Hey all,
I’m evaluating a few routers in the shop right now for an upcoming article. I’ve pretty much put them through the paces of my normal type of work, but I’m left wondering if there are common tasks that I just don’t do that might add something to my evaluations…
I do finish carpentry and build some cabinets with a little custom woodworking thrown into the mix.
My most common uses for routers are:
– Edge detailing
– Hinge mortising and other door hanging tasks.
– Joinery (mortising, rabbeting, dados, etc.)
– Shaping moldings
– Sometimes on a bigger project I’ll set up a special flush trimming base if I’m doing lots of thick edge banding or lots of plugs.
– Flush trimming face frames, etc.
– Shelf pin holes.
I’d love to hear some other tasks you normally use a router for.
Thanks,
– Kit Camp
Replies
I like the router for cutting door and window openings, when my sheathed wall is on the floor.
I use a small porter cable with a straight bit, to cope joints in baseboard. I clamp the stock to the mitre stand base and hold the router upside down. It works great.
You will get a hundred more answers in this thread momentarilly.
Have a good day
Cliffy
how long does the bit last when you're routering out window/door openings in plywood?
Chuck
One 20 dollar bit lasts for one average size house. I sheath walls with 7/16 OSB and the roof is 1/2 ply
I learned this technique from reading an article by Jim Anderson from Colorado in FHB mag.
Have a good day
Cliffy
cool, thanks
Chuck
One 20 dollar bit lasts for one average size house. I sheath walls with 7/16 OSB and the roof is 1/2 ply
I get about the same out of a bit: a 1/2" single or double flute pilot panel flush trimmer per 3000 sqft or so. I used to go through a smaller router every year or so until I finally broke down and bought a PC fixed base Speedmatic. Not only is it more durable, but a heck of a lot faster than the 1.5-2.25HP routers I was using. It keeps up with a circ saw in fact. A worthwhile investment if you frame daily and prefer to cut your RO's this way.View Image
If I framed every day I would buy the huge porter cable router. I have used chain saw for a few cuts but I prefer to keep it for fire wood. I used to work with a guy with a life long scar on his face from a chainsaw.
1 month and change until the Bruins road trip.
Are you getting back to your regular routine now? I hope all is well .
Have a good day
Cliffy
Yeah, I'm back to my regular routine... LOL... whatever that actually is. The first week was chaos... things have pretty much been back to normal since. Currently temporarily unemployed until the next frame starts. Enjoying it actually.View Image
The big router is also nice to use/have if you get to work with many curves in framing. I use it for making barrel vault rafters and joists out of 3/4" ply.... glued and screwed. It handles the 3/4" nicely. Makes an insane pile of dust at the end of the day though!View Image
I like the router for cutting door and window openings, when my sheathed wall is on the floor.
Same use, but when I'm ready for a hole, no point to letting the wind in until I have something to put in the hole.
Joe H
Exactly right about waiting. But I have to say a small chainsaw is waaaay cooler than the router. I experimented with a router for doing that after reading about it on here, its just not for me.
Then I had my classic 12" homelite limber with me one day and you run the bar on the inside of the studs zip it right out in record time and its just as clean and professional looking as the router way.
I'll have to try that.
Got a little Stihl ought do it.
Joe H
After the window opening I apply the housewrap, no ladder needed. I'm only a summer framer so I'm less concerned about the wind.
Have a good day
Cliffy
I'm doing some inlay work with mine tomorrow.
Lately, plowing flutes.
Jeez, dude, how many bits have you gone through?- Kit
I'm on my 4th bit... I'm getting about 300 lineal feet per bit.I'm doing a bunch of these for a commercial office building (it is for bankers and accountants--might be where all the bailout money is going) ;o)
i have one mounted upside down one a piece of plywood sealed foam gasket) on top of a 55gal poly barrel... to which i have a shop vac hooked to ... it creates a vac... inside the barrel... i have a diamond bit in the router... and with this set up i bevel the edges of travertine & other stone to make my own base board and stone edges... dust free...
:)p
got pics?
Definitely not seen that one before. Don't know if I'll throw that into the testing though...- Kit
I'm rippin' yellow pine 1x6 for door jambs, then jointin' on the router table to clean 'em up.
/_|o[____]o
[1---L-OllllllO-
()_)()_)=°°=)_)
That is a nice pic of the jeep. Do you have one for a ford pick up?
Have a good day
Cliffy
If you copy/paste the jeep, I'm sure you could play around and make it into a p/up of some sort.
I actually drive an E250, but where's the fun in that?_______
/_|o[____]o
[1---L-OllllllO-
()_)()_)=°°=)_)
I think I'll get my 12 year olds on that. They are way better with a computer than I.
