Does size really matter…

Well I have been asked about the different sizes of routers and if bigger is better? The short answer is yes bigger is better…the biggest is a plunge router with 15 amps. Don’t rely on the salesman saying it is a 3 1/2 hp look for yourself at the posted amp rating. Now to answer if bigger is better so if you only have one choice then I would recommend the plunge router rated at 15 amps. Remember as the market is now you can get a China built plunge router at 15 amps for $30 to $50. Scared about the quality, don’t be just check at the point of purchase and get the scoop on the return policy.

These combo packs that have both the Plunge and barrel type routers in my opinion really are not a real option. The barrel type router is the 1950’s technology that hasn’t changed. The barrel type router has problems with the controlled depth adjustment. In short they can’t plunge into your project piece, which makes them useless for most or all pattern work.

So what should you buy? Should you try one of those $50.00 China plunge routers? Remember places that have their own brand of Chinese router will also have a fairly good guarantee, so check this out. These routers are built around the the Elu 177, which is the inventor of the plunge router. This router has been on the market for over 40 years and has proven itself as the best router for the majority of router operations. In my opinion stay away from the combo packs, other than that the more routers you own the better. We currently have over 50 routers…Starting out go the Plunge router like the Dewalt 625, or the Triton series of three routers. And of course there are the China Routers that looks like the Dewalt 625 or the Elu 177.

Just my 2 cents,

Rick

7 Router Bit suggestions,

1) 1/4″ round over bit,
2) 1/4″ cove bit,
3) 3/8″ straight or Spiral bit,
4) 5/32 Roman Ogee Bit
5) 1/2″ Flush Trim Bit,
6) 3/8″ Rabbet Bit,
7) 1/2″ 14 degree Dovetail Bit.

Now that you have the bit list what are the projects and operations used to get practiced on the many uses with these bits. I give you the first projects for the 1/4″ cove and round over bits.

- The 3/8″ straight bit is used to create box joints and rabbet dado joint in 3/4″ thickness.

- The 5/32 Roman Ogee bit is used to create a fancy edge. It also can be used to make a round over, a cove, a bead and the roman ogee…

- The 1/2″ flush trim bit is used to quickly make patterns for your guide system,

- The 3/8″ Rabbet is used to create the rabbet joint quickly,

- The 1/2″ Dovetail bit is used to create linear dovetails and the blind dovetail joint.

So, what about buying router bit sets?

Dear Bob & Rick,

I see a lot of box sets of router bits for sale are they really any good and are they worth it I see certain cost of single bits and wonder how can they sell a box at such low cost, common sense tells me they are not quality router bits and I should invest in one bit at a time purchases…

John,

—————————————————————————————————-

Yes, in most cases what these sets have is 15 to 24 router bits and you really will only use let’s say 7 of the 24 router bits. So if you are just starting out buy a 1/4″ cove and 1/4″ round over bit and then have a project to rout with the new router bits.

Example:

Practice molding the edges of MDF picture plaques that are 6″ X 8″. These wood plaques are used to glue the 5″ X 7″ photos to the face side. The round over bit is cut on the face side and the cove bit is cut on the back face…If you have 10 plaques that need 40 round over cuts on the face and 40 cove cuts on the back face then you get the needed practice on the uses of the round over and cove bit.

Just my 2 cents,

Rick

Something New…

We we are now finished with our sales drive and moving on to the new things for this fall. To start I have an experiment I am doing with Live Video Chat. If your interested in participating in the test then check out the front page of www.routerworkshop.net.

I intend to run these live video chats once a week starting on the first Saturday of November. Before that time I would like to test the chat and live video, for that I need some people willing to join us in the chat while we do the live video portion. Click here to check out the sample and join the list of interested router enthusiasts!

Quick and Easy Dado Jig…

Today’s feature router fixture is the simple dado jig, which is two pieces of 3/4″ plywood mounted at 90% to the 1 1/2″ support pieces. In turn the 1 1/2 support pieces are mounted on a piece of 3/4″ base material. You don’t need a measured drawing to determine the sizes used to make this fixture. See Photo 1 used to get the big picture.

The next photo is showing the important notch that is used to control the amount of router dust collecting along the main support pieces. Having your project piece tight to the support piece ensures that the dado has been cut at 90% angle. Be sure not to forget this notch…See Photo 2.

The quick toggle clamp mounted one on each side of the groove used to guide the brass router guide. Be sure that the toggles are positioned fairly close to the dado pattern. Once these pieces are mounted into the fixture they will not move because the router is cutting on both sides of the first cut. See Photo 3.

In Photo 4 we are cutting a channel into the main support piece before we are going to use the fixture. Set the depth of the cutter and make the first cuts into the support piece before we use the fixture to actually cut the project pieces. The reason we do this is to pre-set the depth of cut and hide the moving cutter within this channel. Then you can set the depth of cut, put the cutter into the channel and then turn on the router and cut the dado in the project pieces.

Photo 5 is about the math used to cut dados in your project material. 1) the channel pattern is 1″ wide, 2) the guide used is a 3/4″ and 3) the router bit is the 1/2″ solid carbide spiral. We have decided on this math because we needed to use the 1/2″ Spiral bit to make the cuts. It is the best router bit used to cut dados in solid material. We need a 3/4″ dado cut into the project sides of the shelf unit, so using a 1″ channel with a 3/4″ guide cuts 1/2″ dado on the first pass and a 1/4″ on the second cut. Please note: be sure to have the first cut on the right side of the pattern then the second cut used to make the 3/4″ groove needs to be on the left side of the pattern.

Photo 6 is about having a cleat to fasten the fixture to the work bench. Be sure to clamp the fixture into place before using. Always think safety, which means don’t try and use either a jig or fixture without having everything securely fasten in place.

