Router rules

Which way to go?
When it comes to moving a router, the basic rule is: left to right as you face the cut. When making an interior cut, move the router clockwise. For perimeters, move it anticlockwise. If you’re using a router table (in which case the router is mounted upside down), move the work from right to left.

Four easy solutions:
Here are simple solutions to common router problems:

1: Burned edges: move the router faster; check for a dull bit.

2: Chatter marks: move the router slower over the wood; check for a dull bit.

3: Corner tearouts: rout the end grain first, then remove splinters by routing the sides; instead of one pass, make your cut in two or three passes.

4: Uneven depth of cut: tighten the router’s depth adjustment and collet; replace the collet if it is worn.

Shaping the work

Look! No clamps:
A friction board may solve the problem of clamps in your router’s path. Attach a block of wood to one end of a length of plywood. Spread wood glue on the plywood, lay medium-grit sandpaper on it, and leave the board upside down until the glue dries. Then hook the block over the edge of the worktable or hold it in a vice. The friction from the sandpaper will hold your work in place.

Housing jig:
Make a T-square by screwing together two pieces of straight wood at a right angle. Clamp the jig to a piece of scrap, and rout with the bit you plan to use. The jig will then have a housing in it. To use the jig, mark the work where you want a housing, and clamp the jig in place so that the housing in the jig is lined up with the mark. Use this jig only with the same router and the same size bit.

Tipping over the edge:
When routing along a narrow edge, the router base can tip and create an uneven profile. For more control, clamp or glue a straight board along the edge of the work.

Again and again:
If you are making a number of duplicate shapes with a router, you can simplify the job by using the original pattern to make a template out of 1/4″ (6 mm) thick hardboard. Cut the workpiece to about 1/16″ outside the layout line. Then nail the template to the bottom side of the workpiece, and rout off the excess with a ball-bearing bit designed for trimming plastic laminate.

Combining bits:
Even if you own a complete set of bits, you don’t have to settle for predesigned shapes. To increase the variety and style of the edges you make. try combining two or more bits.