I want for make a lot of 4 inch square blocks for the corners of door and window trim. I don't care for the typical rosettes you can buy in the big box stores. I want something a bit more unique for my house. I have a Milescraft router pattern maker and have chosen a daisy flower design that is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The blocks will be painted so I chose poplar for the wood. However, the cuts are not smooth and require a lot of work after the routing phase. I have tried going around the pattern twice in both the forward and reverse directions. All it seems to do is make the grooves a bit wider. The problem is that the rotary pattern requires some cuts with the grain and some across the grain. The latter are rough!

My last thought beside junking the idea is to go to a harder wood. Has anybody used this beast (Milescraft ..) with good success? Is there a hidden secret to it that I should know?

Len

"Len" wrote:

The problem is that the rotary pattern requires some cuts with the
grain and some across the grain. The latter are rough!

My last thought beside junking the idea is to go to a harder wood.
Has anybody used this beast (Milescraft ..) with good success? Is
there a hidden secret to it that I should know?

-------------------------------------------------------
After making sure bits are sharp and you are taking light cuts, I'm
out of ideas.

Lew

On 1/3/2014 2:34 PM, Len wrote:
I want for make a lot of 4 inch square blocks for the corners of door and window trim. I don't care for the typical rosettes you can buy in the big box stores. I want something a bit more unique for my house. I have a Milescraft router pattern maker and have chosen a daisy flower design that is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The blocks will be painted so I chose poplar for the wood. However, the cuts are not smooth and require a lot of work after the routing phase. I have tried going around the pattern twice in both the forward and reverse directions. All it seems to do is make the grooves a bit wider. The problem is that the rotary pattern requires some cuts with the grain and some across the grain. The latter are rough!

My last thought beside junking the idea is to go to a harder wood. Has anybody used this beast (Milescraft ..) with good success? Is there a hidden secret to it that I should know?

Len

It's not the jig. It's the wood. Like any wood, you can cut in one
direction and all is fine, cut in the other and you get tearout.

It's like rubbing a dog's coat one way, then rubbing the other one goes
with the grain one against.

The way to tame this problem is to take light cuts.
Sometimes climb cut routing will help.
Have sharp bits. A dull bit will never work.

If you have the above and are failing find wood that is fine grained.
Coarser wood tends to be more of a problem. Beach is a good example of
a wood that works well, so is bass wood.

If you want to continue with the poplar, and all else failed. Try
wetting the wood. Green wood cuts more easily, and so does wet wood.
Take cuts that leave you with more to do, then wet the wood for the
final passes. And see if the fibers are cut more easily.

That's about all I can recommend.


--
Jeff

Len wrote:
I want for make a lot of 4 inch square blocks for the corners of door
and window trim. I don't care for the typical rosettes you can buy
in the big box stores. I want something a bit more unique for my
house. I have a Milescraft router pattern maker and have chosen a
daisy flower design that is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The
blocks will be painted so I chose poplar for the wood. However, the
cuts are not smooth and require a lot of work after the routing
phase. I have tried going around the pattern twice in both the
forward and reverse directions. All it seems to do is make the
grooves a bit wider. The problem is that the rotary pattern requires
some cuts with the grain and some across the grain. The latter are
rough!

My last thought beside junking the idea is to go to a harder
wood. Has anybody used this beast (Milescraft ..) with good success?
Is there a hidden secret to it that I should know?

Hard or soft, cross grain cuts are going to be rough though - possibly -
the degree will vary.

To smooth, you can sand or you could apply someting to even out the
roughness. If the cuts are wide enough, I'd rub in some drywall joint
compound with my finger. That still won't make for perfect smoothness but a
light sanding will.



--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On 1/3/2014 1:34 PM, Len wrote:
I want for make a lot of 4 inch square blocks for the corners of door and window trim. I don't care for the typical rosettes you can buy in the big box stores. I want something a bit more unique for my house. I have a Milescraft router pattern maker and have chosen a daisy flower design that is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The blocks will be painted so I chose poplar for the wood. However, the cuts are not smooth and require a lot of work after the routing phase. I have tried going around the pattern twice in both the forward and reverse directions. All it seems to do is make the grooves a bit wider. The problem is that the rotary pattern requires some cuts with the grain and some across the grain. The latter are rough!

My last thought beside junking the idea is to go to a harder wood. Has anybody used this beast (Milescraft ..) with good success? Is there a hidden secret to it that I should know?

Len



Actually if you are going to paint I would recommend using MDF instead
of wood. If you use the green water resistant MDF you will have little
issue if any at all with water based finishes.

On 1/4/14, 9:56 AM, Leon wrote:
On 1/3/2014 1:34 PM, Len wrote:
I want for make a lot of 4 inch square blocks for the corners of
door and window trim. I don't care for the typical rosettes you can
buy in the big box stores. I want something a bit more unique for my
house. I have a Milescraft router pattern maker and have chosen a
daisy flower design that is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The
blocks will be painted so I chose poplar for the wood. However, the
cuts are not smooth and require a lot of work after the routing phase.
I have tried going around the pattern twice in both the forward and
reverse directions. All it seems to do is make the grooves a bit
wider. The problem is that the rotary pattern requires some cuts with
the grain and some across the grain. The latter are rough!

My last thought beside junking the idea is to go to a harder
wood. Has anybody used this beast (Milescraft ..) with good success?
Is there a hidden secret to it that I should know?

Len



Actually if you are going to paint I would recommend using MDF instead
of wood. If you use the green water resistant MDF you will have little
issue if any at all with water based finishes.

I second that. The next subject that always comes up is the best primer
in the world for mdf, and that would be Zinsser B-I-N shellac based
primer. It's expensive but perfect for mdf. It dries fast, doesn't
"soak" nearly as much as other primers, dries hard for easy, light
sanding to a glassy smooth finish.

Best part is the shellac grabs tight to any topcoat you put on top of it.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

"Len" wrote in message
...

I want for make a lot of 4 inch square blocks for the corners of door and
window trim. I don't care for the typical rosettes you can buy in the big
box stores. I want something a bit more unique for my house. I have a
Milescraft router pattern maker and have chosen a daisy flower design that
is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The blocks will be painted so I chose
poplar for the wood. However, the cuts are not smooth and require a lot of
work after the routing phase. I have tried going around the pattern twice in
both the forward and reverse directions. All it seems to do is make the
grooves a bit wider. The problem is that the rotary pattern requires some
cuts with the grain and some across the grain. The latter are rough!

My last thought beside junking the idea is to go to a harder wood. Has
anybody used this beast (Milescraft ..) with good success? Is there a hidden
secret to it that I should know?

Len
================================================== =======================================
Try a new router bit. Sounds like a dull bit.