Routing and Shaping

8/18/2019 Routing and Shaping

1/146

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2/146

WORKSHOP

UIDE

R()UTING

ND HAPINGAFETY

IPS

.

Wear

afety

lasses,

dust

mask,

.

Avoid wkward

and

posi t ions

.

When out ing

reehand,lamp

and

hear ing

rotect ion

oral l shaper

when

eeding

tock; lways

eep

stock o a

work ur face.

and oute r pera t i ons . you rhands l ear f t hecu t te r s

.

Do no tshape

r rou t

work ha t

r

Keep ou te r i t s

nd haper

u t -

.

Be fo re

ns ta l l i ngu t te r s

r

mak ing

i s warped r ha t

con ta ins

oose

ters

lean nd

sharp; iscard

ny

adjustments,

lways

nplughe

knotsor foreign

blects uch

as

that

arechipped

r damaged.

shaper r

router .

screws

r nal ls.

.

Keep

push

trck r

push

lock

.

Always

eed

work gatnsthe

ota-

.

Per iodical ly

heck or

unoutn

nearbvo complete

uts.

t ionof

hecut ters.

shaper

nd

outer ol lets.

SH()P-MADEEATHERBOARDS

Notch

Featherboardo

are ueetl

Lo keep eLock

preeeed

aqainet

I,he

ence or Lable of

a

t.ool

tke

a

ehaper or a

router Lable.

They

aleo

serve as anLi-kickback

deviceg,

aince

Lhey allow

Lhe

workptece o

move in only

one

direction.

A baetc

feaLherboard deeiqn

te ehown above:

t,he

enqLh can be

varted

t .o

euiL the taek af

hand. Lonq

feather-

boarde

are clamped

Lo Lhe Lable

Lo

hold

narrow workptecee qatneLLhe fence; small'

er

models, Lyptcally3

/ by 7

tnchea,

ca n

be clamped

Lo the

fence above the

biL Lo

hold wtdereLock aqatnet

the Lable.

To ehape

wtde workpiecee

on the ehaper,

a epectal

featherboard/cutter

4uard

ie worL h con-

eLrucLinq

eee

paqe

138).

To make a eLan'

dard

featherboard,

cut a 30

to 45

mtl;er

at one end of a

'/,-inch-Lhtck

board.

Mark

a

paral le l ine about

5 tnchee

rom Lhe

miLeredend.

Thencut /

-tnch-wide

elot 'e

Lo Lhe

marked ltne, reaLtnqa

row of eLur -

dy but

pliable

tn7ere. Finally,cul; a

noLch

for

a

aupporL board

Lhat can be clamped

at

a 90 anqle

Lo Lhe featherboard.

Ftnqereand

slot e

SHOP-MADE

USH TICKS

Pueh

otick

'/'

x

14

Pueh stick

/ . i '

x5 ' / . t x12

Thereare a numberof commercial pueh

eticke and

pueh

blocke

on

the markeL

or feedinq atock

tnto rouLer

Lable brte or ehaper

cuttere,

buL

you

can

eaetly

make

your

own ueinq

'/,'tnch

eLock.

l'lo one

ehape ie

tdeal;

a

qood

pueh

ettck

deetgn ehould

be com-

fortable Lo uee and

auiLable

or

Lhe

machtneand

l;aek

aL

hand.

A 45o an4le between

he

handle

and

baee

(tog)

te beeL

or feed-

tnq narrow

eLock betweena

feaLherboard and

the

fence

of a

router

Lable or ehaper,

whilea

recLan4ular

pueh

oftck wtLh

a

lonqernol;ch

(middle)

permiLe

you

La apply downward pree'

aure on

wider aLock.For ehaptnq

wtde workptecea

uetn4 a

larEe

btt, a

pueh

block

.boLt

m) enablee

ou

Lo apply

preeeure

a1aineL

the

fence

and

l;he

table.

Whatever Lhe

ehape,

make Lhe noLch

in

Lhe

baee

lar4e

enouEh

Lo

hold

l;he

eLock,and

yeL

ehal low

enou4h o avotd

Louchtn4 he

Lable.Kound

'he handleeLo

pre-

venLepltnLere

ehould kickback

occur.


3/146

THEARTOFWOODWORKING

ROUTING

ANDSHAPTNG


4/146

THE ART

OF WOODVV'ORKING

ROUTING

AI.{DSHAPING

TIME-LIFE

OOKS

ALEXANDRIA,IRGINIA

ST.

REMYPRESS

MONTREAL.

EWYORK


5/146

THEART

OF

WOODWORKINGwasproducedby

ST.REMYPRESS

KennethWinchester

PierreL6veill6

PierreHome-Douglas

Francine emieux

Marc Cassini

Text)

HeatherMills

(Research)

Normand Boudreault,Luc Germain,

Solange aberge

Jean-Guy

Doiron, Michel

Gigudre

Iim

McRae

Christopher

ackson

Andrew

ones,

Rob Lutes

THECONSUUTAN'TS

Bob

fardinico

manages

woodworking

sales

or

Colonial SawCo., a machinery

sales nd service

companybased n Kingston,

Massachusetts.

He

also estores ntioue

urniture in his home

workshop n Plymouth,

Mass.

Giles

Miller-Mead

taught advanced

cabinet-

making

at

Montreal

echnical chools or

more

than ten

years.

A native

ofNew Zealand, e has

worked

asa restorerof antique

urniture.

Joseph

Truini is Senior Editor

of

Horne

Mechanixmagazine.A former

Shop and Tools

Editor

of Popular Mechanics, e has

worked as

a cabinetmaker,

ome mprovement

contractor

and carpenter.

Routing

and Shaping

p.

cm.-(The Art

of

Woodworking)

Includes

ndex.

ISBN0-8094-9937-l

trade)

rsBN

0-8094-9938-X

lib)

l. Routers

Tools)

2. Woodwork

3. Shapers

I. Time-Life

Books. II. Series

TT203.s.R691993

684' 083-dc20

93-18854

CIP

For

nformation about

any

Time-Life

book,

please

all l-800-621-7026,

r

write:

Reader nformation

Time-Life Customer

Service

P.O.Box

C-32068

Richmond,Virginia

2326r-2068

@1993

ime-LifeBooks nc.

All rights reserved.

No

part

of this book may

be reproduced n

any

orm

or by any electronic

or mechanical

means, ncluding nformation

storage

nd

retrieval

devicesor systems,

without

prior

written permission rom thepublisher,except

that briefpassages ay

be

quoted

or reviews.

First

printing.

Printed n U.S.A.

Published

imultaneouslyn Canada.

TIME-LIFE is

a trademarkof Time Warner

Inc. U.S.A.

Contributinglllustrators GillesBeauchemin,RollandBergera,

|ean-Pierre

Bourgeois,Michel Blais,

Nicole Chartier, Ronald Durepos,

Philippe

Gauweau,G€rardMariscalchi,

facques

Perrault, Robert Paquet,

James

hdrien

Natalie Watanabe

Michelle Turbide

Jean-Luc

Roy

RobertChartier

Judith

Yelon

ChristineM.

Jacobs

Time-Life Books

s

a division of Time-Life nc.,

a wholly owned subsidiary

of

THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY

PUBLISHER

PRESIDENT

Series

Editor

Series

rt Director

SeniorEditors

Art Directors

Designers

Research ilitor

PictureEditor

Writers

Administrator

Production

Manager

System

Coordinator

Photographer

Proofteader

Indexer

TIME-LIFEBOOKS

President

Vice-President

Editor-in-Chief

Directorof Editorial Resources

MarketingDirector

EditorialDirector

ConsuhingEditor

ProductionManager

lohn

D. Hall

NancyK,

fones

ThomasH. Flaherty

EliseD.

Ritter-Clough

ReginaHall

LeeHassig

John

R. Sullivan

MarleneZack


6/146

CONTENTS

6 INTRODUCTION

ROUTER

BASICS

Anatomy

of a

router

Bits

Accessories

Setting

up

Basic

uts

Router

ables

The

router

as

surfacer

EDGE

FORMING

Basic

edge

haping

Raising anels

Making

moldings

Pin

routing

GROOVING

A gallery

of

grooves

andaccessories

Dado

cuts

Grooving

on a

router

able

Rabbets

Circulargrooves

Pattern

grooving

Grooving

with

a

pin

router

Inlaying

88 ROTITERIOTNERY

90 Router-made

oints

9L Router

oinery

igs

92 Mortise-and-tenon

oints

98

Cope-and-stickjoints

100

Dovetail

oints

L07

Glue

oints

108 Box

oints

110

Miter-and-spline

oints

ILz

Butterfly

key

oints

LI4 Tongue-and-grooveoints

115

Rule

oints

116

SHAPER

118

Anatomy

of

a shaper

L20

Cutters

and

accessories

L23

Setup

and safety

128

Basic

cuts

I34 Frame-and-panel

oors

I4O

GLOSSARY

I42

INDEX

I44

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

t2

I4

T 6

20

22

25

29

34

36

38

47

52

58

64

66

68

75

77

79

8 1

84

86


7/146


8/146

INTRODUCTION

Patrick

Spielman n

MAKING

ROUTERIIGS

esigning

nd nventingouter

igs

and

ixtures

ssomewhat

f a

passion

f mine.

