Trend CRB Additional information

AlAn HoltHAm Review

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New Trend combination router base

Routing specialists Trend continue to increase their range of
accessories to increase the enosrmous versatility of the router and
the new Combination Router Base (CRB) looks like another very
useful addition. It neatly combines into one unit a variety of crude
homemade jigs I have been using for many years, but the real
advantage of this jig is its simplicity of tting and the ease of use.

Designed to t virtually any router using the guide rods for location, the
CRB gives you 7 dierent functions, though I am sure that a few others
will become apparent as I get more familiar with it. These functions are,
oset base, router compass, clamp guide grooving, anti-tilt support,
oset mortising, multiple grooving, Varijig frame stabiliser.

The jig needs to be set up initially
to suit your particular router,
but this is a one-o operation
and is not at all dicult. Shims
are provided which allow you
to lift the bridge to match the
height of the bar holes in your
router. The dierent horizontal
spacing of the bar holes on
dierent routers is very simply
accommodated by moving
one of the bars backwards or
forwards. You can t any router
with bar spacing of 78 - 130mm
and bar diameter up to 12mm so
that pretty well covers them all!

To my mind the key feature of
this jig is the micro adjuster function on one of the xing rods that
allows you precise movement of the router across the base. So you can
position the cutter just where you want it, one rotation of the adjuster
moving it 1.25mm, so there is no
more hit and miss positioning
by tapping the base along the
guide bars! You now have a total
of 40mm of ne adjustment.

The large oset knob can be
quickly replaced with an anti
tilt leg and two pillars can be
attached to the underside for

mortising. That’s all there is to this jig, it really is that simple!

Oset base. With your router
attached to the oset base you
now have a far bigger surface
area in contact with the work
and the risk of tipping is totally
eliminated as well as giving
you far greater control. My
only criticism with this is that
the oset knob is far too big
and can foul on the router side
handle if you are using the combination on narrower material. It is also
particularly awkward to grip if you are using a router with a ‘deadman’
switch. This isn’t a real problem though as it is the extra width of the
base that is important, I used it quite successfully without the knob.

Router compass. This neat
function allows you to rout out
circles that are smaller than the
router base, not something you
can normally do easily. The CRB
accommodates circles from
19mm to 224 mm radius. It does
require you to drill a 6mm hole
to take the pivot, but if this is a
problem and you don’t want to
mark the work then t a false
base with the hole drilled in this.
The pivot is easily attached, and
when not in use is stored in a
magnetic hole in the bridge, I
have not yet decided if this is
a good idea or not, but so far it
hasn’t fallen out!

Really tight circles are no
problem as you have such a
large contact area with the base
and the jig rotates freely. For
more demanding cuts you can
replace the pivot with a No 6
woodscrew driven through the
base into the work. Very large

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AlAn HoltHAm Review

diameter circles are possible if you use the optional rod extension kit
which is not included in the standard kit.

Clamp guide grooving. Using
the router with its base running
against a straightedge or clamp
guide for grooving is a common
application, but it is often dicult
to secure the straightedge
precisely in position. It is here
that the micro adjustment of the
CRB comes in. Now all you have
to do is position the clamp guide
approximately, then adjust
the router for position on the
CRB and machine your groove.
Simple! Also if you need further
parallel grooves up to a max of
110mm centres you can leave
the guide in position and just
move the router on the CRB.

Anti-tilt Support. There are
many situations where you have
to work on a narrow workpiece
with all the dangers of the router
tipping and digging in. With the
router attached to the CRB you
only need to drop down the
support leg and the whole base
is then totally stable. It is very
much quicker and easier than
using ddly ski supports. You can use it on work between 8 and 80mm
thick. My criticism here is that the end of the leg has some form of
soft plastic knob which tends to drag on the support surface. It needs
to have a highly polished hard surface for a smoother movement,
otherwise it is dead easy to use and very useful.

Oset Mortising. For very quick
mortises on material between
50mm and 125mm wide you
need to t the two mortising
pillars.
The base is then positioned over
the work, one pillar either side,
and rotated clockwise so that
both pillars are in contact with
the work to locate the cutter
perfectly. Use the ne adjuster
facility again here to position
the mortise either centrally or
oset. If you want to extend
the mortise right to the end
of the work clamp a couple of
extended guide pieces either
side and work o these.

Varijig stabiliser. If you use a
Varijig, you may nd that the
standard stabiliser supplied with
the jig is not always convenient,
particularly on tight corners.
However if you use the router
with a CRB on the Varijig, you
not only get increased stability
from the base itself, but also
the anti-tilt leg can be dropped
down for even more support.
Cleverly this leg is made up of
two screwed sections so you can
remove any excess protrusion if
it fouls on the router handle.

That covers all the main uses of
the standard jig, but there is an
optional Edge Trimming Base
that ts onto the CRB and is
designed to make it easy to ush
trim hardwood or plastic edge
lipping. The base is bearing
guided so will deal with straight
or curved edges. Once again the
large area of the CRB ensures
you cannot go wrong and end
up tipping the router on what
is normally such a critical cut.
Although this base works ne
for straight or small bevelled
cutters I sometimes need to trim
edges with a small radius cutter
and the close proximity of the
bearing to the cutter means you
are restricted as to which cutters
you can use. If there were some
spacers that allowed you to drop
the bearing down a bit further
then you could use smaller
shaped cutters as well.

Verdict. This is an excellent jig,
its real strengths being the ease
of tting and use and the neat
micro adjustment. I can see this
getting regular use and I can
now ditch all my homemade
alternatives! It is not cheap, but
it is one of those tools where
you are paying for the sheer
versatility of use rather than
what you physically get, and
in those terms it is very good
value for money.

Multiple grooving. To repeat a
series of evenly spaced grooves
the CRB is drilled to take a
small copy batten which you
machine up to be a sliding t in
the required groove. Make the
rst cut using a straight edge or
clamp guide, screw the batten
onto the CRB, then locate this
in the rst groove and make a
matching parallel one and keep repeating for each subsequent groove.

✔

Ease of tting, Micro adjustment.

PROS

✘

Oset knob too big, Anti tilt leg end too soft.

CONS

Cost

CRB £69.00 + Vat
Trimming base £24.00 + Vat
Extension rods £18.40 + Vat.

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