Baltic Birch Drawer - Flat Top vs Roundover?

[Bugsysiegals]

Thanks [member=73094]afish[/member], I definitely don’t want burn marks!!  I’m not sure I understand the adjustment to get that sweet spot you’re referring to ... have you any pics to illustrate?

 

[Cheese]

Willy [member=7493]Sparktrician[/member] suggested Amana and they also make great solid carbide spiral bits. I have several that I use on aluminum. The only reason I pushed Whiteside was because there is currently a 20% off sale on them at Woodcraft, I believe it ends today.

So, if you haven't decided yet, you can order some Amana bits from ToolsToday and usually receive a 10%-15% discount for signing up to their newsletter.
https://www.toolstoday.com/router-b...router-bits.html?sort_by=relevency&page_num=2
https://www.toolstoday.com/router-b...router-bits.html?sort_by=relevency&page_num=2
https://www.toolstoday.com/router-b...router-bits.html?sort_by=relevency&page_num=2

FWIW...I just use a sanding sponge on the edge of a drawer box to just break the sharp edge or a Festool foam hand pad like these.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I prefer the the solid carbide spirals.
https://www.whitesiderouterbits.com/collections/spiral-router-bits
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1698/7023/files/WM_Catalog_50_email.pdf?v=1603140047

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Which spiral bit would you recommend ... up cut, down cut, up/down/ compression, 1,2,3 flutes ... that’s a lot to choose from!?!?

 

[afish]

Here is the photo as requested. Its hard to tell from just a photo but the bit is adjusted so it just does a slight ("ramp" for lack of better term) effect in the corner. 

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Here is the photo as requested. Its hard to tell from just a photo but the bit is adjusted so it just does a slight ("ramp" for lack of better term) effect in the corner.

That’s a bit of optical illusion but I can see what’s happening...thanks for sharing!

 

[Cheese]

Which spiral bit would you recommend ... up cut, down cut, up/down/ compression, 1,2,3 flutes ... that’s a lot to choose from!?!?

1 flute = recommended for plastics & non-ferrous metals
2 flutes = recommended for plunging
3 flutes = will not plunge because they don't remove material in the middle

up cut = I like those a lot because they evacuate the scrap material
down cut = nice top edge but they keep packing material into the slot, shallow cuts are necessary
compression = never tried one for a dado but it could be a winner

Here's what I used on this dado, 2 flute solid carbide, spiral up cut bit, along with blue painters tape. This is pre-finished ply and I really rubbed the painters tape into the ply with a rubber Bondo applicator.

Clamped a hard stop to each end of the dado.

I used 1/4" ply for the back but the ply measured in at .255"/.265" so I needed to do several passes.

First pass at half depth, 2nd pass at full depth, measured dado width, adjusted MicroFence to give +.010" dimension, 3rd pass at half depth, 4th pass at full depth.

[attachimg=1]

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[Bob D.]

A roundover bit will require two passes. Would it be possible to use
a double-roundover bit and run the pieces through before assembly.
https://www.whitesiderouterbits.com/collections/double-roundover

I suspect the double round over will create a bullnose rather than just breaking the edge but am not sure as I’ve never used one. As far as routing before assembly, please share a pic of how the corners will look once assembled ... I’m not sure this would ever look good unless the front/back are different height than the sides but I could be wrong ...

It would depend on which bit you get and how thick your material is. If you got a bit with two 1/8" radius cutters the center would be flat and you would have a 1/8" round over on each edge. A bullnose bit would carry the arc across the whole edge. The double-roundover bit has two individual cutters that you can space as you see fit.

 

[afish]

Cheese thats an interesting gable you have pictured there. lots going on for sure but whats going on with the top?  why the 45ish degree angle?

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Thanks Cheese!  Without the Blue painters tape will the thin veneer chip out?  Since you were making several passes, could you have simply used a down spiral and avoided the painters tape altogether?  Since you made several passes and I assume use Festool with their good dust collection maybe it wouldn't pack chips down into the dado in a way which would wear out the bit?

 

[afish]

ha, I was just cruising around on amazon and ran across this mini bearing round over I wasnt even searching for router bits but somehow I stumbled across it, perhaps my computer is spying on me...

