funkle Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 I was edge routering some figured wood (Anegre) yesterday, and I had a lot of problems with bite, and entire chunks of wood chipping off. It was at the parts of the body when you're going parallel to the grain that I had the problem. The bit is good, new and sharp, the speed was high, and I was going really slow and smooth. What do you guys suggest as a way to avoid this? I actually found that when I move the piece with the direction of the bit rather than against it, like your supposed to, I was able to get a cleaner rout. I know your not supposed to do it this way. I held the wood down on the router table very securely so the bit wouldn't grab into the wood and shoot it out the window. Thanks -Sven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryeisnotcool2 Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 make shallower cuts, this should help, it takes longer but is worth it. i had that problem on some mahogany bodies, just go very very slow! and also it helps if you are barely taking any wood off, so when you rough out the body on the band saw try to stay about 1/16 from your line this will also help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkle Posted December 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 make shallower cuts, this should help, it takes longer but is worth it. i had that problem on some mahogany bodies, just go very very slow! and also it helps if you are barely taking any wood off, so when you rough out the body on the band saw try to stay about 1/16 from your line this will also help. When you're using a pattern bit, you have no choice but to go full depth on the first pass, in this case 1". I was routering the body from a template attached to the top. I guess you could start on the bottom edge of the body, then when you work your way up to the figured top, reduce the height of the passes. I was probably more like 1/8-1/4" from the line on the band saw. The blade had some kinks in it, so I was playing it safe - next time I'll buy my own blade and bring it to the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 Not claiming this is right, but I always go backwards until I'm on just about the very last shave, then I switch and direct it forward to finish. Works for me, and I suffer almost no tearout anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted December 13, 2003 Report Share Posted December 13, 2003 Have you tried using tape (strong tape like the $tewmac double stick kind)? I did this when I needed to route the pickup holes in my maple top and it worked fine. The only thing you need to watch out for is the tape building up on the bit. I stopped once in a while to check and remove it if there was any. In addition to that, using the "climb milling" method (which is going in the opposite direction from normal routing) should do it. If you are still nervous about doing it, one other possibility would be to build taller templates. It's a real pain in the ass but I did this for my pickup hole templates. I made them out of some 3/4" maple (I don't like using mdf, plywood templates) and I can set the pattern bit to only take off a small amount at a time that way. I realize that it's probably the last thing you want to spend your time on but I thought I would mention it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryeisnotcool2 Posted December 13, 2003 Report Share Posted December 13, 2003 i had thesame prob with the template bits funkle, thats why i started cutting as close as ai could get to the body, this helps a lot , also try shaving off the wood instead of taking 1 deep pass just shave like 1/16 at a time on the outside edges, until you roll on the template, you have to be steady but this works also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YDoesGodMockMeSo Posted December 13, 2003 Report Share Posted December 13, 2003 make shallower cuts, this should help, it takes longer but is worth it. i had that problem on some mahogany bodies, just go very very slow! and also it helps if you are barely taking any wood off, so when you rough out the body on the band saw try to stay about 1/16 from your line this will also help. When you're using a pattern bit, you have no choice but to go full depth on the first pass, in this case 1". I was routering the body from a template attached to the top. I guess you could start on the bottom edge of the body, then when you work your way up to the figured top, reduce the height of the passes. I was probably more like 1/8-1/4" from the line on the band saw. The blade had some kinks in it, so I was playing it safe - next time I'll buy my own blade and bring it to the shop. http://www.eagle-america.com/html/catalog/...up.asp?id=87692 You can probably use that bit so you don't HAVE to cut the full length. Just 1/4" at a time....and then move up to the longer template bit to cut the rest off. At least, thats what i'm hoping...cuz thats what i'm gonna do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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