Hi Alexis

Spray the bit with PAM b/4 you use it.

Cooking Sprays by PAM: America's Favorite Cooking Oils and Sprays | PAM

http://www.pamcookingspray.com/videos/

Also works great on your hands if you use the nasty Gorilla Wood Glue and others like it,just spray you hands b/4 you pop the cap on the bottle and it will let you wipe it right off your hands/fingers..

http://www.dickblick.com/products/g...e/?wmcp=google&wmcid=products&wmckw=23629-1008&gclid=CKuu_fLi760CFbAEQAoddkAjtQ

I also use it on my snow blower but I'm sure you don't use a snow blower in Venezuela..

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I always use vaseline applied with a glue brush to the area where the bearing will rub. It prevents the glue from getting into the bit/bearing joint and lubricates the surface of the laminate so that there is no bearing burn even if the bearing begins to lock up and spin if the glue should begin sticking to it. This also works to lubricate the solid carbide laminate trimmer bits that have no bearings.

Charley

 

Thank you very much, Bob and Charles.

Bob, you are right, I won't use the spray that you are recommending to me in my country but I can use it here in China. I didn't think that a cooking product can be used at woodworking but you have so many resources my friend. Now I will have some problems with my wife whe she realizes that I am using her de-molding cooking product.

Charles, have you never had a problem with the vaseline? I think that a solvent is needed to clean the laminate surfaces and this solvent can affect the contact cement

I never used an oily product to avoid wood contamination or stain. In fact, after cleaning the bit I run the router against a piece of scrap to delete any trace of solvent on the bit and the bearing and then continue the job. Next time I'll try your advice.

 

Caution.....Solvents will also pull the lubricant out of the bearing. That's not good.

 

Too true!

Personally I wouldn't apply anything to a cutter with a bearing to make it less sticky - if you apply anything solvent (even light oil) it can and will affect bearing life. I equally don't like the idea of a vegetable oil as it can dry out and go hard if stored over a prolonged period.

In answer to the OPs question I think there are several possible solutions. Firstly try to get a more consistent layer of glue over the surface. I've found that spray adhesive (the industrial type) leaves a lot less glue residue to cope with, but even moving from a "standard" nylon glue spreader of the type supplied with the can to a spreading comb made by glueing two layers of laminate together then sawing teeth with a very fine (gents) saw can give a thinner, more consistent glue coating. Secondly pre-trimming with an overhang bit, such as the Porter-Cable #43516 or these by Amana then using a standard trimmer also reduces glue build-up. Larger diameter trimmer bits seem to be less prone to build up (i.e. 3/4in diameter are much better than 1/4in diameter). Finally there are specific glue well cutters made to address the problem as well, such as this one (Trend is a UK firm but generally I find that Amana sells almost the same range in the USA)

Regards

Phil

 

An acquaintance who builds counter tops does it this way, he uses Crisco, a vegetable oil, and he has a plethora of routers each set up with a different bit for each purpose. However he also laminates the edges of the tops as well, so there is no concern of oil contaminating any of the wood product. Anyways, when done, he cleans the tops with lacquer thinner, the thinner breaks down the contact cement but the laminate is impervious.

 

Silicone lubricant is totally banned from my shop because of the problem that it creates when it contaminates finishes. Any silicone lubricant that gets on the wood will produce fish eyes in the finish. You can't see it before the finish is applied and you can't clean it completely off the wood before applying the finish, even if you know it is there.

When I recommended using Vaseline in a previous reply to this post I assumed that you had laminate on the vertical surface and you were trying to trim the horizontal surface laminate to it, so the bearing would be riding on the vertical laminated surface. This is where I use the Vaseline. It cleans off of the laminate surfaces and the router bit very easily with thinner after the trimming is complete and never gets on the wood. I never apply it to raw wood. A sticky guide bearing or a laminate trimming bit with no bearing can easily cause a burn line on the vertical laminate surface that it rides on. The Vaseline prevents this burn line. If the bearing or guide end of the bit will be rubbing on a wood surface the Vaseline should not be used. A slight burn mark on the wood will likely be covered with laminate in the next step anyway.

Charley

 

Good morning, Charles.

If you see the second picture at my post, you will see what I was talking about. I was trimming the horizontal surface of laminate. That's why I was asking to you about the problems with vaseline. I appreciate your tips.

Thank you very much.

 

Hi, Phil.

I share with you the most common way to apply laminate: top first, specially at the inside surface of my cabinets. I pay too much attention to this because the vertical surfaces will be the base for the edge banding that will be exposed to the view. I use a veneer or a moulding to cover the plywood and the laminate's edges.

Since woodworking is not my way of living (YET) I enjoy a lot spending some time at my garage doing such a thing. I can repeat my router bit cleaning procedure to be sure that the laminate will be applied in the best way. May be some of you do not have time to do so and that's why the so many differents ways to solve the problem. Meanwhile I'll try to learn from you.

I have seen the Whiteside Euro Square bearing bits that you mentioned but in my country they are not easy to buy and buying them by internet would be rather expensive.

Thanks a lot.