[3dcadguy]

hi all,
long time (part time woodworker) here.
i'm making some custom frames for my paintings and one of the frames
calls for the use of a round nose cutter that can cut at least 3/4" deep.
i purchased a whiteside brand round nose bit with a 1/2" shank, 3/4" cutting dia, 1 1/4" cutting length,
having an overall length of 2 7/8".
i installed my pc router onto a router table but when i dropped the bit in the chuck, it bottomed out, and
with the router fully extended the bit protruded about 1/4"to 3/8" abofe the surface of the table.

i have a tendency to "overlook" the obvious, but so far i cannot figure out if i am doing something wrong.
also, i am not happy that the whole motor turns, along with the power switch and cord as i make height adjustments.

any help you provide will be appreciated.

thanks,
3dcadguy

 

[DaninVan]

Hey, 3d; welcome! I'd call you by your name but you didn't fill out any Bio info...
I don't have any personal experience with PC routers (what model?) but if it mounts in it's base like a Bosch, getting it into the base incorrectly is easily done. Then there's locking it in once it's located properly.
Any of the above done incorrectly on my Bosch would potentially create the same situation you have.
Stating the obvious here, but pull the router out of the table completely and start from scratch locating it in its base. Before you put it back in the table, re-try installing the bit (you know that it's not supposed to bottom out, right?)
Hopefully another PC owner will stop by and offer some more helpful insight.

 

[ger21]

1) Never bottom out the bit in the collet. It won't tighten properly.

2) Can you post a picture? I have several PC 690's, and the bit you're describing should work.

3) The answer to twisting the router to raise and lower is to get a router lift.

 

[Bstrom]

I’m sure you made every effort to figure out why this bit is ‘too long’ as that has not happened to me yet. Hopefully it will work and you can extend the motor in the base more than you did at first. Otherwise it really is too long!

 

[3dcadguy]

thanks for your response.
well, i didn't know about bottoming the bit till i found this website!
but i did check my setup and everything seems ok. what i did do is used my vernier and measured the depth of the chuck hole, then measured the length of my bit, and sure enough, the shank on the bit is abt. .45 longer than the chuck can take.
and since the depth adjustment for my pc type 690 router is accomplished by rotatiing the entire motor part, i'm starting to think this router is not designed to be put into a router table.

i may add more personal info as time passes but for now i think i'll lurk awhile til i see how things go.

 

[3dcadguy]

1) Never bottom out the bit in the collet. It won't tighten properly.

2) Can you post a picture? I have several PC 690's, and the bit you're describing should work.

3) The answer to twisting the router to raise and lower is to get a router lift.

thanks for your reply.
i measured the depth of the chuck hole with my vernier, and then measured my bit shank length and the shank is .45" longer than the depth of the hole.
with the router mounted to my router table and the router extended to its full length, the bit sticks up about .38 above table surface.
sine the depth adjustment is accomplished by turning the whole motor, the power switch and the power cord rotate with the body, which is certainly inconvenient when making depth adjustments.
i hope i'm not making some stupid/obvious error, which i am prone to do.

 

[3dcadguy]

thanks for your reply.
i measured the depth of the chuck hole with my vernier, and then measured my bit shank length and the shank is .45" longer than the depth of the hole.
with the router mounted to my router table and the router extended to its full length, the bit sticks up about .38 above table surface.
sine the depth adjustment is accomplished by turning the whole motor, the power switch and the power cord rotate with the body, which is certainly inconvenient when making depth adjustments.
i hope i'm not making some stupid/obvious error, which i am prone to do.

i'm too new to be able to post a picture. but i will soon have the required 10 posts to meet that requirement.

 

[DaninVan]

No, you're good-to-go right now, 3D.
As long as the pictures are on your OWN hard drive you can drag and drop them into the frame below the comment section. What you can't do yet is post stuff from the 'net or links to the 'net.
So yeh, take some pics, put them on your desk top then drag them over...I like to reduce the Forum image to the smaller format that occurs from clicking on the split screen icon at the top of your browser screen. Then I can just drag whatever straight over.

 

[3dcadguy]

thanks!

 

[Herb Stoops]

The older style routers like the 690 used a ring and turned the router to make height adjustments. The new routers slide straight up and down for easy use as a router table router. So the best way to get the old style routers to adjust up and down is with a router lift. It is a somewhat expensive fix. almost to the point of using the old style free hand and buying a newer model for the routertable.
HErb

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

Some routers aren't well suited to under the table use as Herb said. The easiest quick fix is to take the router out of the table cord and all and get it as close to proper height as you can so that when you put it back in you only need a minor adjustment to get it right.

As for setting the bit in the collet, one way is to take the collet right out of the router and insert your round nose bit in it until the end of the shank is flush with the bottom of the collet. Then take a marker and mark on the shank where the top is. That is how much of the bit needs to be in the collet. There is no advantage to having more than that sticking through the collet but you do want to use all of the collet to hold the bit. Usually that is somewhere around 1". I have one router that uses collets that are just over 3/4" long so I gain a little extra using it.

 

[3dcadguy]

yeah, i have the router fully extended, that is, the motor is as far away from the base as i can get it, the router bit is installed.
so i am gradually coming to the conclusion that IN FACT, the bit is too long.
so, do i take the bit to a machine shop and have it shortened?

 

[ger21]

When it bottoms out in the collet, how much of the shank is still sticking out?
Meaning how much can you shorten it?

If you have an angle grinder, just cut the end yourself. The shank end is not critical.

 

[Herb Stoops]

My self, I would not shorten the bit. Never in my years of woodworking have It ever occurred to me to shorten a bit. I would choose to either buy a new bit or add a thicker base plate to the router, or use a thicker template. I am not a metallurgist but the heat generated to shorten a bit might cause harm to the brazing of carbide cutters to the steel shank.
Just saying,
Herb

 

[jemangin]

An easy fix I learned on FWW is to place a shim of the required width on your router table which will bring the bit to the correct height. Bring the bit up through the shim/hardboard, plywood, etc. and you now have a zero clearance hole as well. My porter cable is the new kind but occasionally I have the same issue where a bit sticks up through the table too much. As others have said, don't bottom the bit out. It won't tighten properly and come loose on you.

 

[gmercer_48083]

Put a 1/2" shim between the router base and the router plate to lower the router. Could use plywood or MDF.

 

[3dcadguy]

hi all.
this issue has been resolved to my satisfaction.
someone suggested adding a thicker base plate to my router.
i made a 1/2" base plate of 1/2" plywood, mounted my router to that, and then attached the router and plywood base
to myrouter table using wood screws. i suppose the screws will not vibrate loose.
thanks for all your help!

 

[3dcadguy]

thanks! i used this idea as the solution to the problem.
my only regret is that i do not think very creatively myself.

 

[3dcadguy]

thanks. problem solved!

 

[3dcadguy]

thanks!
as you can see, i am not much on "thinking".