A Google Drive link shared in a Reddit comment from a deleted user. The file name: "pantorouter_final_v13_actual.pdf"
The geometry of the pantograph. Tom had included a derivation of the scaling ratio: Output = Input × (Arm2 / Arm1) . There was a graph. There was trigonometry. There was a note in the margin: "If you don't understand this, just copy the dimensions on page 14. It works at 1:1."
Cutting parts. He spray-glued the paper templates to the plywood. He cut close to the lines with a jigsaw, then used a flush-trim bit to get exact edges. The workshop (spare bedroom) filled with fine birch dust. His partner asked if he was "okay." He said he was "finding himself." pantorouter plans free download pdf
Assembly and frustration. The bronze bushings didn't fit. He sanded. They still didn't fit. He read the PDF again. Page 37 had a tiny note: "Drill 0.5mm undersize and ream to fit." He didn't own a reamer. He used a round file. It took four hours. By Sunday night, the arms moved. Not smoothly. Not gracefully. But they moved .
He held the joint up to the light. No gaps. No glue yet. Just wood, geometry, and a free PDF from the internet. That night, he uploaded his own photos to a woodworking forum. He wrote a post titled: "Built the adjustable pantorouter from the free PDF. Here's what I learned." A Google Drive link shared in a Reddit
Then he saw it. A result that wasn't a dead end.
The build took three weekends.
It began, as many obsessions do, with a single YouTube video at 2:00 AM.
The first cut. He mounted a trim router. He traced a simple dovetail template. The router bit plunged into a scrap of pine. The pantograph arms wobbled. The bit chattered. The joint that emerged looked like something a beaver with a dental problem might make. There was a graph