Thread: Guide wheel making a mark, help! Plz!

Hi Tenson,
The first thing that I would check is does the bearing on the bit spin freely with no difficulties.
If the bearing is fine I wonder how much pressure are you using to press the router against the timber.

What sort of timber are you making these out of??

Heres how David MArks goes about fixing dents care of the DIY Network:

<!--StartFragment -->"Dents in wood occur when the fibers of wood are compressed or crushed. By contrast, a gouge is when the fibers are cut or broken. A gouge is a difficult fix, and will likely require a patch or veneer covering to repair it. Small dents, however, are an easy fix.
Place a small amount of water onto the dented area (figure J) and cover it with a damp cloth.

Use an wood-burning tool or iron (figure K) to heat the cloth and create steam. The steam expands the crushed fibers of the depression, removing the dent. It's a good idea to remove dents before sanding."

This method may help getting rid of the line marks that have occured from the bearing.......................I agree with Butchers approach! Find out whats happening prevention is better than cure."

......................Let us know how you get on

REgards Lou

Hi,

Thanks for the fast replies.

They are being made out of Joinery Pine, but I will also make them from MDF, Beech, Cheery and Maple depending on what someone asks me for.

The bearing does seem to spin freely and I try not to put too much pressure on the wood, using multiple passes but it still happens a bit. The part that is hard to sand out is the part under the end grain. It goes across the grain of the side piece and doesn’t want to sand out really.

The steam method sounds like it may work but is probably very tricky and also time consuming. Perhaps a better router bit would help? Its from a kit of about 10 for £10 so not that great but it does cut nicely.

On a side note has anyone used 'Freud' router bits? I got a 6.3mm straight edge and frankly it seems crap and then it went blunt and wouldn't cut after only a few uses. It was expensive too! I have replaced it with a Trend and that is lovely but I just wondered if anyone else likes/dislikes Freud bits?

Tenson,
if you are spending the kind of money that Freud bits cost, then IMHO you will be better off buying CMT bits. I often use the CMT bits with a bearing for shaping the edges without any bearing mark on the wood.
Regards
Les

I get around this problem by using my router in the table. Only works if it's a straight edge treatment though. If it's too big to handle that way, try putting the straight edge guide on your router.

In other words, bypass the bearing unless it's an internal corner or a curved edge.

Like Silent, I try to keep the bearing off the timber where possible. Rather than turn averythign upside down on a table, I use the fence. Set the fence so the edge of the bearing is in line with it and thus only just touches the timber. The fence distributes the load so the pressure on the timber is less .. no dents. The fence guides the bit for most of the straight run and with care, only a little of the corners has the bearing in contact with it ... when approaching the end of a straight, make sure the end of the fence remains in contact with the timber while the other end pokes into free space.

Not sure if it'll work for you, but does for me.

i am with silent and david, i do what i can on the router table, using the fence where possible and if its too big to put on the table then i will back up the bearing with the fence. it always seems to produce a better result on straight edges, probably because the length of either the table fence or handheld fence cause the router to ignore any small imperfections in straightness. but if the surface is curved thats definitely teh realm of the bearing guided bit

Add my vote to using a table/fence system over just the guide bearing.
Using pine, I wonder if your bearing has been gummed up with pitch and wants to spin up to router rpm? I have had the same problem using solid (non-bearing) guide rings on my spindle moulder.

I have only tried Freud bits once. I think that episode lasted approximately
five minutes before failure. CMT are good, and lately I've tried Infinity and Whiteside which are my favourite. You can often find good deals on Whiteside
ex USA-the last a long time, even in MDF, and their bearings are top notch.

Until you get another bit perhaps you can try tape on the timber over the path of the bearing to see if that helps.

Cheers

Greg

Ahh yes thats a good idea! I will try with the fence next time I make one. I think it may still be tricky on the small end grain piece simply because its short but I think it could still help.

No suggestions on cheap computer controlled routers then?

Originally Posted by Tenson

No suggestions on cheap computer controlled routers then?

not for a year or two yet i think

How about this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BUILD-YOUR-OWN...QQcmdZViewItem