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Can I take deeper cut with more HP?

6K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  timbertailor 
#1 ·
I’m in the market to buy a dedicated Router for my router table and I can’t decide if I want to pay twice the amount for only 1 HP.

The thing is that I have never bogged down my 2 HP routers no matter what I have done. The only thing that happens is that I burn up bits. I might be persuaded to spend the extra money if I can make every cut in one pass, if that’s possible.
 
#2 ·
Cutting in multiple passes is a myth. The best way to preserve blade life and reduce friction is to cut in one pass. Heat is removed by the wood chips. Fewer chips, less heat removal.

Try it. You will thank me later.
 
#3 ·
Oh thanks, you are the first one to say this. I've been told for at least 20 or so years that I have to make multiple passes. I've used my table saw to make dadoes because it was easier to push a chisel then to keep razing the router bit.
I'll give it a try
 
#7 ·
"Oh thanks, you are the first one to say "
************************************
You may pull back a stub too.
For example, a single path cut with a straight bit at depth, will
cut a pathway wider than the cutter. You want that?
Moreover, breakage is common whence the cutter is engaged in too much work.
In the class room, if I hear the scream of a cutter deep in the work, the next thing I see is blue smoke.
As obnoxious and slow as it may be, the best of cuts are taken in steps.
 
#8 ·
I tend to agree with Pat. If you are too deep the chips have a hard time being ejected and the result is lots of heat. Straight bits in particular don't eject them well. I've found that a saw cut almost to depth first makes a huge difference in routing effort, heat, and bit life. The chips eject easier and the bit gets air for cooling.
 
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#10 · (Edited)
I probably wouldn't mind making multiple cuts if I had a router lift. As it stands now it's not only a pain to raise the router for each cut, but also a safety hazard. I almost got hurt last week trying to raise the router when I accidentally turned on the switch. A few years ago my PC router fell out of it's base while I was cutting. I don't know if I forgot to lock it or if the leaver came loose. I've placed wood blocks under the router ever since just in case it happens again.

OK well I am going to purchase a router lift sometime soon and I'll have to play around with the height of cut until I find what works for me.
 
#11 ·
...
OK well I am going to purchase a router lift sometime soon and I'll have to play around with the height of cut until I find what works for me.
Give the Triton TRA001 a good look. It costs about the same as a good lift, but has one built in. It has 3.25 hp and really handles dust nicely. I just mounted mine in a Woodpecker plate with a twist lock insert and it is a pleasure to use. It has a crank to raise and lower it from above the table and with the twist lock inserts, it is very nice. You may have run across a couple of negative items on the Triton, but most of that has to do with their several changes of distributorship and the problems that produced. But the Triton itself is a great table mounted router.

I really like my Bosch 1617s and they worked well in the table. But by the time I paid for the 1617 and a lift, I'd spent more than the Triton and it was not nearly as convenient to use as the Triton in the Woodpecker plate.
 
#12 ·
John,

you can cheat and take light cuts without having to change your bit height. You can add a false top of MDF above your router table top effectively lowering the router bit. Make all the first passes, lift it off, you are at your final depth without adjusting the router at all. I have also used this approach by adding spacers to the fence to limit the bite of a bit.

The false hardboard top has a block of wood glued to the front edge to catch on the router table so it doesn't move as you feed the wood into the bit.
 
#13 ·
A few years back I was visiting a truss manufacturing plant in Lantzville on Vancouver Island. The equipment was pretty much all automatic, which included a finger making setup to cut both ends of the 2 x 4's as they approached the glue up section.
The machine, more a shaper than a router of course, made multiple passes instead of trying to cut the whole depth in one go. I would say it took out about 1/4" per pass and advanced itself automatically with each pass.
About 5 seconds and the joint was done.
 
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#21 · (Edited)
Please take me at my word when I say that what I about to say is just my personal opinion. I know that I am inviting controversy when I say it, but I am going to express it anyway.

It is my personal opinion that a dedicated router in a router table without a good lift is really handicapped in comparison to not having one and is just not complete. I will add that a lift that allows for measured and accrete adjustments is also a must, that is of course, for me and my limited as well as personal experience.

The Incra Mast R lift that I have cost more than did the PC router by about $75, but is well worth it. I think that I should say that I recognize that not everybody is fortunate enough to just spend money on everything that they would like to have in their shop.

This forum is, as I understand it to be, is a place to express individual opinions on matter such as this issue that has come up so with that said, I do defend my right to my personal opinion and that is all that it is.

As far as multiple passes with a router bit goes, I have never considered any other approach as long as the cut being made is such that it is conducive to that approach.

Some cuts, such as miter lock cuts cannot be done that way and do indeed require single passes of course.

Perhaps in large production shops where time is very important, multiple cut may not be practical, I wouldn't know, I'm only suspect of the thought, but for myself, a hobbyist, I have plenty of time to fuss with such things and the fussing is, to me, is part of the enjoyment of working with tools. I doubt that I am unique in that thinking.

Hope that this has not muddied the water in regard to answering your question Dave.

Jerry
 
#26 ·
When I first started out in the late 70,s my first tool was a table saw which I still have and use daily. I would
buy one tool a year. Now over 40 years later I have most of what I need. For those who make a router cut in
one pass how would you make a cut for a raised panel? I guess we all have our way of doing things and if they
work than that's the way we do it. Keep it fun.
 
#27 ·
Larry
I use a Triton 3 1/2 hp. I modified the base as shown in the sommerfield video to accomadate large raised panel bit. It will make a panel in one pass in poplar. It took 2 passes in ash but I got some tearout so I did those 3 passees. Hardness and grain are part of the equation. When I first joined the BOB and Rick videos were on the site. The key for me from the video is LISTEN to your router. If it growls to fast or too much feed
 
#28 ·
Hay Bill when you did the Ash in 2 or 3 passes didn't you get any burnt edges. I just did four oak raised panels
and I did it in several passes and even than I got some burn, but with a lighter pass at the end it was nice and
clean. Oh and when we do dovetails we do it in one pass. I will have to google Bob & Rick to see what that is.
 
#29 ·
The only time I get burning is when I do not get a steady pass. Any accelerations, hesitations, or the like will often lead to burning.

Panel cutters fall into the same category as every other bit in that you do not cut more than the bit width. In the case of a panel cutter, the bit height.
 
#32 ·
I wish. I have not found a property yet. I have been waiting to pick up my RV so that I will have something to live in while it is being built.

The bad weather up North, where the Jayco factory is, has made it unsafe to pick up so I have arranged to pick it up on the 1st of March.

It has been difficult to be patient but safety first. Last thing I want to do is slide off the road with a 40 foot trailer in tow and set my entire plan back another three months. (not to mention dealing with insurance).

I have started shopping for metal building solutions and have decided that it will be the quickest way to get settled in and started on my dream shop.

Here is the thread with more details if you are truly interested. Thanks for asking. It is appreciated. Since I can not do anything, talking about it makes me pass the time quicker.:grin::grin::grin::grin:

http://www.routerforums.com/lobby/78233-one-step-closer-my-dream-shop.html
 
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