Thread: First Time Router Use!

Originally Posted by HeadScratcher

The jig worked perfectly and the wood didn't move at all. I had to take the wood out several times to clear the saw dust away but I just used the router template and the bit (while not turning) to trace the cut again and it self centred itself.

So the moment you have been waiting for how did I go? Well I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Try not to disturb the jig and workpiece until all the cuts of that process are completed, use a vacuum cleaner to clear the cuts as you go.

The dust from MDF is dangerous to health, try keeping the dust to a minimum.

If possible use a dust separator before the VC, it will slow down the clogging of the VC.

Arie.

Originally Posted by HeadScratcher

Well let me start by saying I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun with a power tool

[COLOR="Navy"]You are on your way to having more fun with the router, but there are a few ponts I would like to make that will improve your routing skills and prepare a better finish to your future projects
(1) When working with 'Female' Temlates cut in a clockwise direction and anti clockwise when routing with a 'Male' Template.

(2) I have made a Jig Holder that allowed the material to be moved through the sides as you had suggested. It is important that the complete cut-out is produced before any movement of the material.

(3) not sure of what the two C shaped holders you are referring to.

(4) Making four right angle corners is also another method I have used in the past, They must be secured and not allowed to rotate as your template should be perfectly square to fit neatly into them. /COLOR]

I thought I really should just put one screw in the middle to let it rotate just marginally just in case when I flip the board around if it is out of square a bit it might just let it fit in a bit better.

(5) Try to avoid taking the material out before the process has been completed Brush or blow out the waste material between cuts.

The jig worked perfectly and the wood didn't move at all. I had to take the wood out several times to clear the saw dust away but I just used the router template and the bit (while not turning) to trace the cut again and it self centred itself.

(6) There is no mention as to how the finished section was held or if you did not go all the way through and left a small section for trimming

So the moment you have been waiting for how did I go? Well I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

(7) Again I must congratulate on a fine effort to produce the shape required for someone who has never used a router before,and I a sure with a little more preparation you will be producing a number of other processes

Thanks Guys… There were a couple of things that become immediately obvious after the very first cut, and that was that it produced far more fine sawdust in the template then I was expecting.

Even after that first cut I knew I had to get the sawdust out after every pass (or during) to keep the groove clean for an unblocked pass of router. I went inside to grab the dust buster but was informed it wasn’t taking charge and we were currently without a portable vacuum cleaner.

So that necessitated me having to take the wood out to clean the swarf or otherwise I wouldn’t have moved it until completed. I tried clearing it with my fingers and a brush but just didn’t get enough out.

So I guess that bring me to my first question is there a cheap router friendly vacuum cleaner on the market that won’t die quickly with sawdust?

Thanks for the tip on the inside and outside cut Tom… I did go the wrong way on the inside cut because I failed to see that once you go the opposite side of the template you are then going in the reverse direction. So yes I need to remember to put the router start position with the template to the left and move away…

Tom see pic for the two C idea. Unfortunately I don’t have a dedicated saw bench with an adjustable fence to make sure that every template is perfectly square, so I am free-handing with the circular saw, and if I’m not very careful it is easy to wind up a few mm out of square. Since I flipped both side to side and end to end the slightest bit out could mean that the template no longer fit snuggly in place.

Fortunately my template was fairly close to square and that tiny bit of movement did allow ever combination to fit snuggly. I found having it mounted in the four corners even if it not square it still fit great (see pic Out of Square). I should point out it only has slight movement with no template in place, once the template is in there it is snug as can be. To make sure it was snug I placed the template on the board and put the corners against the template while drilling and putting in the screws.

There were a couple of other learnings to be had even at this early stage, I should have started with the inside cut firsts to keep the structural integrity of the board a bit better. Then once all of the inside cuts were done, then do the cuts that are closer to the edge of the board. You will note I made the run off area of the inside cut too long and allowed it to cut through the edge of the board losing its strength. I will need to make a slight mod to the template to not let it overcut so far. I could use a wider piece of board but that is just wasting MDF.

Tom with the amount of swarf it produced I now see how my first template was never going to work, the gap between the cutter and the guide was way too small for a big job like this one. I now see why you favour those larger template guides. The 27mm one I used is fine but really don’t want much smaller.

