Ok, well I finally decided to use my old benchtop Delta radial-arm drill
press [should I say "RADP" in this forum :-) ]

I don't guess many people have one of these, but it could have been done
with a regular drill press if one altered the table by machining the bottom
flat with a milling machine to accommodate a router base.

This old drill press I have was given to me by a customer who was an
amateur woodworker while I was restoring his garage after a fire in 1985.
It only had smoke damage and I replaced the chuck with a Jacobs. So not
much money spent so far.

The drill press had too little room under the table for my router, so I
machined a piece of thick aluminum (1/2") and 6" wide to extend the router
past the table. The router base is mounted under this extension. Of
course, the pin is held by the drill chuck, which extended out to meet the
router bit. On top of it all is a plywood top.

No need for details, as it took a fair amount of drilling and tapping and
some trial and error.

It works great; it does what I need to do. The problem of having to raise
the router to cut in smaller increments is a pain, but this is only with
thicker lumber. Unfortunately, all of my cuts will be thicker stuff. If I
cut in one pass, it shears off the parts with an end-grain, so I gotta do
more and smaller passes. Dust collection is a real problem... face mask
time.

A pin router is the only way I can cut in increments and quit eating up
bearings on router bits. I recommend the use of downward spiraling
mortising bits and use no less than 1/2" stuff so that nothing snaps off or
bends. Putting a thin sacrificial spacer between the workpiece and pattern
is necessary. A thicker pattern is a happy pattern (3/8-1/2). When you
make the hole in the drill press table, cut it large enough to let the
collet through, enabling one to use shorter bits if necessary.

By dropping the router out of this setup, you still have your drill press to
use as you wish, so long as you don't move the table.

Hope this helps someone. woodstuff

If Icut in one pass, it shears off the parts with an end-grain, so I gotta do more and smaller passes. *

Are you cutting finished parts that match the pattern on the edge and
not engraving in the face? If so, it is actually typical to cut the
part nearly to size\shape using a bandsaw or jigsaw or scroll saw and
then just sort of do a trim pass with the template.

It may seem silly to cut it almost exact and then do the pattern to
finish it up but is (in my opinion) the most efficient way if you are
doing more than one of a part.

I use the template to to draw on the blank with a sharpie and then I
use a bandsaw or jigsaw depending on the shape to trim it first. It is
easy to cut fast of you jest need to be near the line without crossing
it. If you leave just an 1/8" or less it cuts across end grain like
buttah. Of course I am using a 2 1/2" dia by 1 1/2" high rabbet cutter
on my shaper with a matching bearing over or under depending on the
template setup.

On Sep 5, 11:52*am, "woodstuff" wrote:
Ok, well I finally decided to use my old benchtop Delta radial-arm drill
press [should I say "RADP" in this forum :-) ]

I also meant to forst say, that is a really smart use of thr RAPD.

It reminds me, I saw an image of a pin router attachment for a
Shopsmith. That and a lath setup might actually be a reason to have
one of those contraptions.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/c...mpinrouter.htm

"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in message
...

If Icut in one pass, it shears off the parts with an end-grain, so I
gotta do more and smaller passes.

Are you cutting finished parts that match the pattern on the edge and
not engraving in the face? If so, it is actually typical to cut the
part nearly to size\shape using a bandsaw or jigsaw or scroll saw and
then just sort of do a trim pass with the template.

**I tried cutting the rough shape out with a band saw (scroll saw is too
slow). I have a pileof workpieces with parts brokenoff at the sharp points,
all wasted (wish I could start again with this new setup so that I could cut
in increments). There is a sharp point in 4 places where there is a chance
of breaking off.

It may seem silly to cut it almost exact and then do the pattern to
finish it up but is (in my opinion) the most efficient way if you are
doing more than one of a part.

**I did a large number this way, but it takes alot of time to do the cutting
out. It's a real time-saver to just apply the pattern to the lumber and
start cutting; takes me a lot less time. As a footnote, I haven't yet
replaced my bandsaw, which I sold recently (the 36" Northfield).

I use the template to to draw on the blank with a sharpie and then I
use a bandsaw or jigsaw depending on the shape to trim it first. It is
easy to cut fast of you jest need to be near the line without crossing
it. If you leave just an 1/8" or less it cuts across end grain like
buttah. Of course I am using a 2 1/2" dia by 1 1/2" high rabbet cutter
on my shaper with a matching bearing over or under depending on the
template setup.

**At 1/8 inch or less, I still broke off a number of pointed pieces on my
workpiece while making the full cut in one pass. Also, the cutter needs to
be 1/2" and no larger to follow some places in my pattern. If I had a
larger radius to cut, I could do what you are doing with a shaper.

**I do value and appreciate your opinions. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

**I will try to get a picture tomorrow and put it on my flickr site. Will
post this tomorrow or later today.