Hi Matthew:

A: bad
B: bad
C: proper
D: risky

General rule: Do not trap workpiece between bit and fence. That's asking for trouble! More like begging, than asking.

D is a climb cut. Generally a bad idea, but sometimes used. If used, make minimal cut (depth and width.)

Cassandra

 

HI

I will 2nd this post but add ALWAYS use a push block, that will let you hold the stock down and push it forward...big or small stock..push block it..


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I can't improve on what Cassandra has said other than to admonish you my friend, I really thought that you were by this time fully familiar with the basics of routing.

 

Ah - I knew it! At the time it seemed the right thing to do (to be fair to myself, I've only used the RT a handful of times, and don't recall reading anywhere that feeding between the fence and the bit was a BAD idea) however when the cuts came out poorly and jumpy, I stopped work.

I must have had all my safety gear working well in order to survive those blunders without loosing a digit!!

I'll give it a try when I next get time...this time using method C!!

Thanks for your advice.

 

For doing what you describe, I've found the best way to do it is with a handheld router.

 

Hi Matt - I can't really add anything to what has been said. You correctly deduced that method C is the best. I would like to note that sometimes you can trap stock when it's not all that obvious you are going to do so. For example, If you want to make a dado a bit wider, you need to adjust the fence back so the bit would be taking off the edge closest to the front of the table. If just taking of a few thousands, it always felt natural to move the fence toward me until the first time I tried it and the thing ripped the stock out of my hand and did it's level best to put a hole in the far wall. Good luck

 

Had not thought of it but glad you mentioned it

............. I would like to note that sometimes you can trap stock when it's not all that obvious you are going to do so. For example, If you want to make a dado a bit wider, you need to adjust the fence back so the bit would be taking off the edge closest to the front of the table. If just taking of a few thousands, it always felt natural to move the fence toward me until the first time I tried it and the thing ripped the stock out of my hand and did it's level best to put a hole in the far wall. Good luck

Thanks for bringing that up..... hopefully I will remember that before I try to widen a dado or at worst before I hurt myself!!!

 

"C" is correct as the stock moves against the bit direction and the stock is not between the bit and fence.

 

Matthew,

How about pictures to show how risky what you did was;

http://www.routerforums.com/table-mounted-routing/26827-routing-material-between-fence-bit.html

Mike

 

Hi Mike

Hmmm...I must have been lucky. Actually, probably a good dose of luck, and the fact that I had on two feather boards (one vertical, one horizontal) and was using a push stick. The stock did get dragged away from the push stick - but only slowly - at about normal feed rate. As it moved away, it veered away from the fence, chattered a bit and was then spat out onto the RT and sat there.

I've learnt a lesson!

Matthew

 

Matthew, our best ability is the ability to learn from our own mistakes.

We all make mistakes especially in the early days.

 

You want to control what happens. One simple way to evaluate the cut is to think about the direction the bit is pushing on the stock.

You want it to help to hold the work against the fence as it cuts. A and C do that, while B and D push away from the fence - bad.

You also want it to push opposite the feed direction, so it can't be pulled away from you with your hand pushing toward the bit. B and C are against the bit direction, while A and D are climb cuts - bad.

Finally, if the stock wobbles a little, you don't want that to cause damage to the work or loss of control. Pulling a little away from the fence causes the bit to take a deeper bite in A and B, with consequences dangerous to the work and you - bad, while pulling away from the fence a little causes only a little less cut for C and D. This is not dangerous, and can be fixed with another pass.

These three things should be considered for any setup. In this case it leaves only C. There are situations where special equipment like power feeders can enable operations that would not be safe by hand, but if possible, stick with these ideas and don't count on featherboards to protect you.

 

Hi Alan - thanks for the very thorough explanations, and for illustrating a good way to evaluate the options before cutting.

I've certainly learnt a few things as a result of my mistake :
1. never feed between bit and fence
2. always feed against the bit rotation
3. where possible, use featherboards - but don't rely on them
4. always use a push stick

I did do 3 & 4 above - I'm being very careful due to my inexperience (for example, even clamping the stock to my finger joint jig even though I could safely hold it with my fingers) so hopefully I'll continue to stay safe.

Matthew

 

What everyone seems to have avoided saying, and what I often do, is place a second "fence" in front of the bit. The work piece is trapped, but only a minimal amount of bit is exposed and the work cannot 'jump' out of place. At times I have even screwed a piece against the fence as a hold down so that the work piece cannot rise either. If this is a bad idea I'm sure to hear about it now!

 

Ok, next lesson please:

I have to cut a "stepped groove" in a piece of maple. The objective is to create a place where my wife can put some stained glass. The cut is 3/4" wide and goes through a 3/4" piece of maple. Another cut expands the 3/4" groove to make a shoulder that the glass sits in. I do the first cut by dropping the workpiece down on the bit. I have to turn it end for end to do the next cut. This is the one that's tricky. The bit is not pulling the workpiece into the fence, it is pushing it backwards and pulling it from the fence. If I do it the opposite direction, it gets worse and potentially propels the workpiece out the door. How would you widen a slot?

 

Ron, If I read this correctly, you are talking about making stopped grooves by dropping the piece onto a router table. If that is correct, I would strongly suggest you dont do that. You should secure the piece and plunge from the top side. You could build a jig that has stops to contol length and width.