Have a good day
Cliffy
pattern edging.
Like when you have a 3.5" thick beam and want a curved profile on the end of it for classical detailing pergolas or exposed rafter tails.
Hog the wood away with a jigsaw, then use a hardboard template clamped on for atop bearing 2" router bit to follow to clean things up once from each side.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin,You must be using a big dog for that, eh?PC, Elu, Bosch, DW?- Kit
Most of mine are PCs, one B&D, and a big old Ryobi plunger, one3 of the few decent tools that company has made. That is the one that drives the 2" long bit.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Use a little Colt to trim counters, cut out sink holes, mortise in door hinges and lite edge finishing. That thing gets used a lot.
I also have a bosch 1617 kit, use it to hog out damaged HW flooring to lay in new boards, mortise locks, mortise timbers for pergolas, mortising stairs, heavier edge finishing.
Last I have an old Craftsman 'Industrial' that is labeled 3.5 hp. Catch it on something and it will spin you around. It lives in my router table and is used for anything I can do with the table, mostly cabinet work, raised panels, rails stiles, so-on. I don't have a shaper but the big router works.
I have three routers.
One stays in a bosch portable table, that is excellent, will you review tables in your article?
One usually has a panel/pilot bit for cutting out openings in sheathing. Until recently this was a little makita I bought for 25$ at a pawn shop. It died, finally, and I replaced it with an on-sale 99$ porter cable.
The third is a trim router.
I cannot think of any tasks that I performwith them, that you did not outline, however.. so I guess my reply is moot.
Thanks for the input gents. Hopefully some others will post this weekend...- Kit
Hey, Kit,
Here's some cut-and-paste from a few posts in an edgebanding thread last Fall:
The big secret to no-fail edging is easing the edge. I use a 1/16" radius router bit, which sounds like a lot, but it works perfectly. Buff the corners lightly with 220 grit, and you're done.
With the RO bit I can achieve a softening of the edge close to what I’d put on solid wood by sanding. But I would go through the veneer in at least some places if I tried that amount of easing by simply sanding the banded plywood.
The RO bit leaves the veneer 1/16†away from the corner completely untouched, and full thickness, while removing as much material as you can get away with from the corner. I follow up by polishing the corner with very fine sandpaper to avoid removing too much material.
Aside from looking and feeling nicer, the edgebanding is much less susceptible to damage, too. We’ve all seen the edges get peeled right off of those ugly, square-edged melamine shelves. It doesn’t take much.
So, faced with that first bookstore with 114 bookcases, and way more pulling books off shelves in one day than a residential bookcase would see in a year, I knew I had to have a system that was fast and very consistent.
I also have a theory/ gut feeling that the bit will stay cleaner if I hold the router base on the edge of the work, as opposed to the face. That way, the bit is chopping directly through the glue and lifting it up and away, instead of slicing sideways through the glueline, and smearing it out across the ply face. Just a theory, though.
So I’ve set up a special router base to make holding the router easier: I screwed through the sub-base, near the outside edge, into the square-cut end of a 4†long piece of 1†dowel. I used a panhead screw and a washer for strength, to spread the stress on the sub-base. I rabbeted the dowel down to about 3/4†dia. where it meets the base, to leave room for overhanging veneer in case I chose to use it for the initial trimming cut, too.
AitchKay
Dude, cool base!I generally use sawn edgebanding @ least 1/4" thick, but I think your system would work well for that, too. I'm not really a "miles of boxes" kind of cabinetmaker.I don't have a picture of it, but one type of base I've used a lot for trimming thicker edge banding is one like this on Pat Warner's site: http://www.patwarner.com/vertical_trim_subbase.htmlGenerally, I favor the less risky block plane approach, or if the stock is squirrelly, I'll use a small plane I made with a 60˚ bed angle.You should send that in to FHB's tricks of the trade section, or whatever it's called...Probably pay you enough to buy a new trim router...Thanks for your post!- Kit
Jim,If you're around I'd love your input here.- Kit
I'm the wrong Jim but I used to use my routers to cut radii trim around windows. I also used it to build radius forms for the masons.
To cut the trim (it was R.S. Spruce), I'd tack it to the wall, then use a piece of bridging stock as the trammel arm.
I use my routers about the same ways others have mentioned, Kit. Versitile tools, for sure. Don't know how we'd get by without them.
One thing I haven't heard mentioned was mortising slots, like for blind floating tennons - I use those a lot for door sash.
I've used an angled jig for mortising slots for louver doors, too. Even sent that jig to Mad Dog Maglin a few years ago so he could use it and he sent it back with a modification he preferred.
The jigs I cobble together usually are as simple as a piece of plywood that clamps to the workpiece, with fences clamped or screwed to the plywood base to limit where the router travels - nothing noteworthy, that's for sure.
