This is the second frame that I build ( and third woodworking project ever).
The first frame ended up ok, but rabbeting the back had been messy (as in: required sanding to get a somewhat flat lip for the glazing to push against) as well as messy (as in: getting covered with saw dust from head to toe).
At least, I avoided the messes that could have resulted from using the wrong bit for the task (flush routing bit with a bearing toward the collet), and trying to compensate by stacking narrow boards on top of each other to give something that the bearing could follow.
I read about alternatives to make the rabbet more safely (rabbeting sets with 1 bit and several bearings, or copying arm for the Festool's routers), attachments to collect some of the dust, and ways to make the router more stable on narrow boards.
I ended up getting the OF1400 and a rabbeting set.
I would have liked to use the copying arm and a regular bit, but it seems that the copying arm would be in the way of the dust collection attachment that came with the OF1400. If there is a way to use both the cup and the arm, I would be interested.
So here is the before picture (un-routed frame glued using dominoes):
[attachimg=#]
The setup I used to hold everything in in place while routing (the support foot is barely visible on the left side of the router):
The chip catcher barely fits above the rail, but it was very stable.
[attachimg=#]
By the way, I had to order the foot separately, and hold it by re-using the knob that was setup to hold the 2 metal bars that connect to the optional edge guide or guide stop. Isn't the foot and a knob supposed to come with the OF1400? The Rockler's people did not know...
I did not know what to expect in term of amount of dust that would be missed by the vaccuum.
In case someone else is wants an illustration:
[attachimg=#]
This is almost all the dust that escaped after removing 12x12mm rabbet over 3 meter of length.
The good thing about routing the inside part of the frame, is that the dust was coming out away from me.
For comparison, I created almost the same amount of dust when I had to remove the chip catcher to rout about 40 cm in the corners.
A little oops - I had used 2 dominoes at each corner, but the inside one was too close to the edge:
[attachimg=#]
I am assuming this won't be problem.
Overall, I am pleasantly surprised at how smooth and straight everything is.
The following picture worries me:
[attachimg=#]
I noticed a hairline crack after gluing up, and it seemed bigger today.
It may have something to do with my use of the camps to push the boards together while gluing-up; maybe I did not align the domino correctly and the force of the clamps caused the board to crack?
Does this kind of things stay put, or will it keep getting worse?
I welcome any advice, as I would like to practice on a few more frames before moving on to building windows.
The first frame ended up ok, but rabbeting the back had been messy (as in: required sanding to get a somewhat flat lip for the glazing to push against) as well as messy (as in: getting covered with saw dust from head to toe).
At least, I avoided the messes that could have resulted from using the wrong bit for the task (flush routing bit with a bearing toward the collet), and trying to compensate by stacking narrow boards on top of each other to give something that the bearing could follow.
I read about alternatives to make the rabbet more safely (rabbeting sets with 1 bit and several bearings, or copying arm for the Festool's routers), attachments to collect some of the dust, and ways to make the router more stable on narrow boards.
I ended up getting the OF1400 and a rabbeting set.
I would have liked to use the copying arm and a regular bit, but it seems that the copying arm would be in the way of the dust collection attachment that came with the OF1400. If there is a way to use both the cup and the arm, I would be interested.
So here is the before picture (un-routed frame glued using dominoes):
[attachimg=#]
The setup I used to hold everything in in place while routing (the support foot is barely visible on the left side of the router):
The chip catcher barely fits above the rail, but it was very stable.
[attachimg=#]
By the way, I had to order the foot separately, and hold it by re-using the knob that was setup to hold the 2 metal bars that connect to the optional edge guide or guide stop. Isn't the foot and a knob supposed to come with the OF1400? The Rockler's people did not know...
I did not know what to expect in term of amount of dust that would be missed by the vaccuum.
In case someone else is wants an illustration:
[attachimg=#]
This is almost all the dust that escaped after removing 12x12mm rabbet over 3 meter of length.
The good thing about routing the inside part of the frame, is that the dust was coming out away from me.
For comparison, I created almost the same amount of dust when I had to remove the chip catcher to rout about 40 cm in the corners.
A little oops - I had used 2 dominoes at each corner, but the inside one was too close to the edge:
[attachimg=#]
I am assuming this won't be problem.
Overall, I am pleasantly surprised at how smooth and straight everything is.
The following picture worries me:
[attachimg=#]
I noticed a hairline crack after gluing up, and it seemed bigger today.
It may have something to do with my use of the camps to push the boards together while gluing-up; maybe I did not align the domino correctly and the force of the clamps caused the board to crack?
Does this kind of things stay put, or will it keep getting worse?
I welcome any advice, as I would like to practice on a few more frames before moving on to building windows.
