Router FIX

I needed to route a groove (dado groove 1 inch wide by 3/8 inch deep by 16 inches long). I currently have a 1 3/4 HP fixed base router. I was using a double fluted straight bit and it was not cutting smooth into the material it was kind of like kicking at it.
Once the initial pass was through the clean up passes went much smoother.

How do I improve on this technique.

Also when one is routing is it better to route against the blade direction for better control?

Is my router underpowered to cut through this type of cut. It was MDF with a glued on hardboard top and maple edge trim (materials I was routing through).


Any help appreciated.

Thank you
John P.

You're, perhaps unwittingly, asking how to rout.
Most cuttings are variations on what you're doing.
My point, you need instruction, a book, a class or some homework.
To keep you in the safety zone, it would be wise to see it done first. There are a million ways to set this up.
With that caveat, I would: Rout no deeper than 3/16"/pass and down the center of your 1" pathway with a cutter <1" in diameter. Whence at depth, waste the rest of the excavation in width, lower the cutter and repeat.
For the cleanest of cuts, leave ~.010" for a finish cut.
Practice on scrap and where you have good chip/dust control; you must have made a heck of a mess.
One final: Masonite and MDF are most erosive on carbide and death on steel so do expect a wear line on your cutter after much of this type of routing.

re: blade rotation

You generally want to rout against the rotation of the blade, i.e. the blade is trying to push the router back away from the cut, not pull it forward into the cut. Routing the other way is called climb cutting and can be extremely dangerous except in some limited and controlled circumstances. The climb cut can pull the router into the work, taking yet a bigger cut and pulling it closer still. It happens in an instant and will happily fling a heavy work piece or worse, the router.

Now when you're cutting a slot, what you want to consider is the leading edge of the bit. To the right and left the two cuts sort of cancel out (ones moving against the cut direction and the other one is climb cutting) but the leading edge is going to be cutting across, wanting to toss the router either to the left or to the right. If you're using a fence or or guide of any type, set it up so that the bit is wanting to move the router tight to the fence. For example, if you're routing with the fence between you and the router, I would rout right to left. The leading edge of the bit is moving away from you, pushing the router towards you and into the fence.

BTW, router bits turn clockwise as viewed looking down from the top.

If you're new to this, try to do a bunch of reading up and try to watch some videos. As far as I can remember, the ONLY power tool I've ever hurt myself with is the router, and it was from a very nasty kickback on my router table because I accidentally allowed a flush trim bit to climb cut when I was getting a pattern bit started. It took the guitar body and flung it back at me faster than you can blink.

Pat's a tremendous resource for information, BTW,