William - a video works wonders - photos also help (a lot).
are you free-hand routing or on a table ?
are you free-hand routing or on a table ?
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Hi, that is a very tricky bit, requiring exact setup, and woe to thee if it isn't super sharp. Also, this is a bit that is used in a table, freehand is not the way to use it, and if you're using it freehand,
Making multiple passes, taking off only about 1/8th per pass is one way to do it, but it can be difficult to make all end pieces identical in length. More on that in a minute.
Are you using a backer of some sort? That would be a piece of wood behind the workpiece so after the bit cuts the piece, it then goes into the backer. I like to use 3/4 MDF blocks, cut square, to push the piece through. If it is tearing out at the beginning of the cut, the bit may no longer be sharp. Sharpening this bit is fairly easy with a card sharpener, but you can also have it sharpened professionally. Youtube has videos on sharpening router bits. It doesn't take much to tune them up.
If these fixes don't help, and if you get tearout at the beginning of the cut, you can try adding a backer to the front as well, which should stop it.
Now, this is a simple way to set up a table and fence for easy and exact multiple pass cuts, and always end up with the exact same final piece again and again. Find a spot where your fence's left end sits. Drill a 1/4 inch hole. Turn the fence over and drill a matching hole. This will allow you to set the fence precisely, and then you can just move the right side down in an arc until it is in the exact right position. Mark that spot on the table top and then you have the final setting. You can work the other way too, star so you get your first, second, third and then final pass. Mark each position on the table, then the final position. Now you can perfectly repeat you cut over and over.
Getting that bit to line up is a challenge, but you can purchase some tiny jigs that make it easy to set the height. Those bits come in two sizes, depending on the thickness of your workpiece. Here's a picture of the lock miter jig. It's magnetic, so you clip it on, then align the mark to the centerline and that's it.
Hope this is helpful.
![Watch Wood Belt buckle Tool Knife]()
Making multiple passes, taking off only about 1/8th per pass is one way to do it, but it can be difficult to make all end pieces identical in length. More on that in a minute.
Are you using a backer of some sort? That would be a piece of wood behind the workpiece so after the bit cuts the piece, it then goes into the backer. I like to use 3/4 MDF blocks, cut square, to push the piece through. If it is tearing out at the beginning of the cut, the bit may no longer be sharp. Sharpening this bit is fairly easy with a card sharpener, but you can also have it sharpened professionally. Youtube has videos on sharpening router bits. It doesn't take much to tune them up.
If these fixes don't help, and if you get tearout at the beginning of the cut, you can try adding a backer to the front as well, which should stop it.
Now, this is a simple way to set up a table and fence for easy and exact multiple pass cuts, and always end up with the exact same final piece again and again. Find a spot where your fence's left end sits. Drill a 1/4 inch hole. Turn the fence over and drill a matching hole. This will allow you to set the fence precisely, and then you can just move the right side down in an arc until it is in the exact right position. Mark that spot on the table top and then you have the final setting. You can work the other way too, star so you get your first, second, third and then final pass. Mark each position on the table, then the final position. Now you can perfectly repeat you cut over and over.
Getting that bit to line up is a challenge, but you can purchase some tiny jigs that make it easy to set the height. Those bits come in two sizes, depending on the thickness of your workpiece. Here's a picture of the lock miter jig. It's magnetic, so you clip it on, then align the mark to the centerline and that's it.
Hope this is helpful.
Hi, Yeah, getting all the pieces to the same thickness is a bear. Usually requires a planer of some sort. Or using your router with a wide, flat bit and a special, shop built sled.
To post pictures is pretty easy if they are on your computer hard drive. If you look just below where you type in an entry, you see a line of letters and symbols. You can see the paper clip for attaching a test file, the two chain links for inserting a link to a site, or YouTube. Just to the right of that is a rectangle with a symbol for a sun and mountain.
If you click the rectangle, a little popup opens, You can then open your File explorer and drag the picture you want to insert onto the popup and voila, your picture is inserted wherever your cursor was placed. It looks like this:
So you can use the insert picture to place them anywhere in your text. Generally, it's a good idea to write your entry first, then place your cursor, then insert the picture. Getting the picture from your phone to the computer can be done with a usb cable, but I just email the picture from the phone to my download folder.
Tight budgets are pretty common around here, so we've come up with lots of ways to skin the tool cat.
I'm very curious about your alternative method. I have the little jigs and I agree, they are just too darn expensive.
I live in the high desert in California. We have a woodworking club up here that is actually a community college shop class. They have tools galore and lots of helpful members. You'll see here that a lot of us love to help people new to the addiction (hobby), and I think that's pretty true of everyone who loves woodworking. Look for a woodworking club in your area. Some public schools have adult classes, including shop classes, but not as many as in the past.
If you have a woodworking store anywhere nearby that you can visit, see if they have any classes. You'll meet some others, more than a few are vets, find out where the local resources are, and possibly find a woodworking club. I go 50 miles to a Rockler store where they used to have free demonstrations, and found a hardwood supplier I didn't know existed.
I was watching Wood Smith magazine's TV show yesterday (on select pbs stations) and they were making band saw boxes. There's a guy up in the mountains around here who makes all kinds of little boxes out of scraps. They are shaped like stars, circles, ovals even butterflies. He rents a little floor space in the local mall every Christmas and sells them. You might look on YouTube for band saw boxes, I think you'd enjoy making them. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Making+band+saw+boxes
Do you have a band saw? I have a large one and a smaller one from WEN tools. I use the small one all the time, it's a bench model which if you're in a wheelchair, lets you set it to a height that works best for you. The big one is for wood preparation and is hard to pull out into the garage for little jobs. The WEN is identical to, but cheaper than the Rikon bench top version. There are some really cheap 9 inch saws with 53 inch blades, but they are underpowered and go dull pretty fast. You can't resharpen band saw blades.
Hope this is helpful. Ask lots of questions, you'll get lots of answers here.
Tom
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