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2nd February 2015, 07:09 AM #1Intermediate Member
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- Jan 2015
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- New Zealand
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First cut with a router --Success!!!
Well I finally made my first cut with a router.
My router has not arrived yet but my brother loaned me a Makita and I bought a pattern cutter at Carbatec.
I wanted to try my hand at cutting a hinge pocket so that I could hang a replacement door for our walk in wardrobe.
I made a jig that I found on this site. It looked a but agricultural and I saw my wife looking at it and thinking "..and he is going to play with fast moving sharp objects???"
I clamped it to a piece of scrap timber to act as a dummy door edge, set the stops and made allowance for the hinge thickness and away I went.
That pocket turned out perfect. The hinge was a snug fit, perfectly flush and I now feel confident to replicate the cut on the door itself. My wife looked at it and was suitably impressed- not sure if it was the finished product or that fact there was no blood evident and I still had all my appendages.
OK I know its no big deal for most guys here but I have never done any woodwork, other than building fences, in the last 60 years and to me it was all the encouragement I need to take things further for a hobby in my retirement.
I have several pieces of MDF and thick ply that I have collected over time and I'll probably start by making a few more jigs in my spare time as I don't retire for 6 more months.
Just had to share.
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2nd February 2015, 09:42 AM #2
Good on you Gerry. You are now on the road to a life of fun with wood. It would be good to see a photo of your jig.
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2nd February 2015, 10:45 AM #3GOLD MEMBER
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- Aug 2005
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- Queensland
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Sounds great Gerry.
Couple of things -
- stick to quality bits, not all that cheap but cut better, last longer and I feel that they are safer.
- drop an "O" ring down the shaft to prevent the bit bottoming out and becoming stuck when tightening the collet.Regards,
Bob
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
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2nd February 2015, 01:22 PM #4Senior Member
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- Apr 2011
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- Pakenham, Victoria
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- 53
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- 350
Hi Gerry
Well done! I also switched my router on for the first time yesterday. Mine is crappy $10 bargain I found at Mitre 10 ages ago. 1/4 collet, Mech Pro brand. Paid less for the router than the bits. I need to route some slots in melamine for the outfeed on my table saw and also some hinge pockets soon too. Then I will try to build it into the bench as a router table.
I discovered very quickly that there is a learning curve to using these things! I only had 20 minutes to play so am looking forward to spending more time learning how to use it.
Danny
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2nd February 2015, 07:53 PM #5
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3rd February 2015, 08:03 AM #6Intermediate Member
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- Jan 2015
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- New Zealand
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- 48
This is probably a naive statement but as I don't see me buying lots of bits I will go for decent quality which is one reason for not buying a set and just get the ones I need as required. The one bit I used cost me an eye watering $48 from Carbatech.
I do have one cheaper imperial bit coming from USA (Yonica??) bought mainly to use for practice. Its also imperial so probably not something I would use on a regular basis as we have seen the light and gone metric .
Thanks for the tip re the o-ring. I have a bundle of them I bought at the local $2 shop so I'll drop one of those in before I use the router again.
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7th February 2015, 05:02 PM #7
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12th February 2015, 05:34 PM #8
Good idea purchase the bits as you require. No point in getting a set of bits to find out that you are not using them.
I once had a router given to me along with a set of bits. I mounted one in the router where the router was in the table. I starting the router and was just about to push the timber through I noticed that the top of the bit had disappeared. I stopped router to find that this had broken off. I had dust extraction running so it went into the dust extractor. I thought how lucky I was if dust extraction was not running, I then gathered all the crappy bits and placed them in the bin.
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12th February 2015, 07:04 PM #9GOLD MEMBER
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- Aug 2005
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- Queensland
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- 2,947
Totally agree with the last bit [no pun intended].
One thing to check with all new bits is that the bearing guide ball race runs freely and that the small grub screw is in fact tight. Have never had a personal issue but have heard that sometimes the grub screw may not be as tight as it should be.Regards,
Bob
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
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