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New to the forum, looking at buying whats needed to make my own stair nosing.

3K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  fcat 
#1 ·
Hi all,
I was sent over here from the Hardwood Flooring Talk forum. I'm an English guy living in the US and reside in Northern VA. I do tiling, kitchens, bathrooms etc but have never had cause to need a router and have never used one in the past.

In the next few weeks I'm starting to lay my hardwood floor in the 1st floor of my house, just short of 800ft of solid Acacia wood thats 3/4 x 4 3/4.The price of the pre-manufactured stair nosing is so damn expensive that i thought i would have a go at making my own, add the tools needed to my collection and still save money!

I was looking at the big box stores but wasn't sure what to get. I'd prefer a small table rather than using a hand held and have a fondness for Dealt and Bosch tools:)

Any help on what to buy would be appreciated and then i can move n to how to make the actual stair nosing!

Thanks
 
#3 ·
Welcome Simon...

You will likely berecommended the Bosch 1617evspk for table and plunge...comes with both bases.

Lots of accessories available...

If you're going to buy a table I suggest looking at the Bosch RA1181... DIY will not take much to build...

If table only take a look at the Triton...

Have fun...more will come along to help you spend your money... :)
 
#4 ·
Welcome Simon,
You want to buy something that will be useful for other projects that come up down the road. To me, that means a combination plunge/fixed base router setup like this one.
Bosch 120-Volt 3-1/2 in. Corded Plunge and Fixed-Base Router Kit-1617EVSPK - The Home Depot

General opinion around here seems to be that you can't do better than Bosch in this size range. I think you can easily make your stair nosing without a router table by clamping the board to something sturdy and routing one end at a time. If you want a table anyway, I'm thinking you want something small and portable enough to take to jobsites. I don't have experience to offer there because my table is mounted in a wing of my table saw. A little practice on some scrap and you'll be making fine stair nosing in no time.
 
#7 ·
Welcome Simon. I was faced with the same issue when I laid my bamboo floor down. The nosings were going to cost almost as much as I paid for the rest of the floor. You can round the noses with either of these 2 bits. I recoomend doing it on a table but it's not impossible freehand. It isn't something I would recommend to a novice just the same.
Freud Roundover Router Bits - justfreud.com You would use this bit on either side of the board.
Freud 82-512 3/8" Radius (3/4" Bull Nose Height) Bull Nose Router Bit With Bearing (1/2" Shank) This bit does it in one pass but will often leave very small fillets that need to be sanded out. Usually the nose will need a little sanding anyway so that usually is not a big deal. This bit must be used with a fence or edge guide.
 
#10 ·
Hi all, ... Welcome Simon...

1.... have never had cause to need a router and have never used one in the past.
2.... i thought i would have a go at making my own, add the tools needed to my collection and still save money!
3.... I'd prefer a small table rather than using a hand held and have a fondness for Dealt and Bosch tools:)

Any help on what to buy would be appreciated and then i can move n to how to make the actual stair nosing!

Thanks

1.... it will take several post put I will attach a ''few'' PDF's on router safety, use and and maintenance...
2.... will you be adding the nosing or making the whole tread...
will the nosing be for other places/accents than the stairs..
if your flooring is solid wood will you be using that for your nosing...
3.... Nick has the plan for table...
the DW618 was just featured in a couple threads which say the 618 in a table isn't such a good plan...
I'm all Bosch when it comes to routers...

2nd to none CS and support...
real work horse...
last long time...
protects my bottom line...

I think/believe Bosch to be an outstanding company... they seem to always man up to any found problems in a heartbeat... quite unlike most of the other tool manufactures/companies...
I have a lot of their tools...and I mean a lot... I started using Bosch in the late 70's... since then, they've have proven themselves dependable and have yet to let me down... Bosch has come through, within reason, to my benefit...
less down time, less hassles, less additional monies spent, longevity, planned obsolesce isn't an issue and less all around grief... they have proven that they have a cost effective track record and products over and over again...
if you don't mind mediocre and disposable along with the associated trials and tribulations.... buy "other" I'll stay with Bosch... I've learned my lessons...
Everything may not be always a bed of roses but Bosch sure seems to bust their butt to clear or deal with of as many of the thorns as possible so you don't have to......

PDF's on the way...
 

Attachments

#19 ·
Some great bedtime reading in your posts, thanks.

I WILL be making the whole stair treads (12 of them) and nosing wont be used anywhere else, I'll be using the 3/4" x 4 3/4 solid tongue and grooved flooring wood to make the treads and need a 5/16th piece to add under the front edge to create the thicker bull nose. I'll probably rip one of the boards down.

thanks again
 
#11 ·
#13 ·
just a few more PDF's...
 

Attachments

#14 ·
For a "First Router Table" a 2 ft square piece of 3/4" plywood with holes in the center to match the router base, can be an effective router table without a major investment. Spend the money on a good quality router and not on the router table for this first project.

Screw the edge of this router table board to the top of a saw horse or work bench, mount the router underneath with flat head bolts countersunk into the top side of the plywood. Then use a straight board and 2 clamps as a fence. You will want to cut out notch in the center of this fence board so that the router bit will fit completely inside this notch. With the bit installed in the router and raised up through the large center hole of the table, the notch in the fence will allow you to hide all of the router bit except for the portion that needs to do the cutting of the work as you slide it past along the fence. A shop vacuum hose held by a clamp near this fence notch will catch most of the saw dust. Otherwise, just plan on cleaning up a bigger mess.

My first router table was made this way and fastened to a tall saw horse. I used it for 3 years before upgrading to a real router table.

The Bosch 1617 or the DeWalt 618 multi base kits would be ideal choices for this project, and for many future projects. I would use a 1/2" shank cove bit for this project. The Freud quad cut bits do a great job with very little clean up of the cut edge afterwards.

Get back with us before attempting to make the nosing so we can get you started doing it safely.

Charley
 
#16 ·
After reading the comments and a review concerning using the DW618 I contacted DeWalt and asked them about using the DW618 in a table. 'No problem' was the response.
hmmmmmmmmmm.....

Router Forums - View Single Post - Dewalt DW618 noised motor and almost no power

The first thing out of the gentlemen's mouth was, "did you have it in a table?". With some hesitation I said yes. He said that in 90% of these cases something fell into the motor and broke the mag ring. He also said based on the fluctuating speed that the magnetic control switch may have gone bad and they will check the mag ring.
 
#20 ·
Bosch 1617 EVSPK kit, the fixed base can be used to mount it in a table. I always prefer using a router table for such tasks, safer and more likely to produce a good result. Freud bits are fine as well. Easy to get for basic bits such as Stick listed.

Making your own table can be a very simple matter, or as complex as you want. A fence isn't much of a problem either. You'll find all kinds of plans for simple tables on this site. It can be nothing more than a sheet of plywood on a couple of supports. But you surely will want a fence set up so you can clamp it into place.
 
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