Feed Direction, Complicated?

kolias

It’s not very easy to grasp the feed direction of a handheld router. I know that on a handheld router the bit spins clockwise and on the table it’s the opposite. That’s the only easy part.

When the router is table mounted, I find it easier since you can only push the stock against the fence and then feed the stock from the front into the spinning bit.

But with a handheld router it gets complicated because you must be aware if you are going from front to back and where the fence or router guide is. Then comes if you have a template to follow; when you route on the inside of a template you move the router CCW and on the outside you move CW.

How the heck can you remember all this when you try to concentrate on your cut? Does it come with experience only or there are some “golden rules”?

As an example, on the attached photos I try to make a groove on a table. Are the directions correct?

Thank you,

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harrysin

The face of the Carbide must approach the wood, so hand held, the router moves from left to right or anti-clockwise on an outside surface, however, on an inside surface the opposite is true.
So if you think about it, on a table, the wood is fed from right to left. To grasp this concept, hold a cutter in your hand and rotate it clockwise with cutter facing down and you will understand the above.

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Harry

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Drew Eckhardt

Don't. Before you start just arrange things so that the carbide is moving into the wood.

rwyoung

Harry will appreciate this one...

"Right Hand Rule". No, not the one for E-field and Magnetic field and current flow...

Hold out your right hand (I'm assuming you have a right hand). Shape it like a gun, curl back the middle, ring and pinky to the palm, index finger out, thumb perpendicular (index finger = barrel, thumb = hammer)

Now turn it palm down, you should be looking at the back of your hand. The back of your hand represents the router, your palm is the base plate, that is to say it is the part that would be touching the wood. With your palm down, this is a hand-held router. If you do it palm up it would be a table mounted router.

Your thumb points at the work piece edge and your index finger points in the feed direction.

Always works.

If you don't have a right-hand to do this with, I guess you will need to learn a different trick.

kolias

Good answers, helps to understand better

Rob, I kind of mixed-up my fingers for a moment LOL but it's a good way to remember.

Thank you

harrysin

Rob, I was going to take a shot of the right hand rule, because I couldn't find the one that senior moderator Mike posted a while back, however I couldn't hold the camera in my left hand. For beginners it is very good.

__________________
Harry

"If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us, we'd all be millionaires." - Abigail Van Buren



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CanuckGal

Excellent mnemonic! Thanks!

xplorx4

I like that right hand rule, I have wondered my self some time that makes it easy!!! or is that easier.

__________________
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Capt Splinter

Rob,
I'm a visual kind of person, and that "Right Hand Rule" is great. I know for at least the near future, you'll see me out in my shop with my hand out, pointing to my workpiece just before I cut.
Thanks again

woodnthings

Hey guys I'm all thumbs so the right hand rule left me pointing and firing, rather than routing. Here's the way I think about it: the cutter is like a bunch of sharp fingers trying to trap the workpiece and push it in towards the fence on a table router and because the cutter rotates CCW so you want the workpiece being pushed into the fence, not out or away from it.So feed from to right to left.

< CCW cutter rotation
-------------- # ------------------------ fence
>
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm <-----==== work

With a hand held the cutter is rotating CW, pulling itself into the work piece. Use this diagram: (dots are invisible) this software doesn't recognize empty space so....dots, m= wood to be routed or a pattern, table top etc. Also it puts everything flush left..snap!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
m...............................m
m...............................m hand held
m.....router=====-->.....m
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
> CW cutter rotation
#
<
<------=====Router
On a table the work goes from right to left, with a hand held, the router goes from right to left except on an inside rout.

Sorry, that's the best I can do...not a computer geek...yet! Bill