Woodworkine nero | 1) ||| pene made Casy by ei | outer e 3/8" Corded Dall = 0-01 } = Sere ahizelt] 5 = rete en ta) | Ea = Pit cedl How to Corded Jigsaw Kit Fe ee cate with Orbital 1" | Cut Control buy bits 4380-02 Router cuts and fine joinery Sree mrtg Mele Tey Crom tore tion about and to. (| Panne3 Think safety, work safely Use these tips to keep this valuable tool working for you. 4 The router— an essential power tool Met the number one woodworking invention ofthe 200 cntry 6 Router bit selection ‘With each bit your router can perform a whole nev task, Get a sampling ofthe ‘more common bits inside. 46 Basic router operations and techniques “Learn how to teach your router new treks. 24 Router jigs and tips “These jis and fstres make a router work hader and with more precision volar het Mores rere This ale otra hae evog stand sabia {ence pei fhlddouns ad eshertna ast Calotinespeity ona seetvough bt uae Ti eetee ego tate Ae salt ei shes you sold aver te yur ands o ayia the On oe npr ove arouts te pig by cms (ode hat oe nae Be Hover, ‘aha us ne se eames Sle ving i onet mve ‘Your shop: where and how you work The oft-maligned governmental OSHA, hs done alot of work idetiying safe ‘ty hazards in indostial workplaces. fe would be Wise to take cue from theit findings because Yur own skh peohably differen Size, notin the number ef posible hazards for you! Take @ good look at your woodworking ‘rovedures, and choc for hing ha ean feet, {Your work and safety Your shop: Keep it clean, organized, wel lighted, and adequately ventilated, Clas the Algor of sbsritions und sore all tools, Make cenainelecuical fixtures aad oulles ae prop cy protected. Scr finishing products cone Iy, and dispose of rags and lettover materials pron ‘Your tools: Koep all tools clean, sharp, prop: erly maintained, and adjusted. Make cerain you know how 19 operate every tool and mis Chine safely before using it. Know where the ential danger zones are fr each too. Keep all, safety guards in pice, and bave pleaty 0 fin persaving devices, such a eatherboands, push ales, and push sticks, on hand. Your gear: Wear the correct safety lasses, fuce shield, ar goggles; ear muffs: dust masks; and’ chemical respirators, when ape propriate. Avoid wearing lose-fiting clothing, slots, jewelry of dangling objects (even long Tir) ht tay eas in roiting machinery pas ‘ thinksafety worksafely Protect your hearing Wear hearing protection, even fr short pesos of router use. Here's why: Staies shos dat 105 dBA. noise level resuls in sone hearing Joss after only one-hour expose, Routers typ ically produce from 103-110 dBA, and get ‘worse when & it stars to cil, This level of noise can permanently damage your beating se hvaring protection gear with enogh noise reduction rating (NRR) to lower the router's loud sera to safe pleat least 20 NRR to reduce the sound Wo amore cept ble 90 dBA. Hearing protection items fave their NRR printed onthe packaging Protect your breathing Wood cus, 2 bypreduct of woodworking, is made up of inividal wood particles af varying sng, Th small panicles that waft cough our shop's ar for long periods of time present the atest health hazurd,Pancies 10 migoas and Staller ean be ified ito the lings and ode these. (We eaaot se parle Tess that 100 ei ‘rons in sig.) baled dst patieles ean iat and damage lung tse, which ean lead to per manent ss of ling function spd breathing ci pcty. Dost ean also restrict oxygen absorption nif contains toxins or sensitizers, it cn lead Co allergies, shortness of breth, cambnes, Aizzines and asthma problems OSHA guideline cll foe no more hana y= age of Smiligrams of cst particles 10 mictons torsmaller per cubic meter of air oe aa §-hour Pld Tn smal hop this amour 0 man ‘mum of 7000 800 miligrams (aboot ale Spoon of wood dist eran hour pio, Fr your protection, wear suitable dispos able dost mask or respgtor wa tinimumn hen ‘outing, Also, collect ihe dust with a vacua oF dust collector wn. weedmagazine.comining at speeds of 24,000 rev: ‘olinions per minute, and able to slice through hardwoods Tike 2 hot Knife through butter, the portable router is one impressive fool. No wonder ‘thas become one of the most useful and productive tools you can have in a wood- ‘working shop. Some woodworkers com sider it the number one shop tool inven tion af dhe 20th century The fist commercially manufactured routers originally were introduced in the carly 1948's. Surprisingly, their basic de- sian hasn't changed much. Many of our current models, although