I've read lots of accounts of people mortising tennons for mortise and tennon joinery with routers, but I usually do those on a band saw these days.
You going to discuss using the variable speed feature on some routers to slow them down for large diameter bits? Maybe mention how deep a bit should be chucked into the collet? I've gotten to where every time the routers come out and I'm working with someone new (or even someone who acts casual on the job) I ask "...hey, how far into the collet should a router bit go?" You'd be astonished how many people respond "all the way"...sure makes me shudder with dread to hear that.
Please let me know when that article hits the streets, will you? I'd like to read it.
Jim-Make sure you have 1/4" of shank in the collet. :o)
Ahh,Thanks Jim. That's why I wanted your input. The bit/collet thing is something I've long since stopped thinking about. I read a tip a long time ago about dropping a rubber o-ring down in the collet to keep the bit from bottoming out....The variable speed is something I've written about a bit. I've found as I get more experienced and my touch is a little lighter, I often run the routers at a slower speed, even with small bits. I haven't personally found it makes that much difference in the cut quality with sharp cutters, and the drop in noise is significant. Of course, more than half of my routers are as old as me, way before variable speed...My jigs tend to be of the scrap ply and narrow-crown staple variety, too. I wish I could be more like Pat Warner, everything perfect and gorgeous.What kind of jig do you use to mortise for your floating tenons? I have yet to build one I'm really happy with. I often mill them on the mortising table on my little Inca tablesaw. I've been sorely tempted by a couple commercial jigs, the Mortise Pal and a similar Festool jig. I don't actually like building shop fixtures much...Anyway, thanks for your input. Maybe we can keep this thread going. Even though I don't like building jigs, I do like looking at other peoples.- Kit
Edited 3/3/2009 11:47 am ET by Kit_Camp
Jim, I never bottom the collet out. I think I leave 1/8" and I don't remember how I know to do that..but that's what I was taught. But, no one ever told me "why" it needs that space. Do you know why?
If you insert the bit all the way the collet won't completely lock on the shaft. That's how bits "walk" their way out as you use the router. I had it happen a couple times before someone told me.
The worst thing is, it doesn't happen all the time, just once in a while. And that tool is a little spooky when you first learn to use it anyway, right? That bit sliding out is just enough to discourage a newbie, not to mention dangerous.
And it NEVER hurts to check the bearing holder screw on bearing guided bits..I HATE when they come off...wrecks your day right quick.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Guide collars, too!
True, I got a mangled one here as a reminder. And it's for the big Ryobi (old) and is non standard like the PC's.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Jim-Yup. Never bottom out.My rule o' thumbs is 80% of shank in the collet, or, usually- bottom out then pull back out 1/16". Also, watch out for the round or transition areas where the straight shank begins to meet the business end.
Edited 3/4/2009 10:28 am by kenhill3
"And that tool is a little spooky when you first learn to use it anyway, right? "
LOL. You are right. I find most tools beside my saw and drill to be "spooky".
In addition to the reason Jim B gave it can help you get a stuck bit out, you can tap it with a mallet and will usually free it. Sort of like giving a stuck bolt a small tightening turn first. If it is bottomed you can't do that, course you don't need to because it will probably walk out (;-).For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
Yeah, I've set up something like that before.Pat Warner's an amazing tweaker, isn't he?AitchKay
Yeah...I just don't have that engineer's type of mind. Guys like him, or David Charlesworth, or Brian Boggs, never cease to amaze me. They make me feel like a total hacker...- Kit
I do a lot window inserts for churches to comply with "Safe Santuary" guidelines to reduce the chance of inappropriate conduct.
I use an EZ guide with the router guide and limit stops for x and y axes. I use a Hitachi with the plunge base and an upcut straight bit. On solid doors I plunge down in each corner and then trace the cut. Found it was easier to cut with a jig saw in the 1/4 deep "trace" then set the router back on and clean it up. It took too many passes to do 1 3/4 solid with just the router and sure made a lot of chips.
It was taking me about 30 min to pop the pins, carry a door outside, cut, install, rehang. Almost ashamed to say what I was making (but it was a lot less than the $175/door they were quoted).
I have used my to make crown molding - - not one solid piece but about three pieces routed and glued together.