Over

heyears'vemade umerous

evices-many erycrude-to

simplify,

speed p,or

facilitate

eemingly

mpossible

outing asks. hese

igs

have

mademy

cabinetnaking,

elief

arving, ignwork,and

ust

about very

therarea f woodcut-

tingmucheasier ndmoreeconomical.f you ookawaymy routerandmy special

jigs

and ixtures, wouldbealmost elplessn

theworlshop.

fig-making

anbeeasy r complex,imple

r

refined.

heneed ictates hat

you

buildandhow

you

build t. A few

years

go made

simple ut very

effective

outer

able

and ence ith a couple f dollars' orth

of

material.

ust

ecently,invested

33

constructing

new outer

able apablef duplicatinghecuttingaction

andoper-

ations ffered nlyby a

$1500

roduction

outing

machine.

Many eatures

fnew

outers,

uch s peedhoicesnd

easy epth-of-cutontrols,

canbeexploitedor better ndsafer

ig-making.

lunging

apability

s great

or

some

jigs,

but or many still

prefer

o use hemotor

unit

without

hebase. oth ypes an

bebuilt nto router ables.'vealsomountedoutermotors

orizontally

n

movable

sleds ith a emplateollowero make uplicate

urnings.

ou

analsomount

a

router

atvarious ngleso thework able. his

qrstem

llows

ou

o createvariety

f

profiles

from

ust

onebit.

For

example,

roundnose

anbeusedo raise

anels

ndcut

European-styleinger

pull

stock

or

doorsanddrawers.

Desrgning

igs

gets

asierhemoreoften

ou

do t. An dea

hat

nspires

ne

ig

will

invariablyesurfacen

some

orm

o helpsolve different

roblem.

efore

uilding

a

ig,

I

visualizehebit making hedesired ut.Then figure

out how o attachhe

router

o the

ig

and

move

neor theother o makehe

cut.

With more

complex

igs,

I need o

put

ogether neor moremock-ups

efore onstructinghe irst working

model. make

ood

se f arge ose

lamps ndbandsawnradles,r V

clamping

blocks,o hold outers.

I'vemade

cores

fjigs

o simplify

airly outine

woodworking

obs

ike

spacing

dadoes,utting

mortises

nd enons,

making

ariousmiters, nd

scarfing

ointq

I've

even sedhe

plunge

outer

o cut dowel oles.

till,

here

area

ot

of deas haven't

yet

ested,nda

ot

of

obs

hatcan emade etter nd

easier ith

ust

he ight

ig.

Patrick

Spielman,

consultant nd author

of more han

40

woodwo*ingbool


9/146

\


10/146

INTRODUCTION

Joe

Truini talksabout

ROUTERS

I

s hesonof

a carpenter,

learnedo respect nd

appreciateoolsat a

very

early

A age. also

earnedhat

most oolswill asta

ifetime,f caredor

properly.

Many

of

the ools

n mywoodshop ere

anded own o

me

by

my ather.

here's ow-

angle

lock

plane

hat

use nvirtually

every

roject,

nd

a dassic eWalt

adial

arm

sawhatwill surely utliveme.My avorite cquisitiony ar,however,s heStanley

l-horsepower

outershown

n the

photo.My fatherbought t back

n 1959, bout

20

years

efore

Stanley old

ts

power-tooline

o

Bosch.

This

outerwasalready

more

han

10

years

ldwhen

fust used

t,

andalthough

therearenewer,

more

powerfrrl outersn the shop,

instinctivelyeach

or Lord

Stanleywhen

haveo shape nedge

r mill a

oint.

It

doesrt't

eature ophisticated

electronics,

nd hecollet

anbe

ather

tubborn

t imes, ut

I've

grown

accus-

tomed o

theway t

feelsn myhands nd o the

hroatyhumof

ts hirty-something

arbor.

Admittedly, ld Stanley

oesdt

erform

ny

better han he

newerouters, ut

it servessa

ink o the

past t representswo

generationsf crafumen nd

sa survivor

of a once-proud

ool ine.

It wasn't ntil

mywoodworking

obbybecame

vocation, owever,hat

truly

appreciated

router or what t is: heshop'smost ersatileowerool.Asa cabinet-

makeror a custom-desigrr

hopn

Miami, relied n he

outer or everything

rom

cutting imple

abbets nddadoes

o milling

precise

ovetail

oints.

For hebuilding

of

plastic-laminateabinetsndcounters,

outers ere

sedo nim andseamhe

am-

inate. wasable

o replicate

eriod

moldings nd

abricateustom

aneling

rghtat

the

ob

sitewith

hehelpof a

porable

shop-built

outer able. oenhancehe

outer

further, designed

ndbuilt

igs

and

ixtureso

perform

pecificasls.

These

imple

shop-made

ccessories

ot onlyexpand

he outer's apabilities;

heyalso

make

he

tool safer

nd

more

accurate.

Now hat

earna

ivingwritingabout ools,

often eporton he

atestrends nd

in theworldofwoodworking.

m glad o seehat

outers

re

more

Pop-

ularnow hanever

efore. omehow,

'm

not

a

bit surprised.

loeTruinL

Senior

Editoro/Home

Medranix

magazine,writes

aboutwoodworking

nd

home

emodeling

or

do

it-yourselfers.

e

lives

n historicWashington,

onnecticut.


11/146

INTRODUCTION

Bill

Bivona

explains

why he

owns

A SHAPER

y

first

experienceith woodworking

as erving

saboatbuilder's

pprentice

asa eenager.

enjoyed

orkingwith

wood

o

much

hat later

enrolledn

a urniture

uilding

rogram

tBoston

niversity. t

both

places

found

hat

each

of my nstructors

r mentors ad

hisown avorite

ool

hatcould

e

made

o

perform

manytaslsesidesheobvious nes.One eacher ightuse able awwith nangled

fenceo

cutcovemoldings;

omeone

lse ould it

a radial

rmsawwith

a disksander

or attach

utterso mill

profiles.

t

theschool

nd

n

theboat

shop,he

spindle haper

wasmore

often

sed sa sawhorse

r aworkbench

han

asa ool. was

eftwith

he

impression

hat

heshaper

uts

profiles

n

theedges

f boards nd

hatwas bout

ll.

It

was ot

until opened

y ownshop

hat realized

owmuch

more ersatile

the oolreallys. 've

hadmy

3-horsepower

ilting

arbor haperor

almost 0 ears

nowand

would e ost

without t.

Woodworkers

ave

ersonal

ryles,

nd tend

o

beverymachine-oriented.

oreand

more, find

hat hehand

ools hat

once sed

daily ow

sit dle n my

oolcabinet.

orme,

end esults

ndspeed atter

most

nd

I find

hat heshaper

utperforms

yoldhand

ools ands

own.

Combined ittr

a decent

owerfeed

nit,

a shaperan

utdadoes

etterhana

able

saw ndclean p anedge swellasa smallointer.f youhave collet hat

accepts

router

its, ou'llquickly

ind

hat he

shaperutclasses

ven

he

argest

frouters,

with

a range

f cuttershat s

unmatched.

recently

ought

crownmolding

utter

for

my

shaper.tt a

stackingystem

o can

either sehe

complete

ssemblyb make

a cutor nstall

he ndividual arts

o carve

eparate

rofiles.

That's

nly he

beginning.dd

ubcollars

nd arge-diameter

earings

nd

expand

the ange

f the

shaper venmore.

with

thesenexpensive

ccessoriis

canmake

template

ut

of scrap tock

ndaffix t

to my

good

tock. he

shaperhen

actsike

a

big

lush

rimmer

and

can

getperfectly

niform inished ieces

very

ime.

Bill

Bivonais

co-owner

f Hardwood

Design

nc.Bqsed

n

Slocum,

hode

Island,

hecompany

pecializes

n

building

custom-designed

tairways.


12/146


13/146


14/146

Q

in.. its nvention uring he

\,1

First

WorldWat

the

portable

electric outerhas

made ts

pres-

enceelt n every spect f wood-

working. t is easyo seewhy:The

router ancut rabbets,rim lami-

nate, evel dges,hape

molding,

and

make

ovetail

oints.

t

canwen

surfacemall

ieces

f stock nd

ol-

low a

pre-cut

emplateo cut

ntri-

cate

atterns.

hesheer umber f

taskst

performs

asily anks he

routerwith anyother

portable

r

stationarywoodworkingool.

t is

ascloseo a universalool as

wood-

working

has.The

chapterhat

ol-

lows overshebasic

rinciplesou

needo know o use he ool.

Routermotorsarecommonly

available

n the

11-

o 3-horsepower

range. he

ool

s

a directdescendantfthe

hand-powered

molding

plane,

which eaturednterchangeableutters sed

for

grooving,

dge

orming,

and

oinery.

The outer eatures

motor

hatspins bit at

veryhigh

speed-typically

0,000o

26,000evolutions

er

minute

rpm).

