On 4 Nov 2005 21:50:10 -0800, wrote:

I would like to cut numerous wood pieces that are identical in shape
and about 6" long 3 inches wide. I want to cut them out of 3/4" hard
maple. I made myself a template from 1/4" plywood and tacked it to a
piece of the 3/4" maple. I then trying using a cutting bit on my router
table to cut out the shape. On the top of the bit is a small wheel that
I used to roll along the edge of my template. The whole idea sounded
easy enough to me until I tried it. The bit would periodically grab
really hard and sometimes it would break chunks of the maple
off...scary! I tried going slower, faster, etc., but could never get
it to work. My Craftsman router table and router only run on one speed
so I can't adjust it. I am guessing that the problem is in the blade.
Does anyone have a suggestion for me as to how to make this work?
Please keep the response at a "novice" level...I am most certainly a
beginner.

Thank you!

II


that method is great for final trimming of the parts to shape, but you
have to get them close first.
you don't say if your parts are curved, but I'm going to guess that
they are. depending on your definition of numerous, a bandsaw would be
a good investment. there is an excellent technique for roughing with a
bandsaw and following with a trim bit in a router in the currenf Fine
Woodworking Magazine in this article:
http://taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/fw_180_054.asp
basically set up a follower on the band saw to have the bandsaw cut an
eighth of an inch or so outside of your hardboard template.

if your pieces are all straight lines you'll be better off with table
saw jigs.

your pieces are verging on too small to be safely handled on the
router table. doing a lot of them is courting disaster. do something
to get your fingers further from the cutter and give you a firm grip.
prolly add a big handle to your hardboard template.

if you continue with woodworking you're going to want a better router
and table. build the table yourself. don't go for fancy, especially
for the first one- it's all about learning. read this:
http://patwarner.com/router_table.html

the grabbyness and busting out chunks is from trying to take too much
off at one time, from having a dull cutter, from having insufficient
control of the part or from a problem with the router.