Hi all. I am a 53 year old absolutely-new-to-woodworking person, so excuse me if this is too basic a question.
I am wanting to begin learning woodworking by creating some simple catchall or vanity trays for myself and family. I currently have a cordless fixed-base router. I know that I need to hollow out from the inside with a flush bit using my template and router bit.
Is it possible to use the fixed-base router I already ownto do this? I am thinking that I could use a forester bit to hollow out a large area inside then use the template and router to finish the edges and level the interior.
Thank you for any information you can give to this noob. 🙂
Replies
Yes,any material that you remove no matter how you do it is fine. You still might find that you still need to start out shallow with your template and router making progressive cuts until you reach full depth. Clearing out waste material with your drill will give router dust a place to go and you'll have less trouble bogging down. A plunge router might save you sometime but that's really the only difference, they're essentially the same thing.
Yes. The forstner bit will take out a lot of material quickly and cleanly. It would be best to use it with a drill press if you have one, but that is not absolutely necessary. Be aware that the center point of the forstner will leave a small hole below the level of the cut. So, don't go full depth with it or you will be left with a lot of little holes in the bottom.
Keep in mind that when you use a Forstner bit, they have a center spur that will go below the depth of the pocket it cuts, so don't drill all the way down to the final depth you want. For example, if you want a finished depth of 1", you may only be able to drill down to a depth of, say, 13/16" and clean up later with the router bit.
Lol...bilyo, it looks like I had the same thought - I was posting a response at the same time you were posting your reply!
Thanks everyone. Appreciate the advice.
You may want to look at a spoilerboard bit and router sled to hog out to middle. They leave a nice smooth finish and will remove a lot of material quickly. Just remember to slow the speed on your router if you choose to use one.
I'm going to be contrary (Never!) and suggest that hogging out a tray from a solid piece is not an easy task.
If forced to do it, I'd use the router throughout, cutting the edges with a core box bit to provide a nice rounded base and possibly a slab bit for the centre, though it would probably be the core-box all the way.
The challenge is getting:
1. Nice straight sides.
2. A clean cove at the bottom of the sides.
3. NO burn marks!
4. A flat bottom.
Whilst a forstner bit CAN remove a lot of stock , it needs to be kept away from the edges because it is so easy to screw up and damage the edge. They should only be used in a drill-press or mount of some kind because it is otherwise very hard to avoid taking that extra bit out and scarring the base. A router will make short work of a small piece, if light cuts are taken.
- Don't use a cheap and nasty bit for this - you will hate yourself forever. CMT, Trend or Whiteside are good.
- cut your blank oversize. This means you can screw your centre hollowing guide to the waste. Trim the outside after cutting the centre.
- Make an extra-large router base to ensure total stability - you don't want it falling off an edge.
- Take light passes and work your way down.
- a round ended core-box bit will produce a better surface finish than a flat faced bit - just like the slight radius on a smoothing plane.
- Start in the centre and work out towards the edges. A router bit constrained on both sides can be unpredictable and you will be able to hog off a bit more material in a single pass if you start centrally.
- If you wrap a little blue tape (2 layers or so) round your guide bushing you can remove it for a final extra-fine pass to remove burning.
I will mention a few things that I don't think anyone else has.
*Most cordless routers are really trim routers and not meant for heavy wood hogging. You don't mention the model or manufacturer so I can only speculate. Some of the premium brands are very capable machines some of the lessor brands not so much. I would recommend sticking to bits less than 3/4 Dia.
* If I'm picturing what you intend to do, hollow out a moderately wide tray to create a recess, say 3/8" in a 3/4" board that covers the bulk of the face. This will require an auxiliary base plate for your router, Rob_SS mentioned this but I feel it needs to be stressed and explained better. You will need an auxiliary baseplate than is greater than 2x the width of the recess you intend to route(assuming the router is centered) to provide support for the router as you cut away the wood. This plate needs to be stiff enough not to deflect as you press down so barring aluminum, that means plywood at least 1/2" better with 3/4". A baseplate this thick may cause you some depth of cut issues since most small routers may not be able to lower the bit enough to accommodate that thick of a plate. NEVER pull the bit out more 3/8" from bottoming in the collet.
*you mentioned using a template to define your shape, that could be tricky in this case. If your template was 1/2" thick and your baseplate 1/2" thick your bit now needs to project 1" plus the depth of cut beyond your std. Base plate straining the limits of most small routers. One of the most popular, the Dewalt has a 1 1/2" depth of cut limit so with a 3/8" depth of cut you are right at the limit using 1/2" template and baseplate.
A last minute epiphany struck me in that you could use 1/4" piece of hardboard cut 3" wider than your router base then screw a couple of 1"x 3/4"x (width of template opening + 3") to the top(router side) outer edges to stiffen the baseplate while eliminating the depth of cut concern.
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