they may look moze trendy and carry a few more fea tures, sill work essentially the same way as their early counterparts. Only. the plunge router, a rather recent develop- ment and introduction from Europe, shows any significant design evolution Pick up a modern router and you'll find the same three basic elements: a high-speed motor attached to a base, some type of height-adjusting mechanism to raise and lower the motor within the base, and a special chuck or collet fitted to the 4 wan weeemagazine.com rose, spralb, and cearpadon seis naka outing ea, soo ‘eiges ona wore ke ‘hs at and gts ona «mary base cals is to conan, hata youre making nso eatig boas te sp ul ptr and ‘anplt, sho a ht, ‘pens up ole new wor frog apa. motor shaft to hold the cutting bits. And ‘the router bits although similar tothe few very carly elfergs, now come in buns dreds of styles, sizes, and shapes. ‘Attool with many advantages Routers perform two primary tasks in a woodshop. Cutting decorative edges along the edges of boards is by far the ‘most common. Staping the edge of & workpiece adds a decorative touch and ttansforms an unfinished-looking project into an atractive, cye-pleasing one faster than any otber singe thing you can do, ‘Although it might be a lesser known role, more and more seasoned woodvork- cts find the router indispensable for cut sing joints when assembling Zumiture pro {jects and many small items. "The router's success as a woodwork- ing tool also eux be traced to a number of inherent advantages that it has over other tools Its small size and unigue design en- able it to-do jobs that no other tool ean. Tis duplicating capability also allows you t do many jobs easier, faster, and Safer than other tools. the ROUTER—an|essential power tool ‘You can'c beat a router for portability either. Carry and use it almost anywhere and get accurate rasnits withomt fail Compare that with other cutting cools, such asa tablesaw or stationary shaper. Also, because it's portable, it will work on virtually any size stock, eliminat- ing workpiece-size restrictions and limita tions common to many machines, And possibly mest important, you'll find to day's routers still modestly priced com- pared to many other machines of eompa- rable capability or capacity. But, if you mount this normally handheld tool be- sncath table, you'll find it transforms it {nto still more versatile machine. Putting a router to work Routers are pretty simple machines, but don’t let this simplicity fool you—they «an do literally hundveds of tasks, We've used them to straight-edge and surface boards; cut dadoes, rabbets, and grooves; work circles and curved surfaces; and edge them. Many woodworkers use thera 10 make decorative moldings, form hings mortises, shape delicate pants by follow- ing templates and patterns, bore holes, andl cut many different kind of great-fit- ting joints. We'll show some ofthese uses Tater in tis book. Routers continue to be viable, expand ing tools. Manufacturers continve to ex ppand their lines, providing more power choices and features. Similarly, bit manu- facturers have teams of engineers design- ig new and innovative bits to do moce sand more specialized shaping and cutting. Both manufacturers and woodworkers keep coming up with new accessories to extend the tool's usefulness or make it safer. Information about nev figs and fix- tutes is being published in magazines at a rate never seen before Routers aren't exactly the sort of tool you take out of box, plug in, and bandle casually, As with many things, it takes a bit of practice to develop skills using the tool, abit of knowledge to transfor the tool's eapabiliies into practical applica tions, and experience w make the end re sults aceeptable, To master this tool, be- ccome a student oft. We think: you'll find ivboth fun and rewarding,FP v1 :00 ured oh ts, fg a a your racis can bot chal lena one rewarng The business end of the tool routerbit selection A router bit accomplishes an incredible amount of work. Spinning at 24,900 rpm, a two- edged bit makes an unbelievable 930 cuts par second. No wonder 2 router slices whrough wood ike a hot knife through butter. bit the collection builds. Fortunately with a router, te more bits you have, the more jobs you 29m do with Reading route bit catalog can make you feel alot like the proverbial ehild ina andy stove, Witt hundreds of styles available, choosing the right one for size shape, or material, can be overwhelming. ‘A basic understanding of router bits