That’s it for this fixture….

Thanks to all…

I would to thank all who have purchased the online version of the Router Workshop Video series. This was a very successful sale and both Dad and I know that all who participated will enjoy this fantastic video series on the many uses of the router. Again, thanks to all that have supported us and this website.

Regards, Bob and Rick Rosendahl

PS: For those that want the video series in the High Resolution and on a local computer we have made a fantastic deal on some new computers. YES, a computer for the workshop! Look for this weekend sale coming up tomorrow. If you want the watch complete series of the Router Workshop on a local computer then this is the deal for you!

Keep your eyes open for tomorrows POST!

Woodworking Blogs Wanted!!!

Today’s post is about a new project for the fall that is about promoting different woodworking blogs on the Internet. I am looking for a series of different blogs about the art of woodworking. With this I am interested in creating is a monthly post that indexes posts from regular woodworkers and their Blogs.

If you have a series of special blogs you consider interesting then I want you to submit them to me by add a comment to the bottom of this post. I want to create a series of Monthly Blog Carnivals. So you ask what is a Blog Carnival, click here to see my article on Blog Carnivals.

Making a Hidden Drawer in a Box…

This idea is a old aged idea about creating a piece of furniture that holds secret compartments used to hide your valuable treasures in plain sight. This project uses three boxes to create a hidden drawer in a small jewelry box. The Outside Box with hidden drawer, found at www.Acanthus.com:

How to use the Calculator…this online tool asks you specific questions then creates the material list that will make that specific box. Click here to see the Calculator,

Purchase both the video and plan to episode 801 and plan 801…

First we will need to calculate three separate boxes, 1) the Outside Box, 2) the Inside Liner Box and 3) the Hidden Drawer Box.

Boxes with hidden drawers:

Step One is we need to determine the size of the outside box using the calculator with inside measurements. To be able to use the calculator to make a specific size of box while keeping the box symmetrical we recommend to break down the sizes into a percentage of the length:

1. The length of the box at 100%, lets say 12 inches
2. The Width of the box at 50% of the length, lets say 6 inches and
3. The Height of the box at 45% of the length, lets say 5.4 or 5.4375 inches, which is 5 7/16″.

OK, we have the inside measurement set at 12″ X 6″ X 5.4375″ for the outside box. We are using the rabbet/dado joint and have the left side glued in and the right side fit loosely allowing the owner the ability to remove the side and get access to the bottom drawer.

Purchase both the video and plan to episode 801 and plan 801…

Using the Calculator for the outside box:

From this we need to then calculate the parts for the outside box. In the calculator we set the measurements at the following:

• a) the length at 12 inches,
• b) the width at 6 inches,
• c) the offset at .5 inches,
• d) the height at 5.4375 inches,
• e) the T/B thickness at .75 inches,
• f) how many box at whatever,
• g) thickness of box sides at .5 inches and
• h) set to inside measurements.

Purchase both the video and plan to episode 801 and plan 801…

The Inside Liner Box:

Next we use these same inside dimensions to create each of the inside boxes, a) the Inside Liner Box and b) the Hidden Drawer Box. Let’s start with the a) the Inside Liner Box, in the calculator we set the measurements at the following:

• a) the length at 12 inches,
• b) the width at 6 inches,
• c) the offset at 0,
• d) the height at 3.0 inches,
• e) the T/B thickness at .25 inches,
• f) how many box at whatever,
• g) thickness of box sides at .5 inches and
• h) set to outside measurements.

PLEASE NOTE: we will be using only the bottom of the T/B and the top measurement will be used to make sure the liner box and the hidden drawer fits inside the outside box.

Purchase both the video and plan to episode 801 and plan 801…

Next is the Hidden Drawer Box,

In the calculator we set the measurements at the following:

• a) the length at 12 inches,
• b) the width at 5.875 inches (1/8″ smaller than the liner box),
• c) the offset at 0,
• d) the height at 2.0 inches,
• e) the T/B thickness at .25 inches,
• f) how many box at whatever,
• g) thickness of box sides at .5 inches and
• h) set to outside measurements.

PLEASE NOTE: we will be using only the bottom of the T/B and the top measurement will be used to make sure the liner and the hidden drawer box fits inside the outside box.

That’s it…you now have a jewelry box with a hidden drawer.

Fractions to Decimal measurements…

This post is about the fraction to decimal measurement chart. You would use this chart when making projects using our Dynamic Box calculators. The calculators use the decimal inch to determine the correct sizes and your tape measure uses the fractional inch measurements.

You can try the Magic Box Calculator by following this link

And the China Inlaid Chest is found using this link

Fractional Inch          Decimal Inch
1/16                                 0.0625
1/8                                   0.1250
3/16                                0.1875
1/4                                   0.2500
5/16                                0.3125
3/8                                  0.3750
7/16                               0.4375
1/2                                  0.5000
9/16                               0.5625
5/8                                 0.6250
11/16                             0.6875
3/4                                 0.7500
13/16                            0.8125
7/8                                0.8750
15/16                           0.9375
1                                     1.0000

What is the purpose?

The Push-Stick is a device which is designed to help prevent accidents. It keeps fingers away from the cutters. It is used with all types of stationary machinery like tablesaws, jointers, shapers, and table mounted routers. There are many designs for a safety Push-Stick. Some have specific operations considerations, others have general uses. This Push-Stick design is more of a general use Push-Stick. When used properly, the safety Push-Stick prevents accidents. Ultimately the operator is responsible to determine the proper use and design of a Push-Stick for a specific operation. This Push-Stick has some unique features which helps make it an effective safety tool.

Click here to get your copy of the safety Push-stick.

Next Page »