If you already know about wood routers, you are most probably aware of the fact that they come with a vast range of versatilities in your workshop. You can perform many types of tasks by using a wood router. There are many router projects for beginners. If you don’t know how to get maximum benefits from a wood router in the workshop, today we will tell you about this. Stay with us throughout this article to know 10 of our best wood router tips and tricks.
Router Tips and Tricks
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If you are a novice woodworker and don’t know how to use a wood router, please don’t worry anymore. Because we have got you covered here. Below we are going to reveal ten unique router tips for the beginner. If you follow these tips and tricks correctly, you can perform a lot of exclusive projects with a wood router.
Use Two Featherboards:
Here are our first tips for you in this exclusive guide. You should always go for two featherboards if you want to perform cut on narrow moldings. You’ll get a lot of benefits by using two feather boards here.
The significant benefit is it will ensure maximum accuracy and you will be able to perform a straight and smooth cut. But you might face some problems when using two feather boards in this case. Notably, it will be so tough to perform the cut ultimately in a safe way. Here is a quick solution for you.
Get the molding and make it enough large. You have to leave some wood uncut at the end. It will work like a comfortable handle. After that, using the handle- you can easily rout your required portion of the wood. You must eliminate the handle to finish the job after completing the routing.
Special Tricks for Miter Joints:
If you ever attempted to cut miter using any specific type of table saw, you already know that you will end up doing a lousy performance. The blade will shift out and the edge will not be perfect.
Now, if you want to avoid these problems, you can go for a specific bit which is known as chamfer type of bit. It will help you to perform even a bevel cut with precision and maximum accuracy. You’ll find chamfer bits of various sizes. But you have to choose your preferred size wisely to get the job done.
Before starting the routing, it’s wise to eliminate waste by using your band saw or even the table saw. If you let your bit to remove only a small portion of wood, trust us- it will work at its best. You can also create a special type of opening there to get the job done.
To do that, you have to cut the fences of your router table. Moreover, you can hold a backer board- it will prevent unexpected blow-out. Another critical tip is while setting up the routing spot, you can leave a point at the terminal part but you are not allowed to shorten the length.
However, adjusting the height of the bit will help you to get the expected result. At this adjustment, you can easily cut miters with accuracy.
Using Chip-Free Bits:
Here are another unique wood router tricks for you. Always try to choose spiral bits instead of straight bits. Because one of the significant benefits of spiral bits is it brings smoothness and accuracy in your every cut.
There is some kind of bits which are spiral and also up-cut. They can pull out the chips conveniently. So, eventually, it will get a perfect shape for having an excellent mortise cur even in the solid wood. On the other hand, you’ll find some other kinds of chips which will push the chip downward.
In this case, you can think about any dados without any kind of chips, for instance, in the melamine. However due to operational inefficiency, we don’t recommend using a down-cut bit in the router table. If you want to rout the edges of the plywood, you can use it for the compression bit which is best for getting the perfect surface.
Shaping the Thick Parts:
When it comes to making identical parts, using a demo or template will make your day shine and of course, a specific type of pattern bit will give you some more advantages in this case.
One common issue with pattern bit is it is pretty short and that’s where you get confused about its effectiveness to work on thick parts. Now, here are some simple steps which you should follow to shape thick parts.
First of all, you have to work on the bottom part. Routing that part will make your task even easier. You have to remove that thick part very carefully. After that, you need to install a bottom bearing flush –trim in the device.
You just have to do necessary adjustments, especially you must adjust the bits as per requirement and you’ll be amazed to see its bearing riding smoothly on the platform.
Aligning Holes:
When it comes to working on a wide area, you may need other base plates for your wood router. If you want to drill screw holes to fasten the base plate should be done precisely.
In this case, you will need some setscrews which are specially designed with cone pointed area to get the job done conveniently.
You’ll find many sizes of these screws. So, it may seem a little bit messy to choose the right size for your job. However, you don’t need to worry. You just need to do a crosscheck the base plate screws with the available suitable nut.
This is the high time to do the real tricks. Draw two diagonal lines, then make a hole in the meeting point of the diagonal lines. Make sure that the hole is 1/4 inches. You have to get a suitable bit for your wood router. Remember those setscrews we mentioned above?
