Cutting out small pieces using a router (or something)

[Croolis]

Hello, newbie question. I don't even own a router at this time, but I'm thinking about something:

Using a handheld router to cut out small pieces from a board. Say 80mm long, 50mm wide, 18mm thick board. Something like that.

Starting from the outside edge of the board is fine, but want to cut lots of these pieces from a single board.

The reason for a router is wanting to roundover the edges of the cutout. On both sides so it's symmetrical.

So small, fiddly and trying to do something which I guess is difficult. Particularly the symmetry.

Is this only in the realm of a CNC, or can it be done by hand?

Or am I thinking along the wrong lines entirely, and it should actually be done by cutting the pieces out with a saw and then using a router table with a, umm "double" roundover bit (sry dunno what they're called) to do the edges?

Pretty small pieces, is all, and to ignorant me that seems dangerous. Some kind of jig/carrier thing to take it to the router table bit?

I'm not planning on doing this with my very first foray with a router , don't worry, but it's something I'm thinking about and I may as well be heading that way with equipment purchases as I get started if I'm going to do it.

Thx for help .

 

[Sideways]

Think about method.
If you ripped your 18mm board into strips, then used a router table with a roundover bit to round the long edges.
Then a sliding mitre saw or chop saw to turn the sticks into fish fingers, and finally two passes each end again on the router table using a jig or mitre gauge to keep square so you round all the short edges.
Time consuming ish, but not too bad as a one off project.

Alternative is maybe to do it on a cnc router - easier, maybe a better finish, but you pay out rather than spend on tools that you then own, and the # pieces per board won't be any better than you can do my way.

I suspect I'd pay someone to CNC it by the way

 

[ChaiLatte]

As you have realised, the second most important word you need to learn after 'router' is 'jig'.

A close third is knowing when to move the router over the work and when to move the work over the router.

I know these sound frivolous, but with enough thought and ingenuity, you can cut almost anything with a router. Like a pig, where the only part you cannot eat is the oink.

For your double-roundover pieces, you can give the router an easier time by double-chamfering the edge when you cut them (leaving a land for the bearing if that is what you are using). The closer your raw pieces end up to 80 x 50 x 18, with no variation between pieces, the easier the jigging will be, so as much thought needs to be given to stock preparation as to the actual routing.

As above, you can think of the best way to proceed to suit your equipment: make a load of pieces 1200 x 50 x 18, round the long edges and then do the Captain Birdseye manouvre suggested on them. You could also make pieces 1200 x 80 x 18 and fillet them the other way.

 

[Croolis]

It just so happens that I own a CNC... but it's a tiny hobby one, 3018. I conceived the idea of what it is I want to make about a year ago, bought the CNC, then realised the bed was going to be too small for even low volume repeat production of these pieces (I have some half baked idea of selling on Etsy or something, just for shoots and giggles to see if I can do it. Too many youtube vids lol). Hence the router question - the CNC I have is basically too slow and small.

There's also the hassle of learning to use the thing - I messed about with it somewhat back then, bought a few bits etc, learned some of the processes and software (I'm technical enough for this), but I dunno. Also because I was doing this in the house, I shelved it until I get shed workshop sorted (nearly there), too noisy and messy, unsurprisingly.

So yes, now you guys are saying that about method, yes it becomes more obvious how to do it (I was totally thinking about it the wrong way. So far I have been hypnotised by Peter Millard and have Macallister tracksaw and a Parkside sliding chop saw. Next up is router, and I'll see if I can make a table router with it - I've seen on here folks suggesting you can just make one by upturning it (fixed or plunge? dunno) and screwing it into a board. Will research.

Thx

 

[HOJ]

to cut out small pieces from a board. Say 80mm long, 50mm wide, 18mm thick board

My understanding is that you want to cut an 80mm x 50mm aperture in an 18mm thick board, rather than 80mm x 50mm "fish fingers"?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A router with a 43mm collar can be used as an overhead router in a decent drill stand. Can be very useful for small stuff.

 

[Sideways]

If you can get a bit of high pressure laminate - trespa or something like that - maybe 2' x 18" and around 16mm thick, you have the essence of a router table for the job. You can use the router itself to thin the trespa down to maybe 8mm just where the router baseplate would go. This reduces the loss of depth of cut. This is an alternative to using an aluminium router insert plate and has the advantage of minimal edges on the top surface to catch as well as saving some money.
Why HPL ? It's hard, stiff for it's thickness, and usually has some hardwearing lowish friction surface like melamine.

