Put a Power Feeder on my Router Table (w/pics)

[David F. Eisan]

Evening All,

I have a ton of doors to make and I didn't like the idea of hand feeding all that material over my router table. I have been meaning to make a new better router table, but I have just not got around to it, so I brought home a power feeder from work and just bolted to my existing somewhat down and out router table.

The router table is the only piece of woodworking machinery that has ever bitten me and I am leery of hand feeding boards over it. I must say that pushing the board into the first wheel, and grabbing it from the third wheel was much easier on the sphincter muscle than hand feeding. Not only that, but running at 14 ft/min gave excellent quality of cut with a set of CMT cutters, no burning and no discernible milling marks. Not like when I was hand feeding, little burn marks when I was moving my hands, or jiggles in the profile. I am sold on this and wish I had bought one a long time ago.

The Delta 36-850 1/4 HP power feeder parts out of the box,

power feeder mounted to my router table,

bunch of rough cut rails,

rails all milled,

the rails through the router table with the power feeder,

the rails milled,

are all rough length and some multiple length, I will cut all the rails and stiles from this stock tomorrow.

David.

[David]

I take it you aren't using featherboards? They pretty much take care of the "jiggles".

David

David F. Eisan wrote: Not like when I was

[Groggy]

David, I reckon you are due for a spindle moulder (shaper Keith). No, make that overdue.

Go on, you know you want one...

the home page, it has been infected with the Handyman Club of America virus

cheers Groggy

BTW, finished that kitchen yet? Enquiring minds etc...

[Dave Jackson]

We recently acquired this one

with a Maggi feeder. Ran just about $3k including shaper, mobile base, feeder, sliding shaper jig, roller infeed/outfeed stands and several cutters. Totally awesome combination. I've been able to mill well over 2 thousand linear feet of flooring in a days time! I don't know what you consider a "ton" of doors, but even cutting the cope, stick and panels are much easier with a machine that can cut them in one pass. Just my $.02 --dave

[Old Nick]

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:47:04 -0500, "David F. Eisan" vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

Now _that_ brings up an image.......aaargh! What a thing take into my dreams into the New year! Gaak! I will just have to get drunk.....

[Unisaw A100]

One more picture if you could David, got something from the back? From looking at it I can't imagine the feeder base being mounted to the table top. Is it?

Come to think of it, I'm semi-surprised someone hasn't already come up with a fence/feeder combo. It t'would not be a big thing to do really.

UA100, who was just yesterday thinking how much fun it would be to have a baby feeder for the An Ultimate Router Table...

[Sam the Cat]

BTW -- is this pic reversed ?

On my router table I feed from left to right facing the cutter -- againts the rotation of the blade. This pic either shows already milled material heading back into the cutter or the whole operation is backwards from they way I would have done it. Inquiring minds.....

Cheers

[Leon]

pretty good practice.

Do you mean from right to left --against the rotation of the blade?

[David F. Eisan]

Hello there,

I consider myself a decent and compentent woodworker, I was never able to get the quality of cut by hand that I now get with the power feeder.

I think I will try climb cutting (standing *way* out of the way) today, just to see if the setup can do it.

David.

[David F. Eisan]

Hello there Groggy,

If I had the space I would get one. Put with the choice between the router table that spins 20K with cheap cutters, and a machine that uses expensive cutters and will not allow me to use small bits, I will have to stay with the router table.

I plan to try to raise Keef on the AURT when I build mine...

David.

[David F. Eisan]

Hello there,

What I was really getting at, was, that I was not uptight the entire time I was using the table...

Somehow I think you were getting drunk anyway! :)

David

[David F. Eisan]

Keef,

I will be in the shop later today and I will post a pic. See the foot or base in the first photo? It is simply through bolted to the top. The top is

3/4" of MDF on 3/4" of plywood with countertop laminate on both sides.

I was just going to borrow this from work, but now I think I am going to buy extra feet and mount them on my jointer and table saw. It is so much nicer to powerfeed...

David.

[David F. Eisan]

Hello there,

Nope, it is a fake shot. I didn't want to take the time to take a pic when I was really doing the cutting, so I took a fake shot when I was done with the equipment off, I cheated!

I think I will try climb cutting into the cutter today. The powerfeeder wheels have 3/4" of sprung travel and provide lots of downforce, enough I think to allow climb cutting.

David.

[sandman]

I have built a lot of laminate counter tops over the years with wood edges. I would always climb-cut. A 1/2" thick acrylic base on a PC production router gave me the weight and the cuts were always very shallow. Looked a bit silly, all that engine with such a wee bit, but I never had any (especially oak) tear out. Birdseye maple fared much better with climb-cutting as well. Fewer burns, etc. If the cut is small enough, the whole climb-cutting deal is quite doable.

We used a Delta power feeder on the table saw to eliminate the "changing hands"-gouges.

A very useful and safe tool.

Weaver makes a decent unit which uses belts.

[Swingman]

They are tres slick ... been on my wish list since I used one at a door shop to mill cabinet door rails and stiles. Congratulations ... betcha $489 retail you don't take it back to work. ;)

[Slowhand]

When I first started woodworking, one my first projects involved a climb cut with one of those huge multi purpose router bits. Full cut depth, no feeder.

I've never seen a board get ripped from my hands so fast and hit the back wall (25 feet away) so fast in my life.

And I haven't done it since.

I do like your feeder set up though and have been considering one for quite some time now. I get tired of having to sand my moulding because of hand feeding technique. SH

[John, in MN]

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 12:21:12 -0500, "David F. Eisan" [snip]

We had a meeting at one of the local high school wood shops recently. They used power feeders on the router tables and climbed cut without any problems. Smooooth cut.

-- John, in Minnesota