Another router question

[shmokes]

When routing out recesses in the bottom of your control panels are you all freehanding it or are you building little templates or jigs to have your router follow?  I've never used a router, but I just bought one and I'm going to try my hand at it (and try not to lose my hand at it simultaneously).

[bionicbadger]

I just freehanded it.  Mark out the area you want routered out in pencil and go.  Because its a non visible part and your joystick will be secured with bolts anyways, if you are 1/8" out it wont matter much.  Just be prepared for lots of dust and wear glasses or goggles if you are sticking your face close to the router to see your pencil marks.

[BobA]

I just marked it a bit larger with marker and freehanded it.  It I was making more I would have made up a template and got the right guide bushings to use with templates.

BobA

[slug54]

Just mark it and freehand it.
If your using a plunge router,Use your depth gage and depth stop to remove just the right amount. test the depth on a scrap piece.

                 Slug54
 

[Wienerdog]

Holy shmokes, use a straight edge.

Think of:
-The cost of the wood
-The time you spent cutting the cp out
-How pissed off you would be if your router jumped grain and cut through the end of the wood

One of those three should give you motivation to use a straight edge and a stop (something to stop the router at the end of the cut.

It isn't about the 9 people who are successful cutting freehand, it is about the 1 person who messes it up.  I couldn't care less about the cost of the wood.  I would just be mad at myself if I messed up.

[planetjay]

The last time I did that was top make a real Tempest spinner fit into 3/4 plywood. And I freehanded it. But for any thing that shows... use that straight edge.

[u_rebelscum]

Holy shmokes, use a straight edge...

On the underside where no one will see it?  Fah, I freehanded it.  

Now, the edges, top, or holes that go all the way through, definitely use a straight edge.  Unless you're planing on covering it anyway.  But T-molding is not enough coverage for freehanding the edge unless you are really-really good at it.

[skirge66]

me personally what i did was just measured from the edge of my bit to the edge of my housing 6.5cm, outlined my holes at 6.5cm from the cut and quickly clamped down boards along those lines just close enough together to not allow the router to go between them. the extra time was less that 10 minutes for all 4 sticks, and they all came out neat and perfect, i think it was worth the extra 10 minutes.

[bionicbadger]

Holy shmokes, use a straight edge.

Think of:
-The cost of the wood
-The time you spent cutting the cp out
-How pissed off you would be if your router jumped grain and cut through the end of the wood

- A couple square feet of wood doesnt cost that much unless you are using a non traditional wood (other than mdf/plywood)
- if your router "jumped grain and cut through the end of the wood" while you are routering out the bottom of your control panel (likely only for joysticks & trackballs, cause if you have to do this for buttons you should be using thinner wood or different buttons) then you would have a larger problem than worrying about the wood on your control panel.  A router is dangerous and if you cant control it, you shouldn't be using one.  I've never heard of "jumping grain", sometimes if you arent careful it may dig in and you might go a 1/4" off of where you want, but if you are worried about going off the end of the wood, you should be more worried about losing fingers and other serious injury.

[ErikRuud]

Skirge66 has the right idea.  You do not need templates and bushings.  Just build a jig out of scrap wood.  The jig would be a rectangular frame.  

Maesure from the edge of you routers base to the cutting edge of your bit.  Double that measurement the add that to the hight and width of the cut that you want to make to get the size of the frame.  Clamp the frame in place and route away.

[Brax]

Of course you still have to cut out your jig perfectly in the first place......... to cut two joystick recesses.

Do your hands shake like a crack addict? No? Then you can freehand router. Just don't go over your line. It's that easy. I can probably stay within 1/64" freehand. If you're not so good at it maybe you'll be within 1/8". More than good enough for that application.

[ErikRuud]

The frame does not need to be perfect in this application, but if you don't want to risk freehanding it, then frame will keep the router inside the lines.

I have used a router many times for many different things.  Just last week I almost ruined a piece that I was working on because the bit caught the grain and tried to pull the router out of my hands.

[Brax]

........and if he's using MDF, luckily it doesn't have grain.
 

[OSCAR]

I may have an unorthodox approach, but this is what I do when using MDF...

Trace the the joystick base to make an outline on the underside of the control panel, and then freehand router the recess just staying to the inside of the line.  Then I go back and use a sharp wood chisel to cut the recess back to the line.

This is actually quite a quick process and gives you a straight & sharp recess without making a template.  MDF cuts great with a sharp chisel, and it really isn't as manually intensive as it may sound.  I just hate dinking around making templates...