here's a router. this is a router. and that's a router. which is better or best and thus right foryou. lets take a look. now what i'm not going to do is i'm not goingto stand here and bore you with spec sheets
most essential woodworking tools, 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 longi'm doing it for.
i also take into consideration the type ofmaterial i'm working with and how big that piece is. i know that maysound complicated but its not really. i use the router table for pieces that areto 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'thave to go too deep and three, i only have a few dadoes to do. other than that the plunge router gets mostof the heavy duty work. trim routers are lighter and easier to handleas you can use them
with one hand but there is a trade off. theyhave less powerful motors and that one handed thing can turnand bite you if it slips out of your hand for whatever reason. trim routers are a nice accessory to haveif you can afford an extra tool but i wouldn't recommend them if you don't alreadyhave a router in your shop. this particular one that i have has the abilityto control the rotation speed of the bit. that comes in handy if you reallywant to have the most control possible to prevent burning your work pieceas well as extending the life of your router bits. excessive heat buildup isn't
good for your work pieces and it's not goodfor the bit because excessive heat will dull it in short order. in fact the moreheat the duller the bit gets, the duller the bit, the more heat. catch 22 anybody. theirare other factors to consider regarding keeping your bits in tiptop shape but that is not what this video is about. it's about routers andbeing able to control the rotation speed is a valuable asset in trim routersor 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 alongwith their speed recommendations. speaking of plunge routers obviously thesehave more power behind them
that is good for the most part. however, i consider that extra pop to be alittle unnecessary if i'm just rounding over the edges of a project. that said these thingsoffer some notable benefits over their smaller trim router counterparts. first, the larger base plates make it easierto 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 forya. plus if you've ever seen one of those trim routers pop out of someoneshand and bounce around like popcorn
taking chunks out of different body partsas they do, that'll make you even more appreciative of the two hand feature. third, these things are work horses. if youhave a bit to stick in it. the 2 and one quarter horse power motors willspin it in whatever material you need, bosonova style. that's right, isaid bosonova. router tables have their own benefits. a routerfence along with an ability to duplicate cuts in multiple pieces. so ifyou wanna do template or pattern work router tables are extremely helpful forthat. you can use it as a jointer by shimming the out feed side of the fence.
this small piece here i would never attemptto use a handheld router on. it's the router table all the way on somethinglike that. so which is best? which one should you getif your on a budget and want the most bang for your buck. the answer to thatquestion isn't as simple as merely comparing the three spec sheets. you haveto be able to answer the question what are you most likely to use one for andthat 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 toolsto purchase for your shop. do some projects first. figure out what thingsyour are more inclined to build
as opposed to whats your not. if what yourdrawn to do are a bunch of outdoor projects like chicken coops and rabbithutches. well i have several videos on my channel that depict how i do that and i nevertouched a router. however if your building indoor furniturei'd recommend a plunge router as they can easily handle stopped dadoesand your not necessarily dealing with a bunch of small work pieces. i'm not going to go over all the router lingoand terms. this is the do hicky thing, the thing amabobber is hereand that is the flippy jig. the one thing that i will call by name isthis right here. that is
called the cullet or cullet nut. these comein two sizes, quarter inch and half inch. why? because router bits will eitherhave a quarter inch shank or a half inch diameter shank. whichone is better? i really hate that question because again it depends. each hasthere pros and cons. i can tell you that quarter inch is more common. in facti'm not even sure my local hardware store carries half inch shank bits. i'd probablyhave to go to a specialty store or shop online for that size. all my routersare 1/4" i'll go into some of the pros and cons of both sizes on my website. simply easydiy dot com. check the description for the link.
all of my routers have this press and holdlock 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 tightenthe cullet around the shank of the bit. one thing to keep in mind when inserting bitsinto your router is to not shove them all the way in and then tighten them. leaveabout an eighth inch space between the bottom of the bit and the cullet. if you pressit all the way down you could get some extra chatter as your routing. make sure your tightening that well. i'vehad bits come loose and it sucks. if you look down at the base plate from overthe top you will see a little arrow
imprinted on the base plate. that indicatesthe rotation of the bit. i always make sure the backside rotation of the bitis feeding into the material. if i'm using a straight edge i want the backsiderotation 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 thestraightedge and that is going to want to pull my router out and away. now a lot oftimes that can happen rather suddenly and it is often a major contributor to one ofthese trim routers flying out of peoples hands. if i have a setup like this and i want toroute the inside of a work piece, i'm going clockwise to keep the backside rotation goinginto the material.
if i'm routing the outside i'll go counterclockwise.again mindful of that backside rotation. if i'm doing this on arouter table i'll mirror those directions. now with all that their are situations wheni go against everything that i just said and route with the rotation of the bitinstead of against it. that is a technique called climb cutting. i use ita lot to prevent blowout in fact i just used it on a project i did just a couple weeksago called the simple, easy and elegant bookcase however, i ended up doing some fancyediting with to that video so you don't actually see me doing it. you see me routing the dadobut you don't see finishing it. i'm you'd
like more information on the climb cuttingtechnique you can visit my website at simply easy diy dot com.
