Router Accident - Trying to understand what happened

template tom

Darryl;

It is great to hear that you are going to continue with your hobby and you have a large project ahead of you. When I was in the cabinetmaking business I sent away for the doors already constructed, I know it is not the same but time was the factor when there were say 30 doors to construct.

"What is the best way to pursue your method of routing?"

I am working on that right now as I hope to have a web site in the near future where all the information can be displayed, I suppose similar to what Bob and Rick are doing. Meantime if you do have a question send me an email.
Tom

Advertising



Remove these advertisements by registering for your free RouterForums.com account today!

wrestlingstud13

I had a kid that was in my shops class in high school that was routing the panel for a raised panel and the board kicked back much like this.. He was however using a fence but it still kicked back and sent his fingers into the router. He lost the tips and there was nothing left to sew back on but torn up meat... bad stuff, sorry to hear about your finger darryl

FatFreddysCat

Darryl

Thanks for reminding us all that we're not invincible. I hope the fingers are recovering, although from experience it may take quite a long time before you get anything near full use back. I've had stitches in one thumb (13 stitches) and also reconstructive surgery on my other thumb because of router accidents, although mine were on larger static pin routers. The principles are the same.

FWIW I try to trim any lippings or overhangs down to the smallest possible amount before using the router. Small router bits aren't good at handling big cuts and one should never try to machine off more than 1/2 the diameter of the cutter, i.e. a 1/4in diameter cutter won't handle more than 1/8in overhang. I'd normally restrict trim cutters that size to laminate or veneer edgings. Try taking 3/4in x 1in high overhang off with a 1/4in diameter bit in a 1 HP router and you're just inviting kickback. For solid wood lippings I make it a practice to use 3/4in or 1in diameter bits in a 1/2in router.

woodaholic

Darryl,

I know us posting doesnt bring ur fingers back but time will heel it. Im a TOTAL noob at routers and i just recently went and purchased the Dewalt DW618 and alot of other goodies such as skill saw, jig saw, cordless drill etc etc.

I helped my grandpa in the woodworking shop many of times and never had nothing happen. But you never ever know. I cant say what happened here cuz i truly dont know.

I have almost completed my router table ( 75% ) done I'de say with out any accidents. But I still got to install a few things that involves using the router.

I promise the next time I use the router I WILL have sumthing holding the wood down and what not. Thanks for the post it really opened my eyes and kinda punched me and told me to be safe every second when the machines are turned on.

BTW: Me being a noob, On a table u feed the wood from left to right.. CorrecT? Or do you base it on the direction the bit is spinning. If so which way? counter or clock wise. THANKS FOR EVERYONE ON THE FORUM.. I will have pictures of the table very soon

James

Noob

This thread was posted before I got here, so I'm glad it was resurrected because it was an eye-opener. Haven't built my table yet, but when I do I'll make sure to have some safety things on there like what Bogydave posted. I found a similar one to Bogydave's guard but attaches differently since my fence may be made differently (Photo 53): Freehand Guard LINK

I wonder if a starter pin would have helped too since all the pressure of holding the material wouldn't have been on the small contact point between the bearing and the template.

**By the way, I think someone has that site linked above as a signature because I've seen it a couple of times.

FatFreddysCat

James

If you are using a router table the feed direction is ALWAYS from RIGHT to LEFT. This is because the cutter rotates anti-clockwise and you need to feed in such a way that the cutter cannot grab and pull-in the worlk (i.e. away from your hands). It's possibly also worth noting that the width of cut should always be less that one half of the diameter of the cutter (e.g. 1/4in or less on a 1/2in diameter cutter) and the depth of cut on a given pass should ideally never be out of square, i.e. a 1/2in diameter cutter working a groove (dado) shouldn't be taking more than a 1/2in deep cut on each pass. These figures are obviously maximums, not advised norms!

As to using a lead-in pin - if the work is carried on a template the lead pin is rarely required as the template lead-in should accommodate any start of feed issues. The other thing to do, though, is to carefully hog away most of the waste on the bandsaw or with a jigsaw first to leave a 1/8in (3mm) or so margin to machine away. This has the additional advantage of being safer, putting less strain on the router and giving a better quality end piece (because the router is much less likely to slow dorwn, stall, etc)

woodaholic

thanks alot fredy! nice tips

JAmes

Birdflu

Ouch !!!

One thing I don't see in the pics : Where is the FENCE?

A fence might limit the depth of cut (into the wood and fingers).

A tip I once heard "Never attempt to catch a falling knife - let it fall"

Possibly this may hold true - don't attempt to hold a flying board - let it go..

FWIW.

Hope you heal well !!

danconway327

Darryl I am aglad you are doing better, I will post some of your pix in my shop {or laminate to my router table/table saw} for a reminder.

1. “Is this operation safe?”
2. “Do I have to do this operation in this manner?”
3. “Is there a safer method?”
4. “What could go wrong?”
5. “What would the results be?”

Always Remember,
Do it the safest way, body parts don’t grow back!

Old_Chipper

Darryl, Looks like you are healing nicely. Thanks for posting. Good reminder for the rest of us. Don't beat yourself up too much. just learn from this. It's hard to know what really happen. Looking at your pictures I can see a few things I would have done different. I prefer the bearing be topside, Bearings on the shaft often slip, no matter how often we check them. I would have had handles on the template, It's hard to tell if you had enough surface area to keep it from tipping. Thanks again, It got us all to think, something we sometimes stop doing after 50 yrs of doing it.
Good luck, I don't I need to tell you , "think safety"
Harry

__________________
Harry, TX
Cut it twice, and it's still too short!