routing dilema - with the grain is with rotation of router?!

[fobos8]

Hello all

Another question that hopefully someone can help with.

Will have my table top glued up by end of weekend so will be profiling the edges of it next week. My intention is to put in a 22mm ovulo. http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Large_Ovolo_187.html

I guess I should be routing with the grain of the oak but along one of the edges this meaning going with the rotation of the router. So I have a dilema. Do I rout with against the rotation and risk tearout which I think is very likely OR do I go with the grain and router rotation and do a lot of passes just taking a couple of mm each pass.

Someone else must have come accross this kind of thing before. What did you do?

In future should I be orientating boards so I can rout against the rotation and with the grain?

All the best, Andrew

 

[frugal]

I guess I should be routing with the grain of the oak but along one of the edges this meaning going with the rotation of the router. So I have a dilema. Do I rout with against the rotation and risk tearout which I think is very likely OR do I go with the grain and router rotation and do a lot of passes just taking a couple of mm each pass.

Use the rotation of the cutter as indicator of the direction to go, you should be moving the router into the direction of the cut. If you go the other way the router will try to pull away from you.

If you want a clean finish, then make a rough pass first, then a final pass to take off the last 1mm or so. The speed of rotation of the cutter mean that it should just be taking a fraction of a mm off on each revolution, so the with grain / against grain is far outweighed by the keeping fingers / loosing fingers aspect.

 

[NeilO]

Fobos, if the table is square/rectanglar I would be tempted to route the end grain first (both ends ) using a backer of scrap wood to eliminate as much tearout as possible then finish with the sides/edges.

I also agree with frugal, in "rough" cutting most of the material off and making a final pass for the last mm or so.

is the router table mounted or you doing it freehand (bearing cutter excluded) ??

 

[Ironballs]

Like Neil says beware when you get to the ends/corners. Look at the direction of the cutter and the grain, ideally you should have the cutter pulling the cut into the grain. If it's going out on a corner then you will break the grain and have to get the glue out. Yes, this is the voice of experience

 

[woodbloke]

Like Neil says beware when you get to the ends/corners. Look at the direction of the cutter and the grain, ideally you should have the cutter pulling the cut into the grain. If it's going out on a corner then you will break the grain and have to get the glue out. Yes, this is the voice of experience

The last little bit of a corner can usually be done with hand tools...plane or chisel - Rob

 

[fobos8]

i'm planning of having curves corners - so this should help prevent any tearout when routing accross the end grain.

I have routed oak before and if you go against the grain then there is a 50% chance it will tear out - this is even with a 5mm roundover bit - albeit with only one pass.

I don't see how I can prevent this from happening when routing against the grain. I can't see how I can make a rough cut and then a 1mm cleanup cut cos chunks of grain will probably have come out.

Am I misunderstanding something?

Should I rout againt the rotation of the cutter whatever the grain direction, take as many passes as possible and just hope there is no tearout?

Please advise... I really don't want to screw this beautifull table top up!!

 

[OPJ]

Always feed the router against the cutter's direction of rotation. That's anti-clockwise on an outer curve (like your table top edge) and clockwise for an internal shape (maybe a recess or hand-hold). Another important tip is to use sharp, good quality cutters.

Some people do feed the router 'the wrong way' to get a clean cut some times but, I wouldn't recommend it. In the hands of a beginner, the router can be a very dangerous tool if you attempt something like this.

I like the two-cuts idea, as suggested above; leaving 1mm to clean up with the final pass, when you're routing against the grain direction. It shouldn't take any lumps out unless your cutter is blunt or you're feeding it too fast. Keep the router speed on high and feed it at a constant speed. Don't sit in one spot for too long or else you'll leave burn marks.

 

[Chems]

I climb cut the last part.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I'd practice on a scrap piece of similar wood first :wink: You should have seen John Lloyd's demonstration at Westonbirt of cutting complex mouldings using a combination of hand tools - provided you have the tools and know how to use them, it's far less problematic than a router, IMHO. After using the router you'll probably have some roughness on some of the surfaces and will need to clean up with a scraper or sandpaper.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[woodbloke]

I climb cut the last part.

I was told never, ever to climb cut as it's supposed to knacker the bearings on the router...and this was in a pro 'shop where nobody ever did it - Rob

 

[mailee]

I have used the climb cut many times in the past and have only ever replaced one set of bearings in my routers. Sometimes it is the only way to cut with wild grain. Just take light bites and all should be fine. :wink:

 

[Ironballs]

Two things, why will a climb cut damage the bearings? Genuine would like to know as I'm a big believer in mechanical sympathy

The other is, beware rounding over on corners, can still get tearout with the right/wrong piece of wood

 

[Paul Chapman]

As I understand it, a lot of cuts with the Woodrat are made with the cutter going the "wrong" way in order to get smooth cuts, but that's with the router and the workpiece firmly held - so maybe there is a way of doing it if you can work out how to anchor the router and firmly hold the workpiece :-k

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Mr Ed]

I only view climb cutting and something to be wary of when the router is mounted in a table. When hand holding the machine I do it from time to time if needed. I can't see how that would damage the router?

Ed

 

[Ironballs]

I did climb cuts when routing the binding channel on the maple guitar top, full cuts on the tighter curves or on tricky grain risked chunks of the top flying across the shop

 

[Chems]

Also leigh, a huge company have you climb cut the start of the dovetail cuts on the jigs.

I with ed, I'd never do it on table as if it caught you'd get pulled into the cutter.

I normally go right to the edge then come back in for the last cm from the wrong direction. You can avoid this by making sure you do cross grain before long grain.

One of the most difficult things to do is route around and internal curve, cause it changes direction along the way.

 

[xy mosian]

I find if I rout across the grain, end of panel, first, any speltch is often removed when I rout along the other edge. Basically leaving scrap on to make the first cut.

xy