About routers

[Al (Ca.)]

My 3 routers have a speed control dial that goes from 1 to 6.
Since I only use the router to rout mortises on the doors I hang I always leave the speed dial set at 6, which is the highest speed.
Can anybody educate the rest of us who don’t know which speed is the right speed for any given job.
Under which circumstances you will use a low speed and under which circumstances you will use a high speed or anyone in between.
Thanks
Al

[HenryP]

Re: About routers

Al:
In general terms, the more wood you need to remove, the slower the setting. Large bits like those used for shaping raised panels should be run at slower speeds. Also, soft-start motors are easier on your wrists and result in fewer "hard-start" mishaps with your work.

[Derrell Day]

Re: About routers

Bit diameter is indeed a concern. A 1/2" router bit turning at 10000rpm is moving at about 14.9mph at it's outside edge while a 1-1/2" bit at 10000rpm is moving at about 44.7mph at it's outside edge.

[tom dickey]

Re: About routers

i was also told the same by a manufacter that the speed should be set by bit diamiter

tom d

[George Roberts]

Re: About routers

While the speed is determined by the cutter diameter (larger cutters should be run slower than smaller cutters), there are other issues.

Harder woods need slower speeds, heavier cuts need slower feeds and speeds.

In general, I use the slowest speed that produces a good finish.

[Gary Katz]

Re: About routers

Good advice all around. The best rule of 'thumb' I know is:

Turn on the router. If it vibrates, slow it down a little. If it's cutting rough, speed it up a little. The same holds true for small beading bits, large raised panel bits, lock-miter bits, etc. The only bits I run at top speed ALL the time are hinge mortising bits...same as you, Al!

Not very scientific, but practical. I think a lot of people operate routers the same way. But ask them and they'll talk about rmps and bit size. Know what I mean? :>]

Gary

[Al (Ca.)]

Re: About routers

Thanks for the information. I was not expecting that kind of answers.
I’ve been having a little problem with my DeWalt router that I use only to mortise for the locks on the edge of the door. It doesn’t feel good when I use it since it vibrates a hair.
I am going to follow Gary’s advise and will slow down the speed a notch or two tomorrow to see if that will resolve the problem.
The Bosch router I use to mortise for the hinges is always perfect, never a problem.

Let me throw another one at you. This one is about electric planers.
After thousands and thousand of passes along the edges of all the doors I hang I still have problems when the planer exits the edge I’m working on.
Sometimes I do well but most of the time I take a chunk of wood right at the end of the edge of the door.
I can not recall the name for that problem.
I tried stopping before I hit the end and then coming from the other direction but that sometimes screws up the bevel and stopped doing that because it is a pain to do that all the time.
Off course I always sand that imperfection and that makes it look good but still it bothers me a lot that I can not control the planer when it exits the end of the edge of the door and I am always alert and well aware about what is about to happen and no matter how hard I try the planer wins most of the time.
I know why it happens but after all the tricks I tried to eliminate the problem I’m still a loser. Son of a Bi…!
Can any one of you say that you don’t have that kind of problem and share your secret?
Thanks
Al

[tom dickey]

Re: About routers

the only suggestion i can lend you is near the end of the cut put all your preasure on the rear of the planer.and i usualy go slowest at the end of cut too.the heel of my poter cable planer is large and it is fairly easy to keep it seated.
oh and i beleive you would call the problem snipe.

tom d

[Derrell Day]

Re: About routers

Al,

It's called "snipe" and it can be a real pain sometimes. Keeping pressure on the heel of the planer as you exit is good advice. Even better, clamp a sacrificial piece of wood to the end of the workpiece and flush to the edge being planed. It will give the planer something to ride on and will keep the snipe away from the door.

[Gary Katz]

Re: About routers

Al,
Derrell's right about the name for the problem. It's common on Porter Cable 126 planers. Strangely, the reason for it and the fix isn't easy to explain, but I can tell you ABSOLUTELY how to fix it!

Adjust your cutter so that it's taking about 1/32 in. (minimum) when the depth gauge is set at ZERO. That means you'll have to change the setting of the "other" thumb gauge, the one on the SIDE of the tool, which is also the one you have to re-set every time you install a new or sharpened cutter.

Once you make that adjustment, all the snipe will go away. Promise.

Gary

[Ian Cadell]

Re: About routers

Gary,
I'm going to try that. I got so fed up with my 126 that I've been using the table saw to bevel my doors for the past ten years. It does do a good job that way though.
Ian

[Gary Katz]

Re: About routers

Ohmygoodness!!!!!

[Al (Ca.)]

Re: About routers

Thanks for the responses. Snipe, I’ll remember that.
Gary, I do not have a PC planer. I use a Bosch planer. In fact I have four different models and one is a cordless which I take inside of the house to make minor passes most of the time on the top usually on the center of the top rail. I don’t seem to be able to make a straight cut with my circular saw.
I think that if the heel and toe would be in the same plane the problem would not exist.
I think that Gary’s suggestion tries to accomplish, or accomplish it just that. Toe and heel are at the same level and the cutters stick out 1/32” like on a hand planer.
Do the same thing (snipe) occurs with hand planers? The heel and toe are one and the same, I mean they are a single surface not like in the electric planer where the toe and the heel are at different levels.
The toe moves up and down and the heel remains stationary. Am I right?
Some time I wonder if the guys who design the tools we use, ever get a chance to use them just to see some of the shortcomings of the tools they design and make the necessary corrections.
For example my Bosch router has the ventilation cut outs for the motor right on top of the router and at the center so the air blows straight up. Away from your face and eyes.
The DeWalt instead has the ventilation cut out for the motor right on the top edge of the router so the air blows right into your face and eyes along with the dust the router produces.
Every time I use it I have to keep my eyes almost closed or turn my face away from the router to keep the air and dust from getting into my eyes.
The guys who designed that tool never realized that inconvenience? I’ll bet they would have noticed that if they were given a chance to use the tool they designed.

[Gary Katz]

Re: About routers

Al,
Most jambs, expecially the re-hangs I've done, aren't straight, so don't feel bad about your circular saw cuts not being right on. That's why I always scribe the doors first, so they'll fit pretty good when they go up the first time. If the cut I make with my saw on head isn't great, I plane the door to the scribe line.

Someday you should try a PC 126 plane. There's nothing else like it for hanging doors, literally.

Gary

[Dick Seibert]

Re: About routers

Gary is right, and there are a couple of the $450 planes on eBay now: http://search.ebay.com/porta-plane_W...ectZ1QQfromZR8 They don't look quite as "substantial" as my old "PortaPlane". did they change them Gary?