Routers - the wood cutting type.

As a largely self taught woodworker I have decided the time has come to teach myself to use a router. My reason for this is that I am building fitted bookcases (in MDF) and I would like to fit those long brass adjustable shelf support strips.

I have read the diy faq which suggest starting with a 1/4" collet machine of about 1KW. As I am a great fan of bosch equipment I have identtified this.

formatting link
anybody have any advice or opinions about this.?

And a few silly questions about the capability of these machines. Can one use a plunge router to drill blind holes? Can wide grooves be cut by making several passes with a smaller cutter?

The price of cutters varies enormously. A 1/4" straight cutter can cost anything from =A32 to =A325. I presume that the cheaper ones are rubbish and using them would make learning more difficult. At what sort of price does one begin to get a decent cutter.?

And finally - how is "router" pronounced in this context? :-)

Reply to
dcbwhaley
Loading thread data ...

Yup, looks fine. You'll find cheaper/better, pricier/crappier ones. FYI, in this country Trend seems to be the benchmark brand ... partly because of the range of accessories you can get for them.

yes, but see below abot bracing

yes, but get/make a jig to restrict the lateral movement, or buy one of these:

formatting link
thing about using a router. Since the router bit "bites" into the wood, you get a lateral force imparted by this burrowing action. This means that you should always have the router braced against something, otherwise you will likely find the cut deviates from a line.

like "outer", not "ooter"

Reply to
Peter Lynch

The message from "dcbwhaley" contains these words:

Ow as in ouch.

Personally I'd skip the 1/4" stage and go straight to the 1/2". The smaller shanked cutters seem rather flimsy and I've had a couple let go.

Most important of all, in my opinion, is good dust extraction. Something that won't get in the way of you working.

Reply to
Guy King

There seems to be a lot of fuss when it comes to cutting MDF, is it valid?

Reply to
R D S

Do you mean health wise?

All I know is I cut and profiled some fairly large bookshelves and I used a mask. When I came to fit them one was wrong and needed recutting. Because I had misplaced the dust mask and because I was too lazy/in a hurry to finish to find it, I cut and profiled the shelf without a mask. My wife helped to hold it whilst I did. It may have been a coincidence but I got a persistent cough straight after and then shortly after my wife developed asthma which took a couple of years to clear up. I know I won't do that again.

H
Reply to
HLAH

Something

Certainly if working with MDF...

Reply to
Jerry

Buy a router with an 1/2" inch collet because you can then come down to an

1/4" collet,usually supplied with a decent branded router plus you tackle the beefier jobs with is not possible with a 1/4" at times.

Buy of ebay and import from the states as these cutters are 2 or 3 times the price over here in the UK.

I've just purchased a door panel set of two cutters of ebay Priced 21GBP inc of P&P I dare say I will pay import duty and vat on its arrival but in total its going to cost 25GBP,normal price over here 48GBP thereabouts. These are TC(Tungsten Carbide).

Suggest you buy a cheap set for getting the hang of the router and see what the different shapes do.

Router,best woodwork tool since sliced bread its the bees knees of any woodwork power tool.

Reply to
The3rd Earl Of Derby

I'd go along with that,and as I stated you can get an 1/4" collet in an

1/2" router.
Reply to
The3rd Earl Of Derby

You won't go far wrong with that. Though you could also consider a 1/2" collet machine (you can use reduction sleeves down to 1/4" if you want).

Really depends what other stuff you see yourself doing - kitchen unit work would favour the larger.

OTOH I use CMT 1/2" (same as the DeWalt, based on the old Elu177) which is great, but I'll eventually buy something like your suggestion just for detailed work.

They can plunge holes, but they lack a centering tip like a drill, so they really need to be clamped still - if you must do it.

Multiple passes is what routing is all about. Small cutter to cut a wide groove will produce beautifully accurate results, so your shelf support strips will pop in perfectly.

Very important is the direction of cut, you must move the router so you're pushing against the rotation of the cutter. Backcutting is dangerous. (Obviously when you plunge cut a groove, the cutter is in contact with both sides on the first pass)

Buy the best you can afford, especially for the straight cutters you use all the time (you can get disposable/replaceable blade cutters for heavy use). For one off usage, cheaper stuff may be ok. Don't buy those enormous assortemnt boxes - I only use about 5 cutters regularly.

Reply to
dom

This should keep you occupied about a routers and bits.

formatting link

Reply to
The3rd Earl Of Derby

A 6.25mm sized router is useful, and good choices would be between Bosch, DeWalt, Makita and Trend.

A larger 12.7mm router would be more versatile because you can do much more substantial cuts with this size of cutter. They come with 6.25 and sometimes 8mm collets as well so you can fit the smaller bits. The only thing is that they are somewhat heavier. For these, I would look at the above brands plus Freud, Festool. and CMT

I have both sizes and use both. The 6.25mm is usefully light which can be a help with intricate work. OTOH, if I had to pick one size only, then it would be the larger one.

However if you do go this way, don't be tempted to skimp by going for the £100 DIY shed products. I have never found a decent one yet. Either the power is inadequate (don't do what the rating suggests), the plunge action is sticky or soft start poor. Most seem to suffer from all three. Really one needs to spend around £160-170 for a 12.7mm product like the Freud to get something worth having in this size.

