Learning Curve #16: Router Phobia

Very creative Debbie.
Where in the world did you get a hags tooth? I know LV but, how did you decide to include it in your arsenal?
I am certain that a couple of cuts witha back saw and a few swipes with the router plane is ultimately faster than setting up the router for most folks.
The best part is you thought your way through it and got it done.

Bravo !
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

how did I decide to buy the Router Plane? Well, I had given up on routers (along with the table saw) which means I was limited in my projects either in their construction or in waiting for Rick to come home to do the required tasks.
Well, I don’t mind asking for help but when I have an idea I want to run with it – now – not wait for the weekend.
Also, I want to be able to say “I made that” and I can’t do that if Rick has done part of the process.
(It’s kinda like flyfishing – I won’t use any of his flies. I have to catch the fish on something that I tied or what’s the point.)

Then, last month I received the latest catalogues from Lee Valley and I spied the router plane—aha!! A solution to my self-imposed limitations. A couple of weeks ago I was in London and so I stopped into the store and made the purchase. (The salesman thought that I should just wait for my husband to come home as this was a big investment. Men! )

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Why have you “given up on … the table saw”? Because THAT’S the way to do what you needed to do here!

If it’s a natural dread of 30 to 60 hungry steel sharks’ teeth spinning at up to 5000 RPM, don’t let that keep you from it—anyone without a natural fear of such things belongs nowhere near any power tools!!!

All you need is a push stick, perhaps a featherboard—both come in plastic kits that work nicely—so your hands do not come within reach of that hungry blade; to keep reminding yourself that the blade cannot reach out for you, that to be in any danger you must come to it, and then don’t do that; and, of course, to be careful. In case of possible kickback, don’t stand “in the line of fire.” And remember, all those four-fingered woodshop teachers out there got that way by being distracted by students horsing around.

If you have problems with either or both fence and/or miter guage, there are precision aftermarket ones that are fantastic. Check out http://www.kregtool.com/products/pms/index.php and http://www.incra.com/ and http://www.jdstools.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=5. The Kreg is what I have and its “street price” is best at about US$140. If I needed a precision rip fence I’d go to http://www.mulecab.com/ for theirs—probably as good as if not better than a Beisemeyer at well under half the price. If your miter guage is okay but you just want to add a fence to it see http://www.mulecab.com/MiterGaugeFence.htm.

I guarantee Rick will just love to receive your new Kreg this Christmas…! (If not before…)

Now, GO MAKE SOME SAWDUST!!!

lol OR … I can let Rick do whatever he does and I can use my mitre saw, my DowelMax, and my router plane!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Yes, but you didn’t answer the question…? Anyway, since you’re playing with drawers…:

BTW, my gal & I just recently saw a great idea: An in-drawer knife block, that is just a thick wide flat board with saw cuts about an inch or so apart. FYI if you’re metric up there, an inch is 25.4mm. I think it was of plywood because the ends were trimmed with solid wood, and I can’t think of any other good reason for that.

Also, the router is a fantastic tool! You might also want to give Rick a good book on the use of routers…! Check out http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/ for a wealth of ideas and accessories.

Then, GO MAKE SOME SHAVINGS!!!

Proud of you, Debbie.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Debbie, were you aware that the Dowelmax has a kit for using 1/4” dowels? Anway, nice use of that plane.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

the question: why don’t I use the table saw?
I value my body parts too much and so I work around it. So far, so good! I relate it to “touching a snake” – I don’t have to so I’m not going to! There’s absolutely no reason that I need to overcome my fear of snakes and at this point in time there is absolutely no reason that I need to overcome my fear of the table saw. As long as I’m building “small” I’m happy :D

re: router. Rick gets along fine with his old router that he’s had for decades and the new Triton router we have. Unfortunately inbetween those are a couple routers that ate stuff they weren’t supposed to. (Scott had the same difficulties that we did with one of our routers). Too much trouble for me. I don’t have the patience.
Keith from Ridgid tools (see interview) informed me of a router workshop he is offering in November at a Home Depot about an hour away. Perhaps if he gets to the store closer to me I’ll consider it. It’s not using the tool that is the problem (I can handle learning curves).. it’s just those darned bad experiences we had with a couple bad routers.

