Mortises for Leg Stretchers

[JimReed]

I would LOVE a Router 101 video because as a newbie I am always wondering about the basics-- direction of travel, depth of passes, kickback, proper bits, kickback, etc. The router, like most tools, seems to be so versatile when used correctly, and so dangerous/frustrating when not.....

Jim

[Vic]

Jim, the easiest way to remember is to do a "thumbs" up fist with your right hand. Your fingers are the bit and the direction you should move in (when not climb cutting). Point your thumb in the orientation of the bit.

(null)

[sawdusty]

I haven't made it to mortising for the leg stretchers but I did experience this routing issue with the dog hole strip. What a NIGHTMARE that was, seems no matter what approach I took, I still had kickback. My dog strip has a major mutt mug.

Yes Marc I'd love to see a video on routing techniques.

[Steve Lyde]

Sawdusty if its any consolation I had a lot of kick back routing my dog strip as well but the leg mortises went much smoother, just take shallower passes.

[allencrane]

Jim, the easiest way to remember is to do a "thumbs" up fist with your right hand. Your fingers are the bit and the direction you should move in (when not climb cutting). Point your thumb in the orientation of the bit.

(null)

Hi Vic, I'm feeling a little dumb now...can you try explaining what you mean again? I can tell there's a lot of value in what you just said, but I just don't quite get it yet.

[Beechwood Chip]

I'll give it a try. Make a fist with your right hand, and stick your thump out. Your fist is the router. You thumb is the bit. Now, orient "the router" and "the bit" against the wood so that your knuckles are on the side that's cutting the wood. You should move the router in the direction that your fingers are pointing, away from your knuckles.

Vic, do I have that right?

The important thing is (unless you are climb cutting and you know what you are doing), you are always pushing the router against the direction that it wants to go. Turn the router on, and gently move it against the wood. When the bit touches the wood it will try to move in one direction. Push the router in the other direction, against that force.

[Vic]

Yes. In the handheld orientation your thumb is pointed down and for table ops, up. Easiest way I know to remember.

I'll give it a try. Make a fist with your right hand, and stick your thump out. Your fist is the router. You thumb is the bit. Now, orient "the router" and "the bit" against the wood so that your knuckles are on the side that's cutting the wood. You should move the router in the direction that your fingers are pointing, away from your knuckles.

Vic, do I have that right?

The important thing is (unless you are climb cutting and you know what you are doing), you are always pushing the router against the direction that it wants to go. Turn the router on, and gently move it against the wood. When the bit touches the wood it will try to move in one direction. Push the router in the other direction, against that force.

[AlexPeel]

I had this same exact problem when I was routing the cavity for the wagon vise. When I was doing the first pass at each depth the router is essentially doing both a climb cut and a non climb cut at the same time. The sacrificial board was on one side and the material I was removing was on the other. It happened more at the end of the cut but it could happen anywhere along it as well.

In the video that Mark had on this he recommended only going down a 1/2" at a time, which he was considering a light pass. I found that if I did this the router would catch exactly as described above. Thankfully the catch would either pull it into the material I was going to hog out or into the sacrificial board and not into my hand. Still freaked me out. What I ended up doing was only taking about 1/16" passes. This was the deepest I could do without the grab. Took longer but it was not that bad and the cuts were completely straight.

For the mortises I think I might try the hogging out the majority of the material with a forstner bit and then just clean up the edges with the router as was suggested earlier in this thread. Either that or I will just do the 1/16" passes again which worked fine.

What I don't get is why Mark was not running into this issue as well. The bit I was using was a brand new spiral upcut 1/2" whiteside bit. These are supposed be very good bits so I am assuming that it was not an issue with the bit specifically, but maybe I am wrong about that.

[allencrane]

Dudes...y'all are awesome. I'm learning as much from the experience of the guild forum as in the videos. It's like lecture vs. lab. Great amounts of knowledge in both - but taken in differently. Thank you!

[allencrane]

I had this same exact problem when I was routing the cavity for the wagon vise. When I was doing the first pass at each depth the router is essentially doing both a climb cut and a non climb cut at the same time. The sacrificial board was on one side and the material I was removing was on the other. It happened more at the end of the cut but it could happen anywhere along it as well.

In the video that Mark had on this he recommended only going down a 1/2" at a time, which he was considering a light pass. I found that if I did this the router would catch exactly as described above. Thankfully the catch would either pull it into the material I was going to hog out or into the sacrificial board and not into my hand. Still freaked me out. What I ended up doing was only taking about 1/16" passes. This was the deepest I could do without the grab. Took longer but it was not that bad and the cuts were completely straight.

For the mortises I think I might try the hogging out the majority of the material with a forstner bit and then just clean up the edges with the router as was suggested earlier in this thread. Either that or I will just do the 1/16" passes again which worked fine.

What I don't get is why Mark was not running into this issue as well. The bit I was using was a brand new spiral upcut 1/2" whiteside bit. These are supposed be very good bits so I am assuming that it was not an issue with the bit specifically, but maybe I am wrong about that.

I don't have the experience of Vic and Chip, but I dropped $75 on a Freud 1/2" upcut spiral bit and the thing cuts like butter. I don't have a fancy router either, just a solid PC 890 workhorse. I know you are using a new whiteside bit, but I have to say that even though I had sticker shock on this bit initially, it has been worth every penny, given how much I used it on this build (mortises, slab tenons, and deadman slot). Not saying yours isn't sharp, just sharing what has been an indispensible part of this project for me.