Guiderail use when Routing Dados

[RMDavis]

Hi - 

New user question....  When using a guide rail / guide stop setup with a router, does one use the edge of the splinter guard align your dado?  This would be after setting up the router bit to almost touch the edge of the splinter guard. 

I ask as I'm not sure if this will potentially cause problems with the the accuracy of the guide rail when using the saw.

Do others have alternative methods?

TIA

 

[tbellemare]

There are marks on the base of the router to indicate the axis of the bit. If you mark the center of the dado and with the Guide Stop, you can VERY accurately locate the dado using the micro-adjuster.

Tom

EDIT:
You just have to place the Guide Rail parallel to where you want the dado.

 

[mouppe]

I would not recommend you do this- the original post, not Tom's!

Give yourself more room. The router base has indentations which mark the centre of the bit. You can use these to align the router with the centre of the dado. You can use the fence to ensure the router runs square to the board edge.

As a new user, be aware that there is a little foot which supports the router when it runs on the guide rail. There are also various bases which can help such as the wide base for the OF1400. This allows you to run the router level with the guide rail bottom.

Good luck.

 

[mhadler]

Just curious....but do you have to clamp down the guide rails for use with the router or does it stay put?  What's the best way to make sure the guide rail is parallel since you're not aligning the guide to your marks like you do the TS55?

 

[tbellemare]

do you have to clamp down the guide rails for use with the router or does it stay put?

The Guide Rails tend to stay put on wood. If you are a belt and suspenders type, clamp them down. I consider myself largely a belt and suspenders type and I rarely clamp a Guide Rail.

What's the best way to make sure the guide rail is parallel since you're not aligning the guide to your marks like you do the TS55?

Just make a parallel line to the centerline of the dado and align the Guide Rail to it.

Tom

 

[fritter63]

I just did this last weekend. As others have said, don't use the splinter guard.

I just used the angle setter thingamajig to get it parallel to the dado, but held back a bit. Was super easy to control, etc.

Also, the support foot came in handy in an unexpected way. When I moved over to cut the far edge of the dado (2" + in width), the support foot was now over the rabbit on the edge (this was an inset panel). So I just lowered the foot down more and let it ride along the rabbit!

 

[Michael Kellough]

Routing a full dado you might not need to clamp down the guide rail but routing a rabbet
could result in lateral loading that could move the rail.

I nearly always clamp for routing but rarely when sawing.

 

[ericbuggeln]

Micheal and Tom, i have never not clamped anything. Obviously im a wuss, but what if it moves? Not only dangerous, but who wants to cut the same piece twice. Im a raging liberal, but on this one very conservative. Im interested now to see what others say? Eric

 

[mouppe]

I'm with you Eric. I clamp whenever I am past the point of no return on a timber. Takes but a few seconds but can save hours.

Also, I had a bad experience with a router that got away from me so now I over-clamp everything when routing, even with a guide rail.

 

[ericbuggeln]

Thanks Richard, I was feeling like a real square.

 

[fritter63]

Clamp twice, cut once?

 

[tbellemare]

I have been forced by the well thought out posts here to rethink my earlier comments...

I don't think I've ever used a Guide Stop with a router to make a rabbet but I have to make dadoes. If I want to make a rabbet with a router, I generally reach for the Edge Guide, but I don't make very deep rabbets.

When I'm sawing, I have almost never clamped, except when sawing something particularly slippery. UHMW and other plastics come to mind, UHMW seems to have Teflon-like surface qualities.

I think if I'd put a lot of work into a piece (or it was hard to replace) and were making a dado with a Guide Rail & Guide Stop, I'd seriously think about clamping and very well might clamp it. I think that I've gotten so comfortable depending on the adhesion of the Guide Rails with normal operational pressure that I'm due for a costly mistake.

I make a habit of clearing the bottom of the Guide Rail and the top of the work piece with a good brush and possibly the CT between cuts. I think that helps a lot as you move the Guide Rail relative to the work piece. You kind of have to make a determination on each subsequent cut how clean you need to be to gain comfort.

It certainly never hurts to clamp the Guide Rail. I just think that for most of what I do (with wood), cleaning it is adequate and Faster/Easier. Time will tell if it is Smarter.

Tom

 

[RONWEN]

Some years ago when I first got my saw & rail setup I watched a Festool video that showed how well the rail "plants itself" without clamping.  I think that I clamped the rail the first couple of cuts, I have made hundreds of cuts since without clamps and never have had the rail move.

I seem to recall a video where they sprinkled sawdust on the surface before setting the rail, no clamps, no problem.

If I were making multiple passes on a long piece of 8/4 I would probably clamp it.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

[2cents] Get the reference? HINT: Family name.

[attachimg=#]

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Nothing can destroy a project faster than a wayward router.

If you have any labor invested in a piece or if the material is valuable clamp it!

Also, be sure the guide stop is securely fastened in place.  If it is loose and slides on its rods, you wind up with a mess.
DAMHIKT! [embarassed]

Another cool trick - if you are making matching dadoes, say for the sides of a cabinet, clamp the sides together and run the dadoes in both sides at once - that way you are sure they really match!

 

[fritter63]

One more data point, in my work last weekend, the (bamboo) panel I  was dadoing was slightly warped, and the rail didn't seam as solid without clamps

 

[RMDavis]

All - thanks for the many replies and suggestions...

I used the center line approach with my OF-2200 last night and it worked quite well.  

The one thing I did do to speed setup was to use a 1 1/4" wide x 6" long piece of scrap to help align the guide rail to the center line.   I placed one edge of the scrap against the splinter guard and the other edge touching the center line.  This allowed me to quickly line up each end of the guide rail.   The short time it took to make this spacer was worth it as I was cutting the dados across the full width of the plywood.   Beat dragging the router across the work piece to align both edges of the guide rail.
 

And I did clamp....  Especially as I had to cut mirrored dados on the front and back of the piece...