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How to choose a router.

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Franco B:

Jigsaw the excess of your material off leaving the minimum amount of material (less than 1/18"), fix your straight edge/template and remove the remainder of your material.

Also make sure you are feeding your router/cutter in the right direction:



If your bit is coming out of the collet then something is wrong. You shouldn't have to swing on your collet spanner to secure the bit adequately.

Are you using the right bit for the collet? You may experience the type of problem you are describing if you are trying to secure a 6mm bit in a low quality 1/4" collet.

Just FYI:

Generally you don't want to be taking a full cutter width cut combined with a deep or full depth cut.

Eg you have a 1/2" straight flute cutter and are cutting 3/4" MDF

You can either take a full width (1/2") cut in 1/4" deep passes or you could trim off the excess with a jigsaw leaving around 1/8" maximum and then take a full 3/4" depth cut.

Obviiusly if you have a high HP router you may be ale to do this type of operation, even more so if you have a large router table.





Marsupial:

Thanks.

Turns out there was dust in the collet, so it was not tightening good. But also, I wasn't going the good direction (added vibration?)  I didn't know there was a direction to cut. I've been puzzled by this all day.  I tried various ways to start the cut, different speeds, all kinds of things. Going in the right direction helped a lot. Did the whole excess in one pass. Spent about 2 hours on that with no success prior to posting here, but when it worked, it worked great.

I just need to get used to the tool, I guess.

Thanks a lot everyone for all the great tips.





zafdor:

I thought I'd chime in with my opinion.  While I do have one or two Ryobi or the like low quality tools, I find that if you are going to make frequent use of a tool, it pays to buy quality.  While a Ryobi may cut perfectly when you get it, after a few years of being thrown under your workbench, it will not be the same, you need to treat it with Kid gloves.  Craiglist is a great place to buy high quality used tools, I would pay the same for a used but in good condition Porter Cable router as a new Ryobi.

I'll have to admit to having a plunge base and hardly ever using it (only once in a circle jig for my subwoofer), but I have a friend who claims they make a great substitute for a drill press for perfectly vertical holes.   When I was a woodworking n00b I would buy steel bits, but no more, only carbide.  Yup they cost a lot more, but if you're making arcade cabinets, you can get a set of bits that will do most of your tasks for $50-$75.  In fact, I bought a carbide set of Ryobis, and they are fine (I just don't like their power tools!). You will still be using your steel bit when it is old and dull, making crappy routes and being dangerous while you're at it.  I have yet to dull a carbide bit.    I If you really get into woodworking, the other posts are spot on, you will end up spending more on bits then the router(s).  A single set of rail and stile door bits start at $100.

Finally, my favorite topic and that is the router table.  I had been thinking of buying one for some time, then I chatted with a carpenter friend.  "Don't waste your money".  I ended up mounting my router in a piece of birch plywood and made a fence from some old formica, total cost $25, with a working surface much larger then a $150 purchased table.  If you are going to do a lot of routing, making a table is well worth the time.

syph007:

I'll second the need for a 1/2 inch collet if you want a nice stable cut.  Someone here recommended to me to get a porter cable.  I did and have love using it.  I use it for so many more jobs than I thought a router would be for.  Every straight edge cut I make, it gets rought cut with a jigsaw, then routered with a straight edge to perfection.


--- Quote from: zafdor on May 11, 2010, 07:49:41 am ---I ended up mounting my router in a piece of birch plywood and made a fence from some old formica, total cost $25, with a working surface much larger then a $150 purchased table. 

--- End quote ---

got any pictures of that?  That sounds like a fantastic idea!

zafdor:


--- Quote from: syph007 on May 11, 2010, 11:10:52 am ---
got any pictures of that?  That sounds like a fantastic idea!

--- End quote ---

There is not much to see, but I have attached a pix nonetheless.  The router base attaches  via the screw holes with the bit protruding through the large hole.  Not shown are 2 quick clamps to hold the fence, plus the sawhorses and another 2 or 3 quick clamps to hold down the table to the sawhorses.  As you can see, I had to label the fence, so I don't accidentally throw it away as scrap.



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