Not sure if what I'm trying to do is crazy or not. Trying to make some
wooden cars, buses, etc, for the toddler and kids of the family/friends.
I created a template out of 1/4 MDF, maybe 1/8". Prepped the blanks, in
this case 1.25+" thick hard maple. Carpet taped the template to the
blank and roughed it out on the band saw. Took the blank with the
template to the router table with a 2" flush trim bit. Router is 2hp.
Had the speed set almost as fast as the router will go. A lot of
kickback, but got the hang of it or so I thought. Reached the end grain
and kicked the template right off the blank. A couple screws through the
template into "windows" secured the template to the blank. Managed to
get one end of the bus cut out and the bottom. However when I got to the
other end, going cross grain, the kick back was absolutely
uncontrollable. I tried slowing the router down which may have helped
but not much. Tried going the opposite direction which didn't help at all.
Am I crazy for trying to cut 1.25" thick maple in this manner? Is that
why I see a lot if not all of this type of toy made out of pine or
douglas fir? The other alternative is to get a sanding drum that has a
guide on it, available in a catalog somewhere so I know they exist, and
sand the blank down to the template, but I bought the 2" flush trim bit
especially for this process.
Why we're on the topic of maple, I have 6/4 rough and tried planing it
down to 5/4. I'm seeing quite a bit of chip out. Is that typical of maple?
Thomas
Slow speed. Is that the speed of the router or the speed at which you
feed the stock through the router? I tried slowing the router down but
not sure if I slowed the router down as slow as it will go. It's good to
know that the idea isn't insane at least. I'll keep giving it a try. Are
you using a spiral trim bit by chance?
Fred wrote:
> I have no trouble doing this with 6/4 hard Maple. Maybe you are trying to
> take too much off at one whack. I don't leave the pattern on when I
> bandsaw, but rather trace around it, take it off and then bandsaw as close
> to the line as I can get. This leaves 1/16" or maybe less to knock off with
> the router. Slow speed and a good grip on the piece makes a lot of
> difference, especially cross grain. Might burn a little but that can be
> cleaned up.
>
> Fred
> "Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Not sure if what I'm trying to do is crazy or not. Trying to make some
>>wooden cars, buses, etc, for the toddler and kids of the family/friends.
>>I created a template out of 1/4 MDF, maybe 1/8". Prepped the blanks, in
>>this case 1.25+" thick hard maple. Carpet taped the template to the
>>blank and roughed it out on the band saw. Took the blank with the
>>template to the router table with a 2" flush trim bit. Router is 2hp.
>>Had the speed set almost as fast as the router will go. A lot of
>>kickback, but got the hang of it or so I thought. Reached the end grain
>>and kicked the template right off the blank. A couple screws through the
>>template into "windows" secured the template to the blank. Managed to
>>get one end of the bus cut out and the bottom. However when I got to the
>>other end, going cross grain, the kick back was absolutely
>>uncontrollable. I tried slowing the router down which may have helped
>>but not much. Tried going the opposite direction which didn't help at all.
>>
>>Am I crazy for trying to cut 1.25" thick maple in this manner? Is that
>>why I see a lot if not all of this type of toy made out of pine or
>>douglas fir? The other alternative is to get a sanding drum that has a
>>guide on it, available in a catalog somewhere so I know they exist, and
>>sand the blank down to the template, but I bought the 2" flush trim bit
>>especially for this process.
>>
>>Why we're on the topic of maple, I have 6/4 rough and tried planing it
>>down to 5/4. I'm seeing quite a bit of chip out. Is that typical of maple?
>>
>>Thomas
>>
>
>
>
Wed, Sep 24, 2003, 7:46pm [email protected] (Thomas=A0Mitchell) says:
<snip> Trying to make some wooden cars, buses, etc, <snip> A lot of
kickback, but got the hang of it or so I thought. Reached the end grain
and kicked the template right off the blank.<snip> Am I crazy for trying
to cut 1.25" thick maple in this manner? <snip> The other alternative is
to get a sanding drum <snip>
I do a fair amount of template routing, but never maple, and I
don't think anything that thick.
Smaller pieces give lots more problems than larger pieces. You
have to hold the smaller pieces tighter, and make shallower passes,
especially on end-grain. If you are passing the wood in the right
direction, I'm suspecting you aren't taking shallow enough passes. Slow
and shallow. Especially on the end-grain. Or maybe just not slow
enough. You need to experiment on that a bit. I'm thinking the sander
may work out better, but don't know, no experience doing that.
JOAT
The whole of life is a learning process.
- John Keel
Life just ain't life without good music. - JOAT
Web Page Update 23 Sep 2003. Some tunes I like.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Jakofalltrades/SOMETUNESILIKE/
I remember seeing something similar to this in one of the magazines I picked
up several months ago. Someone was using a flush trim bit and a pattern bit.
He was routing in one direction with one bit, then flipping the piece over
and using the other bit to finish the job. Sorry this is so vague, but I'm
still a newbie. I'll see if I can find this article and get the details
more defined.
"Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Not sure if what I'm trying to do is crazy or not. Trying to make some
> wooden cars, buses, etc, for the toddler and kids of the family/friends.