Just

s tremolding

lane

drewon

a range

fstandard

ndexotic utters,he outercan

usea

myriadnumber

f

nterchangeableits o create ozens

of distinctive

rofiles,

verything

rom chamferingutters

to beading its

(page

6).

Shapingheedge f aworkpiece

with a decorative

rofile

s

prob-

ablytheasktheouterismostcom-

monly calledupon o

perform.

There

are wo

ways

f

making

he

cut,dependingn the ypeof bit

used.

piloted

it features

pilot

bearinghat ridesalong he edge

of thework,keeping

enetration

f

the cutterconstant.With a non-

piloted

it, cutting

width s con-

trolledby

guiding he outeralong

anedge

uide

lampedo the

work.

Themannern which

you

cut

a dadoor

groove

epends n the

type of router.A standard ool

must

be

heldabovehesurface f

the

workpiece

efore

hemotor s

switched n.

The

entire ool

s

hen

lowered,

lunging

hebit

into

he

wood.Wth a

plunge

outer, hebase

late

an emain lat on

thesurface s he outer s turnedon and hebit

is

owered

into thework.

Any outer anbemountedn a speciallyesignedable

(page

9)

hattransforms

t into

a stationaryool,

reeing

our

hands o feed tock nto the bit.

You

canalso

nstall

bits

n

a

table-mountedouter hatcannot eusedf the ool shand-

held. fyou havehe ime

you

canbuild

your

owncustomized

table

page

2);few ther ccessoriesreasworthwhile.

ROUTERBASICS

Keeping router

from

wobblingas t is

ed

along

theedge f a wo*piece o cut a

profile

nto the

face

canbea triclcy peration. supportboard

damped o thestock anhelp uep he ool steady.

A non-piloted it carves rabbetn theedge f

a board.Riding he outerbase

late

alongan

edge

uide

produces

uniform width of cut.

1 3


15/146

ANTATOMY

F

A

ROUTER

STANDARDOUTER

Onloff awitah

Collet

Accepta ahank

of

router

bit:

nut

directly abovecollet

ia turned to tiqhten

or looaencollet

Wrenched

Depth adjuatment

ring

)eto cuttin4 depth

eupplied

with router

for

chanqinq bita. One

wrench

turns

collet

nut;

other

holda ahaft otationary

Base

plate

alamp

sorew

Loogened

o set cuttina

depth

or to removebaab

plate

from motor

body;

tiqhtened to look plate

into

oosition

tsaae

plate

9upporta moton adjuatable

for aettin4 cuttinq

defih.

Canbe removed or

chanq-

inq

bita or mountin7

he

tool in

a router table, or

replaced with

plunqe baoe

on 6ome modela

9ub-baee

earewed to

baae

plato;

can

be removed

to attach

routerto

table

T4


16/146

ROUTER ASICS

Attached to a standard router,

a

removable

plunge

baseenables

this model to servedouble-duty

as a

plunge-tyPe

tool.

Depth acale

lndicatea

cut-

tinq depth

PTUNGEOUTER

Sr,:"i,r,i1:';l$.:, R,llK#fi#t

.

Collet

Plunge ock

lever

Unlocked

o

plunqe

bit;

locked

n

place

when

cuttinq

depth

io reached

Depth at'op bar

)ete cuttin7 depth;

1ap

betweenbar and

atop 6crew

equala

depth of cut

Handle

Onloff

ewitch

Eaae

plate

Depth atop bar clamp

Looaened o releaae

depth etop bar; ti4ht-

ened o aet cutting depth

Stop ecrew

Hei7ht ia adjuatable to

vary

cuttinq depth of

aucceagive

aegeo

Turrfr atop

Kotatea o

poeition

appropriate etop ecrew

under depth otop bar

9ub-baae

Edge

guide

Keepe

bit oquare

to ed4e of workpiece

for

1rooving.

Koda

attach to router

baae

plate; fence

ridee alon6

board edge


17/146

BITS

f

here s a bit for every

outing ask,

I

from simple

grooveso intricate

moldings.n fact, here re

hundreds

f

cutters vailable

n a varietyofprofiles

andwidths. hepageshai ollbw ea-

turea selectionf

router itsalongwith

thecuts hey

make.

A

tvoical

outer

bit

consistsfa steel

body

with

one or

more cuttingedges

and a shank hat

fits nto the router's

collet.Most bits aremade

rom

either

high-speedteel

HSS)

r

high-speed

steelwith

arbide utting dges.

lthough

HSSbitsareadequate

or

cuttingsoft-

wood, heywill not stand p to

repeated

use

n dense ardwood. arbide-tipped

bits,

whilemoreexpensivend

prone

o

chipping, tay harp

onger

ndcut

more

easily hrough

harderwood.

Router itscanbedivided

nto hree

groups

ccordingo their size nd unc-

tion. Edge-formingits

(page

7) our

decorative

rofiles n

the edges f a

workoiece r cut one or both

halves

of anlnterlockng

oint.

Edge-forming

bits

generally ave ball-bearing

ilot

located

elow hecutter

hat ridesalong

the edge f

the workpieceo

guide

he

bit and

precisely

ontrol

he width of

the cut.

As

heir

name mplies,

roov-

ing bits

(page

18)aredesignedo cut

grooves

nd dadoes, nd work best

n

a plunge outer.Thebitsshownon

page

19 are arger ha n standard its and

should e usedwith the outermount-

ed

n

a

router able.

Many router

bits

areexpensive,o

storehemcarefi.rllyndusea clean

loth

to

wipe

off

pitch,

dust,and dirt after

each se.

Keep

he cuttingedges harp

andavoid sing its hataredirty,

ust-

ed,or damaged.

Many decorativemoldingbits are too big to be usedsafely n a

hand-held outer.But with the ool mounted n a router able,

theseargebitscan ransformal/z-inch router nto a mini-shaper.

Illillll

lI1fi lttlt lll

ll}llllfl

llt

]ltlltll

lll

lll lll lll

1HO?

TI?

Freeingstuak router

bite

?ryin7

etuckbit out ot

Lhe

collet

wilh

a

melal

oo l

is

a

sureway o

dama7e

i

LhecuiLin7ed7eo. beI- | ,

Ler method o o lap the

I

body

of

the bit,with a wood

i'

ocraV. eharVNapor Nwo

I

willfreemoeN Nuck hanks.

i

Avoid

Lr ik ing arbide

cu|tinq edgee e

f,hie

may

ii'il:x

;z,i,",y:xno

fi

duet ouI of

r,he

ollel. ;

t 6


18/146

ROUTER ASICS

EDGE.FORMINGITS

T7


19/146

ROUTER ASICS

GR00V[{G|TS

Core box bit

Th ee wing alotti ng c utter

ffi

Dovetail bit

Illl

ll lt-llll'lflf"lll"fif

ll-fit.ll.ffill I} lll

lttll ll lll

1HO?TI?

Chip-limitation

bits

For

wida ute,

chiplimilationbitrs

ra

a

safer

alhernaiivetoNhe

Nandard

deoiqn.Theutlere

on

heee

bite

pro-

Nrude rom

the bit body

by only

1/rc

inoh-compared

to thel/s-inch ypical

of

etandard biie.

Dy akinq

a

shallower

bihe, he

bits

plaoe

essstrain

on he

router molor.' n

addiNion,he

bodies

f

chip-limilalion

its are virLually

olid,

with

only 1/s-inch

apbeWeenlhe

ut-

tinq

edqeand he bit body o

allow

or

eharpeninq

near

i6ht);

Nhis educee

lhe

riek

of

kickbaok,

fLen

causedby Nhe

larqer

6ap

of slandard

bile

(far

right).

t 8


20/146

ROUTERBASICS

ROUTERABTEITS

Tradit'ional

molding bit

Vertical

panel-raieing bit

-

I a a I

t = = l

t 9


21/146

ACCESSORIES

1t

h. accessoriesllustrated t right are

I

a sample f some ommercial

igs

and deviceshat make he routeroneof

themostversatileools n theworkshoo.

Some f these roducts,ike he oo t

switch,

make

he ool

more

convenient,

especiallyor modelswith an

On/off

switch hat cannotbe

reached

while

holding

he

handles.f you

usesucha

device,

owever,

e sure o disconnectt

from the tool whenyou arechanging

bit or

performing

ny

other

maintenance.

Otheraccessories,uch s he

vacuum

attachment. ake

he

router

a cleaner

andsaferool.

This

attachment hisks

away he sawdust nd chipsexpelled y

therouterbit anddirectshem o your

dustcollection ystem.