and ‘hat they do may help you save some of your hard-eamed cash and get you the ‘best tool combinations possible. I happens before you know itt by Ht starts with the d Bits share certain design similarities ‘They have a continuous steel body and shank made from one piece of steel, and fone or more cutting edges. The cutting edges may be high-speed steel (J brazed tungsten carbide tips Today, more and more bits are being made on automatic lathes and computer- riven. multi-axis grinding machines ‘These machines do a good job, and also enable the manufacturers to produce signs that were not possible 10 make {ust afew yeats ago, Some very complex Bits continue to be made by investment casting, Their cuting edges will be either HSS or tungsten carbide Refer to the bit anatomy drawing on paige 9 to identify those paris you may not be familiar with, Shank size—the first consideration Routers can have either 1 oF 4" eolets, ‘orboth. A 14" collet only accepts bits with ‘a'ediameter shanks. A" collet will accept bits with /4"-diametee shanks and ‘with adapters, also will accept 14" andl ¥" hit (nor widely svsilnble). IE you plan to luse your router a Tot and for numerous operations, it’s nice to have one that accepts oth shank sizes. However, router with a specific shank size won't put much of @ limit on what you can do because of the many types of bits avail: able in both ¥" andl 14" shank sizes Although bits with V4" shanks perform well, some experienced and professional woodworkers. prefer 14" shank bits because they're bigger, stiffer, and stronger, and beter able to resist vibra- tioa, flexing, and breaking Consider shank length, too, Generally pick the bit with the shortest shank that Will do the job for you. et ozsraits wa machine Yom bra fap hatstaon selon corguercentoladithes Each Bank wil go vcugh eigen leet stepson its ay to bec a ihad Caution: The popularity of earbide-tipped bits has brought an influx of bits From Imany sourees. Some users have experi enced problems with foreign-made bits due to undersized shanks and low-quality metals, If you buy bits from an unknown souree, check them closely, Bit dimensions you need to know Router bits have several critical dimer sions. Besides shank diameter and length, ‘you need to know the utter diameter, cution, pouterbitsc! ‘This hanches outer e9.pc08 wth hop made uly basa ample gud bsting and oxre-box bis ea sk lmpiatevoura task. Note ‘het erties fe ousie edge fre fenpate ost extn cect ter height (or length), cotter width, and overall bit Tengih. On some, the cutter angle, radius, ov beating diameter also will be important, Profiles of bits and illustrations showing an exact image of the cut also help in visualizing what cho finel cut will look like, Note the position ‘of these dimensions on the illustration, ‘The cutting edge: carbide, or high- speed steel? Most manufacturers now use tungsten carbide for the cutting edges. Carbide is aan alloy of carbon and metal powders fused together, and harder than HSS. Carbide tips hold s cuting edge anywhere from 1510 25 times longer. If you plan to work harelwoeds or any of the man-made products like MDF or Corian, buy car bide-tipped bit, HESS bits cost about one-half as much as good entbide bits, They can be sharp- ced 0 a keener edge than carbide, and some manvfacturers coat them with atta nium alloy to make them more durable and stay sharp longer. But HSS is softer than carbide, and the cutting edges dull fast witen working abrasive matetials, Carbide bits, even tough the edges are prone to chipping and nicking, stay sharp ‘bring ont arming bt guides long the fate edge, arcu an denial e430 onthe ice above, This sup a eal nay ne fish-qulty,cipleste workacas cc and thou! ary acionl wre longer, and can be sharpened many more times, You'll fird the extra money for ‘quality carbide bits well spent. ‘To pilot abit or not Unguided bits ean be used for aight or contour cuts anywhere on a board, pro vided the router is guided by a staight- ‘edge ot template. Guided bits have a pilot or bearing that controls the router without the aid of a straightedge. They only can be used along the edge of a board Most edge-citing bits use ball bear- ings, typically Jocaled at the end af the shank on edge-forming bits, to ride against the work>ieve edge. To eliminate ‘edge bum, the bearings tur at you feed rate on the outside, but spin at router speed on the inside. You must put enough pressure on the muter to hold the bearing ‘against the workpiece, Otherwise, it