Yes you can. Perhaps you are thinking about holes for shelf pegs. There are jigs to help with this as well.

Definitely. A worthwhile investment if you are going to do this a lot, are guide clamps. Trend do a fairly generic one which is positioned across the work and clamped to it. Then the router is run along the edge. Bosch and Festool make versions for their products where there is a base that fits the router and slides in the rail - easier to use and may be more accurate. Alternatively, you can take a straight piece of hardwood or a long spirit level and clamp that. All you then do is to move the guide across as required. Note that if you go for a 12.7mm router, you can get some quite wide bits that may be able to cut the whole groove without moving the guide rail. These will need to be run through the work in several passes, lowering each time.

It really depends on the cutter type.

The bargain basement ones are real rubbish and to be avoided.

I would select from among CMT, Freud and Trend. Also, there is no real point in buying sets of assorted cutters. Most will remain unused. It's far better to buy them as you need them and that spreads the cost as well. Bear in mind that the largest ones - e.g. for panel raising, can only be safely used in a router table.

On the subject of safety, safety glasses with EN impact rating are essential and it's almost as essential to have some form of hearing protection unless you are going to do very short jobs. Even then, it's a good idea.

If you can fix up some dust extraction with a shop vacuum cleaner, it really helps when cutting with larger cutters - a) so that they work properly and b) so that you can see what you are doing.

There is only one way to pronounce "router" in any context. It is not "rooter" but the other way.

Reply to
Andy Hall

The message from "R D S" contains these words:

You mean the dust? It's certainly very fine dust and gets everywhere without proper dust extraction. I certainly wouldn't consider routing it or doing anything else with it without good dust control.

Reply to
Guy King

The message from "Jerry" contains these words:

Bit of a sore point at the moment. A few months ago I bought a B&Q own brand dust extractor. Sodding thing passes the "filtered" air through the motor cavity. First this stuffed the inside of the two-way rocker switch[1] with very fine dust until it packed up. So I replaced the switch with a better sealed toggle switch. Now, today, it's clogged the unprotected bearings so badly that the outer has started spinning in the plastic support.

Luckily I'd saved the receipt, so back it goes.

I ain't buying anything from B&Q's Performance line.

Reply to
Guy King

The message from "The3rd Earl Of Derby" contains these words:

Good quality accessories make life easier. The very flimsy fences supplied with cheap routers don't make life easy as they're too flexible. I'm still using the fence of my old Elu 'cos it fits my other cheaper router.

Speed control is good, too. Some bits are just too large to work well at very high speeds. I've a finger jointer which is much easier to use at low speeds. Quieter, too!

Reply to
Guy King

Now that I know how this *dovetail jig* works and it dimentions and clampwork,I can now make a wider one in wood,got a couple of sheets of

1/16th alluminium plates to make the finger plates.

And sell the one I bought for 20GBP on ebay. ;-)

Reply to
The3rd Earl Of Derby

I have read the diy faq which suggest starting with a 1/4" collet machine of about 1KW. As I am a great fan of bosch equipment I have identtified this.

formatting link
anybody have any advice or opinions about this.?

And a few silly questions about the capability of these machines. Can one use a plunge router to drill blind holes? Can wide grooves be cut by making several passes with a smaller cutter?

The price of cutters varies enormously. A 1/4" straight cutter can cost anything from £2 to £25. I presume that the cheaper ones are rubbish and using them would make learning more difficult. At what sort of price does one begin to get a decent cutter.?

And finally - how is "router" pronounced in this context? :-)

==================== A 'soft start' motor is worth having if you're new to routing. This gives you better control on starting a cut. You might check the specifications of the Bosch to see if it has this facility.

Trend - probably market leaders - have a series of downloadable guides which you might find useful. See here and browse a little:

formatting link

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 356 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Try SPAMfighter for free now!

Reply to
Cicero

The message from "Cicero" contains these words:

Eh? I always have the cutter spinning well before I introduce it to the wood. Soft start's nice in many ways, but better control on starting a cut isn't one of the reasons I'd recognise. Mine's rather /too/ soft. There's about a second during which nothing noticable happens, and several times I've let go of the trigger[1] and checked the plug.

[1] When it had a trigger. Got a proper switch now.
Reply to
Guy King

I'd get one each of these:

I've got the Trend and I use it a fair bit. If/when I need a 1/2" router I'll start off with the other one.

I've also got a cheap 1000W router with 1/4 collet but it gets very little use, it's a bit unwieldy for small stuff and doesn't take 1/2" bits.

Yes, with the right bit.

Yup.

IME the cheap ones work fine though are more likely to burn or tear grain out if run at the wrong speed. The expensive ones give a far far better finish.

Worth having both, use cheap bits for MDF and most cutting and an expensive one where a really good finish is needed. Ebay is a good source of bits.

cheers, Pete.

Reply to
Pete C

========================= Obviously a difference in technique. I prefer to bring the router to the start of the cut and let it bite gradually, but I suppose if you're using your router daily you get used to a hard start.

I believe the trigger was introduced as a safety measure - a bit like a 'dead man's handle', but it seems to cause more problems than it solves.

Cic.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 356 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Try SPAMfighter for free now!

Reply to
Cicero

The message from "Cicero" contains these words:

Which is why I removed the sodding thing and put a proper switch in.

Reply to
Guy King

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.