Otheraccessoriesefine he outer's

cuttingcapabilit ies.he

circle

guide

simplifies uttingcircles, hile emplate

guides

llowyou to

duplicatehe

pro-

file

of a temolate.

few

of the devices

on the

marliet

aredesignedo trans-

form

the

outer

nto another ool alto-

gether.

he

plate

oiner

conversionit

gives ou

heease nd

precision

fbis-

cuit

oinery

without heexpense

f buy-

ing a new ool, while he urning ig sets

uDa router or lathework. But

unlike

an actual athe,which

spins he

work

for handcrafting,

his accessoryea-

turesa

manual

crank or rotating he

workpiece

hile he spinning outer

bit shapeshewood,

A RANGE

F

ROUTER

CCESSORIES

Moldin7

ig

For

cuttin7 moldinqa;

router ia fastened

upri7ht in

i7

that

ie

moved lonq

aurface

of

workpiece

Vaauum ttachment'

Drawaaway aawduatand

wood

chips. ne end attachee

to tool Daae

plate;

other end

can be hooked p to

duet col-

Iection

aystem, Compatible

with

only certain models

Plate

oiner

aonveraion kit

Allows

outer to cut.elota

for

plate

or biocuit

ointa.

tsody

ofji6 attachea to

router baae

plate;

ki t

includeacompreaaed

woodbiacuitaand three-

winqolottinT

cutter

@ry@

Universal baae

For attachin4

acceeeoriee

to router or mountinq

oo l

in router

table; alote make

baae

compatible with any

router model

20


22/146

ROUTER

BASICS

Offset

router baae

Helpe keep

outer flat

on

workpiece

while out'

in7 edqea

Routerpad

A

clamp

substitute;

rubberized at

holdastock n

place

on

workaurface

Depth

gauge

Ueed

o set cuttina

depth of bit;

features a serieo

of otepo

in1/+-inch

incrementa

rom 7a

nch

o

1 nch

5paaer

fence

-----'\

)ecured Lo router table

to cut finaer or box

jointa:

bit extenda

hrouqh hole; idge eerveo

ae a key,enaurinq l l

notcheaare equal

diatanoeaparL

Cirale

ig

For routing circles,Kouter

ia

attached

to wideend while

nar-

row end a acrewed o

workpiece;

jiq

pivote

around aenter

of circle

g e e e

Template

guidea

Uaed or pattern routing: ride

alon4 emplaLe,

llowin4 it to

replicate

pattern,

Sized for differ'

ent-diamher

bita, threaded

part

ta

eecured

o

router base

plate

with

ring

Foot Ewitah

For

turnin7

router on and off

without uainq ool'a awitch;

allowaoperator to koepboth

hands

on

router handlea

Turnlng

g

Transforma

outer

nto

athe-likeool for

turnin7,Router

a faatened o

plate

that alideaalonq

raila;

bit.contacte

workpiecewhich a held n

plaoe

betweenheadatock and tailatock and

rotated by hand

Allowa variablecontrol of

router

motor apeed;uadul

whenueinq

ar7-

er bita that call

for reduced pm

2 l


23/146

SETTING

P

I

router

annot ut with

precision

A

unlesst is

properly

etup and

maintained.

hanging

bit,

or

exam-

ple,

hould edonewith

care-both o

avoiddamaginghecuttingedges nd

to ensure

hat hebit is not sent lying

when he ool s

urnedon. u shownn

the

photo

at right,use hewrenches

supplied ith

he ool o remove

nd

install

its.

If a bit becomes

tuck

n

thecollet,

gently

trike

hebodyof thebit with a

wood

scrap

page

6)

or tap hecollet

withawrench. onot

ryto extracthe

bit from

hecolletwith

pliers;

hiswill

damagehecutting dge. eforenstalling

anewbit, clean nysawdustrom he

collet.nsert he eplacement

ll heway

SETTINGHE

CUTTINGEPTH

Adjusting

standardouter

Set he outer n

heworkpiece.or

themodel hown,oosen

hec lamp

screw

nd urn hedepth djustment

knob

o

raise

r owerhemotor

nd

theb i t .A l ign

he ip o f he

b i t

w i th

thedepthine,hen ightenheclamp

screw

right).

Alternatively,

et he

router

pside own

na

work

urface,

loosenheclamp

crew nd otatehe

depth djustment

nob nt i l hebit

protrudes

y

he

proper

mount.

into

hecollet, aiset about

Xu

nch,

and

tightent in place.

The

collet s one outer

omponent

thatmayeventuallyeed

o be eplaced.

Periodicallyheckourcollet orbit slip-

page

page23)

nd unout

(page

4),

andchanget ifnecessary.

Installing

bit on most outerss a

two-wrench

peration.With the

base

plate

removed,

newrenchholds

he

shaft

teady hile heother oosens

he

collet.

Position

he wrenches

o hey

can besqueezedogetheroprovide

extra everage.

22


24/146

ROUTER

BASICS

llit lllmll1lll llt iI]lll illlll lll lll lltlll lll lll lll lll

9HO7

Tl?

Cheaking

colletfor

elippage

To

deLermine

hether

our

ouNer iLe re

olip-

pinq

nNhe ollel,

nstalla biN nd

marka line

witha

felL

pen

alonq

hebit ehank nd

colleL

Thenmake few cuts

on a ecraz

board nd

examine

he line. he

marksonNhe iL

andco l le t

shouldbe

perfect ly l iqned.

It Nhey aveshifLedaparX,

Lhebi l

haseliooed

n he

colleL.

emove'the it and

cleanany

pitchor sawdust

ouN f the aolleN

iLha

f ne bristledbraes

b uoh.

Reinstall he iN,

makinq

oure N

e well

iqhtened,

and rebeel.

Reolace hecol'

le|

if

the

mark]s hilNaaatn.

Adjusting

plunge

outer

Set he

outer n heworkpiecend

rotatehe urret too n he outer ase

to

position

heshortest

top c rew irect-

lyunderhedepth top a r.

oosenhe

depth top ar lampo

re leasehe

bar nd eatt on hestop crew.

hen

loosenhe

plunge

ock ever nd

push

themotor own nti l hebitcontacts

the

workpiece.ightenhe ever nd

raise

he

stop aruntil he

gap

between

it and hestop

crew qualshedepth

of cul

(above,

eff).Tightenhe depth

stop ar lamp nd

oosenhe

plunge

lock ever,l lowinghemotor ndbit

to spr ing ack p .When

ou lunge

thebit nto hestock,t wi l l

penetrate

unti l

hedepth top ar ontactshe

stop

crew. or eep u ts, t is best o

reach

our

inal epth

n

stages.et

the

height f heotherwo top crews

to

make

asses

t ntermediateepths

by

oosening

he

nutwitha wrenchnd

ra is ingr

ower ing

he

screw i th

screwdriver

above,

ight).

23


25/146

ROUTER ASICS

CHECKINGHE

C(ILLET

Usingdial ndicator

andmagnetic

ase

Insta l lcenteringin n he outers

you

would

bitand

et he oolupside

down na metal urfac e,

uch s

a

table aw. onnect

dia l ndicator

o

a magnetic

ase nd

place

hebase

nexto he outer.

urn n hemagnet

and

osition

he outer

o hecentering

p in

contactshe

p lunger

f he

d ia l

ind ica tor .

a l ib ra te

hed ia l nd ica tor

toze roo l lowing

hemanufacturer 's

inst ruct ions.hen

urn he

shaf t f

the outer

y

hand

o rotatehe

center-

ing in le f ) . fhe ia l nd ica tori l l

register

ol letunout-the

mountf

wobble

hat he ollets

giving

he

bit .

lf he unoutxceeds

.005 nch.eolace

the ollet.

Using eeler

auge

lf

you

onothave

dial ndicator,

ou

an

test orcolletunout ith

feeler

auge

nd

a stra ightood

lock. i th he

entering

pin

n he ol let

nd he outerpside

own

ona work

urface,lamphe

block

ight ly

to he ool's ub-base

o heoiece fwood

touches

he

pin.

urn

he outerhaf t y

hand;

ny unout i l l

ausehe entering

pin o moveheblock. hen se eeler

gauge

o measure

ny

ap

etween

he

pin

and heblock

right).

f

the

gap

exceeds

0.005 nch,eplace

he ollet.

24


26/146

BASIC

CUTS

l/

ickback nd earout

re lvo

poten-

N tialhazardsfrouter

peration,ut

the

iskof bothcanbe

nearly liminat-

ed by using

correctechnique.

ith

experience,ouwill developheconfi-

dence ndskill hat

produce

onsistent-

ly superior

esults.

Alwavsecureour

stocko he

work

surface,'using

ood

pads

o

protectt

from heclamp

aws.

hiswill eave oth

hands

ree

o

guidehe

outer.

Grip the

router irmly,

pulling

t

through

he

work ather han

pushing

it. Kickback

smostikely o occur

when

you

irstcontacthestock,

obecertain

of

your

control t hat ime.

Beespe-

ciallyalert o the danger f kickback

when

ou

are

using

iloted

its

with

large utter lades.

Whenusing

iloted

its,becertain

that

you

hold he

pilot

bearing

irmly

against

heworkpiecedge

t all imes.

Non-piloteditsdemand

hat

you

use

anedge

uide. ora commercialdge-

guide

accessory,

old he

guide irmly

againsthe

workas

ou

eed

t forward;

if

you

areusing

clamped-ondge

guide,

eephe

outer

ressed

gainst

theguideor he ength f thecut.

Thedirection f

eeds mportant

n

maintainingontrol f he ool.