dowelmax: yes, I have the 1/4” kit but since the 1/2” wood that I got isn’t really 1/2” and it is “just pine” I figured that the dowels would be too close to the edge and make the pine too weak. (gosh, I almost sound like I know what I’m talking about there!) ha.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Congratulations on the plane and welcome to the slippery slope. Sounds like you need to get a combination plane next. Totally eliminate the need for a router.

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan6.htm

or a plough plane
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=57678&cat=1,41182

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Hi Debbie;

I commend you for having the gumption to do as you are doing. I have to applaud you for this. The very idea that you are willing to test your abilities out, armed only with your wits, meaning no past experience with these tools, is really grreat!

In no time you’ll be promoted to Boss.

Great job.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Very creative solution! Well done, Debbie.

I’m envious of all Veritas planes. Drool….

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

I view the bandsaw as the safest saw in my shop especially when working with small pieces
My bandsaw is an inexpensive benchtop Skil 10” HD3640 , The almost identical saw is sold by other companies. I’ve upgraded the guides “cool blocks I think” but that’s about it. I cut the dormer roof
with it on John’s extreme Cape Cod birdhouse, using simular material to your drawer divider.
I have a 10” Delta Radial Arm saw and I think that I would use any other available option before
rotating the blade to the rip position. I’ve done the cut 1/2 way flip on a mitre saw. also. I’m not
sure how safe that is. On a mitre saw the stock it being pulled against the fence if the open curf
was th catch the blade it could ricochet. Use caution and a holddown. I agree with you…..
“I value my body parts” eyes included. My last shop injury occured when installing a fostner bit in
my drill press. The chuck key slipped and my hand came in contact with the cutting edge of
the drill bit. A nice gash on my finger. A simple operation with no power to the machine or
moving blades.. My finger still has a mark and it’s been about 30 days but it’s OK. Just a reminder
anything sharp will cut you.. I now shield the bit when I inslall in in my drill press. One leather glove
on my hand with the chuck key and the other glove on the bit,. It’s OK to be afraid of your tools,
Expect the uninspected. If you think it’s not safe it probably is not safe..

Stay Safe
Gary

-- Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

thanks everyone :)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Alright Ms Deb! There’s one of the greatest pleasure I get out of anything. Thinking your way through a challenge, ending up where you want to be, and being happy with the results.

So…. let’s see the drawers!

-- I've cut that board three times and it's still too short!

thanks Shaun.
The drawers are already full of “junk” – all divided up nicely but still full of junk :)
No pix coming.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Also, you might want to consider a trim router such as a Bosch Colt…..

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-PR10E-Single-Speed-Palm-Grip-Router/dp/B000ANT91S/ref=sr_1_3/102-7449947-7697720?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1191584124&sr=1-3

or one with all the bells and whistles…

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-PR20EVSNK-Installers-Horsepower-Variable/dp/B000EJX202/ref=sr_1_5/102-7449947-7697720?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1191584124&sr=1-5

They are much smaller than a standard router…

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

the “pusher” is on a roll…. trying to hook me into a bunch of new tools!

:)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I gotta keep trying. Otherwise I will never see that willow Maloof Rocking Chair.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

lol oh right.. the rocking chair . (shaking my head)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Debbie, have you seen the new SawStop Cabinet (table) Saw? It has what they calll their revolutionary Accident Detection System, that electronically senses any contact of the blade with flesh or fleshlike substance and instantaneously crashes an aluminum brake against the spinning blade to freeze-lock it to an instant standstill. They like to demonstrate with a hotdog, touching it to the teeth at full speed: The blade crashes to an instant standstill and the hotdog only gets a smal cut, as opposed to being torn in two.