Take and install them in the router base. Sliding a new plate will help you to get the job done. At this point, you are all set to go and creating a simple dimple will be good enough for the rest of the work.
Parallel Passes
If you want to work on dovetail slots and love to save your time, this quick router trick is for you. You can perform parallel passes when working with a specific type of work piece.
It will save you time and increase efficiency. Here is a quick summary of what you should do. First of all, take a scrap 1/2 inch plywood. You have to cut a sub-base so that your wood router fits with that.
You have to carefully perform the dado. It should be done on the downside area of that sub-base. At this point, you have to widen it carefully and match it to the bit at the surface of the work piece.
However, for deep grooves, you have to perform deeper cuts. Then again when it comes to dovetail, you must choose your bit according to the requirement. As you already know there are many sizes of bits, choosing the most perfect bit will help you a lot in the workshop.
Rout Stopped Cuts Carefully:
Wouldn’t this be awesome to perform edge cuts with maximum precision and accuracy by using your favorite wood router? Yes, that would be awesome. By using this simple trick, you can perform edge cuts accurately so that you can perform great chamfer or surface profiles.
Here comes the necessity of a stop block. Because using customized stop blocks, you can control the activity or the profile on the work piece. Now, you have to perform this simple math. First of all, you must take the measurement carefully. In this case, starting from the exact point measure up to the terminal point.
At this point, you must find the radius and subtract it. After that, you need to cut the stop block properly to the perfect measurement.
Use a Starter Pin:
Working with wood router sometimes becomes dangerous, especially if you don’t know how to ensure safety while using a router. When it comes to freehand routing, the challenging task is easing your piece while you also have to adjust the bit.
A simple starter pin can provide you with maximum safety. Let us tell you how a starter pin can ensure your safety. First of all, you have to make the pin from anything at your convenience.
For instance, you can make it from an aluminum rod or even from a hardwood. Of course, it should be mounted properly at the right measurement.
The work piece on which you are going to perform routing should be braced for the pin. You have to rotate into the bit. You are now all set to go and it ensures maximum safety.
Rout Round-Overs, Not Tip-Overs:
Working with a wood router will give you many opportunities to bring innovation in your woodworking projects. However, if you know the router tips and tricks you will know what exactly you should do in the first place.
Here is another unique routing tips for you. Always go for the routing which will be done over the round instead of routing tip-overs. Every project is important for you. But your favorite project can be ruined by any wrong tool.
That is why you should keep the base always stable. When it comes to routing in the outer side of a box, you must perform the routing with the utmost care, especially on the edge.
Also, to give support to the base, you can use the sides or even the front parts and back parts carefully. This simple tip will surely help you out in your woodworking projects.
Get a Grip On Small Parts:
Here is the last but not the least tips for you so that you can use a wood router conveniently. You should always get a grip on small parts. Small parts are at high risk of being dropped as the router-table is pretty much over sized.
On the other hand, you may tug fingers into the router bit which will mess up the entire situation. Here is a quick solution to the problem. First of all, take plywood and prepare it carefully as you are going to work on it.
At this point, you have to drill a specific hole in the plywood. The hole should be enough larger than the diameter of the bit. Here is another important task. You just have to clamp it carefully to the router tabletop.
It should be near zero clearance support. You have to grip the part by using a hand screw. You can easily angle the jaws to grasp the odd-size parts softly. At this point, you can also hold them conveniently. That is how you should get a grip on small parts.
We have discussed some important router tips and tricks. But sometimes the router may not be available so you have to find an alternative. Do you know how to cut a groove in wood without a router? Don’t forget to check it.
Final Words
If you are told to list down ten important woodworking tools that can perform multiple functions, you can easily put the name of the wood router on your list. You have to perform a different kind of cuts to complete all of your woodworking cuts.
Trust us, good quality and the functional wood router will make your woodworking day even shiner. However, you have to know every tip and trick to bring innovation and accuracy in your work. In this comprehensive article, we tried to gather all the necessary router tips for beginners in one place.
We believe these exclusive wood router tips and tricks will help you out to know everything about a wood router. We wish you a happy woodworking day with your wood router.
turkce says
Excellent article. I will be experiencing some of these issues as well.. Daphna Barney Abbotsen
turkce says
Like!! I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest. Gwenny Bennie Onia