Asa n:le,

the outer hould

emoved gainsthe

direction f the

bit's otation, r

from

left o rightwhen

acingheworksedge

(see

llustration t

right).Applysteady

pressure

o the ool so he

bit is always

iutting

newwood.f

youmoveooslow-

ly,

rictionwill causeurn

marks n he

work; oo

ast, nd

you

will experience

damagingearout.

Bepatient s ouwork,making ev-

eralsmall uts

ather hanoneor two

healy

passes.

his

way,

earout

aused

by onecut

will be epairedy

henext.

Here ndon he ollowing

ages

re

someipson

safe, ure se f he

outer.

.

) i { . - -n '

f ruehwithoneedqe,--4$,

I

of

the

i4,

and

drill .-

-

holeuiioldlhepin.lner,ald'VatoanderirlAlommervialeNand,

a1ainot

NhebelL, ntil he

plaoNic utrace

e

rue,

ROUTEREED

IRECTI()N

+-

Feedinghe

outer

Formost perations,

uide

hebit nto

workpiecegainsthedirection

f bit otation;

th iswi l l

pul l

hebit

nto

he

wood. nanoutside

dge, ovehe outer

n

a counter-

clockwise

irection;nan

nside dge,eed he ool

lockwise

above),

tart

ith

uts

thatare gainst

he

grain

o

you

an liminateny earout

ith

he

cuts longhe

grain

that ollow.

osition

ourself

o

pull

he

outeroward

ou,

atherhan

ushing

he ool.

ltf1tt-1ll$Pilf1tr1tf-"ffilril$r'll"flI"Illl

fl}"

fil'll|Iltl

1HO?

TI?

fruing a

roul,er

aub-baee

A rouler

oub-basehat is

nol concenl,ric

ith he

collet can

result

in

imprecioe

uto,

Tocorrec,lthe

problem, oea

plywoodiruinq

i6

as shown.lnstall

a cenlerinqpin n ::.

Nhe

outer,pooi-

.ffi

t ionthe ub-base -... '

"

then

clamp

his device nd he

iq

to

a

workou*ace,ueinq

shimo o ooeilionNhe

outer sub'baee evel

with

he

sand-

in6

belL.

urnon

he sander

and

olowlyoLale he sub-baoe

25


27/146

ROUTER

BASICS

STRAIGHT

OUTING

Using

piloted

it

Clamp

hestocko a work

urface ith

theedge

ou

wish

oshape xtending

off he

able ya few nches.

r ipping

the outer

ithboth ands,

est ts

base

plate

n heworkpiece

tone nd

with

thebitc lear f hewood. urn n he

toolandease

hebit nto heworkoiece

unti l he

pilot

ontacts

heedge, eep-

ing he

base

late

lat

on he tock nd

the

pilot

lush

gainst

hestock

above).

For eep

uts,make

woor more

asses

to each

our

inal

epth.

Routingith

non-piloted

it

Install

commercial

dge

uide

n

he outer,nserting

he

guide

odsnto

he

predrilled

holesn

he ool's

ase

late.

djust

he

guide

o he

gap

etweenhe

bitand

he

guide

fence

qualshewidth

f cut.

Tomakehe

cut,clamp

hestock

o

your

ork

urface.

Then,

eeping

he

guide

encelush

gainst

heedge

o beshaped,

tarthe

cutatone

endof heworkpiece

nddraw

he outer

longhe

edge

above).

lll

lll illlll

llllll

ill lllllt

lt lll lli

lltlll llt

lll

lltllr

gHo?

Tt?

-+i

T-equare

outer guide

To

modify

draftinqT-

equare nto

an edqe

uide

for

groovinq

uto,clamp t,

lo

a scrao

boardwilh

iLs

crosspiece

uNted

aqain6t,he board dqe.

Then,

wi lh

lhe rout,er

baeep laLe id inq

lonq

lhe

arm of the

eoLuare,

rout

a

dadoacroee he

board

and rim

the crobo-

i,

e9

Viece.To

ee he

iq,

clamp

INo

Ihe workViece

ith

he cut

edge

of Ihe

croeepiece

l iqnedwiLh

Nhe uttinq

mark

on Nhe tock.

26


28/146

ROUTER

BASICS

A SHOP-MADE

UB-BASE

With

ts

straight

dge nd arge

surface,heshop-made

ub-base

shown

t right nsures

hat

your

router i ll emain quare

o anedge

guide

lampedo heworkpiece

while

ou

out series

f equally

soacedadoes.

Using%-inch

lywood,

ut he

sub-basebout 0

nches ide nd

13 nchesong. aper

hesides o

theend hat ides longheedge

guide

swider. raw l inedown

thecenter f he

sub-base.tarting

nearhewide nd

f he

ig,

mark

row f

points

or

bit

clearanceoles;

space

he

points

inchespart. ore

a

hole t eachmark;

make uret is

large nough

or

your

argesttraight

bit.Unscrew

hestandardub-base

from

our

outer ndalign tscenter

witheach f hebit

clearanceoles

to markhescrew

olesn hesub-

base. hen orehese oles.

Touse he

rg,

crew

t

to he

router ase

late

o he bit

passes

throughhe

irsthole earhewide

end.

Alignhebit

with

he

cutting

markor he irstdado

n hework-

piece,

henbuttanedge

uide

gainst

the ub-basend lampt inplace.

Routhedado,

eepinghe ub-

baselaton hestock nd

lush

against

heedge

uide.

nscrew

he

sub-base

rom he outer nd eat-

tach

t

so he

bit

orotrudes

rom he

appropriate

ole nd epeato cut

the nextdadobelow).

Dtt clearance

hole

27


29/146

ROUTER ASICS

A HINGEDDGE

UIDE

1

Making

he

guide

I Althoughhedistancerom

hecen-

terof he outer it o hebase-platedge

is

constant,ememberhat hedistance

from

he bit 'scutting dgeo the

base-

plate

dge illchange ith

hediameter

of each i t ,and

posit ion

our

utt ing

l ines ccordingly.

r ,

you

maywant o

make

everal

inged

uides,

acho be

used i tha specif ici t .Bui l t romVz-

inch{hick

tock,he

guide

an ealigned

witha cuttingmark n

a

workpiece

nd

simplylampedn

place.

ut he ixed

part

s

you

would standard

uide,

ut

bevelhe opof oneedge o allow he

hinged

iece

o

pivot ,

ut hehinged

sectiono tswidth qualshedistance

betweenhebit's utting dge nd

he

edge f he outer ase

late.

With

heir

ends ligned nd

edges uttedogether,

fastenhe wo

pieces

f he

guide

sing

butthinges

/eft),

r)

Usinghe

guide

1 fo make dado ut,set

heedge

guide

n

your

orkpiece

nd

ine

up he

edge f hehinged

ection

ith

hecutting

mark. lamp

he

xed

ect ionn

place.

Thenl ip

up he

hinged

ect ionnd out

thechannel,eepinghe outer ase

late

flush

againsthe ixed

piece

right).

28


30/146

ROUTERTABLES

I

lthough our outersa remarkably

ool. tsusefulness

anbe

ven urther

by

mounting t

a able.Stationary

outing rees our

tock nto thebit, allowing

o exert

greater

ontrolover he cut-

operation. ince lpical

router

it

t 20,000pm or faster,hisextra

of safetys a welcome enefit. n

ome itsshould

nlybeused

table-mounted

outer.These

its

arge

utting

heads

hatexert igh

heworkpiece,equiring

measuref control.

A router ableallows he router o

ts arger ousin,heshaper,

y

moldings nd aising anels-

few woodworkerswould

with a hand-held

ool.

n fact,

outer

able

s

an excellent ubstituteor

light-duty

shaper, nd commercial

reavailablen manysizes nd

ost ables ave guard

cover he

bit andan adjustable

ence

stock nto

the cut.

f you

ike a

customizedable,

ou

can

your

own

following

he

ginning n

page 1.

Cutting depth on a router table

how far

the bit

protrudes

he work surface, hile hewidth

f cut s determined

y

how much

of

bit extends eyond he ence.

On

ommercialtables,he

ence s

usually

plit.

The

wo

halves

re

normally

eft

n

alignment

or partial

uts.

When

ou

re

outing

he ull edge f aworkpiece,

with the ences ligned,

stoD he cut a few nchesnto

t. Advanceheoutfeedence

o

t

touch-

s hecutportion, hencompletehe

his will preventmaking

a

ut-or((5nips)'-21 heendof

piece.

tic

Viece,

exN crew he

Vlaeuic

ntoLhe r""uu,

1l

Mounted

upsidedown in a speciallydesigned able, a router

cutsa dado.Anaching a backup board to the miter gauge

helps eep he work square o the bit and reduces

earout.

l l l l l l l i l i t l l l l l l

l i l r r i l

i l r

i l r r i i l l i

l r l l l l r r i l t l l l i i l i r t i

lli itl lll l$ Ul itl itl

tll Ul l$ {L ru ur ru lr r..r,rir rii

1HO?

Tt?

