# Bet bit for use in a "router-planer" ?



## wildbill001 (Mar 2, 2011)

My apologies if this has been covered before but my "search-fu" is weak….

Going to be needing to plane some boards down and don't have a planer. BUT I do have a router (therefore I can do anything as someone wrote a while back).

What's the best bit for this? a dado bottom-cleaning bit, a bowl bit, plunge bit, or ????

Bill W


----------



## Viktor (Jan 15, 2009)

I think a bowl bit would be the best.


----------



## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

I'm not clear as to what you want to do with the router. If you need to get a good clean edge on your board for a good glue up, you need a straight bit and a router table and a fence that can be adjusted such that one side is slightly closer than the other side.

If you want to use a router to make the side of a board flat, you need one of the bits you suggest, a good gig and a LOT of patience.


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Don't do it. It's an enormous hassle.

I've done it. Not worth the trouble in normal woods. There
may be special situations, as in flattening end grain, where
a router surfacing jig makes sense.

Magnate makes surfacing cutters too. Probably their main
market is people using the Legacy mills.

http://www.amazon.com/Magnate-Surface-Planning-Bottom-Cleaning/dp/B0006B0QXE

Spend the dough on a hand plane and some stones or
get a handheld planer and use that. Even if you have a Legacy
mill, surfacing with a router is still tedious and the surface
needs a lot of sanding or planing afterwards anyway.


----------



## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I've never seen this attempted outside of someone needed to reach down inside a piece to flatten the floor. It sounds like it would require a lot of jig making & risk. Maybe you could get a local shop to plane it for you?


----------



## BreakingBoardom (Dec 18, 2009)

If you don't need the large 2" bit Loren suggested, they make other sizes as well. But yeah, the surface planing bottom cleaning bits will probably be your best bet. Here's a link to other sizes.

Magnate Surface Planing Bits


----------



## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

Try this. Take your time and read the entire post. I don't think it would take very long at all.
- JJ

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/1992


----------



## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

......... and here's the bit Gary recommended.
- JJ

http://www.magnate.net/index.cfm?event=showProductGroup&theID=136


----------



## wildbill001 (Mar 2, 2011)

The link that juniorjock posted above is what I'm going to be doing but on a much smaller scale. Maybe 3-4" wide x 12-18" long. I'm gonna resaw the board close to the thickness I want, and then clean up the saw marks with a rig like this.

So, looks like a bottom-bit is what I'll order and use.

Thanks!

Bill


----------



## therookie (Aug 29, 2010)

I agree with the first response.


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I forgot about this:

The Wagner Safe-T-Planer. It's a thing you chuck in a drill press
or onto the accessory shaft of some radial arm saws. It's supposed
to make a pretty nice cut.


----------



## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

Yes Bill, I think I would only try to use Gary's jig for something that is kinda small (I may work my way up to some larger boards, but I'd start off small).

Loren, you're right, I've seen those bits and wondered how they did. Would be nice to hear from anyone that has tried them.

Going back to Gary's jig, I think you could surface plane one entire side with a router and flip it over on a flat table and rout the other…. but it would work best for getting the sides right and then flipping it and running it through the planer with the supports on the sides. But, this wouldn't do Bill much good since he doesn't have a planer.

Gary was nice enough to answer the questions I had about this sled and I'm sure he would help you out too if you asked.

- JJ


----------



## Viktor (Jan 15, 2009)

The reason I mentioned bowl bit is because it will make seamless transition between passes, yet has flat bottom that is wide enough for efficient work.
The biggest problem with router surfacing is the mess, not productivity. Once you have a good setup (like in Gary's link) you'll in most cases beat hand plane and winding sticks when flattening a slab. Seems like Gary does not use any dust collection. I would not do it in the shop, unless I want to spend a day cleaning. Dust shrouds that enclose cutting bit and connect to shop vacuum are available for some routers. Or one can be shop made. You also need to keep router base as close to the slab as possible for the vacuum to suck up dust effectively.


----------



## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

I used a bit like breakingboardom linked to. I think mine was from MLCS. 
Here is a link to a big glue lamination I "planed" with a router:
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/40093
I probably spent 20 minutes on that table top(78"x30") with the router.Then I sanded out the router marks.
Scott


----------

