climb cut?

[Pbmaster11]

I have heard climb cut in multiple videos and have yet to come across one with a video explaining this?

[bywc]

cutting with the rotation of the bit as in moving the wood in the same direction as the cutting edges are turning as far a dedicated video showing this technique its not really something recommend as it can be extremely dangerous.

[petersb]

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/router-climb-cutting/

[flairwoodworks]

cutting with the rotation of the bit as in moving the wood in the same direction as the cutting edges are turning as far a dedicated video showing this technique its not really something recommend as it [i]can [i added bold and italics] be extremely dangerous.

Can is the operative word. I would never perform a climb cut on the router table - I have done so once before accidentally and had no control on the workpiece other than to keep it down.

Now a climb cut with a hand-held router is a different ball game. I often climb cut and feel that it is safe to do so as long as I am taking LIGHT CUTS. When climb cutting, I always have my stock clamped down securely and have two hands on the router.

[TonyV]

I have heard climb cut in multiple videos and have yet to come across one with a video explaining this?

Picture the bit in a table mounted router. The bit is turning counter-clockwise. Now picture feeding a board from the left to the right. The wood is moving past the bit in the same direction as the bit is turning. That is, if you think of the bit as though it were a tire on a car, it's moving the same way that the ground moves past the tire as you're driving.

This is a climb cut. The problem with a climb cut is that the bit can "grab" the wood. At the speeds at which the bit turns, this can propel the board out of your hand; depending on how firm a grip you have on the board, it can also drag your hand into the bit. That would turn your hand into hamburger. Not pretty.

If you hold the router to make the cut, instead of mounting it in a table, you can still get a climb cut, but you can't get your hands mangled, as they're above the bit holding the router. A climb cut in this scenario can still launch the workpiece and do lots of propery damage if you don't have it securely clamped to the work bench. One of those router matts will work to keep the board from flying, too.

There are places in wood working for climb cuts. If you take a really shallow pass, a climb cut will leave a smoother cut. I'm talking like 1/32" to 1/64" deep here. If you're taking that shallow a cut, you might get away with it on a router table, too, but I just wouldn't do it. I like being able to count to 10 without having to take off my shoes.

Tony

[rmac]

One way to avoid climb cutting from our buddy Charles Neil:

-- Russ