Woodworker's Journal winter-2010, страница 26

Six Tips for Avoiding Router Tearout

Put an end to splintery corners,

blown-out edges and ragged profiles with a few simple routing tips. here are six worth trying.

By Chris Marshall

No tool is better at decorating an edge than a router, and it's ideal for cutting dadoes, rabbets and other joinery. But tearout is a router bugaboo you'll want to avoid at all costs. Generally, tearout happens when routing across the grain, turning corners or removing too much material in one pass. Don't let tearout spoil a perfectly good piece of wood ... or your peace of mind. A few good router tips are all you need.

Tip 1: Dial Back and Slow Down

Most routers nowadays have variable speed control, and it's there for a reason. The larger your bit diameter, the faster it spins at the outer cutting edges. When you are routing splinter-prone woods like cedar or oak with a large bit, turn your router's speed dial down a few notches. You'll cut cleaner edges with fewer burn marks. Remember to slow your feed rate when approaching the cor

Tearout is one of those avoidable problems with routing, and you have lots of ways to prevent it from happening. Here are six tips to keep those corners and edges crisp.

ners of a workpiece or if you hear the router start to tear the wood instead of cut it. Don't make routing a race to the finish. A steady and smooth operation is always the best goal.

Tip 2: Rout Like Clockwork

For most applications, the correct way to feed a router is against the bit's rotation. This tip

has more to do with safety than Dial down your router's speed when avoiding tearout, but it will using larger bits. You'll get cleaner, improve your router's cutting safer cuts this way.

26 Six Tips For Avoiding Router Tearout