A few bit size questions from a router rookie

[danrush]

When holding the tool in front of you:
If the ROUTER is between the workpiece and yourself, travel right.
If the WORKPIECE is between the router and yourself, travel left.

All the clock stuff just confuses me.

I'll second (or third), the idea to pick up a basic assortment set of bits to get you going. A cheap starter set from a big box store will give you some valuable practice time working on height settings, feed rates, and yes, even getting the whole clock/counter clock wise thing down.

Dan

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Sam,

I think you're suffering from clock dyslexia.  Either that or you need to find a repair shop soon, since time is going backwards for you.  [big grin]

Forget about the numbers on the clock.  Look at the direction the hands are turning and compare that to how you turn your router -- opposite the clock's rotation or with the clock's rotation.

HTH

Imagine looking down on that piece of plywood from above: when moving to the right along the bottom of the piece, you're going counter-clockwise.  When moving to the right along the top of the "hole", you're going clockwise.

From that perspective, Sam is correct.

Do the rest of you actually sit underneath the workpiece when routing?

How are you coming to this conclusion?

All you're stating is going in a linear direction - left to right.  When Nick and I were discussing clockwise and counter clockwise, that obviously implies a change of direction.

As I'm sure you well know, going from left to right on the outside of a piece with the router between you and the work piece is usually the correct and safest direction while going from right to left with the router in between you and the work piece is called climb cutting and is useful for certain times when the grain is, well, uncooperative, but the operation isn't as safe.  Now when routing within a work piece you normally go in the opposite direction for greater control and safety.

Rick C. discussing the router bit's interaction with the work piece while cutting.
Look at page 12 in Rick's supplemental manual (PDF) on the OF2200 for a clear picture and explanation.

Router Feed Direction

 

[nickao]

I think a picture is worth a thousand words, not sure I can explain it any better. If one does not get it they need to just look at the pictures and be done with it. The router bit turns clockwise and any discussions need to have the same starting point and be based on that bit rotation to make any sense. I normally always start at the bottom from where I am standing, usually bottom left corner. From that position I guess one can say you are moving left to right while going up and around to the right(like a clock), but that is not left to right, its going up first. You need to move to the right from the bottom left corner to go left to right, NOT up first. I believe this is where the confusion comes in. If you start at the top right corner you are moving right to left across the top, so it is a perspective thing from where the start point is. Just go against the bit rotation most of the time.

Pics from "The router workshop"

 

[Sbrow]

Sam  & others - thanks so much for your very helpful tips and clarifications - much appreciated!

Richard - thanks for the heads up re the down-spiral bit - sounds like that could replace the straight 6mm I was eying for general purpose work- v. helpful. Might be better for morticing, which I definitely want to do.

In general, do you guys find that 1/4" bits on a 1010 below a certain diameter work without complaint and give clean cuts? Any general rule of thumb or am I opening up a minefield based on manufacturer quality etc? Wouldn't  want to do that!

 

[tiralie]

In general, do you guys find that 1/4" bits on a 1010 below a certain diameter work without complaint and give clean cuts? Any general rule of thumb or am I opening up a minefield based on manufacturer quality etc? Wouldn't  want to do that!

I have used 1/8" diameter cutter w/ 1/4" shaft in my 1010 without any problem, so I don't think there is any limit other than manufacturers.

 

[nickao]

I have one router dedicated to 1/8" inch bits. All my bits are spiral, I sold or dumped the rest of the straight bits, I find no need for them at all. I must have 75 spiral bits, with bearing or double bearing or without, down cut, up cut and all sizes. I find I use the spirals more than any other bit myself.

Any good quality 1/8" bit that the main manufacturers make are about the same. The key is run out with those small bits. And spiral down cut is my favorite bit of all. I only buy profile bits  as needed and I have collected quite a few(ie hundreds). If I had to have only one bit its the 1/4" down cut spiral or near metric equivalent.

 

[mouppe]

+1 for what Dovetail just wrote.

I prefer spiral bits over straight bits almost all the time. I do have a couple of undersized straight bits which I use for dadoes in plywood.

There are two types of spiral bits, down-spiral and up-spiral. If you imagine the symbol ䷗, a down-spiral will leave a cleaner top edge and an up-spiral will leave a cleaner bottom. Up to you which is more important to you. Most of the time, down-spiral is my preferred bit.

 

[fdengel]

When holding the tool in front of you:
If the ROUTER is between the workpiece and yourself, travel right.
If the WORKPIECE is between the router and yourself, travel left.

If you're routing the inside, the workpiece is (hopefully) always between you and the router, but you could be going in either direction depending on which side of the hole the router is on.

Your suggestion does work if you're only routing the outside of the piece.

 

[fdengel]

I think a picture is worth a thousand words, not sure I can explain it any better.

+1 on the pictures, that's the best explanation...

 

[nickao]

+1 for what Dovetail just wrote.

I prefer spiral bits over straight bits almost all the time. I do have a couple of undersized straight bits which I use for dadoes in plywood.

There are two types of spiral bits, down-spiral and up-spiral. If you imagine the symbol ䷗, a down-spiral will leave a cleaner top edge and an up-spiral will leave a cleaner bottom. Up to you which is more important to you. Most of the time, down-spiral is my preferred bit.

Hehe, you are forgetting the up/down or down/up  compression spirals!

 

[mouppe]

hehe, yes, I was leaving those aside. They are seriously expensive and I can't think of a time when I needed both edges to have a clean cut, that I couldn't fix with a hand tool.

Serious question, do you find those bits any more useful than a simple up or down-spiral bit? I'm always looking to add good tools to the arsenal.

 

[nickao]

Well yes, double sided veneered plywood is one. IF you want both sides nice they are great to have. Or when I  laminate 3/8" hardwood to 3/8" ply in the vacuum press and I want both sides edges totally perfect it is the only bit I use.

Say I want to trim a circle, which I do often, it down cuts the top layer hardwood and leaves the edge crisp and the up cuts the bottom edge ply and leaves that edge crisp. If you just use a down or up one side tends to have a bad edge. I used to use the down, but then I found myself wasting so much time sanding the bottom edge it made me nuts and still it never came out crisp like a routed edge.  The compression was the answer for me.

I have example pics somewhere I will post them.

 

[mouppe]

Yes I can see how those materials would benefit from a compression spiral bit in those exposed situations. I have not used veneered plywood in a while, and I veneer on to pine generally. But I will bear the bit in mind if I need to do something similar to the examples you gave.

Cheers.