Cornucopia of Routing Advice
December 11th, 2008My Scrap Bin Runneth Over
Lots of comments on the router table. Let’s see.
“This: LINK is the Bible when it comes to dust control.”
Oh good. I hope it’s expensive.
“Next thing you know you’re gonna want one of these, a palm router: ”
Okay, just shut up. I am not listening.
I wonder who makes a good one…
“There is nothing you can’t do with a router.”
Succinct.
“Don’t forget about a “D” handle router, too.”
[fingers in ears] STILL NOT LISTENING.
“Something that both sucks and blows is called an eductor. If you blow high-pressure air into a venturi, it entrains air into the nozzle and out the back end.”
I actually thought about venturis in this context. My dad’s boat has toilets that work this way, except instead of air, they blow water. But I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. Again.
“Does being 30% done on building an airplane count as worthy?”
I don’t know. Cutting a hole in a desk is pretty freaking impressive.
“From the picture it looks like the base is recessed below the surface of the table. Is that an optical illusion, or is that what you meant by adjusting the height?”
It’s both. Later on, I took a small block of wood and ran it back and forth over the joints, adjusting the set screws whenever it met resistance. It seems pretty level now. Or pretty fair, or whatever the word is.
I am still finding dust everywhere. I need to conquer it. Problem is, I will make dust when I create a fence, and I can’t make a dust collection system until the fence exists.
I originally wanted to buy an aluminum fence from Rockler, but I am developing an aversion to buying stuff a real man would make (having somehow confused myself with a real man), so I am thinking I should just grind one out of a two-by-four or two-by-six. I may be able to get a straight bottom and top edge using the table saw. A straight side may be more of a challenge. I could cheat and put a sacrificial strip of MDF on it.
I keep calling the table MDF, and I have seen other people call the same material MDF, but I believe it’s really particle board, with smaller than usual particles. Whatever it is, it routs pretty well. I think once I get it totally flat, I may spray the underside with something to seal it up and keep water from making it swell and bend. I don’t trust paint to do it. I happen to have some truck bed paint. That ought to do it, big-time.
Let’s see. Two-by-six for the fence. Flatten the top and bottom with table saw. Fair up front side with hand plane. Attach sacrificial MDF strip with dust rabbet along bottom. I could attach something to the fence at a 90-degree angle, on the back, to rest on the table and support it.
Guess I’ll look at my books and see what the story is.
People are telling me I need certain types of filters to minimize the health risk. To tell the truth, I wasn’t thinking about that. I figured I would always have to wear a mask. I was thinking mainly about the mess.
I hate masks. After a while, I find myself breathing heavily because of the air resistance. Dang it.
Anyway, progress is happening.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:58 AM
I thought that thing looked adjustable! I’m too lazy to search the archives – how much did it set you back? Someday…
December 11th, 2008 at 1:59 PM
Tool guys, like gun guys, love to give advice. Solicited or not!
December 11th, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Wood warps. Aluminum doesn’t (in this context).
Your fence should be straight and not warp.
A real man fence can ride in slots and have a subfence, all with accessory tracks…
Or you can do what I did and put an old Craftsman router with a broken power switch (rewired always-on) into the cheapest Chinese POS router table you can find, and call it good.
But don’t go halfway.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:00 PM
“Level” means square to the center of the Earth. “Fair” means all the curves in a line or surface run smoothly with no discernable bumps. Flat means exactly that. Ideally, stationary tool work surfaces are flat. Level is merely convenient.
DO NOT use construction grade softwood lumber for tooling surfaces. It absorbs water from the air, swells and shrinks too much and has an annoying tendence not to remain straight. An added bonus is it’s not hard enough to wear well. Spring for some high quality hardwood. Clear straight grained maple or beech are ideal, followed a ways along by birch, then white oak. A good piece of 3″x 3″ X 1/4″ aluminum angle is even better. It will be straight and stay that way. If it marks youir workpieces sand the working face to give it some tooth then cement on a strip of satin finish formica type laminate. Or bolt on a hardwood face.
December 11th, 2008 at 6:24 PM
““Does being 30% done on building an airplane count as worthy?””
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“I don’t know. Cutting a hole in a desk is pretty freaking impressive.”
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Agreed. Especially when I had plans to build on and you’ve done this all from scratch!
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“Let’s see. Two-by-six for the fence. Flatten the top and bottom with table saw. Fair up front side with hand plane. Attach sacrificial MDF strip with dust rabbet along bottom. I could attach something to the fence at a 90-degree angle, on the back, to rest on the table and support it.”
.
That makes the jigging I went through to true up my fuselage seem simple by comparison. That’s a pretty impressive router table…so, now the obvious question:
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“What are you going to build with it?”
December 12th, 2008 at 1:09 AM
No. Do NOT only put a sealant on only one side of MDF (or particle board or plywood …well, unless it is braced a ton, as in a box core type construction). You WILL cause it to warp (or warp worse). as you will have an unequal absorption of humidity/moisture. You have to *seal* both sides, or neither side. My two bits.
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December 12th, 2008 at 8:25 AM
The top is already sealed. It’s covered in melamine.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:28 PM
You know that you need a vortex cooler for welding. I know that it would appeal to you …