Router Base Plates and Bushings

A guide bushing is a metal collar with a flange that seats in the base plate of the router. The collar's outside diameter follows the inside edge of a template cutout, offsetting the router bit from the template wall by a precise amount. This offset — equal to half the difference between the bushing outer diameter and the bit cutting diameter — is calculated before routing so the resulting profile matches the template exactly.

Universal base plates use a center hole that can be drilled or routed to match the router's sub-base bolt pattern. Many plates in this collection include multiple hole patterns or alignment kits for the most common full-size routers. Check the product listing for compatibility details or contact us through the contact page if you need to confirm fitment.

Acrylic (clear) plates offer better visibility of the bit and cut line, which is useful when following layout marks. Phenolic plates are denser and more impact-resistant, and they slide more smoothly on rough surfaces. For router table use, a phenolic plate is the standard choice; for handheld template routing where visibility matters, clear acrylic or polycarbonate is preferred.

The most widely used standard in North America is the Porter-Cable 1-3/16 inch — 16 TPI threaded insert standard. Most aftermarket base plates and guide bushing kits, including the brass template guide kits available here, are machined to this specification, making cross-brand compatibility straightforward.

An alignment kit — such as the base plate alignment kit with 1/4-inch centering rod — drops into the collet and passes through the bushing center, confirming that the bushing is concentric with the bit. Misaligned bushings cause the cut to wander from the template profile.

Guide bushings are primarily used in handheld router setups where the router moves over a template fixed to the workpiece. Router table template routing typically uses a top-mounted template with a bit-mounted bearing rather than a base-plate bushing, since the router is stationary and the workpiece moves.

A compact router base plate is sized for trim or palm routers, which have a smaller sub-base footprint than full-size routers. The 5-7/8-inch universal circular base plate provides a larger stable footprint for compact routers while still accepting standard guide bushings for template work.

UHMW (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) tape has an extremely low coefficient of friction. Applied to the underside of a router base plate, it lets the router glide smoothly over rough lumber or plywood without catching, reducing the effort required to make clean passes and preventing the base from marring finished surfaces.

Inlay routing uses a close-fitting pair of bushings — one larger for cutting the recess template and one smaller for cutting the inlay itself. The slight size difference accounts for the bushing wall thickness, so the inlay fits precisely in the recess. The multi-layer inlay system accessory package provides the bushing pair and centering tools for this technique.

Most in-stock items ship promptly. Check the shipping policies page for current processing times, shipping speeds, and free-shipping threshold information.