Router bushings

[H. Acevedo]

Can anyone recommend a good set of router bushings. I have a carftsman 2hp router. I bought a set of bushings from Vermont Tools, but ended up cracking the bushing. Not sure if I was using them correctly. Let me explain. I attached the new bushings to the base plate that it came with. I then attached the base plate to the router, after I took the old one off. Then I choose a straight cutting bit that would fit in the center of the bushing without cutting or grinding the bushing itself. After that I began to cut into the work piece following the template edge that I made. When cutting I noticed that the base plate was getting hot for some reason. I figured out that the wood chips from the cut were being trapped under the base plate. The base plate had no holes so that you could see the area that you were cutting. I assume that the reason the bushings cracked was because of the heat, but not sure. Is this the correct way to use a set of bushings? What I want to do is to be able to follow my router around the template to cut the shape that I need.

THANKS

[krazyderek]

that's really odd, there should be one hole, i have a cheap set and it has just one hole that works really well.... the dust shoots out of there....

what part exactly was it that cracked?

was it the metal bushing or the baseplate (metal, plastic ?)that cracked?

are you sure the router bit didn't touch it at all?

i'd take it back to point of sale... i mean if it cracked under heat cause there's a design flaw (no hole in the plate or bushing) then that's not ur fault....

[H. Acevedo]

Thanks krazyderek.

It was the bushing itself that cracked. The bushing is made out of metal and the base plate is plastic. I just looked at my router agian and see no holes around the base plate other then the predrilled holes to attach the plate to driffrent brands. Do they make a bit kind of like a flush cutting bit, only that the bearing on the bit is towards the top of the shaft instead of the bottom?

[krazyderek]

yes they do,

Router tutorial - pg. 2 (scroll down to the bit chart) you're looking for a template bit....

although bushings do have their advantages, no limit on how shallow you can rout (router permitting) and there's also no wear on templates, you can also use thin acrylic templates instead of needing big'ol 1/2" or 5/8" thick plywood templates.

one downside i've noticed though, they're not the greatest for percision work like a neck pocket.... everything else they're pretty much fine, just make sure you compensate for the offset of the bushing.

[GregP]

Ace tutorials, Derek. Hadn't stumbled across those yet.

[Setch]

The trend homepage has some tips for using bushings with templates, and it recommends that you try to avoid any situation where there is less than 3.5 mm of clearance between the cutter and guide bushing, otherwise it will not allow effective chip clearance.