Here's a router.
This is a router.
and that's a router.
Which is better or best and thus right for you. Lets take a look.
Now what I'm not going to do is I'm not going to stand here and bore you with spec sheets
for all these machines. But what I will do, is give you my thoughts and experiences while
using them.
So when do I use this router vs that router.
It depends on what I'm doing and how long I'm doing it for.
I also take into consideration the type of material I'm working with
and how big that piece is. I know that may sound complicated but its not really.
I use the router table for pieces that are to small or to thin to
safely and reliably use a hand held router.
I use the trim router for routing along edges. I also use this type for dados
if I'm, one, using soft wood, Two, I don't have to go too deep and Three,
I only have a few dadoes to do.
Other than that the plunge router gets most of the heavy duty work.
Trim routers are lighter and easier to handle as you can use them
with one hand but there is a trade off. They have less powerful
motors and that one handed thing can turn and bite you if it slips out of
your hand for whatever reason.
Trim routers are a nice accessory to have if you can afford an extra tool but I
wouldn't recommend them if you don't already have a router in your shop.
This particular one that I have has the ability to control the rotation speed
of the bit. That comes in handy if you really want to have the most control
possible to prevent burning your work piece as well as extending the life
of your router bits. Excessive heat build up isn't
good for your work pieces and it's not good for the bit because excessive heat
will dull it in short order. In fact the more heat the duller the bit gets, the duller the
bit, the more heat. Catch 22 anybody. Their are other factors to
consider regarding keeping your bits in tip top shape but that is not what
this video is about. It's about routers and being able to control the rotation
speed is a valuable asset in trim routers or their larger counterparts such
as the plunge router. If you head to my website, simply easy diy dot com,
I'll have a chart listing bit diameters along with their speed recommendations.
Speaking of plunge routers obviously these have more power behind them
That is good for the most part.
However, I consider that extra pop to be a little unnecessary if I'm just rounding over
the edges of a project. That said these things offer some notable benefits
over their smaller trim router counterparts.
First, the larger base plates make it easier to stabilize
the router when your first starting a cut, ending one or traveling along
the edge of a work piece.
Second, safety. Two hands will do that for ya. Plus if you've ever seen
one of those trim routers pop out of someones hand and bounce around like popcorn
taking chunks out of different body parts as they do, that'll make you even
more appreciative of the two hand feature.
Third, these things are work horses. If you have a bit to stick in it. The
2 and one quarter horse power motors will spin it in whatever material
you need, bosonova style. That's right, I said bosonova.
Router tables have their own benefits. A router fence along with an ability
to duplicate cuts in multiple pieces. So if you wanna do template or pattern
work router tables are extremely helpful for that. You can use it as a jointer by
shimming the out feed side of the fence.
This small piece here I would never attempt to use a handheld router on.
It's the router table all the way on something like that.
So which is best? Which one should you get if your on a budget and want the
most bang for your buck. The answer to that question isn't as simple as merely
comparing the three spec sheets. You have to be able to answer the question
what are you most likely to use one for and that answer isn't so simple if
your new to woodworking and diy projects. Thats why I don't recommend
woodworking routers as one of the first tools to purchase for your shop.
Do some projects first. figure out what things your are more inclined to build
as opposed to whats your not. If what your drawn to do are a bunch of
outdoor projects like chicken coops and rabbit hutches. Well I have several videos on my
channel that depict how I do that and I never touched a router.
However if your building indoor furniture I'd recommend a plunge
router as they can easily handle stopped dadoes and your not necessarily
dealing with a bunch of small work pieces.
I'm not going to go over all the router lingo and terms. This is the
do hicky thing, the thing amabobber is here and that is the flippy jig.
The one thing that I will call by name is this right here. That is
called the cullet or cullet nut. These come in two sizes, quarter inch and
half inch. Why? Because router bits will either have a quarter inch
shank or a half inch diameter shank. Which one is better? I really hate that
question because again it depends. Each has there pros and cons. I can tell
you that quarter inch is more common. In fact I'm not even sure my local hardware
store carries half inch shank bits. I'd probably have to go to a specialty store or
shop online for that size. All my routers are 1/4" I'll go into some of the pros and
cons of both sizes on my website. Simply easy diy dot com. Check the description
for the link.
All of my routers have this press and hold lock to loosen and tighten the cullet nut.
Just rotate the cullet till it locks in place, then I can take the wrench that usually
comes with the router to loosen or tighten the cullet around the shank of the bit.
One thing to keep in mind when inserting bits into your router is to not shove them
all the way in and then tighten them. Leave about an eighth inch space between the
bottom of the bit and the cullet. If you press it all the way down you could
get some extra chatter as your routing.
Make sure your tightening that well. I've had bits come loose and it sucks.
If you look down at the base plate from over the top you will see a little arrow
imprinted on the base plate. That indicates the rotation of the bit. I always
make sure the backside rotation of the bit is feeding into the material. If I'm
using a straight edge I want the backside rotation feeding into that straight edge.
That is pretty standard right there. However, if I come at this setup from the other side.
The backside rotation is going away from the straightedge and that is going to want to
pull my router out and away. Now a lot of times that can happen rather suddenly and
it is often a major contributor to one of these trim routers flying out of peoples hands.
If I have a setup like this and I want to route the inside of a work piece, I'm going
clockwise to keep the backside rotation going into the material.
If I'm routing the outside I'll go counterclockwise. Again mindful of that
backside rotation. If i'm doing this on a router table I'll mirror those
directions.
Now with all that their are situations when I go against everything that I just
said and route with the rotation of the bit instead of against it. That is
a technique called climb cutting. I use it a lot to prevent blowout in fact I just used
it on a project I did just a couple weeks ago called the simple, easy and elegant
bookcase however, I ended up doing some fancy editing with to that video so you don't actually
see me doing it. You see me routing the dado but you don't see finishing it. I'm you'd
like more information on the climb cutting technique you can visit my website at simply
easy diy dot com.