> I created a template out of 1/4 MDF, maybe 1/8". Prepped the blanks, in
> this case 1.25+" thick hard maple. Carpet taped the template to the
> blank and roughed it out on the band saw. Took the blank with the
> template to the router table with a 2" flush trim bit. Router is 2hp.
> Had the speed set almost as fast as the router will go. A lot of
> kickback, but got the hang of it or so I thought. Reached the end grain
> and kicked the template right off the blank. A couple screws through the
> template into "windows" secured the template to the blank. Managed to
> get one end of the bus cut out and the bottom. However when I got to the
> other end, going cross grain, the kick back was absolutely
> uncontrollable. I tried slowing the router down which may have helped
> but not much. Tried going the opposite direction which didn't help at all.
>
> Am I crazy for trying to cut 1.25" thick maple in this manner? Is that
> why I see a lot if not all of this type of toy made out of pine or
> douglas fir? The other alternative is to get a sanding drum that has a
> guide on it, available in a catalog somewhere so I know they exist, and
> sand the blank down to the template, but I bought the 2" flush trim bit
> especially for this process.
>
> Why we're on the topic of maple, I have 6/4 rough and tried planing it
> down to 5/4. I'm seeing quite a bit of chip out. Is that typical of maple?
>
> Thomas
>
I have no trouble doing this with 6/4 hard Maple. Maybe you are trying to
take too much off at one whack. I don't leave the pattern on when I
bandsaw, but rather trace around it, take it off and then bandsaw as close
to the line as I can get. This leaves 1/16" or maybe less to knock off with
the router. Slow speed and a good grip on the piece makes a lot of
difference, especially cross grain. Might burn a little but that can be
cleaned up.
Fred
"Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Not sure if what I'm trying to do is crazy or not. Trying to make some
> wooden cars, buses, etc, for the toddler and kids of the family/friends.
> I created a template out of 1/4 MDF, maybe 1/8". Prepped the blanks, in
> this case 1.25+" thick hard maple. Carpet taped the template to the
> blank and roughed it out on the band saw. Took the blank with the
> template to the router table with a 2" flush trim bit. Router is 2hp.
> Had the speed set almost as fast as the router will go. A lot of
> kickback, but got the hang of it or so I thought. Reached the end grain
> and kicked the template right off the blank. A couple screws through the
> template into "windows" secured the template to the blank. Managed to
> get one end of the bus cut out and the bottom. However when I got to the
> other end, going cross grain, the kick back was absolutely
> uncontrollable. I tried slowing the router down which may have helped
> but not much. Tried going the opposite direction which didn't help at all.
>
> Am I crazy for trying to cut 1.25" thick maple in this manner? Is that
> why I see a lot if not all of this type of toy made out of pine or
> douglas fir? The other alternative is to get a sanding drum that has a
> guide on it, available in a catalog somewhere so I know they exist, and
> sand the blank down to the template, but I bought the 2" flush trim bit
> especially for this process.
>
> Why we're on the topic of maple, I have 6/4 rough and tried planing it
> down to 5/4. I'm seeing quite a bit of chip out. Is that typical of maple?
>
> Thomas
>
On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 19:46:18 -0400, Thomas Mitchell <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Am I crazy for trying to cut 1.25" thick maple in this manner?
Put handles on it. Make a sled to carry the piece (toggle clamps are
handy) and give it a pair of handles (like the front knob of a plane)
about a foot apart. You may wish to make many of these over time, one
for each job. You can recycle the handles and clamps between them.
Separating your two handles gives you much more leverage against
torque. Jobs that were uncontrollable before become easy. Your
fingers also move further away from that whirling cutter.
--
Smert' spamionam
I have had the same problem. Unless you maintain very firm control of the
piece, maintain a lot of down pressure, maintain firm but not too hard a
pressure against the bearing and keep a steady feed, you will get kickback.
I would practice on some scraps until you get the hang of it. Even then,
you will still get the occasional kickback. Of course, a sander would
eliminate the problem.
Preston
"Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Not sure if what I'm trying to do is crazy or not. Trying to make some
> wooden cars, buses, etc, for the toddler and kids of the family/friends.
> I created a template out of 1/4 MDF, maybe 1/8". Prepped the blanks, in
> this case 1.25+" thick hard maple. Carpet taped the template to the
> blank and roughed it out on the band saw. Took the blank with the
> template to the router table with a 2" flush trim bit. Router is 2hp.
> Had the speed set almost as fast as the router will go. A lot of
> kickback, but got the hang of it or so I thought. Reached the end grain
> and kicked the template right off the blank. A couple screws through the
> template into "windows" secured the template to the blank. Managed to
> get one end of the bus cut out and the bottom. However when I got to the
> other end, going cross grain, the kick back was absolutely
> uncontrollable. I tried slowing the router down which may have helped
> but not much. Tried going the opposite direction which didn't help at all.
>
> Am I crazy for trying to cut 1.25" thick maple in this manner? Is that
> why I see a lot if not all of this type of toy made out of pine or
> douglas fir? The other alternative is to get a sanding drum that has a
> guide on it, available in a catalog somewhere so I know they exist, and
> sand the blank down to the template, but I bought the 2" flush trim bit
> especially for this process.
>
> Why we're on the topic of maple, I have 6/4 rough and tried planing it
> down to 5/4. I'm seeing quite a bit of chip out. Is that typical of maple?
>
> Thomas
>