may spin along with the bit, and at this speed, ‘will burn the wood anyway. Changing the bearing diameter will alter the cutting width and profile of the bit, which in effect, gives you several bits in one, To change a bearing requires removing the sockethead cap screw Tocated on the end of the shank with an Allen wrench. Many woodworkers use changesble bearings on rabbeting bits and slot euters to change the rabbet's width or the slt's depth, Fitting a roundover bit with a smaller bearing converts it in a beading bit. The profiles of certain classical bits can be altered in this way too. (See page 21 for more information on how changing bearing size varies the cutting depth of a rabbeting bit) On pattern-cutting bits, the bearing is located above the cutter. In use, the beat- ing follaws along the edge of the pattern or template and the cutter duplicates the pattems profile on the workpiece. You ‘can buy bearing kits to convert certain non-piloted, eige cutting bits into pattern- cutting bits. Just slip the bearing and stop collar aver the bits shank, and tighten the set screw in the collar Bit quality—here’s what to look for Don’t expect bits to be created equally- rnot even carbide bits. While carbide ‘might be the all-arouud best, there will be diflerences—differences in carbide thie ness, grades of carbide used, and how the bit’s body supports the carbide. You can see some of the things that make up qual- ity but not all of them. Foc example, you can spot « skinny carbide tp that likely will disappear after Justa couple of sharpenings, But when it comes to the grade of carbide used, you have no way of knowing what the manu factorer used. Very hard carbide main- tains a sharp edge longer. But if it's too duard, the cutting edge may chip or nick ‘more easily. Carbide tips get brazed to the bit body uring manufacturing. How well this is lone depends on the Wwelder’s skill. Tips also should be fully supported by the bit body to minimize chances of the carbide breaking away. The steel body should be tumed smooth and without pits or cracks, ‘Check the edge grind ofthe carbide tip under a good magnifying glass if you Sie alee ‘Socket-head } { Sepa | Bakeanng | pie | cuits aan edge ‘Size ‘ @ [shank EDGING FIELD Bir Bit Bis have ey cangenais and dimensions at hep ently than. Dinas relroce ovr rath sank diameter an eng cter gt and wich ‘orator and, on sme tthe cuts angi or feds ad batng lamer, have one—it should be glassy smooth. 1f you see ot can feel giinding marks, the tips have not been finished properly and the bit should be rejected. Other design elements, such as the flute, rake anglo, and clearance angle, belong in the domain of the design engineer. They are pact of what makes a bit work—and why some work better for certain routing applica- ions than others Bits also must be rounded and bal- anced, If not, they"Il vibrate when spin- ning in the router. If you have a dial ind ator or gauge, mount each new bit inthe router collet and measure how much they deviate from a perteetly concentric orbit (runout), Any measurement less than 003" is acceptable, Antickickback dosign for safely “Antckiokback bits provide a eXts mat: in of safety. The design limits the depth 8 ‘arwmoodimagazine.comLat ntiack TYFIGAL bits have a body ANTI-KICKBACK | Shaped i i BIT Below Arai snd one back sid lhe ctide Tesice more mass etnd he cating geo supp he lip. also provers shnkage nb laste en reshaping thks ee Back: Blade: Slgck Stock E Badal Sal Fd | catisel RADIAL Top view or | STRAIGHT ROUTER BIT ‘iad as in tons te lenge toward re ‘gp and bation ol cove lp). Amere cosy rule gens preduses consistent ol anges, fede ined of bring the wood of eutat each pass o about Ye". Limiting the bite is especially beneficial on large diameter bits that take wide cuts because it lessens the tisk of the bit grabbing a workpiece or throwing it, Their adition- al body mass also helps dissipate heat ‘quicker, and it sometimes seems to make them run smoother How to spot a multi-axis grind ‘The distinction between a fixed-axis grind and a multi-axis grind, although subtle, fean be very important when cutting cer- tain stock, The drawings mbove show that the relief angle on a multi-grind bit stays ‘consistent across the full length of the grind, This enables the bit to deliver a slightly beter quality cut than the fixed grind bit Differences between straight and shear flute cutters ean be cvtical too. On a strnight fhte bit. the entire cutting edge ‘contacts