A router

able on the table eaw

Tomake he most

of

the

eVace

n

a emallehop, uild rouLer

able

into

your

able

saw'e

xNeneion

able.

KouL 1/+-inch-dee?eceo;

inNohe LoV

f

he

extrensionableandcut,a

Viece

f

1/+-inch-Lhick

acrylic

Vlaolic

o fit into Lhe

depreeeion. rilla hole n he

cenNer

of the

Vlaolic

arqer han

our

biqgeeN

ouf,er

it,WiLh sabersaw,

cuLa hole n

he

recese

o accommodaLe

your

oufer'o aoeplate.Then

removehe base

Vlale

rom

Nhe

Nool nd6crewlto lhe plae-

counlereinkll he fasLen-

ere.Reallach he router

LoNhebaeeplate.Afence

for

he

rouler

ablecan

beculfrom plywood nd

atNached oNhe aw ence

when eceeeary.

29


31/146

ROUTERBASICS

SETTING

PA COMMERCIAL

OUTERABLE

/)

Making

cut

L to

support workpiece

ropeny

and

avoid ickbacks

you

eed

tocknto

the

bit ,clamp ne eatherboard

o he

fence bovehecutter, nda second

featherboard

o he

able n inewith

thebit.Alwayseed

tocknto hecutter

against

hedirection

f bit otation. ith

theworkpiece

lear f hebit,

urnon he

router

ndslowlyeed

hestocknto

he

cutting dge hile

oldingt lush

gainst

the ence

right).

okeep

our

ingers

safely wayrom

hebit, inish

he

pass

witha

push

tick.Position

he

guard

ver

thebitwhenever

ossible.

1

Adjusting

he ence

I Mount

he outern

he able.

n the

model hown,ouneedoremovehebase

plate

rom he ool

nd asten

he

plate

nder

neath

he able.

hebit s

hen nstalled

in

he outer

nd he ool s

reattached

o

the

base

late.

o

setup

he enceor

a cut,

loosen

he our

adjustment

crews

/eft)

andmove

he wohalves

f he ence

s

close

s

possible

o hebitwithout

ouch-

ing he

cutting dges.

ighten

hescrews,

then

et hewidth

f cut.Move

he ence

backrom

hebit or

a wide

ass;

ora shal-

lower

ut, hift he ence

loser

o hebit.

lf you reusing piloted itandwanto

make

cutequal

o he ull

diameter

f he

bit,use

straightedge

o ineup

he ence

with

heoutside

dge

f he

pilot

earing,

then ighten

headjustment

crews.

30


32/146

ROUTER ASICS

SHOP.MADE

OUTERABLES

Anextensionouterable

Attachedo a workbench,

hecompact

routerable hown t eftcanbeeasily

removedhen t is notneeded.

ize he

parts

ccording

o

your

eeds. tart y

cuttinghe

op

rom

7a-inch

lywood,

and he ails

ndbracesrom2-by-4

stock. aw he ails few nchesonger

than hewidth f he opso

hey anbe

fastenedo he underside

f hework-

bench sing ingnuts

ndhanger olts

(left,

above). hehinged

races hould

be ong nough

o

reachrom

heunder-

side f he a i ls o

a

leg

stretchern

thebench. uta bevel t he opend

of he braces

nda right-angledotch t

thebottom nd.The outers

attached

to

he op

with

a squareub-base

f

12 -

inch

lear crylic. everalteps

re

nec-

essaryo it thesub-base

o he opan d

then o he o uter. irst,

lamphesub-

baseo hecenter

f he opandoutline

its

edges

ith

a

pencil.

Markhecenter

o f hesub-basend r i l l

p i lo t

o le

through

heacrylic nd he op.Remove

thesub-basend out uta 7a-inch-deeo

recess ithin heoutl ine. hen, sing

the

pilot

hole

sa center, uta round

hole hroughhe op o

accommodate

your

outer's ase

late.

o

prepare

he

sub-base,r i l l

a

hole

hroughtscenter

that s slightlyarger

han

your

argest

router

it, hen astenhesub-base

o

the outer

singmachinecrews.et

he

sub-basen he able ecessnd

attach

it with

wood crews;ountersink

l l he

fasteners.or fence, ut

wo

pieces

f

3/c-inch

lywood

nd

screwhem ogether

in an L shape; dd riangularupports

asshown n

page

3. Saw notch ut

of the ence's

ottom dge arge nough

for

your

argest

it.Attach clear

emi-

circular

lastic uard

itha hinge

o allow

it

to be

lipped

utof heway. o

use he

router

able, lamphe encen

position

and eed

he

workpiece

nto hebit,hold-

ing

t flushagainsthe ence

left,

below).

3 I


33/146

ROUTERBASICS

ASHOP.MADE

OUTER

TABLVCABINET

Bui l t nt i re ly

rom

/a- inch

lywood,

the able hown elow l lows

ou

o

use

our

outer sa stationary

old-

ing, haprng,

nd

grooving

ool.

t fea-

tures spaciousableiop

itha slot

fora miter

auge,

n

adjustableence,

a storage

helf, nd upboa rds.tart

wi ih

he

basic t ructuref he able,

siz inghebottom,

ides, ack, hel f

anddoorso suit

your

eeds. ix

these

arts

ogether,

singhe

oin-

erymethodf

your

hoice.

he

able

shown

s

assembled

ithbiscuit

oints.

Bore holehrough

heback

anel

o

accommodatehe outer'sower ord.

For he op, u t wo

p ieces

f

p ly-

wood nduse

lue

nd crewso

as -

ten hem

ogether;he

pieces

hould

be arge nougho

overhanghesides

by2 or3 i nches. ut hedividerso

f i t

be tween

he opand heshe l f ,

then

x hem n

place.

32


34/146

ROUTER

BASICS

33


35/146


36/146

ROUTER

ASICS

m ^

A SURFACING

IG

Used

ith he

ig

shown bove,

our

router ecomes

surfacingool

or

large

ieces

f rough

tock. uilt

from7+-inch

lywood,

he

ig

con-

sists f a track

or he

outerha t

slides

long

wo unners

ixed o a

workable. ut

he unners

inches

wide nd

ong nougho

spanhe

table. astenhe

unners

o he able

using

ngle rackets;

akehe

space

between

he unners

ufficient

or he

widest tock

ou

willsurface.

he

sliding

rack onsists

f six

pieces.

The

our

pieces

hatsupport

he

routerhould

e3

inches ide nd

long nough

o overhanghe

unners

bya few

nches neach ide.

Screw

these

ieces

ogether

n an L shape,

Cut

heshoulders

bout inches

wide

nd12 nches

ong nd crew

them o

he outer upports

o he

shoulders

lide gainsthe

outside

of he

unners; akehe

sliding

track3/qnchwiderhan he outer

base late.

Touse he

ig,

set heworkpiece

to besurfaced

n he

ablebetween

the

unnersnd ecure

t in

place

ith

double-sided

aoe rcleats

ailedo

the able.

nstall %-inch-diamet er

straight it

n

he

outer nd eat

he

tool n hesliding

rack. owerhe

bit

until

t contactshe

owest

oint

n

thesurface.

tartingt one

endof

the

workpiece,old he

outer

irmly

and urn t on.Slidehe ool long

oneof he

vert ical upports

nd

back longhe

other ne o

make

1%-inch-wide

ass,

hen

advance

the

slidingrack long

he unners

(left).Make

smany

asses

sneces-

sary t

successiveepths

longhe

length f he

workpiece

ntil t is

evenly urfaced.

35


37/146


38/146

EDGEFORMNG

heshapeddge

faworkpiece

often

provideshe

inal, in-

a crown

molding

narmoire

op,a crisp

n araisedanel, nogee ut

heedge

fa tabletop.

hese

lourishes

ere nce

re-

ainstakinglyy hand,

using

nd

spokeshaves;

odaythey

made

with an array

electric

oodworking

ools,

hief

hem

he

portableouter.

chapter utlines

oth

basic

advanced

dge-forming

ech-

rom

pattern outing o

molding.

Stationaryoweroolssuchas

ointer

and able

aw an

cut rabbets,

nd he

able aw

an

also hape

ecorative

dges,ut

he

outer s he

most er-

atile,

fficient

ool or the

ob.

Utilizing

a

wide ange f

nter-

hangeable

utters,

t can

alsomake

uts hat

are mpossible

o

performwith anyother

power ool;

magineorming

a

deCorative

ead

roundhe

nside f

a circular

icturerame

ithout

a router.

Commercial

ccessories

ndshop-made

igs

expandhe

routert ability

o shape

dgestill

urther.

A simple

orner-

Edge-formingbi*

often

haveball-bearing

ilots

hat

ride along he

stock o maintain

uniform

cutter

depth.

Here,

a double-flutedbeadingbit

arves

decorative

profile

around he

circumference

f a tabletop.

Combiningthe

olidity

f

aPlaner

with

theversatility

f

a shaper he

molding

planer

s capable

f assembly-line

ype

production f many

ypes f

molding

from

straight

o curved.

rounding

ig

(page

1)can

ound

tabletops

r shelves

o

your

speci-

fications.

flush-trimming

uide

Qage

3)helps

ou rim solid

wood

edgeanding ppliedocore tock.

