Thread: I Said A Rude Word Today

As the subject, I said a rude word today, and I said it with gusto! The story is that I'm fitting casters to the coffee table that we have in front of the couch. The couch has those lifting leg things, so we have to move the coffee table forward to save getting our legs trapped. I made the template for the guide bushing and did the first leg OK with a perfect fit. I love guide bushings. The template clamps to the leg, and I allowed a decent sized platform for the router to sit on (Bosch 1600CE with plunge base). I was using a 1/2" spiral cut bit that has an overall length of 100mm to cut a 45mm deep recess in the leg. The template is 1/2" thick, so I needed 57.7mm of the bit extended from the base, which leaves plenty in the collet.

I was doing final clean up on the second leg and there's a BANG! When I removed the router I found that the guide bushing had come unscrewed, and it doesn't take much to snap a carbide bit. It was an expensive bit (NZ$215 from Carbatec ) so I was not best pleased and said the afore mentioned rude word (several times). What was worse is that Carbatec has no stock and I struggled to find a replacement but I did find one eventually, and it was cheaper than Carbatec NZ (NZ$154 from Whitside via Amazon)

I've cut a lot of mortices with the spiral bit and I love it. The only reason I was using the brass Porter Cable style guide bushing is because it is shiny and looks nice, but I'd had concerns tightening it. I could just about get hold of the knurled ring with a pipe wrench, but was reluctant to grip the guide for fear of marking it. That's pretty ironic as it is definitely marked now. I have a set of steel Bosch guide bushings and will be using one of those when the new bit turns up. They clamp in the holder and I don't think they'd come loose (I'm touching wood). I actually think I bought the Bosch set just for the adaptor for the brass guide bushings.

So that's my tale of woe. The casters are made from Acetal which machines beautifully with HSS tools, and OK(ish) with tipped tools. The 6mm furniture bolts come from Bunnings and I've always got a decent collection in my hardware rack. They call them JCB bolt and they are made by Hafele.

Broken Bit.jpg