the work at the same time, By contrast, on a spiral flute, only a small portion of the cating edge contacts the ‘york at any time. This shearing. action ‘makes. a smoother, finer cut finish with less power. Although this feature appears most evident on srsight bits, you also can find spiral shear utes on other high-qual- ty bit profiles, Spiral-cuttng bits work fast and make clean euts because they move chips out of the way quickly. Up-spiral bits work great for cutting monises or cavities when the ‘cut does not pass all the way through the ‘workpiece. Down spirals sork well when the bit cus all the way through the piece. Bit alens plunge uting. The eta cuting tooth into canter of tet lle smoot bo tom ander tis aough veal cut uy wi ato teat fe a hoe, Baal (On creo is, lak ora cleanly ground pion thebotom tool he bit Bes with sper angles ung ear, lasing a deanr cut On plunge os, is must move ep eto roent Buring, When talking about router bit perfor- ‘mance, there's a tendency to consider just the bit However, the bits only part ofthe total picture. The kind of material you are ‘working, the depth and width of the cut, the condition of the bit, an the speed that you move the router along the work (or Teed the work past the bit) also make con- siderable cillerences, ‘One of the worse things you can do to a router bit is to uy and cut too uch in one pass, Make it your rule 10 do multiple passes if you have to remove moze than a "square of materi al, Force feeding stresses the bit, makes it Tisbithas a dst shield and a rel gd uderthe bing, Wi rele pnd, youcan sich oa ‘alr tenng and ue tis cutng ste, Loss expensive bis may rot haa any al gn dull faster, and almost always produces poor cuts Keep your bits clean of pitch and saw- dust with a good pitch and gum cleaner Lubricate the bearing frequently. 1f you have the skil, you may want to hone the cutting edges of HSS bits after use to ‘maintain a sharp cuting edge as long. as possible. But don’t even try to sharpen carbide bits—leave that task to a skilled professional sharpener. Ways to increase router bit life Here's how to get more mileage (and longer life) from your router bits. [Never overload or abuse a bit. Ifthe {job ealls for eulting away more haa. the equivalent of a Ye" square area, make multiple passes with light cuts. Consider a 4" square asthe upside Tinie for most cus For lots of heavy duty cout hank bits if your router accepts them. They're suonger, stiffer, Gefleot less, and easier to regina. Use bits withthe shortest cuting edge and the largest cutting diameter that you have. When possible, select bits with high hook angles and large gules for fast chip ejection—they ‘ill run cooler and stay sharp longer. 10 wunweodmagezine.com Oe array Onn a ei arouterbitselection 12 Use sharp bits. If you're burning \waod, having to apply more than the usual Teed force, or getting chattering ‘while cutting, suspect a dul bit C= A souter of 1¥4 hp. or more will cut O at faster feed rate and atthe same time won't heat up the bit as fast as 8 ronter with less power. When mounting a bit, insert the shank into che collet and fingertight- cen the lock mut, Twist the bit several tums to let it scat itself. Then, lock the bit with 34" 10 24" of the shank cceptured inthe colle. Do not insert the shank all the way to the bottom of the collet °F Set router speed to spin the bit at its ‘optimum spm. Bits over 1" in diame- ter should be slowed to cut satisfac: torily and not overheat. Use a two-cutter system. Do most of the rough cutting with one bit, then ‘make the final cut with a new or freshly grovind hit with low mileuge. [Look for uneven cuts caused by ‘extensive wear on a portion of the bit, This defecr could produce poorly fitied joins. Shaspen or replace the offending bit 0) Bare iets aati bis you can afford, {4 Clean and lightly oil bits after use. | Sand the shanks smooth with emery cloth. Clean and check the collet frequently for wear Lubricate the all bearings after cach use 4 2 Siam bin ating egeant © bearings do not get damaged, ‘Speed limits for bits, too Although routers rely on high speed for their performance, lager bits should tarn a slower speeds in order to keep the tip speed ata reasonable level. For example, 1 14-liameter bit spinning at 22,000 cpm basa nice mindane tip speed of 49 mph. By comparison, the tip speed on 2 2/5 svumuwvoodmagezine.com diameter bit spinning atthe same rpm will 16 mph. Some experts suggest that a 130 to 140 mpl ip speed should be the ‘maximum for opiimum performance and ‘operator safety ‘Suggested bit speeds for different diameters: Bit Diameter (nohes| Maximum Speed (em) dior upto 240 tinge! 