Shop Tips
Routing Safe and Sound
7 tips to keep your hand-held router under control, your workpiece intact and your first-aid kit closed
To router instructor Pat Warner, router safety and success are mainly a matter of controlling the router and securing the workpiece. The safest cuts usually result in the best finished surface.
He explains which bits are capable of handling stress and which ones need particular care, and tells you how to listen to your router. Jigs are safety devices in disguise, he says, and he explains how to get away with the climb cut, how to use gravity to help you, how to start the router without wobble, and why it’s important to rout comfortably.
Fine Woodworking Recommended Products
Festool Rotex FEQ-Plus Random Orbital Sander
The Festool Rotex is a top-of-the-line choice. On its coarse setting, it removed stock nearly twice as quickly as the second-fastest model. But that speed doesn’t mean you’ll have to wrestle with it. It’s no huge task to control it with two hands, and its long body gives you plenty of room to find a sweet spot while holding it.
Fein Turbo II HEPA Wet/Dry Dust Extractor
Among the most powerful HEPA-rated shop vacs on the market, Fein’s Turbo II is quieter, more compact, and nimbler than the rest.
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