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I made some half-overlay frame-and-panel doors recently, installing the panel a bit proud of the rails and stiles on the front, which recessed the panel on the back side. This isn’t an aesthetic problem, but it does create difficulty when routing the rabbet around the edges to create the half-overlay. The doors were rather large, and at points one of the rails and one of the stiles were completely overhanging the router table’s top, causing the door to tip, and spoiling the rabbet cut.
What I needed was a larger table top that didn’t eat up shop space. As a quick fix, I clamped a long rail to the front edge of my tabletop. That was all I needed to carry a door, keeping it level as I routed the edge. And it turns out that the extra support helps when routing all sorts of large panels. If you’re not able to clamp a rail to the front edge of your router table, a couple screws would work just as well, and still allow easy removal when the rail isn’t needed. — Gabriel Castro
