My first router experience!

[tritonarcade]

 ;DI'm a happy man, folks.  Today I used a router for the first time and I didn't kill myself.  

I did F* up though.  Everything worked as expected, I was using a template straight bit and tried to cut a piece of wood to the shape of another (square) piece.  My problem was the wood slipped during the job and I ended up with an angled cut.  

Obviously I could use more clamps - this time I had used 3 and I didn't try to clamp them down with all of my God-given power (not to be trifled with BTW  ).  Any other tips for keeping the template board and the board to be cut together?

Also, in order to make the cut I had to pull my bit out somewhat out of the chuck, maybe 1/4".  The manual does not say anything about this practice.  Am I inviting severe harm upon myself by doing this?

And yes, the whole "God given power" thing is a joke..

[tritonarcade]

Oh, and the best part is I am doing this in my apartment complex on our front porch.. wonder how many people enjoyed those two minutes of ear-bleeding 120 dB insanity?

[shmokes]

My router actually instructs me to push the bit in all the way and then pull it out about 1/16".  There are many different systems, though, and router bits should be pretty exact in their fit since they spin so bloody fast.

Here's is a tip for your template that I have used, but it won't work in every situation...it'll work great if you're planning to laminate.

Nail your template to your wood with some little wire brads or something (like those nails you attach the cardboard backing on entertainment centers with).  I like to use masonite (that's actually a brand name, but your lumber yard people generally refer to all brands as Masonite) as a template (I got that idea here...maybe from Frosty) as it is super easy to shape and sand, etc.  It comes in different thicknesses.  A 4'x8' sheet of 1/4" thick masonite will only run about $10-15.  Once you're finished cutting just push a flat-head screw driver between the template and the newly cut wood to pry the template back off.  Those little nails will come out easy...or they'll just pop through the masonite at which point you can just grab them with a claw hammer and pull.

[JODY]

My first experience was a couple of months ago.  Was routing out some of the plywood to recess the joysticks.  Was using plywood as it is just a prototype panel.  Tightened the bit in the Sears router tight.  Was doing the routing freehand and noticed that on the third joystick the router got to the point where it wasn't cutting very well.  Come to find out the bit had come loose and was spinning in the collet.  It had also slipped down and was cutting too deep.  It cut all the way through the 3/4" plywood in one spot.  I wound up using Elmer's wood glue and a bunch of the sawdust to glue back into the spot that was messed up.  Looks like particle board.  Anyway, I know now to make the bit extremely tight.  Luckily the bit didn't fly out!

[tritonarcade]

Does that really work?  Just filling in a hole with wood glue and sawdust? I've never heard of that method before, but it will probably come in handy as I am almost guaranteeing a screw up from me in the next few days.

[rampy]

Does that really work?  Just filling in a hole with wood glue and sawdust? I've never heard of that method before, but it will probably come in handy as I am almost guaranteeing a screw up from me in the next few days.

uhm...  yeah.. i've done that before.  Or you could buy wood putty or plastic wood type wood putty... I just fixed some massive damage on my door frame that my dog did...  puttied it up good.. sanded it and painted it and it was good as new.  (now the hole in the carpet was a different story.. had to call in a professional)

I also did a combination of wood putty, saw dust and broken toothpics to fill in where my first non-oscar spinner attempt hole was.

*Shrug*  so yeah...

RAmpoy

[slug54]

Come to find out the bit had come loose and was spinning in the collet.  It had also slipped down and was cutting too deep.  It cut all the way through the 3/4" plywood in one spot.

You guys are really starting to scare me! How do you think your gonna play Defender with only one hand.

Keep the bits tight and as far down in the chuck as you can. If you need a thinner template make it out of 1/8" underlayment.

Also  when your routing around  a board the router should be moved in a counter clockwise direction.
if you go in the oposite direction the bit will want to "climb" and it will try to move  the router away from your template piece.

                           
                 Good Luck,  and wear your safety glasses

                             Slug54

[JODY]

You guys are really starting to scare me! How do you think your gonna play Defender with only one hand.

Dang, I have a hard enough time playing it with two.  But I need to practice more.

[Smack]

In my first few attempts with my router a couple of years ago, I routed through my panel and into the wood of my back porch. I should take a pic - the gouges are still there!

Word!

Smack

[skirge66]

I always thought you were suppose to bottom out your bit in the collet and tighten down the chuck with a wrench...at least that's whatmy instructions said. I you are trying to cut 3/4" wood with a router bit, and it's not long enough without moving your bit out some, it sounds like you need to buy the right bit...I have a straight cutting bit 2 1/2" long...sounds like you want one of those.

remember this...you only need to be wrong about powertool safety once to really learn the lesson. then you get neato nicknames like stump, or lefty  

[Wienerdog]

I agree with Shmokes, I think you're supposed to bottom out the bit, but then pull it out a little, and then tighten it down.  Unplug your router and check your bit after every cut.  A little extra time checking your equipment will save you a HUGE amount of time and money fixing mistakes.

Just my experience with templating and using a flush trim bit (straight bit with a bearing):
I use 1/8" fiberboard and tape it to my wood with double sided tape.  Either use alot of tape and make sure it is not moving, or put on clamp on for safety.

[Xphile]

Bottom the bit in the collet, then pull it back out just a fraction of an inch...(1/16th is fine)

If you leave it bottomed out, the heat and vibration from long, hard routes can be transmitted to the bottom bearing causing premature failure.

regarding glue and sawdust filler...it really is more trouble than it's worth - The best filler for screwups is "Bondo" style lightweight autobody filler..works awesome on plywood, MDF, Particle board, whatever..:-)

cures hard enough to sand in 5 minutes, fills anything..you can place masking tape over a hole, and fill it full of bondo from the other side...wait 5 minutes, remove the tape, sand... bingo, no more hole..:-)