Fanatic1 Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 I won that router Router dewalt But its not variable speed, i just spend my money or it could work for me? im building my guitars and basses, and i know the difference between the hard and soft wood and i maked a mistake, some advice? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 I have 3 routers, a 1 3/4 hp, a 2 1/2 hp, and a 3 3/4 hp. None of them are variable speed. It's never bothered me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanatic1 Posted January 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 And what happen with soft woods and hard woods? its the same? somebody told me that i need to use sometimes a low speed, but im resting right now if you use that kind of router it must be work good. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 (edited) I could be wrong here, but my rule of thumb is that making certain your router bits are sharp and clean and that you're routing the wood in the right direction is far more important than lowering your speed for a certain type of wood. Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't understand why you'd want to use a lower speed. It seems to me like you'd just be asking for tear out. Best I can tell you is that my previously mentioned mantra has always left me with satisfying results. peace, russ Edited January 7, 2006 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum_Barrow Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 I could be wrong here, but my rule of thumb is that making certain your router bits are sharp and clean and that you're routing the wood in the right direction is far more important than lowering your speed for a certain type of wood. Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't understand why you'd want to use a lower speed. It seems to me like you'd just be asking for tear out. Best I can tell you is that my previously mentioned mantra has always left me with satisfying results. peace, russ ← You'd probably want to use different speeds for different diameter cutters. My router has 7 speeds I think, but I barely touch the selector wheel anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 I have to check my 3 3/4 hp router. I'm certain my other two don't have adjustments, but that one's in a table and I have never really looked at it. Even if it does have an adjustment, I won't fiddle with it. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 You adjust speed to suit the cutter. A 38mm rebate bit, or a bowl bit, or a big round over etc spins just as fast as a small bit, but because it's larger the outer edges are travelling much faster. So, you reduce speed or you get overheating, burning, premature cutterwear etc. You can do without it, but it's nice to have if you need to use a large diamter cutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum_Barrow Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 You adjust speed to suit the cutter. A 38mm rebate bit, or a bowl bit, or a big round over etc spins just as fast as a small bit, but because it's larger the outer edges are travelling much faster. So, you reduce speed or you get overheating, burning, premature cutterwear etc. You can do without it, but it's nice to have if you need to use a large diamter cutter. ← Yeah that's what I thought. I tend to adjust it when I use different diameter cutters, but the diameter doesn't change too much anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 +1 to both Russ and Setch. A variable speed router will give you more long term flexibility for general woodworking, furniture making (e.g. raised panel doors), use in a router table, etc. For guitar making, I think a single speed is fine. I tend to use the router for cleaning up pickup cavities, neck pockets, electronics cavities, etc after drilling out most of the waste first, and for cutting truss rod channels, rounding over edges, etc. For that work, the bits aren't large and I haven't had any problems with a single speed. I know others use a router for more e.g. flattening the surface of body blanks, initial shaping of neck contours, etc. I'll defer to those who do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 Ah, ok. I see what you mean setch. You really only need to worry about lowering your speed if your working with bits like pannel shapers and what not for doors and moldings etc. I actually just got a batch of bits from pricecutter.com. Among them is a 3/4" round over bit with a 1/2" shank. It's one of the largest bits that I've ever needed for guitar building. Anyhow, my table router must have adjustable speed because my dad's always using shaper bits in it for his projects with raised pannels. I use my router for thicknessing all of the time. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdw3332 Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 Speed Control I use this - works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Speed Control I use this - works great. ← ..thanks for the link ive been looking for a good (quality) one of those for a while.. Here is a chart with the suggested maximum speeds for bit diameter.. 1" 24,000 RPM 1.25 to 2" 18,000 RPM 2.25 to 2.5" 16,000 RPM 3 to 3.5" 12,000 RPM hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 I might as well jump in ... what do you guys think about this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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