If you are a beginner of routing the wood, splinters are the common issue you often suffer from as using a router or router table. In this post, you can know how to avoid splinters and tear out as routing the wood.
The right motion
It’s easy to cause tear out along the ending wood grain when you route against the wood grain along the edges. To reduce tear out on the end grain, you have to move with the wood grain entirely. You should think of dividing a stroke into some parts so each part will be fed in the right direction for the best advantage. For a vertical wood grain shown, you can feed just the top on the curve, no more motions after that. Your router table is fasten facing up so that a lumber is fed past the bit.
It’s difficult for you to route stringy lauan plywood, veneer or pine softwood. When you use a bit to dig in, the wood grain tears out and splits. For a tangible confirmation this situation, a book is rolled up so that it’s fanned out. When you stroke fingers across the curved edge, it feels soft and sounds as a zipper. As you pull the curve along forcefully, it catches and feels rough. You use the bit to dig into the book so its soft layers are fastened together by pressure.
Before setting on a shape or trimming a blank, align a wood grain in place for the best efficiency. Depending on your horizontal or vertical grain, you might control the right position. A repositioned perpendicular layer isn’t always a beneficial option. You should think of the place efficient to flip a board over. A template reapplied methodically is less trouble than the curves trimmed again and again by blowout. You can also reverse the action by shifting between the table and hand. For difficult curves, you can use a spindle sander or drum to complete.
Occasionally, it’s useful to fix a backup wood board tightly along the end. After routing along the final work piece, you may continue to the edge and on the lumber left over. The backup wood compresses and contains the fibers broken forcibly into parts.
Routing the laminate
Always route from the laminate surface to the substrate. That helps the backing to support the veneer or thin top cover, which will chip off when you go from the back to the front side. The glue will keep the laminate surface down in the normal use, however, that alone will not prevent it from breaking into parts if the bit moves it away. Consider the joint between the laminated covers as if they look like the wood grains and apply the backup into the proper place.
Man-made compounds generally have the thickness and no wood grain for splinters, which make them desired for routing.
Pressure
Don’t press too strongly on the template. Make several constant strokes to work gradually. Working the hardwood is more trouble than working the softwood. If you are ready for using a large bit, flat surfaces of wood must be rough down by other devices first. In the end, hold the wood lightly.
The strong pressure can slow the speed for a very short time, especially for weak motors. When it’s slow, grooves or holes might happen. If you find it struggling, it’s a good signal that the bit overcome the hill. You should apply the same force for a long time since it’s less able to trim without grooves or holes.
Feed rate
The slow rates make cuts neater. On a single work, you must make steady strokes until the tearout stops happening. The thick oak lumber should be cut in the fast speed while the soft materials are suitable for the slower speed. The slow feed can make solid and heavy surfaces rough, but it’s good for the thin plastic layers.
Cutting flutes
The variety of flutes depends on various kinds of the router bits. One flute feeds quickly, but it may cut rougher and more trouble than two flutes in line. It’s simple to cut one straight flute, but cutting more flutes may make them move into a sloping position.
If the pilot bits are not efficient, you can consider several types of the spiral bits. The slow spiral makes a curved edge having a three-dimensional shape. The spirals include many options, the upcut spiral may promote tearout on the wood while the down cut spiral avoids the wood splintering. Some bits have both features, but they are more expensive
Runout and vibration
To create a flat panel, it’s important to move it gently or quickly from side to side. Intricate shapes like rail and stile may be nicer by clamping the extra standard fence or the custom-made model matching closely the shape. It can be placed nearer to the router bit or further as needed.
Router bits should not shake noisily since the vibration makes tear out worse. Working the motor quicker can magnify this problem. If you aren’t successful, just blow out wood rubbish and try mounting it again.
To prevent splinters on the wood as routing, you must pay attention to the router bit selection, feed direction, the fence, and the speed of feeding. After a short time of practicing, you certainly make neat cuts for the nice wood pieces.
