A few months ago someone asked about routing a 3/8" deep 1/4" slot. A number of replies were that it was too deep and risked breaking the bit.
I said I had done it plenty of times and never broken anything. Well, today I broke a brand new Freud doing a 7/16" slot. Got about 8" across some luan and the darn thing twisted off.
So, I was wrong. (well, still never broke it on 3/8") Fortunately I just bought a dozen of them at an auction for $4 each.
If you are doing a 3/8" deep plunge with a small bit, on one pass, you might risk breakage. Hope you wear face protection.
RonB
In a router table. Not much can happen. I always wonder on a cut like that if it safe to have my hand directly over the bit. Unless the wood simply disintegrated it should be safe; but I don't do it anyhow.
Not much can happen?? yah, sure, you BETCHA!
Dave
"toller" wrote in news:XyPHe.2954$ snipped-for-privacy@news02.roc.ny:
You're a braver man than I! :)
I recall recently reading some Jointer injury posts where the wood disintegrated. Different machine, lots'a other differences but still not something I would have expected.
Every day, it seems like, I come up with another reason to move the fingers farther away from the cutters...
And wear a mask and a leather apron -- just like turning.
--=20 Will R. Jewel Boxes and Wood Art
There was jointer on Ebay this week--the seller said he lost half a finger to it, and decided he didn't want to try using it again.
Ouch!
--Steve
Patrick C>
No, it's not safe to have your hand directly over the bit. I have a Hitachi
3HP router and if you go with 1/4" bits (which I quit using), the collet doesn't hold the 1/4" bit very well. Had a bit loosen a while back and climb out through the top of my wood. I always use push blocks and felt it hit the bottom of the block. Glad it wasn't my hand!
Was it posted here? I went back 4 months without finding it. Do you recall what happened?
Depends on your router- I've had bits walk up in the cut because the collet sucked, and come right though the top of the wood when dadoing. Don't get too cavilier with your tools, or they'll remind you about safety in a nasty way. The router table can also kick back like a mule, if you're not careful.
| No, it's not safe to have your hand directly over the bit. I have | a Hitachi 3HP router and if you go with 1/4" bits (which I quit | using), the collet doesn't hold the 1/4" bit very well. Had a bit | loosen a while back and climb out through the top of my wood. I | always use push blocks and felt it hit the bottom of the block. | Glad it wasn't my hand!
It's not just 1/4" bits - I had a 1/2" bit crawl out of an ER25 collet at 18000 RPM yesterday morning. Destroyed a 6/4 x 14 x 54" maple panel, chewed up the bit shank, and left serious marks on the collet itself.
Definitely not a pleasant experience.
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
I was routing a 1/4 inch slot in softwood last week, about 3mm at a time, when it stopped cutting. When I removed the wood the entire business end of the bit had disappeared. I still haven't found it despite a careful search.
Isn't that the reason God invented push sticks?
Glen
I can second that. The first time I ever used a router table for freehand routing, I was a little too gentle in moving the wood into the cut - the bit caught the wood and threw it back so hard it almost broke my finger. This was a 3hp Hitachi M12V. Kick like a mule is a good description.
I learned from that without injury - that's a good thing.
Vic
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