I am routing some 18mm birch ply non standard shaped curves, for a PC desk, and will want to cut the ply with at least three seperate passes with the router. Can I only do this by using a 1/2" guide bush or is there a way of making more than one pass by using a cutter with a roller bearing? I intend to make the template from 4mm MDF with a jigsaw and then sand the edge smooth.
I'm just abeginner with routers. But using a cutter with a bearing is very easy. I think you should use a cutter with a bearing on the shaft rather than on the end of the cutter.
Arthur
You can use one with a top bearing, but you will need a thicker template (or at least a set of spacers to keep it at bearing height). Otherwise you will nick the template and then you are stuffed!
Yes thanks, but that does not help me, because if the template is 5mm wide then how can I increase the depth of the cut and still have the bearing resting on the edge of the template?
You could get different sized bearings. Start with a large bearing to give a shallow cut then decrease in steps of say 3mm until the bearing size matches the cutter size.
Andrew
If the cutter you're planning to use is not long enough to trim the
18mm ply in one go, then just extend the height of the cutter and the bearing will then rest on the ply that you have trimmed. You might have to do this in multiple passes if you have a lot of material to remove.Arthur
Router on its own isn't the best tool for doing this because of the multiple passes required.
Use the template to mark the outline, then use a jigsaw to cut the rough shape very slightly larger than the template - 2 mm is enough. Then use the bearing cutter to trim the edges flush to the template in one pass..
Much quicker.
Yes many thanks for that, its obvious to me now.Thanks for all your replies folks. Think I will go and buy a new brain!
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