 

[Sparktrician]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member], two questions: 1) is that rectangular box structure a spacer for the glides, and 2) what are the white plastic pieces just below the Paolini ruler? 

 

[afish]

Im not 100% but the white plastic piece below the ruler is a terminal strip which Im guessing is for all the magnetic switches he has which Im also guessing is some type of drawer opening sensor.  The terminal strip would help organize all the wires hes going to have.  Looks like its in the toe kick area but I dont see any bottom.  Its unusual construction for sure the dado with a domino below it has me more confused than the wiring but Im sure he has it planed out.

 

[Cheese]

Cheese thats an interesting gable you have pictured there. lots going on for sure but whats going on with the top?  why the 45ish degree angle?

These are built in cabinets for under a knee wall. That 45º makes the top drawer a bit short but it's still "free space" for socks, jewelry and the like. These built-ins are 10' long and I just didn't want to give up that much space. [big grin]

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[attachimg=2]

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member], two questions: 1) is that rectangular box structure a spacer for the glides, and 2) what are the white plastic pieces just below the Paolini ruler?

Sparky, the box made from ply fits on the Blumotion slides and with a magnet taped on the back it allowed me to properly place the proximity (reed) switches when I was going that route. Unfortunately, the in-rush current when the LED's turned on actually welded some of the contacts together and the whole thing became hit or miss.

[attachimg=1]

That fiasco forced me to implement micro switches instead but I was still able to use the box for proper switch positioning.

[attachimg=2]

Like afish mentioned it's just a terminal strip.

[attachimg=3]

 

[Sparktrician]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member], two questions: 1) is that rectangular box structure a spacer for the glides, and 2) what are the white plastic pieces just below the Paolini ruler?

Sparky, the box made from ply fits on the Blumotion slides and with a magnet taped on the back it allowed me to properly place the proximity (reed) switches when I was going that route. Unfortunately, the in-rush current when the LED's turned on actually welded some of the contacts together and the whole thing became hit or miss.

That fiasco forced me to implement micro switches instead but I was still able to use the box for proper switch positioning.

Like afish mentioned it's just a terminal strip.

Ah, got it!  Very clever setup, indeed!  Thanks for the infill.  [smile]

 

[mkasdin]

I’ve 5/8” BB sides for my drawer boxes and wondering whether I should leave the tops flat or use a roundover bit ... how do you prefer yours?

If with roundover, I’ve no roundover/chamfer bits and see WhiteSide has 20% off ... would you recommend any specific rounderover or chamfer bits?  What about for dado cuts ... I seen Sedge make dado’s with the router and while the table saw is easier for batches of stock, I liked the router for non through cut stopped dado’s so you don’t see the dado on butt joints. Are there bits for this you’d recommend which create “perfect” width for the varying thickness of plywoods?

easing over edges I use a 1/16” router bit or 220/320 grit sandpaper by hand.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Which spiral bit would you recommend ... up cut, down cut, up/down/ compression, 1,2,3 flutes ... that’s a lot to choose from!?!?

1 flute = recommended for plastics & non-ferrous metals
2 flutes = recommended for plunging
3 flutes = will not plunge because they don't remove material in the middle

up cut = I like those a lot because they evacuate the scrap material
down cut = nice top edge but they keep packing material into the slot, shallow cuts are necessary
compression = never tried one for a dado but it could be a winner

Here's what I used on this dado, 2 flute solid carbide, spiral up cut bit, along with blue painters tape. This is pre-finished ply and I really rubbed the painters tape into the ply with a rubber Bondo applicator.

Clamped a hard stop to each end of the dado.

I used 1/4" ply for the back but the ply measured in at .255"/.265" so I needed to do several passes.

First pass at half depth, 2nd pass at full depth, measured dado width, adjusted MicroFence to give +.010" dimension, 3rd pass at half depth, 4th pass at full depth.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

Thanks [member=44099]Cheese[/member]!  I ended up buying a 1/4" and 1/2" compression bit ... the trick is that the tip, which is an up cut, needs to remain underneath the veneer on plywood to prevent tear out.  I believe the tips are about 1/4" long ... it seems as long as I can make my dado's at least ~0.26" deep these will work well and I don't see a problem with that for 5/8" drawer boxes or 3/4" cabinets.  Anything thinner for some smaller project I suspect would be made of hard wood and wouldn't matter ...