Hello Everyone. My name is Jim I was born in Southampton England in 1939. I Retired to Spain 6 years ago. I bought the Router many years ago & it has lived in my w/shop cupboard until now !! I am looking for a " How to use Manual " If anyone could please help me I would be so grateful. Thanking You in Anticipation. Jim.
B&D DN66 Plunge Router
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Welcome, Jim.
Although there is not a manual for that model in the Router Reference section, most routers are functionally quite similar. You may be able to garner enough from a manual for another make/model to get you started.
Router Reference - Router Forums
Although there is not a manual for that model in the Router Reference section, most routers are functionally quite similar. You may be able to garner enough from a manual for another make/model to get you started.
Router Reference - Router Forums
Thank's For Your Welcome Jim
Ralph. Thank you for your input & taking time out to check Router Ref 'for me, I have been watching a few Videos on U-Tube which were helpful. It's 2 of the 3 Guides that are with my B&D that is giving me an Headache, as I don't have a clue in what way they are used with the Router. (If or when I would need to use them that is ?) Warm Regards. Jim.
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If you have a digital camera that will take close-up photos, take pictures of what you unsure about, along with different views of the router, and we'll try to help.
Hi Ralph. Hope this e-mail finds you in good Health. I spoke to a friend on Tuesday about my Router,he pointed me in the right direction so to speak, he advised me to talk to my Retired Kitchen Fitter Friend. I did & he visited my w/s on Wednesday, He showed me how to use the B&D in a safe way + what the Guides were used for, I am not sure if I will take it up, as it's a big outlay for Quality Bit's + wood is very expensive here in Spain, it has to be bought in from other countries, after using the Router for a short time I found it very awkward to set Depth Stop + when I plunged I found I was turning the handles, thus stopping the plunge, + I have to take one hand off to switch it on/off & I'm not at all happy with that part of it. I think I have started with a cheap & nasty make of Router. Thank you for your interest & help. Best Regards Jim. take care.
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Welcome to the forum @Tony Down
No matter what brand of router you would be better off mounting it on a table and leaving it there. It would be nice to have a lift for it but it can still be done manually. You will only need the plunge feature if you actually have to plunge the bit into a piece of work. That would be for something like making a mortise or putting hinges on a door. If you want to do fancy edges or make box joints then plunging isn't necessary and a table is almost a must. In addition, you also wouldn't have to fool with the on/off switch. That would be controlled by a separate switch like a light is controlled.
Bearing guided chamfer and V groove cutter, ideal for fast chamfering to remove edge on timber, or creating a decorative edge. 45 degrees X 31.8mm diameter.
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Welcome @Tony Down. Good suggestion to watch videos. I have found those by the late Marc Sommerfeld to be terrific. All kinds of topics and his technique is elegantly simple. Lots of emphasis on the table mounted router.
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Using a router is almost generic. They all pretty much work the same way. The problem with older routers is that it's sometimes hard to get parts for them, in particular the collet, which is what holds the bit. It is a precision device and the difference between loose and tight is a few thousandths of an inch...a fraction of a mm. Be careful about not over or under tightening it. And safety wise, ALWAYS unplug the router, not just turn it off, when changing and adjusting or changing the bit. Router bits are fairly sharp, so be careful handling them.
I'm attaching some information that may be helpful in pdf form, plus a small poster of different bits and the profiles they make.
I strongly urge you to make a table for your router. It is very simple to do. I generally suggest two pieces of very flat ply, the bottom 18mm, the top layer 12mm. I suggest you make it wide and long. 50cm wide by at least one meter long. Much easier to handle larger pieces on a wide table.
Ideally you find or make a plate of aluminum and mount your router to it. That can be tricky, but you may be able to find one that is pre drilled just right for your router. If you look at the bottom of the router, you'll notice there is a plastic base with screws or small bolts going through it. Mark the holes with bold heads, remove the plastic part, and you can use that plastic place to mark where to drill holes in the plate you get. You can also use a thick clear plastic or phenolic piece, which you can buy already cut to size. There are really only a couple of hole patterns, so you can search for router base mounting hole patterns and work out which you have. Then you can buy a pre drilled mounting plate. Like this one:
Not sure what brands you have in Spain, but this will be the most expensive part, They are less than $40 in the USA, but we don't do the VAT (yet).
