For the router exercise, I started by making a sketch and drilling the hole into the board. the hole ended up being slightly too big for the peg, I just wrapped some paper towel onto it. 
Then I clamped the material and started cutting. since the guide was a little too long, I stopped halfway and adjusted the clamps.
in the end I was left with a piece with a small tip still intact. this was because the piece moved out of the way at the end of the cut. however, this can be easily sanded off later.
