On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 22:10:31 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 16:34:09 +0000, PoP
wrote:

my thumbs aren't comfortable
holding the switch in

Well there's your problem, isn't it. A non-locking switch is enough
to stop me buying any router with one.

I'm pretty sure that most, if not all, now have this courtesy of the
pussies in Brussels.

For the T9, there is an optional device to lock the switch in for
table operation.



Now, the question is how to guide the router along a straight edge.
Are you supposed to run the router against the guide on the circular
side of the sole plate, or using that flat spot that is provided on
the sole plate?

It depends. You might also find the fence useful, or even putting in a
guide bush. It all depends on which is the most stable way to support
the base, and the sideways location is then usually quite easy. Think
too about how it will slip, and which way it slips. Where's the best
place to put the guide bar ? Is it time to fool around with
double-sided fencing, or even do it on a table.

If I'm trenching in the middle of a huge piece, I'd probably do it
with a narrow cutter and run the flat side of the base against a bar
clamped to the side I'm cutting. That way any wobble against the bar
leaves a lump, not a divot. A 3/4" dado gets cut in 3 passes with a
1/2" cutter. This is obviously slow, mainly because it needs 3 setups
with the guide bar. However it also means that the first rough cut
(the double sided one) isn't important if it wobbles, and both of the
neat finished edges are cut in the divot-free mode. I can probably
feed the router faster than I could with a single pass of a 3/4"
anyway.

So do you mean that you

- make the first pass with the bar such that the bit is roughly
centred for the dado,

-then for the second cut arrange the bar so that cutter completes the
side of the dado nearest the bar

- then move the bar to the other side of the dado and repeat the
second step?

A similar idea is employed in the worktop jig I've been using. The
guide push has about 2mm of play across the width of the slots. The
first (double sided) pass is made with the router pulled away from the
wanted line, and the second with it pushed towards it. This
achieves a final trim on the line qute effectively.


I looked at the offset trenching base that Trend makes. This is a
hexagonal piece of plastic which is not symmetrical and provides
offsets of 100mm to 105mm in 1mm increments by rotating the piece so
that the appropriate one rests against the bar. In principle it
would achieve almost the same effect that you describe without moving
the bar by judicious choice of offsets, except that the cut furthest
from the bar would, I suppose be subject to divot risk......



..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl