Beechwood Chip Posted December 15, 2024 Report Posted December 15, 2024 Is it safe / advisable to use a router table with a straight bit to freehand remove material up to a line, like I would with an oscillating spindle sander? Would there be any advantage? 1 Quote
Popular Post gee-dub Posted December 15, 2024 Popular Post Report Posted December 15, 2024 Only with a template or a bearing guided bit. Free handing on a non-guided straight bit at the router table is like cross cutting without a guide at the tablesaw IMHO. Danger Will Robinson! 5 Quote
Beechwood Chip Posted December 15, 2024 Author Report Posted December 15, 2024 On 12/15/2024 at 3:41 PM, gee-dub said: Only with a template or a bearing guided bit. Free handing on a non-guided straight bit at the router table is like cross cutting without a guide at the tablesaw IMHO. Danger Will Robinson! That's what I thought. Thanks! Quote
JohnG Posted December 15, 2024 Report Posted December 15, 2024 Very little control with it, and too high risk of grabbing/kicking IMO. Clamping the board down and holding the router would be safer, but still not ideal. The dynamics are a lot different for abrasion vs cutting. 2 Quote
Von Posted December 16, 2024 Report Posted December 16, 2024 +1. If I'm going to use a router to get to a line, I'd find a way to make a template and using a bear-guided bit. 1 Quote
Popular Post gee-dub Posted December 16, 2024 Popular Post Report Posted December 16, 2024 Here's a coupe of approaches. One using a template and a flush, bearing guided bit. Another using a template collar for an off set. 5 Quote
Beechwood Chip Posted December 16, 2024 Author Report Posted December 16, 2024 This was a situation where I didn't have a template, and any way I could make a template would work just as well to make the actual piece. It was an internal, irregular hole and I used a Forstener bit to hog out most of it, a coping saw, and a spindle sander. 2 Quote
Mark J Posted December 16, 2024 Report Posted December 16, 2024 Related question, and apropos of nothing, does anyone ever use a guide pin in the router table top? And how is that used? 2 Quote
Popular Post Beechwood Chip Posted December 16, 2024 Author Popular Post Report Posted December 16, 2024 On 12/16/2024 at 10:12 AM, Mark J said: Related question, and apropos of nothing, does anyone ever use a guide pin in the router table top? And how is that used? I use it if I'm using a router bit with a guide roller without the fence. I press the part against the guide pin and slowly pivot it into the spinning bit. Once the piece is firmly against the bit's guide roller I can ignore the guide pin. Just helps to stabilize everything during that first contact with the spinning bit. 3 1 Quote
Mark J Posted December 16, 2024 Report Posted December 16, 2024 1 hour ago, Beechwood Chip said: I use it if I'm using a router bit with a guide roller without the fence. I press the part against the guide pin and slowly pivot it into the spinning bit. Once the piece is firmly against the bit's guide roller I can ignore the guide pin. Just helps to stabilize everything during that first contact with the spinning bit. How about when using a template like @gee-dub? 1 Quote
Popular Post Von Posted December 16, 2024 Popular Post Report Posted December 16, 2024 On 12/16/2024 at 11:59 AM, Mark J said: How about when using a template like @gee-dub? Wouldn't change my answer. The pin still gives one a controlled way to make contact with the bit. 2 1 Quote
Popular Post Beechwood Chip Posted December 16, 2024 Author Popular Post Report Posted December 16, 2024 On 12/16/2024 at 11:59 AM, Mark J said: How about when using a template like @gee-dub? That's exactly the situation I was describing when I use a starter pin 2 1 Quote
Popular Post gee-dub Posted December 16, 2024 Popular Post Report Posted December 16, 2024 Yes on the starter pin here as well. There are a few things that can signal a change of pants in the shop. A piece of material wrenching your hands toward a spinning router bit are certainly among them. Just thinking about the difference between pivoting from a pin versus free hand plunging into a cut is making the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I write this 4 1 Quote
wtnhighlander Posted December 17, 2024 Report Posted December 17, 2024 If your table doesn't have a starter pin, clamping a block to the fence, allowing its corner to protrude out next to the bit,can serve the same purpose. Now I have a question: Anyone have experience using a 'pin router', the setup that suspends a rod above the bit to guide a template from the side opposite the cut? Quote
Beechwood Chip Posted December 17, 2024 Author Report Posted December 17, 2024 On 12/16/2024 at 7:50 PM, wtnhighlander said: Now I have a question: Anyone have experience using a 'pin router', the setup that suspends a rod above the bit to guide a template from the side opposite the cut? I've never heard of a pin router, but it sounds similar to a pantograph, where a pin follows a template in one location, and the router bit traces an identical path somewhere else. The router path can be scaled up or down from the template. Matthais Wandel made a home made one and used it in a bunch of his videos, and eventually companies started selling them for people who didn't want to make their own. 1 Quote
Mark J Posted December 17, 2024 Report Posted December 17, 2024 Had to search it. No I haven't used one, but it's an interesting machine. 1 Quote
gee-dub Posted December 17, 2024 Report Posted December 17, 2024 For smaller craft-like work they make bolt on pin router attachments for an existing router table if that is of any interest. Pin routers excel when an internal template patter has to be followed. For external template work I just use double stick tape or the jig shown earlier that I knocked out way back when. 2 Quote
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