Almost Crapped Myself

[stoutman]

Broke my first router bit. 1/4" upcut spiral bit. Took to deep a cut in MDF and the bit cracked and scared the pants off of me.

[Dave Balderstone]

Youch. Just thinking about it clenched my sphincter...

[David]

An upcut spiral is the only bit I've ever broken. There's very little metal in the middle of one of those puppies. I either broke a 5/16 or

1/4. It got my heart racing when it went ZING!

Dave

stoutman wrote:

[bob]

Yeah, I know the feeling! I nearly filled my pants a few weeks ago when I had a Keller dovetail bit bust and come flying into my chest.

Bob

[Jay Pique]

At least your instincts are good - better to crap with your britches off.

[tomeshew]

Yep, scary. And Woodcraft had 'em on special just last month! I got "lucky" and broke one just in time.(Gloat?) Tom

[Phisherman]

How deep of a cut were you making? What brand?

[Andy Dingley]

Solid carbide ? Those are always going to be brittle - don't shock load them.

Better bits are less snap-prone than the cheapies.

[Backlash]

Back a few years ago when my Dad was still living, my then 35 yr old brother-in law Jeremy was talking about wanting a router to try out his woodworking talent. My Dad got up from his chair and went out to the workshop to get one, and Jeremy followed, after finishing the conversation with my Mom. Dad and Jeremy met at the top of the back steps, so they just stood there and talked about the tool. The router had a 3/4" through-slotted cutter in it, protruding about 3/8". Jeremy wanted to hear the router run, so Dad directed him to the overhead soffit, where there was an electrical plug used for Christmas lights. Jeremy, holding the router in his left hand, dangles it down by his left hip as he stretches upwards with his right hand to plug the unit in. The toggle switch on the router was apparently in the "on" position, un-noticed at the time, where Jeremy had been absent-mindedly flipping it back and forth while talking. When he plugged the tool in, it of course instantly started. Dad said he heard a heavy propeller-like sound and saw something big go flying by his head into the yard, so he turned to see what it was. There was the router, now unplugged, with a pair of men's briefs hung up in the cutter, lying on the ground!! Dad whirled back around to see Jeremy shaken, face white as a sheet, and eyes big as saucers. Jeremy FLEW to the bathroom to see what damage had been done. (privates seemed to be a major concern) The only physical damage was a 3/4" hole in the left hip seam of his jeans, with a slight band-aid wound on his hip where the router bit had nicked him. The router had sucked his entire pair of underwear out of his pants in hundredths of a second! Luckily, nothing critical was hurt, but he ended up with a bruise in his inner crotch at his left leg, and a severely injured pride. In-law visitation dwindled for a while after that. For years afterward, my Dad could not tell the story without crying from laughing so hard, telling how he stood outside the bathroom door, along with my HIGHLY concerned sister asking "Jeremy, are you all right?" Jeremy never mentioned wanting to take up woodworking again.

RJ

"Phisherman" wrote in message news: [e-mail]...

[stoutman]

1/2" into the MDF. I was using a PC bushing on the router (free hand) and to get the depth I needed I under chucked the bit into the collet. This could of contributed to it breaking. Brand: Whiteside from Woodcraft.

A piece of shrapnel hot me in the arm and I thought for sure It drew blood, but nope. Not even a scratch.

[Larry Jaques]

On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 08:09:22 -0500, the inscrutable "Backlash" spake:

--snip of GREAT story--

I understand your dad's trouble in telling that story. What a hoot!

======================================================== TANSTAAFL: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

Gourmet Web Applications ==========================

[Pat Barber]

My personal favorite came from my tool dealer who tells the story about the pro cabinet shop guys who bought a new Freud three wing panel raiser and took her to the shop for a quick "test run".

The guy got distracted during the bit installation and failed to lock her down. When he flipped the switch on that big old PC 7518(3.5hp) router, the three wing cutter came up to speed and just as the guy started his feed, the bit took off like a helicopter and went straight up into an exposed beam in the shop ceiling.

The work in the shop came to a halt for the rest of the day.

stoutman wrote:

[Robatoy]

I have posted this many times.....wear a leather apron when using a handheld router with a large bit... even when using a router table. It's just plain smart. I never bother when using little bits, but as soon as I need to drop the RPM, I put on the apron.

I have seen what a 1 1/8" x 1 1/2" long pattern bit with top bearing can do to a plywood panel. It took a nice nick out of it..and had it been flesh, the nick would have been bigger..noooo thank you.

[Phisherman]

The Whiteside upcut spiral bit he was using is actually a small bit. He made too deep of a cut or moved the router too fast. A face shield might be useful too.

[Michael.Lacy.junk]

In my early routing days, I had an old B&D 1/4" router in a flimsy metal table. Something went bad with a 3/4" straight cutter and it got bent about 20 degrees in the shaft. Now, imagine the sort of "Whup, whup, whup..." this hunk of metal made at 10k+ rpm, with a bend in the shaft. I crawled along the floor and sneaked up to unplug the router. That had a distinctly clenching effect on me, so much so that went I had a 1/4" spiral cutter break some years later I hardly even thought anything was wrong :-}

[mac davis]

and a kevlar jock strap!! (gotta have your priorities straight)

mac

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