I was just remembering, back about '89, we were building a house inspired by Japanese layout and style. so we made out own moldings that were actually fairly similar to clamshell. I set up a jig that let me use a router to do perfect copes on the baseboard.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I put a ply base and adjustable wooden fence on my routers. Much more stable, and cuts are more even when routing edges and ends. I can screw fences to it for curved work... or turn it upside down, clamp it to a bench and use it like a router table/shaper... great for little stuff, or long thin stuff like custom shoe... and, it beats hauling the router table to the job.http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
Yeah, custom bases are the bomb. They’re so easy to make, and if you need a fence, you end up with one that is much less bulky, but more accurate, than the factory models.Lauan and Masonite are just fine, for the most part. Sure, they’ll wear, but they’ll do a good job for a long time. And I hoard scraps of Plexi, too. One of my favorite jobsite jointers uses a long Plexi base with a maple 5/4x3 screwed tight to it at one end, oversize hole and washer for adjustability at the other. The outfeed portion of the fence has formica glue to it. The depth-of-cut is not adjustable, but it is predictable -- just rip everything 1/16†over. And it’s easy to get a nice square edge with the work lying flat. A spiral cutter minimizes tearout.AitchKay
I have used my table router to cut custom holes in electrical switch plates. That can be handy with low voltage stuff you want to put in a standard box or ring. You can make plates that take RS232 connectors or the mini15 they use for monitors.
That reminds me! I've used a router to trim the edges of electrical boxes so they are flush with the face of the drywall (freakin' electricians, if they're not leaving a mess they're leaving their boxes proud).
Thats a great tip Jim! I think I used my power saw on the last one LOL.
Couple of times have used a router for stir welding aluminum sheets, did not see that mentioned yet.
Tried making a well screen out of an aluminum tube with a router and single flute bit, but could not get consistent screen, occasionally actually just cuts.
Last Friday I was remarking that I could come pretty close to duplicating the aluminum screens behind some wood register covers.I figured I could use my Festo shelf-pin-drilling rig to make holes 32mm o.c. then shift it over and cut another set, ending up with 16mm o.c.Pretty close to the 1/2" centers a few feet away. We'll see what the customer says...AitchKay
How many shelves? Would the cumulative error catch up with you on one end?View Image
The jig is pre-drilled by Festo, so it accurately drills holes 32mm o.c.Or so I think -- I've never actually added up the 32+32+32, etc, to see if it adds up. But even if it doesn't, you use the same jig for both sides, so it doesn't matter.In my case, for these holes in a decorative vent, the hard part would be to center the second set of holes just so -- if I place the jig just a little off, all of the second set of holes will be a little off when I try to split the 32mm spacing in half, e.g. 15mm/14mm/15mm/14mm, etc, instead of 16/16/16/16.But that will be operator error, and not the fault of the jig!AitchKay
For framing on a slab, I use a router to hog out the bottom of wall plates to make room for nuts/bolts/square washers on the PT plates already set on the slab.
Ok, no one did this yet.
When I was resoring pipeorgans we had the old windchests to repair. some were 5'x 10' and solid wood boxes about a foot thick. These boxes had dividers for each rank of pipes and on top would be a wood ( solid poplar in the orig, MDF in new work) top that had holes for each pipe, then a slider that would aline holes with the toe board that was attached and had the actual pipe toes setting on. A sammich of graphite lubed parts, that HAD to be air tight. No whistles, or leaks between dividers.
After stripping all the layers down to the chest frame and dividers, I'd rig up rails on one axis ( dead level) and had rails on the other axis that rode on the first, the router had a 12x12 or larger base and was able to slide in those rails along that axis..a giant X/Y table, the plunge was the Z axis. I used the biggest bit I could find, IIRC it was an end mill w/ 1/2" shank and 1.5" diam. MSC Supply sells them, sprial HSS.
This allowed me to flatten the top boards, or with the removed boards, the dividers, dead flat. Then a had a 2'x2' slab of glass faced particle board and a ceement block , the wide belt sander belt was glued to the glass and the whole ting was sanded that way,,,again, dead flat or go home..air tight is the only option, any air that gets to the wrong place will play the wrong pipe..not good. And if that pipe is quitely playing the organ can't be tuned..this is called a 'Cipher' and if the chest is whistleing when nothing is being played, it's called a 'weeper'. Niether are wanted when the organ is supposed to be quiet.
That was the most challanging job I ever had..all wood, air tight, and quiet as a church mouse one second and heard down the block when the doors are open the next.
This was before cheap CNC's were available, and no wide belt sander could handle the size and weight, a windchest can weigh 300lbs easy.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
I took sheet of 1/4†aluminum, faced it with Formica, and made a table extension/router-table-insert for my old 9†Rockwell Contractor’s Saw that measures about 12â€x20â€. Very handy to have a router table on the jobsite, and if I ever needed to flatten something as you did, or rout out a wide recess, all I had to do was lift that router setup out of the tablesaw, and flip it over.‘Course that was just jobsite work, stopping short of your micro-lapping process, that’s for sure!I don’t use that saw much these days, but that sub-base still sees a lot of work.!/4" aluminum rocks!AitchKay