Adding A Router

[Gill]

From time to time we see questions on the forum such as, "What can you use a router for?". Here's an example of how I put one to good use.

I want an oval baseboard for my latest project but, unfortunately, it's very difficult to cut this shape perfectly on a scroll saw. However, I did have a wooden oval shape I bought from a craft suppliers some time ago. The problem was that it is too small.

So I screwed the oval shape to the board I wanted to cut the large oval from:



Next, I fitted a straight cutting bit into my router and lined the radiused edge of the base against the oval template. Then I plunged the router and, keeping the radiused edge of the base against the oval template throughout, I cut the oval out.







It was much quicker to cut the oval this way and much more accurate than cutting it by hand would have been.

Gill

[Minnesota scroller]

Great free tip, Gill. Thanks for sharing.

[Gill]

A light sanding, and my baseboard is ready.



In fact, I already have the segmentation painted and dry fitted, so I've got an idea of what the completed project will look like. I'm thinking of airbrushing the baseboard white in the middle and fading to ice blue at the perimeter, if my painting skills allow .



Gill

[ozarkhillbilly]

Great tip Gill, looking forward to seeing the finished project.

[Marsha]

Gill, this is very informative, and thank you for posting it. Now I have a couple questions.
I have never used a plunge router, although I have experimented extensively with cutting circles on my fixed router, to no avail.

1st; did you drill a pilot hole for the router bit?
2nd; how do you prevent the wood from moving as you move the router?

I have a couple plunge routers which were given to me by a friend, and I am determine this year to learn how to use them
Thanks
Marsha

[Gill]

I screwed the template to the baseboard before cutting, making sure that the screws didn't go all the way through and protrude on the other side. If they had, it wouldn't have mattered much - you can hide a multitude of sins with judiciously applied wood filler . After cutting, I simply unscrewed the template. Other woodworkers might use other methods of attaching the template successfully, such as double-sided tape; I find screws are the most secure method, and when I'm using power tools I try to be safety conscious.

You can use a variety of methods to hold the piece while you're routing. I set up a 'workmate' and clamped it to the top so that a little of the workpiece overhung the edge. As I worked my round, I simply rotated the workpiece so that I wouldn't cut into the workmate. You can see my set-up here:



The black piece of plastic protruding through one of the holes on the workmate's jaws is a cheap grip that can be bought very cheaply. The red lever on top is a cam-lock, so you can tighten or loosen the workpiece to the jaws just by flicking a lever. Very handy.


There's no need to drill a pilot hole when you use a plunge router. Position the router ready to cut with the bit raised. Then just plunge it into the board and away you go!

Gill

[GrayBeard Phil]

Nicely done, Gill

Phil

[PuzzledMoose]

Thanks for posting that, Gill. Looks useful. I still haven't progressed with my router past putting edges on things ..lol

[Kevin12]

Just to expand a bit (pun intended) on what Gill posted, if the template you have is the same size you want to cut, you can use a pattern-cutting bit in your router. These bits have a bearing that rides along the template while the bit itself cuts the wood. This does not require a plunge router. This works for any shaped template, as long as no part of the template has a radius smaller than that of the bit.

Also, if you're using either Gill's technique or a pattern-cutting bit with a fixed-base router, simply position the template so the ellipse to be cut is close to the edge of the wood. Just route from the edge in to where the router is stopped by the template and route on around.

And one last thing, if you're really into ellipses, there are jigs you can buy or make that will allow you to route any size ellipse with any long- and short- dimensions (within reason, of course). These jigs I've only seen in the woodworking mags, not the scroll saw mags. You could easily (I would imagine) make a smaller jig to use a Dremel-type tool for routing small ellipses.

Food for thought. For me, the "How am I gonna do this?" is part of the fun.

[meydenhart]

Thanks for sharing that Gill. Once one gets past the "fear factor" of using a router, there is a whole new world of opportunity to produce items to compliment one's scroll saw pieces!
I think white in the middle and fading to ice blue at the perimeter will look very good. Do show us the finished project!

[PeteB]

Gill, I think your painting skills will get you through that background. That's one gorgeous job you did on the skaters!

Pete

[Gill]

I couldn't get the flipping airbrush to work! As a result, the blue edges didn't materialise.

However, I had some silver aerosol spray paint and I think it worked okay as an alternative:



Gill

[meydenhart]

Wow Gill, that's beautiful! I love it!

[PuzzledMoose]

That looks great Gill - very nicely done. I can hear "Bolero" in the background ...

[miamw]

It's beautiful! Nice work!