A veneerrimmer

page

4)

proves

handy

or

preparing eneeror

book-matching.

Mounting he

router

n

a

table

or

pin routingattachment

nables

you

o create

morecomplex dge

profiles

ndelaborate

urves.

t also

provides

he stability

eeded

or

raising

anels

page

7),

an edge-

forming

echnique

hatcan

also e

accomplished

n he

able aw,

adi-

al armsaw, nddrillpress.

The

pin router s

perhapsheultimate

hop

ool

or

com-

plex

edge-formin

tu;ls

(page

8).

ssentiallyn

nvertedouter

table,he

ool eatures

pin

projectingrom he abletop

irect-

ly underhe

bit along

which hestock

s

guided, aking

he ool

ideal

or

emplate

ork A shop-made

in

routingattachment

iseasilybuilt

ndadaptable

o

most ommercial

outer

ables

(page

3).Remember,

oo,

hat

not all edge

orming

mustbe

done

wittra

outer. y

nstalling

molding ead n

he able aw

or

radial rmsawyou

an

outdetailed

oldings

page

3).

37


39/146

BASICEDGE

SHAPING

aking

multiple

opies f thesame

contoured hape ith the outer

requires

heuse f a straightedge,

ig,

or a emplateoguidehe ool alonghe

edge fa workpiece.

With a template,

our

router can

make

uickwork

f repeatingcurved

cut n a series

f

workpieces.he

exact

procedureou

ollow

dependsn the

typeof bityou areusing.With he

pilot-

edbit shown elow,hecutting dges

below he

pilot

and the templates

clamped top heworkpiece.he

pilot

will follow he curved dge f the em-

plate

while he cutters eproduce

he

same urve n heworkpiece.

When

you

usea

non-piloted

it ,

attacha template

uide

o the router

base

late.

Theguide

s a metal ollar

thatsurroundshebit shank nd

pro-

trudes lightly rom hebottomof the

PATTERNOUTINGITH PITOTEDIT

Making

hecut

Make templatehat s

precisely

hesame

size s he nished

ieces

ou

wish o

cut,Use he emplateo outline

he

pat-

ternon

your

workpiece,

hencut outmost

of hewaste ith

a band aw rsaber aw,

leaving

bout%o nchof stock eyondhe

cuttingine.

Use ouble-sidedape o as-

ten he

workpiece

o he emplate,nsur-

ing

hat hestraight dges f heboards

arealigned, lamphe wo

pieces

o

a

work urface. oldinghe outer ith

both

hands,est ts base

late

n

he emplate

at one ndwith he

bitclear f hewood

and urnon he

ool.

Ease

hebit nto he

stock nt i l

he

pilot

ontactsheedge,

then

pull

he outer

owardheother nd

of hecut,keepinghebase

late

laton

the emplatend he

pilot

lush gainst

its

edge

right).

A supportboardsecured longside

workpiece uring an

edge-forming

operation eepshe router

steady.

or

contourcuts,use hewaste

iece

hat

remains

after sawing he curve.

router's

ub-base. ith the emplate

securedtop hestock,he

guide

ides

alongheedge f the

pattern,

nabling

thebit to shapeheworkpiece.

Whicheverype

of bit

you

use,

make

the emplaterom

durablewood,such

as

plywood

r

particleboard.

ut he

pattern

sing

a bandsawor a saber

saw hencarefully and he edgeshat

will be

guiding

he router,

sinceany

imperfectionsn

the emplate ill be

duplicatedn heworkpiece.

Fora non-piloted

it,

make

he em-

plate

slightly

hicker han he heightof

the emplate uide.With

a

piloted

it,

the emplatehould e hickenougho

provide

nadequateearing urfaceor

the

pilot.

To

ound hecorners fa tabletop

r

shelf,

ou

canuse

a shop-made

ig

ike

theoneshown

n

page

1.

38


40/146

EDGE

FORMING

USING

TEMPLATE

UIDE

1

Installing emplate

uide

I Loosenheclamo

crew n

he outer

base

late

nd emove

he

plate.

nsert

the

hreaded

art

f he

emplate

uide

through

he

ho le n he

midd le

f he

sub-base

right),

hen

crew n he

ock-

ing

ing o hold

he wo ogether.

he iam-

eter f

he emplate

uide

hould

eas

closeo hat

of he

bitas

possib le

ith-

out

ouching

hecutting

dges.

eassemble

the

outer.

r)

Makinghe

cut

L

Prepare

templatehat

s sl ight ly

smal le r

han he

n ished

ieceo com-

pensate

or hedifference

etween

he

bit

diameter

nd hediameter

f he

em-

plate uide.

astenhe emplate

top he

workpiece

ithdcuble-sided

ape,hen

clamp

he wo

pieces

o a

work urface.

Cut he

pattern

s

you

would

itha

pilot-

edbit ,

eedinghe

cutternto he

stock

until he

emplate

uide

ontacts

he em-

plate.

omplete

hecut,

makingure

ha t

the

guide

s

pressed

gainst

heedge f

the

pattern

hroughout

heoperation

/eft).

39


41/146

EDGEFORMING

ROUNDING

ORNERS

r')

Rounding

he

cotner

L

t-lsinga

op-pilotedlush-cutting

it,

start lear f he

corner, aking

hecut

as

you

would hen

attern

outing

ith

a

piloted

it

(page

8). Keep

he bit

pilot

pressed

gainst

heedge

f he

ig

hrough-

out he

operation

right).

1

Sawingheexcess

aste

I You an

use commercial

orner-

roundingig o curvehecornersf a

workpiece.

et

our

tock

na work

ur -

face

nd

place

he

ig

atop

hecorner

o

be ounded.

et he lip-up

tops n

he

j ig

n hevert ical

osi t ion

o align

he

edges

f he

ig

with

hose f

hework-

piece,

lamphe

wo

pieces

o hework

surface.omake

he outer

uteasier,

saw wayhe

bulkof hewaste

/eff).

40


42/146

EDGE

FORMING

UNDERSIDE

IEW

A

C0R]{ER-R0UtrlDll{G

IG

Easy

nd nexpensiveo build, he

corner-rounding

ig

at eftworks s

wellas hecommercial

ersionhown

on he

previousage.

he

ig

consists

of a

plywood

ase nd wo

ips

hat

keepheedges f he

ig

and hework-

piece

ligned.

Cut he

base rom a

piece

of

3/+-

inch

plywood.

ormost

obs,

base

about

0 nches ide nd16 nches

longwillbeadequate.rawhecurve

you

wish o routon he base ear ne

corner,

henmakehecutwitha band

saw r

a

saber

aw; and heedge

smooth.

ou

an

also ut hecorner

using

router

ttached

o a circle-

cutting

guide

page

9).

Cut he

ips rom

tock%

inch

thick nd1% nch es ide,hen

ai l

or screwhe

pieces

o the base,

eav-

ingabout to 4 inches etweenach

lip

and

he oundedorner. he op

edge f he

ipsshould e lushwith

the opsurface f

hebase.

Touse he

ig,

set

your

tock n

a

work urface ith he cornero be

roundedxtendingff he able

y

several

nches. lacehe

ig

on op

of heworkpieceo he ipsarebutted

againstheedges f he

stock.Use

clampso secure

he wo

pieces

o

thework urface.

akehecutas

you

would itha commercial

ig,

pres+

ing

he

bit's

pilot

againstheedge

f

the

ig

throughoul

\eft,

bottom).

4 1


43/146

EDGEFORMING

CUTTINGNDTRIMMING

LASTICAMINATES

O

Instal l ingndrimming

he aminate

L Cluehebanding

nto heedgesf

theworkpiecend

lamphe

panel

dge-

up.Removeheedge u iderom he

trimmernd nsta l l

he ub-basend

f lush-cut t ing

i t .Usehe oolo

rim ny

bandinghat

prolects

eyond

heedges

of he

workpiece.

epeat

o

glue

nd rim

edgingn heends

f he

panel.

luehe

top aminaten

olace

ext. o

rim t lush

wrthheedges,old

he r immerrmly

wi th ne and

nd

u ide

he oo l lo ng

theworkpiece

right).To

ake n nterior

cut

o

match

cutoutn he

panel,

lamp

t h e

p a n e l

o h ew o rk u r f a ce .n s t a l l

a

pilot anel

it n he rimmer

nd

lunge

thebit 's harpenedip nto

hesheeto

pierce

t, hen eed

he r immernt i lhe

p i lo t

ontacts

heedge f hecutout .

