Router Work Creating Smoke and Cinders

[curlyoak]

npr. You need a bigger router. 1/2" shaft. use the small router for morticing hinges. You will get much better results with a 1/2" shank 2 plus hp. It will produce better work. For what you are trying to do you are using a toy. Your world will open up and your work will be much better. My work would decline if all I could use is your router. You are at a disadvantage. Get a real router.Home depot has a good price on porter cable...If you can find a better price on the internet, print it and home depot will give the lower price!

[npr_geek]

Thanks Curlyoak. I actually have 1/4" shank for the best possible reason. My wife bought me a Festool 1400 router several years ago, before I even knew what I was doing. That model has a 1/4" collet, so there you have it. 

Nevertheless, point taken. I'll buy a replacement for my router table and make sure it's 1/2". Anyone have recommendations for the best value vs. utility for this application?

[krtwood]

The Porter-Cable 7518 in a router lift is the defacto standard router table setup that will handle anything you throw at it.  I personally like the Triton MOF001 for everyday router table use.  It doesn't have the power for big panel bits but it's super convenient with it basically having a router lift built into it and the self-locking collet.  I am less enamored with its larger 3 hp brother.  I would go for the PC instead of that one.  They put a much heavier motor on the same mechanism and it just doesn't work right and I have heard it has less power than the PC.  I have a shaper so I'm not so concerned with being able to run the really big bits in the router table. 

[Pondhockey]

On 1/23/2018 at 8:14 PM, wdwerker said:

Keeping a router bit clean helps too.  I use a strong alkaline liquid spray to clean sawblades and router bits . Spray it on, scrub with an old toothbrush, rinse and dry throughly. Every bit of resin on a bit or blade increases the heat in that area which degrades the edges.

Werker, can you be more specific (even a brand name) for the "strong alkaline liquid spray"?  

[wdwerker]

I usually get this at Peachtree Woodworking because they are local , it's cheap and it works. Gloves should be used if you are sensitive to harsh chemicals or live in California. The more often you clean them the easier it is to get the resin off. 

https://www.ptreeusa.com/tablesaw_cleaners.html

The Trend and Pitch RX  work similarly. I use the plastic brush listed at the bottom of the page. The T-9 hasn't impressed me much.

I also use Bostik Dricote spray on my bits and blades after each cleaning. Depot carries it. It's a Teflon type coating. I like the stuff even though it has gotten mixed reviews. Glidecote is their spray to use on fences & tabletops. They've got a bearing lube too, it works great on router bit bearings.

 

[Coop]

On 1/25/2018 at 12:43 PM, npr_geek said:

Oh, I've also confirmed my fire extinguisher is A-Okay! 

 

Being in that business, how did you confirm it? Hopefully you didn’t try it? 

[npr_geek]

RE: The fire extinguisher, I consulted the gauge and it reads as full. I also bought a brand new one just to be safe. 

Also, I can finally confirm that this problem has completely disappeared since I bought a new Frued straight cutting bit. The cut is smoother, easier, faster, and there's not a hint of burning. Clearly I just had a terrible, dull bit!

[AceHoleInOne]

On 3/3/2018 at 10:27 PM, Pondhockey said:

Werker, can you be more specific (even a brand name) for the "strong alkaline liquid spray"?  

 

Works great, use an old toothbrush to scrub router bits and TS blades.  Walmart or Home Dump sell it.

-Ace-

[drzaius]

Fantastic cleaner is not oven cleaner strength, but is fairly alkaline & works well. Wear gloves cause it's a little hard on skin.

[wdwerker]

Almost everything mentioned works, especially if you are patient. If you clean more than one bit or blade at a time you can scrub one while another soaks. I haven't had any issue with the Pitch  rx, Trend or Freud cleaners affecting the red coating on my Freud blades & bits. Nothing gets left soaking for very long and everything gets rinsed , dried off and blown with compressed air before I spray with the Dricote. 

[curlyoak]

Still you need a more powerful router with a 1/2" chuck.  I'm certain my work would be much less quality if I used the wrong router. Unless amount of wood removed is small, then it would be OK. Once you get the right stuff you will realize how much better your work will be...

[Eric Anderson]

http://NPR, if you have a Festool 1400, it comes or should have come with 1/2" 1/4" and 8 mm collets, so you should have the power and collets to run larger bits

[npr_geek]

My mistake Eric. I must have the 1010. Mine only takes 1/4" and 8mm bits. 

[wdwerker]

I was suprised how much stiffer the 8mm shank bits are than the 1/4" ones. But Festool is real proud of those 8 mm shank bits. 

[npr_geek]

I've never  tried the 8mm shanks. Perhaps that's something I should look into doing. As far as dabbling with metric, that's probably the least invasive example I can imagine. This thread started because I was having trouble with my extremely cheap router bits...meaning I've never invested much in my bits, so it's entirely reasonable for me to dive into 8mm.

[wdwerker]

The bit I got has replaceable carbide tips that you can rotate when it gets dull or chipped. So they way I looked at it was 4 bits for around $140.

[Pondhockey]

23 minutes ago, wdwerker said:

The bit I got has replaceable carbide tips that you can rotate when it gets dull or chipped. So they way I looked at it was 4 bits for around $140.

WoodCraft offered me such a bit - might have been a Freud - for $180 (a flattening bit.)   It was too over the top for my first router bit.

[curlyoak]

NPR. The bit matters. And so does the power. Your router is an exceptional tool like most Festool stuff. It is about 1 1/4hp. Use it for light work. For heavier work you need a bigger router. Sharp bit or not. With your router take shallow, multiple passes to have success on normal work. The sharpness of your bits will not last as long due to heat build up. The 8mm is better than the 1/4". 8mm is 5/16"

[wdwerker]

That $180 Freud bit is for surfacing spoil boards on CNC machine beds. I think they tend to be MDF, which is abrasive and dulls bits. So it's equal to 4- $45 bits or 8 - $24 bits after the first replacement blades are used. Might not be what you need if you aren't going to surface a bunch of slabs.

[Pondhockey]

1 hour ago, wdwerker said:

That $180 Freud bit is for surfacing spoil boards on CNC machine beds. I think they tend to be MDF, which is abrasive and dulls bits. So it's equal to 4- $45 bits or 8 - $24 bits after the first replacement blades are used. Might not be what you need if you aren't going to surface a bunch of slabs.

Got it.  And the Freud bit did, indeed, have four heads, each with four rotatable cutters - when one dulls, rotate the next one into place. Your advice makes sense.  This application was a 2ft square section of a slab.  I may well be surfacing slabs in the future and will reconsider the Freud bit at that time!

[wdwerker]

One bit with a spare set of cutters would probably last you through 40 - 50  3'x 12' slabs.