We're using a router for a general store sign

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Mike,
Very nice ! I just want to jump on the template bandwagon I use templates with my router and my laminate trimmer quite frequently. A few years ago I put rosewood diamond inlays in the drawfronts on a toolmakers chest. I made a overlay template for the draw fronts and used a follower guide on the bottom of my hand held laminate trimmer to cut out the pockets. All I had to do after that was trim the 1/16" radius from the corners and glue in the rosewood inlays.

You might try your hand at chip carving also, thats alot of fun also.

PS You can use your lathe to make follower bushings !

 

[dieselsmoke1]

Templating would be the safest bet by far. It would be time well spent.

If you plan to freehand, make the initial pass a half inch or so away from the border lines. Run your path counter clockwise, that way the clockwise rotation of the bit and resulting lateral force will try to push it away from the border, not over it.

Consider locking the plunge at the desired depth and start the plunge with a tilt movement. Adding plunge into the mix of variables is one move movement to control and your gonna have your hands full aready.

2 hp is a big router for fine freehand trimming. Consider adding another tool, a laminate trimmer for example, for the finish work. It's smaller and and a lot easier to control.

Very ambitious project. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[PineRidge]

Afternoon Mike,
Very nice ! I just want to jump on the template bandwagon I use templates with my router and my laminate trimmer quite frequently. A few years ago I put rosewood diamond inlays in the drawfronts on a toolmakers chest. I made a overlay template for the draw fronts and used a follower guide on the bottom of my hand held laminate trimmer to cut out the pockets. All I had to do after that was trim the 1/16" radius from the corners and glue in the rosewood inlays.

You might try your hand at chip carving also, thats alot of fun also.

PS You can use your lathe to make follower bushings !

As an update we used a few different methods on some scrap pieces of cedar. Cedar seems to cut very easy especially when using sharp router bits.

I tried gluing the paper template to the work and just cutting through but that wasn't a good solution as the paper rolls over the edge of the cut making it hard to work with.

It's also next to impossible to follow a straight line using the freehand method since the 2 HP router has a mind of its own.

So I'm taking Scotts advice and cutting some templates from hardboard to be used as guides. I'll have some pictures as work progresses a bit more.

 

[goneandbrokeit]

You may be already aware, but you can get the bits made to follow the pattern. Good luck and show us the finished product.

CMT Pattern Bits - Woodcraft.com

 

[PineRidge]

You may be already aware, but you can get the bits made to follow the pattern. Good luck and show us the finished product.

CMT Pattern Bits - Woodcraft.com

I have a set of these Porter Cable template guides headed this way. Will post more pictures as work progresses.

 

[EddieWalker]

Hey Mike,

I've done a little wood carving and found that keeping the router flat can be pretty dificult. Especially when you remove quite a bit of material. I put my wood onto my shop bench and screw pieces of wood all the way around it. This keeps the wood from moving, but also gives me support for the router base plate.

I also had a piece of plexiglass cut to a 14 inch circle and replaced my base plate with it. You can see it in the pictures I've attached.

It made a huge difference in keeping the depth of the router cut consistant. Before, it would dip down in places, which made the background uneven. I wanted a perfectly flat background on my carvings.

Eddie

 

[PineRidge]

Hey Mike,

I've done a little wood carving and found that keeping the router flat can be pretty dificult. Especially when you remove quite a bit of material. I put my wood onto my shop bench and screw pieces of wood all the way around it. This keeps the wood from moving, but also gives me support for the router base plate.

I also had a piece of plexiglass cut to a 14 inch circle and replaced my base plate with it. You can see it in the pictures I've attached.

It made a huge difference in keeping the depth of the router cut consistant. Before, it would dip down in places, which made the background uneven. I wanted a perfectly flat background on my carvings.

Eddie

Eddie we think alike, here's what I did.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never tried to do letters or a sign like you're doing, so I'm very curious to see how you do and it turns out.

My interest in carving is to do animals on flat panels, then put them into the lids of boxes. I've made humidors, jewelry boxes and just plain odds and ends boxes like this.

The first four pics show some of my carvings that are not quite done yet on different woods. The last two pictures show an almost done box.

I used to do this quite a bit, but since buying my land and getting into tractors, I haven't done any carving for awhile.

Eddie

 

[CharlieTR]

I really love those routers. It's my favorite tool, at least 'til I get a lathe.
I have mostly done raised panel doors for cabinets and other cab work.
So I am interested to see the templates in action and how each piece fits together.
It seems to me that the template guide must have a bit that can retract up into the template guide.
If there is no guide then you can use a bearing on the bit for the template.
This is just the way I would invision it working, is that correct?

BTW, Be very careful with a 1/4 " bit. Never buy a cheap one and try to stick with 1/2" as much as possible. Only use 1/4 bits that have small blades.
I can't believe companies are allowed to make a raised panel 1/4" bit.
They are deadly. Evan that one in the pic would make me nervous, but CMT is a good brand.

 

[PineRidge]

I really love those routers. It's my favorite tool, at least 'til I get a lathe.
I have mostly done raised panel doors for cabinets and other cab work.
So I am interested to see the templates in action and how each piece fits together.
It seems to me that the template guide must have a bit that can retract up into the template guide.
If there is no guide then you can use a bearing on the bit for the template.
This is just the way I would invision it working, is that correct?

BTW, Be very careful with a 1/4 " bit. Never buy a cheap one and try to stick with 1/2" as much as possible. Only use 1/4 bits that have small blades.
I can't believe companies are allowed to make a raised panel 1/4" bit.
They are deadly. Evan that one in the pic would make me nervous, but CMT is a good brand.

I stuck with the 1/2" shanks and picked up a set of 50+ tungsten carbide bits at eBay.

Eddie those carvings are really neat! I especially like the horse. Did you ever sell these or was it a hobby?

Charlie TR this assembly gets bolted to the bottom of the Porter Cable router. You can see one of the router bits extending up through the template guide. The lip of the template guide would ride on the edge of a hardboard template and keep the bit from gouging the edge of the work. The cutter is fully extended just to give you an idea of how it looks, normally you would not be taking such a deep cut.