Truly astounding. People cut themselves worse making a sandwich!

Of course that does not mean operators can be careless with complete impunity—not only would they get a small cut but the repair costs money. But it does NOT cost whatever reconstuctive surgery costs.

It comes at a serious price, however: For exmple, right now, today & tomorrow, my area’s premier machine & tool supplier is holding their annual “OcToolBerfest” (corny, but it’s a Good Thing, with show specials etc.) and their price is US$3692, in contrast to a Delta Unisaw with 50” Unifence at about half that; or 30” at much less than half that. Then again, a 3-phase 7HP Unisaw goes for US$5000…! For more info & a local dealer check out http://www.sawstop.com/. Anyway, they’re very excited about it becoming THE cabinet saw for schools and larger shops, where LIABILITY is the overriding consideration in all things.

Gary above makes several excellent points. But I would not count a bandsaw as a suitable substitute for a tablesaw. It’s basically a jigsaw on steroids. At age 57 I just bought my first—little, the smallest made that I know of—bandsaw, while I cannot imagine life without a tablesaw. And I don’t see much of a safety margin either: Butchers use bandsaws to whizz right through heavy bones! But I cannot imagine cutting a dado with a bandsaw, and I don’t think many folks could afford a bandsaw big enough to rip a 4×8 plywood panel in half or especially into 4×4 halves. Sure, you could use a hand-held circular saw, but other than with Festool’s new—not even sure what it’s called, with a built-on guide system—the cut is sure to be irregular.

I’m not evangelizing Tablesawism but it’s a shame to miss out on the joys of one merely out of a perfectly healthy sense of self-preservation. With or without technological wizardry whose absolute reliability is logiclly subject to eventual malfunction—everything electronic fails sooner or later—proper safety procedures are a Good Thing and always vitally important. As is proper instruction in same. My point is, no one should be afraid of a table saw—only the BLADE! Be VERY AFRAID of the BLADE, and you won’t ever have an injury problem! That’s what push sticks and feather boards are all about: Keeping all body parts AWAY FROM THE BLADE.

While you go make sawdust!

I have see the Sawstop. I spoke with a representative at the wood show. I hope to get an interview with him soon.

Re: cost, they are coming out with a model more appropriate for the average woodworker ( I think he mentioned a $1500 cost or something like that.)

re: my choice, there are lots of things that I choose not to do in my life. Am I missing out? Maybe. Do I regret my choices? No.
Although I want to make things “by myself”, my primary love or woodworking remains “building WITH Rick”. I really enjoy the time together. So .. he can rip, cut, dado, route…. and I’ll do the other stuff :)

And so for now the table saw and router remain “his tools” :)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Gary, I have a suggestion: Get with someone who has a welder—any kind—and have him cut your drill press chuck key in half, then weld an extension rod—maybe even 1/4” iron pipe?—between both halves so you have an extended chuck key that does not place your hand near whatever you’re chucking in.

I seem to recall seeing factory-made extended chuck keys somewhere but I don’t remember where or how long ago. It’s ridiculous how many different chuck key hole & siot size combintions there are—Jacobs has 10 for their professional-series alone—instead of standardizing on just two or three, like Square Drive, Phillips—and now Torx —screws & screwdrivers (#1, #2, #3, and so forth). The industry should have done this way back when. Since Jacobs was always the industry leader, this could have been Jacobs #1, #2, & #3 sizes, just like Phillips screws and Morse tapers. It’s also ridiculous they make them all so short. If you happen to be fantastically lucky, maybe the extended chuck key for the Jet mortiser might coincidentally just happen to fit. Here’s another remote possibility: http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/ChucksAxminsterAxminsterLongChuckKey_axminchuck_key?Args== Otherwise, you’re cutting & welding.

Someone said the wonderful thing about standards is there are so many of them.