Help needed - routing a stop molding on small stock

[awdriven]

Hi guys,

I need to help to figure out the best way to rout a custom window stop molding. (Need an odd size for some replacement windows.)

This one is giving me some trouble for some reason. I've just done basic roundovers before.

I picked up a Freud bead and cove combo bit like this one -

The bit is bearing-guided.

I was able to make two pieces with mediocre quality with my legacy Ryobi router. (in Ryobi's stone age mini router table.)

I'm sure the problem is ME, but I am interested to know - what's the best way to do this in the Festool system?

I have a couple pictures of one workpiece I made -

My stock is 1.5" x .5" poplar. (Will be painted.)  You can see the bit is actually cutting part of that away. After the profile is cut, I need to trim down the piece by about another .25".

The tricky part is that I need to keep the stock and the bit square to each other. I think I was also cutting too aggressively. I was getting some chunking and just needed to step back and ask the best way to do this, so I can do it safely and have a good end product.

Thanks!

 

[Jesse Cloud]

First rule - if it doesn't feel safe, there's probably a good reason for that, so don't do it.

Second rule - Do the routing or other dangerous stuff on wide stock, then cut it narrow with a saw when done.  Same principle applies to length of the workpiece, start extra long, cut to fit.

Thirdly, take several small passes, maybe 1/8 or so deep.  On a router table, this would mean setting the fence for a shallow cut, then moving it back a little until done.

 

[peter halle]

Jesse's comments are right on.  But if you have the thin stock already, and if you want to use the Festool routers to do the profile from the top then the only other thing that I would suggest you might try cautiously would be to attach your thin stock to the edge of stock that is the same height as your pieces using a double sided turner's tape.  Kinda like using Jesse's suggestion but adding your piece and then "ripping" the piece by removing it.

Be careful no matter what you do.

Peter

 

[GPowers]

I would use a larger blank and route it on a router table, then cut the piece to the desired dimensions.

 

[awdriven]

Thanks guys - I've seen it done before where the profile is routed into a bigger piece of stock and then sawn off. That would give a nice square surface for the router base to ride on and would be safer too. Unfortunately I don't have a source for 6/4 poplar. I played with some double-sticky tape, but am working in unconditioned space.  Below-freezing temperatures in the northeast US right now - so my tape didn't stick well enough. (Though I'll have to look into turner's tape that someone recommended.)

I think I'd need 6/4 poplar stock in order to do it this way. I'll have to do some looking to see if I can get that locally. If I could get wider stock with the same thickness I could probably have enough clearance to clamp a stack of them together using some clamping elements on my MFT. (but I'd obviously have more waste.)

Do the Festool edge guides have a provision for some 'negative' adjustment to allow me to take a succession of passes, building up to final depth of cut?

 

[tbellemare]

Yes, you can adjust the edge guides for shallower cuts. There is a micro-adjustment as well.

You can also adjust the feet (except on the 1010) to move closer to or farther away from the bit so the gap isn't too big or too small.

Tom

 

[Wonderwino]

I would use featherboards mounted on the table and the fence to hold the stock against the bit and use a push stick.  All the above suggestions are right on.

No project is worth a finger!

 

[Wood_Junkie]

Do you have enough of your poplar to waste some length?

Clamp, tape, or even screw your workpiece to a supplemental flat board, minimum 1x3  (2-by materials would be alot more vertically supported).
Attach them so they’re in a “L” formation, and your workpiece’s top edge is flush with the 1x4’s top face.

I’ve uglied-up your photos to try to illustrate this.

Hang this assembly over the edge of your worktable and clamp it down.  This will provide the 1x4 as router base support.

NOTE:  If you use screws, make sure you setup some stops, so you don’t rout into them!!

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[awdriven]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys - I took some more time to think about this.

I think what I will do is to construct a jig to hold my small pieces of stock and use a router with edge guide.

I'll build it on a half inch plywood base and attach some strips and blocks that will create a 'holder' that is the same height as my stock. (supported on the two ends, behind and below.) I can also add a strip to the jig that gives me a nice broad surface for the router base to ride on while I'm shaping.

 

[sancho57]

What jesse said.  The only help I would add is to be sure to secure the wider piece to some like clap it to  a MFT on top of a sacreficial board prior to routing.

Or make a small router table like jerry shows on his site

http://jerrywork.com/

 

[Tim Sproul]

If I see this correct, you need an offset base.  Attach a block of wood to the base on the tail side of router movement, along with an edge guide.

 

[awdriven]

I'm thinking it will look pretty much like this -