Hi,
I’m making another set of rails and stiles for cabinet doors using a matched router bit set from MLCS and am having the same old problem of incomplete cuts/cracked, frizzy edge.
When I am routing the rails, the second routing step, the ends of the rails on one side are always cracked and incompletely cut.
I am using a fence and a backer piece to avoid tearout, but the one side (the inside corner where the inner bead meets the stile inner bead at a 90) always comes out poorly.
What is the trick to avoiding this?
Many thanks,
Erik.
Replies
Haven't made routed frames and styles for years, so working on aging brain cells . . .
To address the small gap at the right hand corner, did you check the accuracy of the end cut with a square? I'd first trim dead square with a shooting board, as that is my most accurate option, before I'd cope the end.
Couple thoughts for the chipping in the left hand corner . . . Could you cope the end first, then stick the side? If you cope second, could you cope a separate backer piece so that it fits tightly to all surfaces of the stuck side? If the backer mates up tightly chipping should be hindered.
In the left hand picture it looks like you were routing with the grain along the length of the stile, and then routing across grain on the end. If so, that should be done in the opposite order so the tendancy to tear out on the end will be occurring only on portions that will subsequently routed away. I'm not sure about the assorted misallignments elewhere.
Your sequence is wrong, do your copes first with a backer, then do the beads.
As a cabinetmaker who makes my own doors I can say that there are two ways to fix the tearout. 1) machine the rail ends BEFORE maching with grain - still use a solid backer for supporing piece as it goes through router/shaper, or 2) and this is my preferred method - machine all rail & style stock in board length with stock feeder, cut into individual pieces (length wise), then mill rail ends. To get around tearout on back of rail cope cut I first run a good size piece of scrap through with grain on cope cutting seting to be used as a backer that mates exactly into the groove of rail to support grain as you machine rail ends.
hope that helps,
Nathan
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