Rout a slot the other side for the bar of a mitre gauge or a bar to attach a jig to.

Add a couple of cross beams (2x1 hardwood, lengths of 2040 aluminium extrusion, whatever) under the table so the weight of the router doesn't make the top sag.

Fasten the router to the underside of the board using simple homemade clamps. The router fence rods make great anchor points.

Plunge a cutter through the board so you have a hole with pretty small clearance around the cutter you intend to use.

For the long fence, you just need wood with 2 edges straight and square to each other. Fix with clamps to the front and back edges of your top. Put a hole in level with the cutter so you can attach a vacuum hose to the back.

Once you find a piece of suitable board - even perspex or polycarb will do though soft and they will scratch - there isn't a lot of cost in making a basic functional top.

 

[ChaiLatte]

My understanding is that you want to cut an 80mm x 50mm aperture in an 18mm thick board...

There might be something in the OP that points away from this. If it were an aperture, the double roundover of the edges which is discussed would be tricky unless it had radiused internal corners in plan. You could make sharp internal double rounded corners, but the item (aperture) would need to be made of four pieces, mitred like a picture frame.

To me, it sounds like he is wanting to make something three steps to the right on this chart:

 

[HamsterJam]

Think about method.
If you ripped your 18mm board into strips, then used a router table with a roundover bit to round the long edges.
Then a sliding mitre saw or chop saw to turn the sticks into fish fingers, and finally two passes each end again on the router table using a jig or mitre gauge to keep square so you round all the short edges.
Time consuming ish, but not too bad as a one off project.

Might get some tear-out routing across the grain so always best to do these edges before routing the long edges with the grain so I’d cut to fish fingers then profile

 

[BCS1980UK]

Hi Croolis,
If it helps, I have an old UJK portable trim router table that is just accumulating dust and taking up space in my workshop since I have upgraded. It’s yours for free if you can arrange collection from Loughton (IG10).
I have batch produced some small boxes using mainly this setup. If you plan well, it can be done.

 

[Croolis]

Sry folks - yes it's cutting out said fish fingers, similar to ChaiLatte's chart objects. Not going for apertures in boards. I basically aim to production batch many pieces with the given dimensions, all with double-roundover (I learned a word there ) edges.

In my brain I was thinking I'd need to cut them out as if I was going for cutting out an aperture. Routing one side, then flipping the board and routing the other side and finally cutting them out. Now we're talking here, that clearly makes no sense and is because this was originally conceived to be done by CNC and my brain has stuck there, not being a woodworker (yet). Would have made sense on a CNC, using board flipping techniques.

But of course, cutting nice lengths with my tracksaw to the desired width, setting up a router table, doing the double-roundover along the whole length on both sides, then cutting into the fish fingers and, using a jig to hold them so my own fingers don't become fish fingers, rounding over the ends. Think I got it?

Actually doing this is a long way off anyway, haven't even got a roof on my shed yet, though the shed will be finished by end of today, barring disasters. Just drinking me tea. Then it will be - see how it gets on during tomorrow's rain, see if I can find and caulk the inevitable leaks (cheap metal shed).

Then it's setting it up as workshop - putting in work surfaces, with shelving below. I'm basically going to mostly copy Peter Millard's room, my shed will have the same dimensions and usable area as most of what you see in his regular camera shot as far down as the bottom edge of his router table, more or less. I'll put my router table in same place. The top end will have miter saw on trolleyed work top so can rotate to cut longer pieces, while right hand side will have work top with incorporated MFT (I'm not going for MFT bells and whistles until I know what I'm doing a bit more, plus funds). Dust extraction via shop vac with vortex bucket in a corner.

Am reading Sideways' router table post with interest.

 

[Croolis]

Hi Croolis,
If it helps, I have an old UJK portable trim router table that is just accumulating dust and taking up space in my workshop since I have upgraded. It’s yours for free if you can arrange collection from Loughton (IG10).
I have batch produced some small boxes using mainly this setup. If you plan well, it can be done.

Oh wow, yeah I'll have it. Thank you. I can come collect next weekend? I'm East Midlands but I'm from Dartford way, so I can come down for a visit next week and stop off on the way.

That's very kind .

 

[BCS1980UK]

Oh wow, yeah I'll have it. Thank you. I can come collect next weekend? I'm East Midlands but I'm from Dartford way, so I can come down for a visit next week and stop off on the way.

That's very kind .

Sure, send me a PM with your contact.
I have just built my shed/workshop this year too and I can give you a tour of my mistakes so that you don’t have to repeat them.