Comment 6… I went all the way through on one side, (was getting late so didn’t cut out entirely) but it does raise a question about how to get pieces of MDF out of the job without it doing damage.

Down the track I would also consider doing a revison of the corner blocks, since there is no reason why they couldn't be made reuseable from project to project.

The first change I would make would be to make them out of one piece of solid wood (or alluminum). I quickly made those in the photos in the first post up out of a piece of wood I had laying around with a hand saw and some long screws, but if I routed some up and they were one piece and I could place the screw hole right on the corner to provide maximum benefit.

Originally Posted by HeadScratcher

So I guess that bring me to my first question is there a cheap router friendly vacuum cleaner on the market that won’t die quickly with sawdust?

Unfortunately NO

That's why I suggested a dust separator.
Google Thien buffle
This is the cheapest and easiest way to go, it wont separate the really fine dust but it will extend the time between cleaning of the VC.

Look for a bagless VC that has a easy to clean filter.

There have been posts on this forum about a $89?? VC from a supermarket.

Originally Posted by Breezy

Try not to disturb the jig and workpiece until all the cuts of that process are completed, use a vacuum cleaner to clear the cuts as you go.

The dust from MDF is dangerous to health, try keeping the dust to a minimum.

If possible use a dust separator before the VC, it will slow down the clogging of the VC.

Arie.

It sounds like someone needs to read the FAQ on the dust extraction forum.

Cheap vacuum cleaners actually make more fine dust than they collect. They smash big dust particles together and make lots of small invisible ones. The dust you can see is not the stuff you should be worrying about, its the invisible ones that pass right through cheap vacuum cleaners (and also lots of expensive ones) that are of health concerns. Unless the vacuum cleaner is a genuine HEPA (there are a lot that say they are but they are not) then they will not protect from fine dust.

The FAQ explains a lot more than I can detail here in a short post. I lost my sense of smell fro 6 weeks from sanding MDF outside using plenty of natural ventilation and a cheap mask. This was clearly not good enough.

That is so bizzare, I typed Thien buffle into the search engine and before I had chance to look at the results an idea flashed into my head... seperator seperator... what if I made the cut out (centre section) in my work bench into some kind of drop pit to catch the bulk of the dust and low and behold I opened up the first link and a refined idea of what I had in my head was staring me in the face... That is so twilight zone...

Lucky you Bob only 6 weeks, my nose has been deaf since birth. I catch smells occasionaly but it certainly doesn't work like it is supposed to.

Been doing some research on the Thien baffle Breezy mentioned it looks like my little speaker project is about to take another detour... Quite a simple idea that yeilds some really decent results, looks like another trip to Bunnings coming up

Funny but I can't help but feel I have seen this design somewhere before.... I can't quite place where but there is a vague recollection from a long time ago...

Originally Posted by BobL

It sounds like someone needs to read the FAQ on the dust extraction forum.

The FAQ explains a lot more than I can detail here in a short post. I lost my sense of smell fro 6 weeks from sanding MDF outside using plenty of natural ventilation and a cheap mask. This was clearly not good enough.

Bob,

Have been reading all the posts about the FAQ on the dust extraction forum, also your shed fit out - very impressive. Have used the info you have posted about DC to convince the members of the Bicton Mens Shed that we have to improve our dust collection methods, which is why we are getting a 3HP DC and installing 6inch ducting.

Also if you have been following HeadScratcher's posts about his projects you'll see that he has no DC equipment at all!

Originally Posted by HeadScratcher

Lucky you Bob only 6 weeks, my nose has been deaf since birth. I catch smells occasionaly but it certainly doesn't work like it is supposed to.

Sorry to hear about that OTOH nothing more to lose I guess although I believe a nose is a useful early warning system for MDF poisoning.

whilst I have never been bothered with things like glasses and masks in the past that is not to say it isn't time for a change. Now that I have had my first taste of routing I don't expect it to stop here. The thing is its not only good to have protection for my health, but it would also cut down on clean up time, so I am seriously looking at building myself so form of dust extraction system. I did a trip to Bunnings this afternoon to start scouting for parts.

Moved the dust extractor build thread to here... https://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/t...7/#post1510558