Plunge Router

[Tom Smit]

Try both on a piece of scrap, and see which one you like the best.

[Grant Bunter]

Donny,
When I did my T39's:
I ended up doing 1/2 round where I had 2 or 3 sides together, but 1/4 round if one piece of timber (eg the front edges of the horn mouth).

I also found that, if you're putting on the large Penn Elcom type corners to subs, 1/2 round leads to less sanding/filing for them to fit. Especially if, on each edge, (eg again) route with the footplate on the top to route down the side, then the footplate on the side to route across the top, on every edge. It made a difference for me...

[el_ingeniero]

Use a 1/4" bit.

With a 1/2" bit, the round over starts at the glue line. I think you'd lose a bit of strength.

[doncolga]

I picked up the router and it looks very clean. It's pretty light and seems to run very smooth too. The bit set was not included, but I did get one bit, and it went right through the scrap I tried it on....seems to be strong enough. I'll be checking on carbide 1/2 and 1/4" roundover bits. Not too hard to figure out the depth and distance settings. For $30, I'm already happy with it.

Since I'm just going to be using the round over bits, shouldn't I be able to set this as a fixed base? Won't the bit distance be held by the guide circle on the bit...then just run it over the corners?

[thekl0wn]

If roundovers are the only thing you're going to be using it for, then yes, a fixed base is the best option. Once you get it set properly, it should work best.

[doncolga]

If roundovers are the only thing you're going to be using it for, then yes, a fixed base is the best option. Once you get it set properly, it should work best.

Thanks man! I hope to get to work with it this evening.

[doncolga]

Use a 1/4" bit.

With a 1/2" bit, the round over starts at the glue line. I think you'd lose a bit of strength.

Sounds good. Thanks!

[67baja]

I personally use a 3/8" roundover bit. I read in some post that the plastic corners are made with a 3/8" radius, so that is what I use.

[doncolga]

Yikes...that does take some practice. I set it to fixed base and the depth seems about right...it's as low as the router will go. The bit clears the bottom completely. I'm using a 1/2" roundover bit. I went in the wrong direction at first...left to right was much smoother and more even. My practice pieces were 1/2" plywood scrap, so I'll have a more square surface on the real boxes. The tricky part seems to be starting all the way on a corner, then pushing into the edge and then starting the pass. Once I got past that point it was usually pretty smooth. I did have a couple of passes that chipped pretty bad near the bottom of the cut...what does that indicate?

[el_ingeniero]

Tearout indicates that the router might be biting off more than it can chew.

There are 2 possible causes:

1. something with the bit
2. cutting too much at once

Use a decent bit, like a Freud. If Leland could sell cheaper bits that were good enough, I'm sure he would, but all I see on his site is Freud.

Slow down. If you go half as fast, you are cutting half as much wood. Just don't burn the wood and you'll be fine.

Side note: routers put a lot of fine wood dust into the air, at a size that goes straight into your lungs. Wood is just silica fibers bound with lignin, and silica is the same stuff as glass. If you're going to be working with wood indoors a lot, I suggest that your next few projects after your OT12s should be shop made dust control devices.

[thekl0wn]

I'll second what el_ingeniero said. What brand of bit are you using? Typically, I try to stay away from the Home Depot/Lowes/Menard's brands. Not saying they don't carry decent brands, but I've just not had good luck using much in the way of bits from there. That being said, there are multi-packs of bits from those places, and *gasp* even Harbor Freight in the shop. But those are usually used on pieces where a nail head is likely. Makes you cry a lot less when you hit a nail with a bit out of a $20 set, versus a $70 bit! If you have a Woodcraft nearby, they typically stock good brands of bits like Freud, Woodriver, Whiteside, & CMT.

One other thing you might check is the speed. If you have a variable speed, adjust the speed and ensure that it's actually changing speeds. You should be able to hear a definite difference in the audible sound. Just make sure it's actually spinning up faster when you set it to full speed. It's a common failing on many power tools to have the electronics go out on the variable speed portion. Slower spinning speeds have a tendency to "grab" more.

[doncolga]

This is a Skil from Lowes. I'm going to play with it some more this evening. Probably the first "real" piece I'll try will be the bottom side of the V-plate.

[doncolga]

100% improvement this time going a good bit slower. No burning or chipping at all...router seemed to be working really nice and smooth. Hooray! This sands out easily, but there is a little line in the wood across the bottom of the round so it's not totally flush on the radius...bit too low?

[BassMe]

Another technique that usually ends with less ripouts for me is to do a quick pass in the opposite direction to the "right direction" but not to full depth. This essentially plucks off the outer corner of the wood. Then do the proper pass in the right direction nice and slow. The router is having to chew a lot less wood and has a far far greater chance of not getting any splits etc.

The first pass could easily be in the right direction, but I find it much easier to just graze the outer edge in the opposite direction.

Note the routers I have used are fairly high powered commercial grade ones.

[67baja]

100% improvement this time going a good bit slower. No burning or chipping at all...router seemed to be working really nice and smooth. Hooray! This sands out easily, but there is a little line in the wood across the bottom of the round so it's not totally flush on the radius...bit too low?

Yes, sounds like the bit is a bit too low.