Router Speeds

[Jon Bell]

Hi,

My router has a dial that allows me to dial in a variety of diffrent speeds, presumably different speeds are needed for different jobs. What are the pros and cons of a fast or slow speed?

[Southpa]

I use a 2-speed spin saw that runs at 20,000 and 30,000 rpm. When routing mahogany I get better results at the higher speed. The machine was harder to control and I would get a bit of tear out at the slower speed. Make sure your bits are sharp. Speed of travel is important too, if you try to push too fast you are open for problems. There is a good tutorial on routers somewhere in this forum.

[Setch]

High speed will grab less, and cut smoother. On the downside, it will be more prone to burning if your feedrate is a bit too slow. I use the highest speed when cutting hardwoods, unless I'm using a large cutter, like my binding bit (see below), or doing a task where burning would be really hard to sandout.

A large diameter cutter needs to be run at lower speed because the increased size means the cutting tips of the flutes are going much faster than a small cutter running at the same RPM.