Long 1/2 inch router cutter

[Rick]

Folks

I am looking for a LONG straight router cutter, to cut a grove in a piece of oak.

Ideally I want to get to a 75mm depth, about 12mm in diamater, but anything arround that size will be OK. The best I can find is 63mm, I suppose I could be brave/stupid and not put it into the collect fully.

I am cutting a rebate for a door, into a lintel. We have cut the lintel out of an oak branch, so the bottom still has the bark on it. The curved shape has ment a good bit of material has to be accuratly removed. The current attack plan is to cut the edge of the hole with the router, and then hack out the middle with a chizel.

I am hoping not to have to change this plan.

While I am asking, I also want some long straight edges, to clamp to some wonkey oak planks, and drive the router along to strighten the edges. So far the favorite plan is to get som 5x75mm aliminimum strip from the local stocksest, is this a good plan, or is there a better way. These planks have upto an inch of "wonk" in them.

Thanks Rick

[.]

this any good ? 70mm O/L

[Rick]

The overall length is 70, which means I would have nothing to hold in the collect - thanks anyway.

I searched that site + axmisnter before I asked, as they are normally having what I find myself in need of.

Rick

[Cicero]

==================== If all else fails you could try a 'saw drill' in an ordinary hand drill. I have a set made by 'rolson' (lower case 'r' is correct) which has three sizes - 3, 6 and 8mm. The 8mm is about 95mm long which should be OK for your job, although I think they're rather a crude tool for general use.

Is there any reason why you shouldn't use a plane or saw for straightening your planks? Perhaps I've misunderstood the nature of your job.

Cic.

[Dave]

Use a large circular saw and chisel?

Dave

[Chris Bacon]

You are a druid AICMFFMOM

Can't you use a circular saw?

[Rick]

I have a sexy expensive, accurate, easy to use router, and a cheep crappy hard to use, saw - see thread on cheep tools.

The tool of last resort, is a mallet & chizel, and of cource the sharpening stone.

Rick

[Andy Dingley]

I would much rather saw this than rout it. I would even rather make up a one-off plywood sled so that I could pass it throgh my nice safe tablesaw rather than routing it. I might even saw it by hand (with a bellied floorboard saw) rather than routing it.

These are easy enough to find. There's not many of them, but you can usually find 3" - try looking under kitchen worktop trimmers. I think mine are Trends of about 1/2" and there's a Yellow Axminster one too with a bearing guide (at the shank end) that sees an awful lot of use for multi-part template routing.

You know this is going to twist like crazy don't you, especially if it's branch wood. I'd certainly cut it almost to shape, leave it a week to settle down then re-cut it to the line. Even then I wouldn't use this branch for a few years after cutting it. I use oak "knees" to make curved chair backs without having to steam them, but I like those to be at least 5 years old first.

Also watch out for bugs. Most of the domestic oak pests like to live _just_ under the bark layer, around the thin sapwood. I'd poison it before use, or else expect that in a few years time the bark splits off and you're left with bare tunnels.

Long straight edge guides are an essential add-on for any serious routing. It's worth finding good ones (but don't part with proper money for them, that's just not decent). Solid aluminium is too flexible relative to its weight, you're better with box sections. Mine are scrap from windowframe makers.

[Rick]

Thanks for the advice, I'll look for some box section.

When I say "branch" for the lintel, its like 14x8 inches, and 70 inches long. For the tree huggers, its from a fallen tree, not one that we cut down. I expect it to crack and srink a bit as it dries over the next 50-100 years.

Rick

[david lang]

As Andy Hall said, this isn't a job for a router. Saw table or circular saw.

Go buy a circular saw - you can't live without one anyway.

Dave

[The Natural Philosopher]

a year for every inch thick.

Expect at least 10% overall reduction tangential to the grain, 5 % across the grain, and about 1% along it., and massive warps and checks as well.

After 4 years my 12x12 green oak beams are now 3/4" narrower than they were, and over a 6 meter span, about 6mm shorter..

One has developed a 3 degree twist. Another is bowed out by almost an inch.....there are cracks you can put your fingers in.

I'll redecorate and use mastic filler in another year IICBA..

[Rick]

I used 10x6 oak last year for a truss, and roof ridge beams, so far there has been little movment. I don't know what counts as "green", but the tree we used had been down a few years. It will be up at least

2 years, before the heating gets switched on, which sounds like a good thing to me, as it will dry more slowley.

The inch per year thing sounds a bit off to me, if you buy seasoned

8x4 oak, its 20+ years old, and 20+ times more expensive than green.

To keep the beams "luckly" coins should be shoved into the cracks, mastics and the likes should not be used. IMHO as the beams move some more over time, the mastic looks far worse than the cracks.

Personally I think this moviment and cracks adds to the overall look.

If you have lots of bare oak in the house, you need an ash log somewhere, for the nasties to eat, rather than the oak. The ash should be burnt and replaced every year.

Rick

[Andy Hall]

That would be *really* unwise......

However, I believe that Freud, Trend and CMT all have cutters of this length. In Freud's case I have a feeling I saw these sizes in their industrial tools catalogue (might have been Trend) - you have to call them and ask - sorry but I don't have mine with me ATM.

It's a bit hard for me to visualise all of the dimensions and what will ultimately be visible.

Do you need a smart, clean edge all the way to the bottom of the channel? I'm wondering if you could get away with using a saw to make the initial cut, and then trim using the router, but basically not bothering to do that to the full depth.

[JD]

You might want to try calling Unilap in Doncaster 01302 858530 they supply industrial router bits and I have bought a number for our CNC router. Cant remember the collet size for our khead attachment I am afraid but know we have a 80mm cut depth on one of the lock cutters it houses (Just have to be carefully of cutter wobble at that length) and I remember using a v cutter on the head from a standard router set so should be compatible Guy to speak to is Steve Dobson

Hope this helps