cas@cvl.UUCP (Cliff Shaffer) (06/18/85)
> ... please mail me replies, as I doubt if any > of the other net.wood'ers are at my high level of ignorance. You'd be amazed... Please post some of this! Cliff Shaffer ...rlgvax!cvl!cas
dkatz@zaphod.UUCP (Dave Katz) (06/23/85)
1. Get a good camphering bit, one that has the little bearing on the end to keep the bit tight against the wood: _ / | - / | [) ) ======= - \ | ^ ^ \_| | | ^ | | | | Bearing Blade Shaft The bearing helps to guide the blade smoothly. Don't get one with just the extended post without a bearing. They tend to be less reliable and sometimes damage the wood. If you are serious, pay the extra and get a carbide bit. 2. Make sure you are running the blade the correct direction on the wood. \ \ ---- O O --------- ////. \_______ ________\ .///////// ////////////// //////////////////// Right Wrong The wrong way causes the blade to lift chips out of the wood, particularly at the edges of the uncut wood. 3. Make sure the blade is SHARP. 4. Never make a deep cut in a single pass. I don't know for camphering, but on a dado cut, I limit the cut depth to about 3/32 of new wood, and sometimes less than that if the wood is dry or has a very pronounced grain which is likely to chip. 5. To set up the router, set it to zero depth according to the blade, not the guage, then zero the setting on the guage. Then set the desired cut depth. (hint for dado blades and others that cut at the end of the blade -- place the router on your work table with the bed facing upwards. Set the blade lower than the bed of the router and then place a small flat object [I use a 6 inch machinist's ruler] across the bed. Carefully raise the bit until the ruler lifts off the bed of the router, then lower it again until the ruler touches back down. Lock the adjustment in this position, and set the depth guage to zero.) 6. Even if you can make the cut in a single pass, start a little shallow and check the work. It's easier to set the cut deeper than to glue that silly millimeter of wood back on :-) Make practice cuts on scrap pieces of the same material. 7. If you are going to sand, do it after the routing is finished. Be sure to route a little shallow to allow for the amount that will be sanded off. Sand with a wood block behind the paper. Do not hand hold the paper or place it in a sanding device with a foam bed. Either of these will round the edges of your campher. If you want, you might rough sand the work before camphering, I prefer to do all of the power work and consider sanding as part of finishing. When you sand, make single strokes towards your body. This doesn't really have anything to do with the wood, it just makes you more deliberate than if you rub back and forth. If you have good steady hands, ignore this paragraph. 8. The burning wood can be a result of: - a low quality blade or a dull one - an under powered router - too much depth in a single cut - a blade that has been gummed from very resinous wood or use on plywood, particle, or press board. If the blade is gummed, clean it by careful rubbing with 000 steel wool soaked in rubbing alcohol. Some people advocate using oven cleaner. I'm not sure I agree with this. You can also gum the blade by cutting glued up work. In most cases, it is advisable to do the routing before assembly. However, this may not always be possible. 9. One suggestion I've seen for avoiding damage to surrounding wood is to place masking tape along the edge of the cut. I have three worries about this: - removing the tape may also cause damage to the wood - the tape may cause the router blade to gum up or get damaged - the tape may cause the router to ride unevenly on the work. It seems more reasonable to me to be more careful in the work, and leave a little sanding depth to remove the few tiny flaws that will invariably occur when routing. If even these small flaws are not acceptable, don't route - use a plane instead. 10. Small pieces are best worked using a routing table. Get a good solid one (not one of those cheap plastic imitations) and one that has a good blade guard. If the piece is narrower than about 1 1/2 inches or if you have less than about 6 inches of material to hold on to, don't use a router at all. Sand or plane the campher. In any case, be EXTREMELY careful guiding small pieces - take it from someone who sawed the flesh off of three finger tips, it could have been a hell of a lot worse but it was still VERY messy and painful (completely wrecked the work too). 11. For larger pieces, if you still have trouble getting a straight cut, then buy a clamp down cutting guide. This is essentially a straight edge with movable end clamps. Mine can be used as an 8 foot guide or broken down into a 4 foot section. The guide can be used on anything down to about 8 - 10 inches with no trouble. Beware of clamping damage to the wood if you use one of these. 12. One more hint, not having to do with camphering. For dadoes, don't use a blade that supposedly is the exact width of the wood to be joined. Small faults or poor material will ruin the fit. Instead, use a blade that is a bit more than 1/2 the width and make two cuts, using a guide. This way, you work a little harder but you can exactly fit the dado to the joint. Happy Woodworking D. Katz
anand@utastro.UUCP (Anand Sivaramakrishnan) (06/24/85)
. I have problems getting an even edge using a router to chamfer (bevel) wood. The corners are awkward, I've eaten bits of wood out where I didn't mean to, and I get occasional scorch marks where the router has gone slowly or stopped momentarily. I'm getting better at it, but I wonder if someone can enlighten me on this subject. I have virtually no experience using a router, and I'm pretty new to woodwork itself. How does one bevel small things that are hard to clamp down in such a way as to keep space free for the router? Does one sand work after routing or vice versa. If the latter, how can one ensure clean corners (unrounded by the sander)? I would not consider it insulting if anyone were to mail me a list of instructions starting with "plug the router cord into a 110v 60Hz outlet..." Thanks in advance... please mail me replies, as I doubt if any of the other net.wood'ers are at my high level of ignorance.