Turn the thin ply over, good face down, mark the opening with a sharp pencil, then cut the piece out carefully with a jig saw (if you have one) with a very sharp blade, and don't force it. Cut close to the line, but not on the line. If you want, you can put painter's tape on the good side where the cut will go and it will reduce chipping.
Next step is to get what's called a trim bit. This is going to be about 1 inch long for the cutting edge, with a bearing between the cutters and shank. It's called a top bearing because when hand held, the bearing is up, above the cutters. This is an incredibly useful bit and should be part of your kit. They look like these, but you don't need the longest one, 3/4 (18mm) is going to be most useful
Next you take 4, 3/4" (18mm) boards with nice straight edges, and lay them out as shown, using double sided tape to hold them in place. You can use the pencil lines to line them up so they bisect the pencil line . (you want it close, but just wiggle room so you can lift the plate out.
Now, with the plate out, adjust the bit so the bearing rides on the edges of the four boards. The bit is made so the bearing is exactly the same diameter as the cutters, and as you go around, that bit will very neatly trim away to exactly where the edge of the board is. Voila, the hard part is done.
The two pieces of ply should be the same size. Lay the thin piece on top of the thick and with a ruler, mark out a line at least 12 mm (more is ok) where you will simply cut a second opening. You can see that you now have a shelf that's a bit smaller than the plate, so it won't fall through. Next step is to glue the two pieces together with a decent wood glue. You can use small finish nails to keep the parts from sliding around. Butt the two pieces against something, pre drive the tiny nails, and when aligned, drive then through. If I were doing this, I'd place the two boards on a couple of saw horses, and clamp them together nice and tight.
Almost done. Now you have to get the plate's surface to rise to match the 12mm board's surface. You can buy leveling screws for this, or you can buy heavy duty screws, pre drill holes in the lip you created, then file off the tips of the screws. Drive the screws in so the tips clear the bottom layer. Then with the plate in place, adjust the screws until the plate is level with the top. You need at least 4 screws in the corners, or six with two on top and bottom, and one each on the sides.
This is much harder to explain than to do. You are really just cutting two openings in flat ply, one smaller than the other, then gluing them together.
If you don't have a dedicated workshop space, drill a couple of holes on one end so you can hang this up on a wall somewhere. Every shop needs a pair of saw horses, so you can just place the table on the horses for use. The dust will fall down for the most part, so this is best used outdoors, not much of a sacrifice in sunny Spain.
Last thing. You should have an on off switch called a paddle switch. You press a button to start the router, but you can just push against it with your leg to turn it off. Now you have both hands free for the work piece. Table routing is soooooo much safer than hand held, and there's very little you can't do on the table. This table if kept dry, will do the trick for decades.
Next you need a fence. and ideally some way to remove sawdust from around the bit. Routers make a LOT of sawdust. I really like this very simple fence. Made from a nice flat piece of kiln dried construction 2x6 or 2x8. Cut out the channel for the bit and sawdust extraction, then top it with a piece of ply. You can use what we call a Shop Vac to extract the dust. but you will go through lots of filters, but used outdoors, you don't need the filter, you can just let it fly. Or, get a simple sawdust collection cyclone called the dust devil.
Here's the fence I suggested: Notice it's clamped down.
To start with, you'll probably be using roundover bits, and you can buy them in a kit with three different radius's. Nice to have on hand and very useful. What other bits you'll need depends largely on what you want to make. I like to make picture frames for my wife, and there are really fancy bits that are used to make the frame material. Here's a picture guide to different bits and the profile they cut.
And another with some more utilitarian bits.
Finally, I'll add another post with pdfs that may be helpful. In the mean time, making a router table is a really good first project, one that has a high payoff. It will help get you over the hump.
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As promised, here are some pdfs on using routers. Lots to read, but will save you buying a book. Also, look up youtube videos by the late Marc Sommerfeld on using the router. He was a cabinet maker before starting his router accessory business, and his techniques are really simple and manageable.
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