be quickly checked after the template
holder support frame and template holder have been cali-
brated.
1. Cut a setup block from a piece of fine grain wood so
it’s square on the end then stand it up on the operator’s
side of the table. A piece about 1.5” X 1.5” X 3” works
well.
15
2. Mount the centering jig with two pointed ends in the 2 Guide bearing
resting on tem-
router. Either end is okay.
plate holder
Insert the 22mm (~7/8”) guide bearing in the panto-
graph handle with the bearing resting on top of the
template holder.
Lock the template holder on both sides with the cen-
tering jig about an inch (25mm) above the table.

3. Roll the guide bearing across the top of the template

3
holder to scribe a small line (1/2” long or so) in the
setup block as shown. It’s easiest to see the line when
scribing across the side grain, and we highlighted the
line with pencil for clarity.

4. Move the guide bearing to the far side of the template

holder, which moves the centering jig across the table. 4
Scribe a second line next to the first.

5. The two scribe marks should be identical or very

nearly so. If they are off by more than the width of the
scribe line, shims will be required under the glide shaft
mounts on the low side. 5
6. Shims are provided in the Kits or hardware box (K-14).
Always shim under both glide-shaft mounts on the
glide-shaft needing to be raised. The photo below
shows inserting shims under the operator’s side glide
shaft mounts but it’s more likely the side opposite the
operator will need to be raised for perfect alignment.

Loosen the Glide Shaft Mounts on the low side and slip a shim under each mount to be sure the pantograph
is raised evenly. Retest and it should be dead-on!

6 7
Before and after shimming.

Before After

16
 Set the Thickness Gauge
Please read through this section before cutting
1 2

Test 4” Clamp Representative

piece block sample
Prepare a sample piece about 1-1/2” square Insert one of the non-tapered 6mm guide bearing
and about 18’ long. Make sure the sides are shafts into the center hole of the template holder. You
parallel and there is no snipe on the ends. Cut can use any horizontal template, as long as the shaft
a 1” long section (representative sample) and goes all the way through the template into the center
another section about 4” long that we’ll use hole of the template holder. Do not use a template
later for clamping. Mark “TOP” on the same marked B-V or D-V for this step. The templates
face of each piece. marked with V are for vertical M&T only.
3 4 Representative
sample

Thickness
gauge
Mark the center of the workpiece then set the Hold either the workpiece or the 1” long repre-
pointer at the center mark by adjusting the sentative sample of the workpiece up against the
template holder up or down. Lock the template template holder with the side marked “Top” up.
holder with the lever knobs on both sides. Move the thickness gauge up to the workpiece
and tighten the thickness gauge.
5 6

Using the horizontal template and a 1/2” bit, cut a mortise about 3/4” deep. The 10mm guide bearing
should be all the way to the back of the mortise slot in the center of the template. Plunge gently as
you slowly move the bit back and forth to cut the mortise.

17
 7 8
Top
Top

Measure the shoulders of the workpiece and note which is thicker, the top or bottom shoulder. The thickness
gauge needs to be moved in the direction of the thicker shoulder by the difference between the two measure-
ments. In this case it’s 0.46 mm toward the top.

9 10

Thickness
Gauge Angle
Template Holder
Support post
Raise the Reference Gauge Angle on the back of the template holder support post closest to the operator’s posi-
tion and insert feeler gauge(s) as close to the desired move amount as possible. Slide the Reference Gauge (top
angle) down to the feeler gauge then lock the Reference Gauge Angle using the hex wrench.

11 12
Reference Gauge
Angle

Thickness
Gauge Angle Template Holder
Support post
Remove the feeler gauge(s) then loosen and move the Loosen the template holder and move it up. Insert
Thickness Gauge Angle up to the Reference Gauge the workpiece or the representative sample with the
Angle and lock it. “Top” up, then lower the template holder to squeeze
the workpiece against the thickness gauge and lock
the template holder using both lever knobs.
18
13 14

4” Clamp
block
Bridge

Cut another mortise using this new setting. Notice Re-measure and adjust as necessary until you are
the bridge for clamping during mortise operations. satisfied with the result. We can typically get it
It’s made using the 4” off-cut from step 1 of this within a tenth of a millimeter, or less than four
process and any small scrap piece 1/2” or thicker thousandth of an inch.
will work as a bridge.

It’s rare that you would need to move your thickness gauge, but if you do, it will be downward to get it out of the
way of a low cut on a dovetail, box joint array or compound angle. If you do move the thickness gauge, do not
move the reference gauge. When you’re done with the unusual operation, you can slide the thickness gauge back
up to the reference gauge and lock it without needing to recalibrate.

Find and Mark the Table Centerline

The PantoRouter® transfers the shape of the template mounted on the template holder to the workpiece locat-
ed on the table. Aligning the template, router bit and workpiece are essential to accurate joinery, and this is
made fast and easy using the Centerline and Centering Scale Fence.

19
 Insert a non-tapered 6mm guide bearing shaft through the center hole of a template and into the centering
hole in the template holder then mount either centering jig (full-round pointer or split-shaft) in the router
collet. Plunge the pantograph carriage forward and lower the template holder so the tip of the centering jig
rests gently on the top edge of the table.

Lock the pantograph carriage using the two depth

stops on the operator’s side.

This is dead center of the table relative to the center of the template and router, so carefully mark this position
and use a square to draw a line from this point across the center of the table. This mark can be in pencil for now
until you’re confident in your setup, then you can scribe it into the aluminum.

20
 Set-up the Centering Scale Fence

Setting up the centering scale fence is super easy and due to the precision-machined centering pins, the fence
will be dead-on 90° without any adjustment.

Before assembly you’ll need to decide which scale to use. We recommend using the metric (CM) scale since you
don’t really care the size when centering (the size was determined when you milled your wood), you just want to
find the middle. It’s much easier to find center, or half of 88mm than 3-7/16 inches.

To center your workpiece on the table, first measure the width using the outer scale then set that value on the
inner scale at the centerline. Lock the fence and Boom....You’re Centered!
21
 PantoRouter® Swing-Stop
Installation and Operation
Insert the lever knob collar through the hole
in the PantoRouter® Swing-Stop and install
the fender washer and T-track nut.

Locate the T-track nut in the fourth slot from Locate the T-track nut in the third slot from the
the front of the table for tenons up to 1½” front of the table for tenons up to 2¾” (70mm)
(38mm) long. long.

PantoRouter® Centering Bar

Installation and Operation

Select the metric or inch side of

the bar to face up and make sure
The Centering Bar can be located the two set screws are also facing Use your split shaft centering jig
in any T-slot on you PantoRouter® up. Align the centerline of the that came with your PantoRouter®
table. We recommend the front centering bar to the previously to accurately locate your centering
slot of the table remain clear for scribed centerline of the table and scale fence.
easy and safe clamping options. tighten the set screws.

See the video link on page 23 for the centering bar and swing stop!
22
 Notes:

Dialing-In the Centering bar Swing stop Get inspired!

PantoRouter® installation and installation and Check out the
Joinery Machine use use Panto-Project
gallery

23
 PantoRouter

Manufactured and Distributed by

WoodCraft Solutions LLC

www.PantoRouter.com
Info@PantoRouter.com
+1-877-333-7150

Patents: 10,639,754 11,351,641 10,016,868 11,517,988 11,524,376 11,524,375 18832971.7-EPO

And others foreign and domestic pending and applied for.

Copyright January 2023 WoodCraft Solutions LLC