Replies

1. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Apr 20, 2004 06:20pm | #1

   Look into end mills.   They'll be steel, not carbide, but they can be longer than the usual wood bits.  MSC and Enco are good sources.

1. 
   UncleDunc | Apr 20, 2004 07:46pm | #2

   You can get solid carbide end mills, including extra long ones, but the prices can be pretty breathtaking to somebody who's been buying router bits.

2. 
   tsproul | Apr 20, 2004 09:54pm | #3

   going much longer than 2 1/2 inches of cutter may stress the bit too much.....

   any reason you can't use a jointer plane?

   I'm assuming these are relatively short timbers.....all the router fences I've seen (bought or homebrew) wouldn't be strong enough to withstand jointing large timbers.

   Tim
1. 
   MatthewSchenker | Apr 20, 2004 10:26pm | #6

   Tim,

   I'm getting great advice from people. I was in my local Woodcraft store the other day, and one of the sales guys tried to get me interested in a Lie Nielsen plane. I gotta tell you, those planes are so attractive I want to own one. I've considered jointing with a hand plane before, but I am not a hand-tool guy, so I wonder how practical it is.

   I have a really good router table setup, since I use it for shaping and jointing. It is a table and fence made by Woodpeckers, and it has been wonderful. It can hold up to heavy pieces like that, but I usually am not jointing things longer than 48" anyway.

3. 
   Elcoholic | Apr 20, 2004 10:12pm | #4

   Haven't seen any.  I over come this limitation when shaping large table legs by using a combination on a CMT 1 1/2" Pattern bit for the first pass and then the 2"  Flush trim bit for the 2nd inverted pass.  You could probably do the same.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

1. 
   MatthewSchenker | Apr 20, 2004 10:22pm | #5

   Thanks for your advice. The way you suggested is something I considered going.

   Another thing I've tried is using a 2 1/2" straight bit to "joint" the first 2", leaving a kind of 1/64" rabbet. Then I invert the leg and joint the remaining 2" of the 4" leg. The problem here is that I have to make sure I offset the outfeed fence precisely the same amount as was jointed away in the first pass, otherwise I get a ridge that needs to be sanded. However, I've got it down so I am close to perfect with this method and need very little sanding.

   This is one problem that, if I solve it, would really make a big difference for these big leg projects!

4. 
   joneill | Apr 20, 2004 11:15pm | #7

   I have never seen them in person, but Uncle Norm was using a 6" router bit to cut scrolls on a p.t 6x6 on nyw

5. 
   Routerman | Apr 21, 2004 05:37am | #8

   Have a 1-1/8 diameter x 2-1/2 spiral cutter on a 5-1/2 hardened 1/2 arbor. Have used it on the RTJ setup shown. It is not particularly safe nor practical. I would not recommend anything less than a shaper or jointer for stock as thick as yours. You're way out on the fringes of routerdom.

1. 
   TooManyTools | Apr 21, 2004 09:22am | #9

   I have an Amana 1/.2" flush trim bit with a 3" cutting surface.  It's about 10 years old, not sure if it is still avaialble.  I bought it when I was doing some  joints in 3x6 laminated lumber for a greenhouse

1. 
   macalex | Apr 21, 2004 12:14pm | #10

   I don't think I really understand what you're trying to do here Matthew, but my bet is 99.9% of woodworkers would not use a router!

   I've recently got myself in trouble on another post for saying this, but the hand tool guys may be telling you something you need to confront

   Jointing short fat bits of wood is a work of minutes, with no noise and just enough effort to get you breathing healthy, using a longish bench plane.

1. 
   BG | Apr 21, 2004 01:14pm | #11

   Matt,

   I'm sure you know a lot more about woodworking than me and produce better work..but I find it hard to imagine you don't use planes??...I'm not being judgemental, I just didn't know it could be done.... they save so much time and even a total novice like me gets reasonable results.

   I square up a lot of 3" and 4" stock either using the TS or handplanes and then running a flattened side down through the planer.....it does not have to be perfectly flat for the planer to work well... 

2. 
   MatthewSchenker | Apr 21, 2004 05:09pm | #13

   Kiwimac,

   You're probably correct, and that's why I'm posing this as a question. Usually, I don't run anything wider than 2" through the router table. Until now, I have never made a table with legs 4" wide, so this is the first time I'm coming across this issue. I don't own a jointer, since I do all my jointing on the router table.

   The legs are band-sawn, so they have rough surfaces. What I'm trying to do is use the router to clean up the edges, and straighten them out. of course, I could just sand them, but I though I'd check first with all the experts out there to see if anyone has a better way. With the router, one pass would clean it up perfectly. In other words, I was hoping to do for 4" legs what I have done with 1 1/2" or 2" legs.

   Edited 4/21/2004 10:21 am ET by Matthew Schenker

6. 
   JohnWW | Apr 21, 2004 04:50pm | #12

   This is why they invented jointers.

   John W.

7. 
   TomMGTC | Apr 21, 2004 05:27pm | #14

   Just my opinion but I think your getting out of the safe operating raneg of the router using bits that long. At some point you just have to step up to a jointer, or use a handplane.

   Tom

   Douglasville, GA

1. 
   MatthewSchenker | Apr 21, 2004 05:46pm | #15

   Tom,

   You're probably right about this. I like jointing on the router table because of the visibility I get, and the position is more natural. When jointing on the router table, I can see exactly where the crooked part of the wood goes into the blade. Also, I get greater precision with my router setup.

   However, I agree that when I move up to thicker pieces, a jointer probably offers has a more natural position, as the weight is against the cast-iron beds rather than the fence.

   I had a jointer once, but got rid of it. After that, I started using thicker materials.

8. 
   ETG | Apr 21, 2004 07:09pm | #16

   I teach woodworking to high school students and we don't have a jointer but we have the next best thing.  I found an older jointer plane in good condition at a tool sale and simply put it upside down in a bench vise.  We then clamp a fence against the edge of the plane, checking to ensure a true 90 degrees and away we go!  Students run boards through our "hand jointer" in no time and they learn the technique so that one day when they own a power jointer, they will have a working knowledge of its proper use.