Makingure

hat he

pi lot

emainslush

aga insthe

edge f hecutout

inse t ) ,

c n m n l p i p f h p e r t

'l

Cuttingtrips fedging

I

Use aminate

r immer i th com-

mercia ldge uideocutstr ips fedg-

ing rom sheet

f

aminate.

he

uide

ensureshat hewidth

f each tr io s

uniform.ttach

he

guide

o

he rimmer

(on

hemodel

hown,he rimmer's

ub-

bases emoved

nd he

edge

uide

s

fastened

o he ool's

ase

late);

hen

adlusthewidth

fcut ol lowingheman-

ufacturer'snstructions.

nstall

straight

b i t n he r immer

nd lamphe

heet

to a work ur face,

sing board

o keep

thesheet at.With

hebit

c lear f he

sheet.tarthe utatone nd.Holding

the rimmerith ne and,

eedhe

ool

towardheopposite

nd; se

our

ther

hand

o

press

he

guide

lush gainst

he

odsp n f i hp shcpt / /p f f )

,1

-)


44/146

EDGE

FORMING

A FLUSH-TRIMMINC

IG

The

ig

shown

t right llows

ou

o

use non-piloted

traightit

o rim

solid

dge anding

ush

with he op

and

bottom urfaces

f a

panel.

Designed

o bescrewed

o he ool's

sub-base,

he

ig

eatures

wo

guide

pins

hat

idealongheoutside

ace

of hebanding

hileheend

f he

bit r imshe

banding.

To

make

he

ig,

cut he

baserom

\/z-inch lywoodnd he bodyrom

3/q-inch

lywood.

akehewidthof

both

ieces

qualo

hediameterf

your

outer ase

late;

ut hebody

about

2 nchesong nd

hebase

8

inchesong. se he oo l 's

ub-

base sa template

o cut

hecurve

at

one nd f he

ig

body.

lso ut

a 3-inch-diameter

olehroughhe

bodyo clearhe

bit ,but

eave

section ithinhe

circleo house

he

guide ins.

ut

one nd f he

ig

baseo

a

point,

hen crew

hebase

to he

ig

body; ountersink

he

as -

teners.

orewo7a-inch-diameter

holeshrough

hewedge

n hebody

and

glue

woshort

en$hs f dowels

in heholes;

osition

heholeso he

bitwill ineupdirectlyver

heedge

of he

banding

ith

he

guide ins

flush gainsthestock. ocomplete

the

ig,

cuta enghof dowel

ora

handle nd crew

t to hebody.

Touse he

ig,

attachhe outer's

sub-baseo the

bodywithscrews.

Install straighti t

n he ool nd

adjusthecutting

epth o he ip

of he

bit s evelwith he

bottom f

the

ig

base. lamp

our

tocko

a work urface,

rotecting

t witha

wood ad,With

hebitclear f he

workpiece,urn

on he outer nd

set

he ig base n he opof he

stock. uttinghe

guide ins

gainst

theoutside

urfacef hebanding,

guide

he

outer longhe op

edge,

trimminghe

banding

left).

Apply

downwardressure

n hehandle

throughouthe

operationo keephe

routerrom ipping.

@

Jig

baee

O

+ J


45/146

EDGE

FORMING

A

VENEER.TRIMMIl{G

UIDE

Trim

heetsf veneer

o

width

uick-

ly

andaccurately

n

a

router

able

with

he

ig

shown t right.

he eneer

ls

sandwiched

etween

hebase

nd

topof

the

ig;

he base ides

long

the

pilot

f

a

flush-cutting

it,which

cuts

heveneer

lushwith

heedge

of

the

ig (right,

middle).

Cut he

baserom1%-inch-thick

stock nd

he oo rom

%-inch-thick

stock.Makehepiecesbout inch-

eswide;

hebase

hould

ea few

inchesonger

han

our

outer

able,

and he

op ong

nough

o cover

he

veneer.

hoose

board ith

a slight

bow or

he op,

f

possible;

ith

he

bow

acing own,

pplying

lamping

pressure

ear he

ends f

he board

w i l l

la t ten

t ,

p roducing

n i fo rm

pressure

gainst

he base.

crew

toggle

lamps

o the base

o he

op

will

it

between

hem.

Toprepareour outerable or he

operation,

nstall

hebit

on he outer

andmount

he

ool n

he able.

ut

a

guard

rom

a

piece

f stock,

aw-

ing

a notch rom

one

edgeo form

a

lip

hatwill

coverhe

cutter.

lamp

the

guard

o he

able,

To

use

he

ig,

place

heveneer

o

be rimmed

etween

he

base

nd

the

opso he

grain

f

heveneer

s

paral le l

o hat

of heboards.he

edges

f he

sheets

hould

rotrude

from

he

ig

byabout

% inch,

Press

the oggle

lamps

own n

he op

to

secure

heveneer

heets

o the

jig.

Turn

n he outer

nd

lide

he

jig

across

he

able o

cut heveneer

(left),

eepingthe

ig

pressed

gainst

the

pilot

hroughout

heoperation.

44


46/146

EDGEFORMING

UNDERCUTTING

URVED

DGES

llltllt

lll lt lll

lll lll

lll lll ljl

lll lll lll

lll lll

lll lll

lll

1HO?

t?

A ffueh-trim

mingdevioe

Youdo

nol haveo

buya

laminat'e rim-

mer o t r im

lamina le

dae

band ina

applied,lo

oreetock.

heoimVle om-

/ z

mercial evice hown

ere

oee

Nhe

/

iobwtlh a coup le f emallbladee 'u .,

Using

shop-made

emplate

uide

Thisechnique

nables

ou

oundercut

the

per imeter

fa c i rcu lar

orkp iece

using straight

i t .To

makehe

guide,

cuta bevel

crosshe

ace f a wood

block.

akehe

width f he

guide

qual

to he

distanceetween

hebitand

he

edge f

he outerub-base.

awwo

ri-

angularontact

oints

inch part

n

the

guide's

utsidedge

inset):

lso

cuta notch u t

o f he

nside dgeo

accommodatehebit . nsta l lstraight

bit

n he outer

nd crewhe

tg

o he

router'sase. lamp

emplatetop

he

workpiece

o hat he

distanceetween

the emplate

nd he

workpiece'sdge

is he ame

s hatbetween

hebitand

thecontact

oints

f he

guide.

akehe

cut

(above),

eepinghecontact

oints

f ush gainst

he emplatehroughout

the

operation.

eposit ionhe emplate

as

necessaryo

inishhe ut .

conlained

n

a

oprinq-mounLed

1

houoinq. queeze

he

wo

halvee

;

of

LheNooloqelher

unti l

Nhey

i

f iL

enuqly

1ainot,

he

workpiece

I

and

hen draw

he

device

rom

i--

one

endof

trheboard

o the

,/ t l

o rher .

heb ladee

wi l lL r im

/ /

away

anyexceee

andina.

,/ f

/

leavinq

ou

wiih perfectly

/ /

fluehedqee,

45


47/146

EDGE

FORMING

JOINTING

lN

A ROUTERABTE

Fence

humbacrew

Jointingn

edge

Install straightit n he outer itha

cutting

dge

onger

han he hickness

of

your

workpiece,

ndmount

he ool

in

a

router

able. o emove

o nch f

wood

rom

our

tock-a

ypical mount

when

ointing-adjust

he

position

f he

fenceora

cutof hatamount. ake

test ut na

scrap oard,hen nplug

the outer

nd

hold

heboardn

place

againsthe ence. oosen

heoutfeed

fence

humbscrews

ndadvancehe

outfeed

alfunti l t butts

gainsthe

cutpartof heboardabove,eft).Tight-

en he humbscrews.utt

heworkoiece

againsthe ence few nches

ackrom

thebitand hen

lowlyeed he

board

into he

cutter, eeping

our

and

lear

of hebit

and

pressing

heworkpiece

f rmly

againsthe ence

above,

ight).

Apply ide

ressure

ust

o he

outfeed

side

f hebit.For arrow

tock,inish

the

ut

with

oush t ick.

lhe

boardLo be

joint

ed and clamp he

piecee

o

a

work-

benahwith

he eAgeof the

board

rotrudinq

trom

the

quide'e

edqe

byabouLllo nch.Feed

he rout

er

from

oneend

of rhe

boardloihe

oLhecthe ilo|will

idealonqthe

uide

ethe

cutter Lrime

he board lush.

lll ll ll |ll"illlltl IJllt{l ll |l|ltlllll|l]ltllllll lll

1HO?

TI?

Joinling

wide

boarde

lf

you

have oarde

ha|

areLoo

cumbergome

lo moveacross

he

jointer,you

an under-

take he Iask with

a

router

and a

pefiecLlv

6quare dLeLutae.

lnslall

a

1/z-inch

loo-

piloled lueh-trimminq

bit in

a

router

wiLha

1

/z-in

h c oll N,7o iti

on

the

edqe

guide

aIoV

46


48/146

RAISINGPANELS

I

rame-and-panelconstruct ions

a

I clever ay

of

getting

round he act

that

wood

shrinks and swellswith

changesn humidity.Theprinciple s

simple:The

panel

floats"

within

the

frame,

sitting

n grooves

ut around ts

insideedges. uttinga bevel round

he

edgeof the

panel

allows he

piece

o fit

into the

grooves

n the rame

and

gives

a decorative

raised"

effect o the main

part

ofthe

panel.

Traditionally,anels

ere aisedwith

special

lanes

hat

featured

Routing and Shaping

Documents

Transcript of Routing and Shaping