Hey gang…happy Turkey Day to all,
The majority of work I do is framing, and my trimming is usually limited to windows, doors, base and a little crown. However, I love to play around with woodworking in my shop and around the house.
While remodeling my kitchen last year I made a wall into a half wall to open things up a little. I made a cap for the wall with the idea that someday I’d do something a little fancier. I trimmed out the new opening with maple stock to match the cabinets and it looks really nice.
Well I was in the mood to play the other night, so I bought some 1×10 maple stock to make this cap out of. All that was available at the yard was (don’t really know what it’s called) was maple that appears to be 1×3 maple edge glued together (with the grain) to build up to a 1×10. I ripped it to size and wanted to put a profile on the three exposed edges.
I chucked a 1/4″ shank freud ogee bit into 1 3/4 HP PC router in a table and tour the crap out of the edges. The tear-out was brutal. I didn’t start at full depth, and worked my way up to the cut. Also, none of the edges were located at or near a glue joint.
Was my router underpowered, my shank undersized, or my speed messed up? Or a combo of all three? Poor choice of stock?
Replies
Maple is tough stuff, the rock maple even more so. It tends to burn unless you use sharp tools and move the router along at a decent pace - it's very similar to cherry, which I work with a lot (and love, put that stuff on your wall and you'll get plenty of comments.)
Try a 1/2" shank sharp bit, (I only use 1/4" bits in the laminate trimmer now and that's rarely) with a decent router and watch your feed rate and you'll be alright. And rout the end grain first to help eliminate the effects of tearout along the corner. You might still get some burning, but it should sandpaper out. Your router (PC690?) should be fine.
Reread the post, you're using a table, right? How long is the maple? Anything over a couple of feet and I usually resort to hand routing for better control.
I think your solution would be a new 1/2" bit. The 1/4" bits flex too much, IMHO, especially when asked to go head-to-head with a dense wood like maple, I've actually seen them chatter.
Hope this helps, but it sounds like you already have a handle on the solutions.
Good luck.
dieselpig
I dont know for sure if your getting tear out as you go along the board(with the grain), if so, and if you use a hand-held router, run the router backwards, what I mean is go the "wrong way" with the router,(careful because the router will want to take off on you) take off most of the wood, then finish up by going the right direction and cleaning up that last 1/16".
Doug
Also what Nick said about the shank size, dont use 1/4" unless its a very small bit.
Edited 11/27/2003 3:59:20 PM ET by Doug@es
i agree on the answers posted already, i router a lot of edges on maple, using a 1/2 inch shank always in a porter cable 690
dont use a table on such large stock, go freehand and do the end first
caulking is not a piece of trim
Reminds me of some soft maple I worked with once. Bought it because it was nicely figured, but it was so fibrous and pulpy that routing the edges was a disaster, even with a new bit, shallow profile, 1/2" shank, etc. etc. Typical hard maple should rout nicely as long as the bit is sharp. Makes me wonder what species you actually got. Since it's a glued-up plank it may be paint grade and not really hard maple.
many times you have to read the grain just as you would if you wanted to handplane the stock.
Shapers excel at this function since the motors can be reversed.
your router bit might be duller then you think, and or you were going too fast for the grain direction.
If its figured or has a wild grain pattern moisten the edges prior to your pass, that helps prevent tearout. Its not 100% but it does help. The same tip can be used when you surface your lumber on a planer, as does a steeper bevel, but the bevel thing isnt a luxury when you mill the edge with a router
Give Armin a shout , He will send you some real nice maple . I got some real nice Birds eye from him . He has three grades of the stuff along with curly birch that looks real nice.
Have to agree with what the others said abought 1/2 inch shank and new sharp bit. However the maple itself sounds like the real problem. Small glued up boards were probably taken from fast growing young trees. The white part of maple comes from the outer edge of the trunk so there is less useable stock especialy with small trees. Older larger trees tend to be harder ,denser, IMHO.
do the doug@es method as in "wrong" feed direction. The edge maple needs support as its very brittle. Clamp down the wood and with lots of feeling route with the bit direction.
Yea try using the router table and a new bit. Climb cut (route in the wrong direction ) when you reach about 1" to the end of the piece. Route the end pieces with the end grain first if necessary. Then do the edges. I dont know if the boad being laminated together (glued up) would have anything to with your problem or not. But it might. try a test cut with another piece of maple and see.
Darkworksite4:
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I appreciate everyone's help. Just bought a 1/2" shank Freud bit at http://WWW. Gonna try the climb cut with two stiff featherboards holding the piece tight to the table. The stock is only 5' long and my table is 48", so I think this is a better bet for me than doing it freehand. Will do the endgrain first, followed by the sides as you guys have suggested.
I'll let you all know how I make out. Thanks again.
Clime cuts are not safe. Use a push stick and make sure no one is standing front of the board out feed side when you clime cut. If the board takes off you don't want some one to get hit with the board in some part of their body.
Clime cuts want to pull the board past the cuters and if you are hanging on to the board. It can pull your fingers into the cutters so fast so be very carefull when doing a clime cut.
I've had to do a few clime ( I always though it was climb!) cuts in the past. But I appreciate your safety advice....can never get too much of that!
The stock is a 60" piece of 1x10....I don't plan on having my hands anywhere near the cutterhead. Of all my powertools, I probably have the most respect for my router. It's like the last of the great powertool mysteries to me. I'm fairly new (couple of years) to the router and am just learning of it's capablities and trying to learn some techniques on my own. Seems as though you could build an entire house with just a router and some glue if you were so inclined and had the time! What a remarkably versatile, simple, intriguing tool.
Thanks again.
diesel
I dont think I would climb cut through a router table! When that router starts to grab the piece of wood you may not be able to control it.
Take the router out of the table and do it by hand, you have more control.
Doug
I've long been an advocate for shapers over routers and lift tables.
they cost less than a router and lift table do and handle tough woods like this much easier..
because they turn at reasonable RPM's compared to routers the edge stays sharp much longer. Yet are capable of removing much more wood per pass than a router will.
against that the cutters cost more than router bits..
really long boards need infeed and outfeed tables.. I routinely handle 18 foot long boards by myself without a strain (other than lifting the heavy things up onto the table in the first place)..
A climb cut with a featherboard is a recipe for disaster. The bit will grab the stock and try to throw it, while the fingerboards will try to hold it back. Something will explode. Wear your armor.
The only time I climb cut is on a final pass that's very light. If you're cutting a profile you can lower the bit that last hair and then make a climb cut. It's only worth trying if you're barely removing any material. Make sure you are pushing the tool away from you (restraining it, actually) so that if it does take off it's not headed for your crotch. You can also climb cut on a shaper with a large power feeder, but that's not what you're doing.
Hate to say it but the material sounds like a total loss. I say go back to the lumber yard and buy some good Eastern hard maple. The edge will rout without need for any tricks.