Router

[Carson McAloney]

Does one need a 3 1/4 Router to use raised panel bits, if you use the bits occasionally?

[Bob]

For sure.....

[Patriarch]

"Carson McAloney" wrote in news:2d84c$427bfdff$4528f226$ [e-mail]:

Yes. And don't even THINK ABOUT using the panle raising bits without a table of some kind. Even a quick & dirty table, with a clamped & jointed fence.

You can get a useable router of that capacity for less than $200. Look for a Hitachi MV12x or a Freud FT2000e, or similar. Soft start is good.

Once you have a table and a big router, you'll find all sorts of projects to use it with.

Patriarch

[Max]

Nope. Just don't try to take more than about 1 sixteenth of an inch each pass.

Max D.

[Ba r r y]

A Bosch 1617EVS or PC 69x or 89x will also turn those bits, but you may need an extra pass.

I have an extra Bosch 1617 base screwed to my table, and have never longed for a bigger router, but I do have experience doing the same with a big router in other shops. However, I'm not a raised panel door factory.

The table is mandatory regardless of the motor.

For heavy duty use, I prefer a real shaper over any router.

Barry

[toller]

That is just another way of say "yes". Taking off a 1/16" takes forever.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Correct for the guy that is making a bunch of them, but for only a few doors I can take a lot of 1/16" passes in the time it takes me to earn $300 after taxes for a new router.

[Leon]

For certain you want to spin the bit at about 1/2 speed, 10,000 rpm max.