Routing in drill press mode

eldyfig · Post by **eldyfig** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:21 pm

At the moment, I do my trim routing with a hand held router. My router table is not flat any more. I think when it was in storage it may have had weight on it. My father passed along a speed increaser for the SS, but I haven't gotten around to using it. So I haven't done any routing with the increaser. I have used the SS in drill press mode to do some rabbet cuts and some dadoes. They came out decent.

I was wanting to get some input from others on routing in drill press mode. How about it?

curiousgeorge · Post by **curiousgeorge** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:38 pm

Tony,
I hope you aren't using the router bits in the drill chuck. It isn't made to take the side pressure of routing.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:52 pm

Tony
I'm probably the only advocate of routing on the SS (if past flak is any indication) but at one time I did quite a bit of routing with my Shopsmith.

I still use it for Cherry which will burn in a heart beat if the bit is spinning too fast.

The biggest thing I learned during it was to not to try too deep or feed too fast. I try to make multible cuts with my last being 1/64 or less. Some times I climb cut my last cut. Climb cutting is feeding the wood the opposite direction. When you do this you must only take a very slight cut.

I have found routing Cherry that if I di the above procedures I end up with a most excellent cut/finish one that rarely if ever needs further sanding.
Ed

eldyfig · Post by **eldyfig** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:22 pm

I am using the router bit chuck. The one with 3 setscrews.

Ed, when you routed in this mode, what type of profile bits were you using? The cuts I have been making were on poplar. Actually, I have cut some hard maple; mortised out the back for a vise jaw cheek. Still wasn't too bad. Used a steel bit, none the less. Took small passes.

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 8:17 pm

eldyfig wrote:At the moment, I do my trim routing with a hand held router. My router table is not flat any more. I think when it was in storage it may have had weight on it. My father passed along a speed increaser for the SS, but I haven't gotten around to using it. So I haven't done any routing with the increaser. I have used the SS in drill press mode to do some rabbet cuts and some dadoes. They came out decent.

I was wanting to get some input from others on routing in drill press mode. How about it?

The ShopSmith Mark V is made for routing in the "drillpress" mode. As curiousgeorge points out, make sure to use the SS router chuck that you have (hopefully with a guard on it). SS also has a new guard that flips up making bit changes easier.

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 9:43 pm

My new drill press guard arrived today. It is well designed. I can't wait for an opportunity to use it. Jim

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 11:52 pm

[quote="eldyfig"]I am using the router bit chuck. The one with 3 setscrews.

Ed, when you routed in this mode, what type of profile bits were you using? The cuts I have been making were on poplar. Actually, I have cut some hard maple]

Tony
I used most profiles, and many of bits were High Speed Steel although I mostly use carbide now. I have cut many woods using the SS but since I have a number of routers I usually go to them now. However like I said I still prefer the SS for Cherry.

Everyone talks speed but speed equates to number of cuts per inch. If the RPM is lower the feed rate must become lower. I totally agree if you try to force wood past a router cutter on a SS you will have problems. But if you let the cutter do it's work and feed the wood at the speed that matches the RPM it works just fine.
Ed

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:56 am

Tony - Ed isn't the only advocate of routing in drill press position. I've done some rabets, grooves, dado's, (straight bits) and ogees with the Mark V. Only I don't have the speed increaser. Since I know it will work at 5200 RPM, it should go pretty smooth at 10K RPM!

However most of the shaping I have done has been just that - shaping, using the shaping 3 cutter bits. They work very well for edge shaping and door/panel making.

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:39 pm

fjimp wrote:My new drill press guard arrived today. It is well designed. I can't wait for an opportunity to use it. Jim

Hi Jim,
Where was it manufactured?

wood4me · Post by **wood4me** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:13 am

Good morning all

...Last nite i finished routing a 1/4 corner edge on the top and base for a gumball machine

that is listed in the general woodworking section 9/28/08 by tom k/mo

....part of why i wanted a SS was to use it as a router....