A Thing Of Beauty Is A Joy Forever – Preventing Router Tear Out
A wood router is a proficient tool for decorating an edge and with the kind of efficiency it delivers, it is mandatory that proper care is taken to keep it running smoothly.
In this regard it is essential for the woodworker to know that a router is often prone to tear-outs and it can occur at any point, but most often occurs around the corners.
This mostly happens while routing against the grain on curves. This ends up ruining the look of a router. With a basic understanding of the methods, such instances could be effectively reduced.
Some of the successful methods that could be employed to avoid tear-outs have been listed below:
Not too fast and not too furious-
Adjusting the router bit speed to the size of the bit is one of the best means to keep the bit cutting cleanly and eventually reduce build-up and burning.
The woodworker needs to remember that the larger the diameter of the bit, the slower should be the speed. The feed rate should be steady and smooth.
Employ sharper and cleaner bits-
It is quintessential that the router bits are sharp and free of pitch in order to make cleaner cuts. A bit that is dull and laden with pitch will only end up tearing and grabbing instead of making clean and precise cuts.
A climb cut helps avoid tears-
While routing across the end grain of a board, one needs to be careful of the exit corner. If the bit breaks through the weak fibre, it will lead to a tear-out. This problem can be avoided if a small climb cut is made to remove the corner material. This will ease the router gently into the corner and help one to rout across the end grain to meet the climb cut that had been made initially.
Smaller bites can help avoid bigger tear-outs-
While using a wood router, one should avoid making a complete cut in one pass. Instead, it would be wiser to make a few passes initially and removing small amounts of stock. This method will help in avoiding a big chunk from being torn out of the profile.
Tame that tough end grain-
Investing in spiral or straight bits that have cutters set at an angle to the bit’s axis will help in producing a shearing cut. This will help in not only taming the difficult end grain but will also help to avoid an ugly-looking tear-out.
Make the router bit hum-
It is recommended that router bits don’t vibrate a lot. A humming bit will help in avoiding tear-outs. Thus it is advisable to run the motor slowly.
If that does not help, one could try blowing out the debris and remounting it.
Choosing the perfectly-sized bit that is neither too tall nor too short helps a woodworker avoid potential tear-outs.
By following some of these aforementioned ways, a wood router can be kept working as efficiently as ever without succumbing to ugly splinters.