16000018000 r 1200016 14300 ornare ‘ootdie 2000 ‘Types of bits you'll want to buy Look at almost any furniture piece and you'll find examrles of decorative treat- ments you can reproduce with your own router, Demand aeated by the copulacty of portable routers has resulted in 0 near ly limitless. variety of bits being made available. The bis pictured on the next tivo pages represent some of the basic siyles that woodworkers find useful Falge-forming bits cut decorative pro- files along the edge of the workpiece or ‘cut one or both parts of an interlocking joint, Most have pilot bearing onthe end ‘ofthe shank 10 side along the edge of the ‘workpiece to control cut wide Field or surface-cutting bits have side and bottom cutting edges so they can cut {nto the surface of the workpiece and then ‘be moved horizontally. They do not have ‘a guide bearing so some type of guide— straightedge, edge guide, or template guide bushing—must be used to keep the router moving Smight or aveurite. The ces may be decerative or functional. Specialty bits, as the name implies, encompasses a large category of bits designed for unijue routing casks, ether decorative oF furetional. The mult-pro- file bit, for example, has many different cutting edges. By changing its height in relation to the workpiece, you ean cut an ‘almost endless qumber of different pro files with it lock-miter bit, onthe other hhond, cuts a specific miter profile that's Ideal for joining workpieces, If you plan to work with plywood, you need 10 know about plywood its, Plywood often is manulactured under sized, or thinner than nominal size, Put 14" plywood into a 2" dado and you'll get 1 poor ft. To help, some router bit manu facturers make undersized bits (/", fa", and 1") to accommodate the th ner plywood, How to maximize your bt investment With your first router you won't need spe- cific bits right off, but consider buying these for starters (sizes refer to the dia- mater of the bit's bite): 4,4", and 4" straight bits; 14 Yio", Yi and Yo"coves VA" radius and 4" radius roman ogee; Ye" and 36"beading;, and a % rabbeting bit with bearings. To expand the list, add several spital 4} bits, 045° chamfer bit, a 14°15" dovetail bit, @ Hi" eound-nose bit, & 12" nortis bit, and a 908-14" V-grooving bit. This collection will enable you to make a wide variety of routing cuts, Many companies offer sets of bits at substantial savings compared to. what you'd pay if buying them individually However, mentally subtract the bits you aren't likely to use and then calculate the costs of those remaining to determine if the set remains a good buy. reuterbitsources a eco,—Fao\SA na MS fons? puoarea a och Fok ier, Foe cate Srracraey BORAT BO curush sas eeu soem ara fazer pinsatssco musa Fayosa tana mieersaot OSE the truth about sharpening router bits though averyane tas bout sharpening router bis, weodorkarscotnualy sk haar ay is praccal or ven possi oc ao. srl tha ror tis re an expendable liam —ey do wear and sometimes gel damaged ‘ring se. Cont expect boast forever. fit as che goed sence, but gave bat it maybe btn sip replace Bt ha sald, sonra manufacturers we can ‘acted aneethat the ite of some cari topo tits could te extended # he fat surfaces were rope oad afer uso, How they ean, ever atmo fone the bel. is must be per ‘wc arc in et to spin at he high oper ting seed. Te sights ifeencein amount of teri removed fam onesie fait than he cer wilunbalance the it and create dangerous beatin, ong care resuves amon nestnes. ‘The progressive gs, eneee 825 git, ne 600, git and eta fn 1200 gf ar pia used. ‘They cam be sed ye ubicatd ith wat, oF ligt such @s WO-40. You place he tat sur ‘aco ofthe tip on he sone, ands tong the stone. te bi taste er mate tps, mak the sate numberof eqn skes and it the sane Ii grssire to each foto ai una arcing the bt lo, as you move to he fer gts, rue pressure so sna node the da mands rom te bondg sta, you have abt ht you cant reste by ap ing the fava, consider sanding itt & sharpening save, Wocduartes repr variable resus fort bis sharpened by commercial vend, so thae's 1a way to predict what kn resis youl get. Considering the costo th sevice an potage, ‘may be ss expense to replace te iL For HSS bis, lp the ft sufeces on fre-gk \waterstones, aan, do he same amount of work to each sufac to maintain balance wun wooemagezne.com 13