Routing flutes in faceframes

[Woody]

In my ongoing bookcase saga, I've decided that the faceframe stiles will be fluted.

Ideally, I'd like them to be "stopped" flutes, that is the fluting end in a rounded routing prior to the physical end of the stile. I have two concerns with doing this:

1. How do I consistently start & stop the fluting. Stopping isn't so much of a problem (I'll just carefully run the pieces to a line), but consistent starts initiated by dropping the frames on the router bit seems problematic. Can I drop them on prior to the start point and do a climb cut to the starting point?

1. Given the above, how do I prevent/minimize burning in the (cherry) faceframes?

TIA.

~Mark.

[TeamCasa]

Woody, I use a start and a stop block. Consistency is the key to flutes looking good. I do drop them onto the router bit and climb cut to one end and then move to the other. I take care to keep the workpiece tight to the fence. Clean any burn marks with a small scraper ground to the profile of the flute.

Good constant down force is also required for symmetry as well.

Dave

[John]

Home made jig and plunge router gives uniform results

Sharp/new router bit and shallow cuts and slow feed rate

John

[Preston Andreas]

When I do something like that, I run the flutes all the way top to bottom on a 3/4" thick piece of stock. That way, I don't have to worry about stops. I then glue this to the stiles. I leave the fluted piece short and put 1" thick blocks at the top and bottom. The blocks have a chamfer going to

13/16" which leaves a slight reveal between the chamfer and the flutes. This way, the stiles appear thicker (like a pilaster), giving a more 3 dimensional look to the front. You have to make the fluted piece lesser in width than the stile to allow for the door to open.

If you are running cherry, the above method will keep you from burning the cherry. If you use stop blocks, or run to a line, you will almost certainly get burn marks, even at a slower rpm. Removing the burn marks is not easy and the profile of the flutes will almost certainly be affected.

[bridger]

template route with a plunge router on the bench. easier than in the router table.

[David]

I'm assuming you are using a router table, since you mentioned "drop them on"?

make multiple passes to avoid burning and don't use too high a speed. Don't move too slowly and anticipate the end of the cut and shut off the router (I can use my knee to shut her down on my router table) before getting to the very end. Hold the piece still until the bit comes to a COMPLETE STOP! The second pass should remove just a tiny bit of wood (clean-up pass) and give you your final desired depth of cut.

I've gotten excellent results doing stopped cuts. set up a stop block even if it will be off the table. rig up something to create a positive stop. Mark the spot on the table where you want to drop the piece onto the spinning bit. Be sure to use feather boards to prevent the workpiece from moving away from the fence. You can't use a feather board to hold the piece down, since you need to drop the workpiece down to begin. You won't even have to climb cut (too much chance of burning while you are jockeying back and forth) and if you are careful in beginning the cut. For additional accuracy, extend the line up the fence from the table so that when the piece is lifted, you will know EXACTLY where to position the workpiece BEFORE you pivot it down onto the bit. It sounds harder to do than it is. If a relative newbie such as myself can get it to work, you surely can.

David

Woody wrote:

[David]

OR, and I should have mentioned as others did, that you could use a plunge router and avoid some of the "trickier" aspects of doing it on a router table. But it CAN be done that way if you choose. I use my router table about 98% of the time I do routing and I have an extra router at my disposal for handheld use, so it's not like it's a hassle for me to remove the router from the table; it stays right there and I grab the other one.

David

David wrote:

[Routerman P. Warner]

See pix in

link for one approach.

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[Routerman P. Warner]

See pix in

link for one approach.

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[Woody]

I understand how this will permit precisely stopped flutes (I just set a stop block at the appropriate places on the boards). I also understand how this will permit precisely symmetric flutes about the centerline of the faceframe (I just swap the router left to right like I would swap the piece on a router table against the fence).

What I don't understand is how (as your example shows) this prevents burns in the cherry. Does using a plunge resolve this? Are you plunging "up" at the end or plunging down to start? In either of these cases, you need to do a climbing cut, right? Thanks.

Routerman P. Warner wrote:

[Routerman P. Warner]

Taking the last pass at .010" will not burn stock, plunger is critical. You'll burn without it. A single cutter width pathway cut is a hybrid, neither climb nor anti-climb. These are shallow cuts, the router is stuck on the work, you have to be major klutz to screw this up whether you rout to or fro.

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[Jim Wilson]

A plunger makes the job easy, it's true. However, I have done this job successfully in the past using a fixed-base router and a ramp. It was slightly more involved than that sounds, but I hope it conveys the idea.

Cheers!

Jim