Router mishap?

[Al Willits]

Hopefully I can explain this well enough to make sense.
Last night I was making the base for some storage cabinets I'm making, the base was white oak and 1x4" in size, I had the 4 pieces cut and will screw adjustable feet into the bottoms because the basement floor isn't perfectly level.

I thought I'd cut a kinda flatten n section out of each bottom piece so the base wasn't flat all the way around.
Made a couple of jigs with the curve and traced out on the base pieces and cut with the band saw, so far so good.

Then double sided taped the jig back onto the piece and was gonna used a flush trim router to remove the excess the saw left.
Jig on top of the piece, router jig had bearing on outer end and set at the level of the jig....still good so far....

Router bit was 1.5" and was long enough to do the inch thick piece in one pass, but I knew I to take easy passes, so I started to feed the piece into the router, that's were the problem starts.
I'm using a router table and a PC router btw
Part of the piece disappeared, another part has cut tracks across it and what was left was still partially in my hands.
I also am two band aids short in my first aid kit.

I'm guessing the cutter caught the edge of the wood, and with the thickness of the wood, it didn't cut as it was fed in, but hooked (?) the piece enough to pull it in further and then launched itself?

Was thinking of buying the Rigid belt/spindle sander and this might just speed that up a bit, but I'd like to know what I should have done to prevent this....other than not doing it...

Thanks for any help, not having someone here to help with the learning curve, you all have been a great help.

Al.....who's just bought more band aid stock

[Joe Pelonio]

Which way did you feed it? If you go the wrong way the rotation of the bit will do this, freehand or on a table. Clockwise on inside edges, counterclockwise on outside edges, feed the table right to left.

[Mark Singer]

Al,
Double stick tape on small pieces doesn't work! They need to be held in a sled or small parts jig with hohld downs...r clamps. Catching the end grain probably did it. Itis better to work away from the edges starting at the center. Thatt way you don't ever catch...sorry....could have been worse.
I have seen more router accidents on SMC then any other machine or tool.

[Al Willits]

Standing at the table, the wood between me and the bit and starting at the right side, going right to left, is what I was attempting.
Al

[Al Willits]

Thanks Mark, sounds like exactly what happened.
No more double sided tape on small things.
I don't have a clamp system that will work for something like that, probably will though..
Any suggestions?

For now I'll finish the project with a sander, probaly safer till I can come up with a better way to use the router and table.
But next time I'll start in the middle, makes sense if ya think about it, thanks.

Al

[Kyle Kraft]

I made a baseplate for the skull of a European mount which was essentially a tracing around the skull on a piece of Red Oak. There are some contours which will result in a climb cut into end grain no matter what you do. How can a feller deal with those situations?

[Carol Reed]

Wood between you and the bit, moving wood right to left was a climb cut. You are fortunate you only needed two bandaids.

You see a router bit in a table spin in a clockwise direction. Wood movement has to be left to right to feed into the cutter when the wood is between you and the bit.

As for holding the wood. The smaller the piece, the bigger the sled. Give the bit something to bite into besides your hands. Stops on the sled work real well. I pin nail stops against the wood on edges not being routed. Then add DS tape underneath. Never use DS tape by itself.

Or make a vacuum jig. Still need the stops, though.

Many ways to skin that cat.

2 cents worth. You probably have change coming.

[Al Willits]

Little confused here Carol, I'm using the Rockler table with a PC router hanging underneath it, I was told to hold the work next to the fence and feed right to left.
It has worked up to this time when I didn't use the fence, with what you say I'm gonna figure I've been lucky up to this point?

So general rule of thumb is feed left to right on a router table then?

Kept my fingers away from the bit, but the wood departed fast enough to tear a finger nail....stuff happens fast in this hobby....
Al

[Carol Reed]

Sorry I wasn't more clear. And I was wrong!

Let's try this:

bit with bearing
(as you look at it in the table, it is spinning counter-clockwise)

wood

you

push wood from right to left

I had to go get a router bit and look! I have been in school too long. How soon I forget!

or with a fence:

fence
bit exposed from fence

wood

you

push wood along the fence from right to left.

As for quick, darn tootin'!

[Russ Filtz]

You can climb cut successfully on both the table and handheld. I do this on pieces that tend to splinter otherwise. The trick is to take VERY light cuts and be VERY careful! I usually cut the piece normally in passes, and then do a climb cut to the finished level taking off as little wood as possible. Doing this you minimize the chance of launching the piece.

Also remember doing freehand pieces on the table to use a starting pin to initially brace the work.

[Al Willits]

Thanks all, I have a few things to work on now, starting pins and clamps for a start.
I also wondered over to the local Borg and picked up the Rigid oscillating belt/spindle sander, figure I'll use that when possible, least wises till me and my router become friends again...
Al

[Charlie Kocourek]

Hi Al,

Thanks for the post. I'm glad to hear that it was only a 2 band aid incident.

[Al Willits]

No prob Charlie, I see a few other newbies posting from time to time and if me ending up in a few band aids helps them, I feel I've not only helped myself, but them too.
Things happen very fast in this hobby, I've learnt to try and do things with body parts as far away and safe as possible, kinda hard at times though.
Al

[Vijay Kumar]

As others have pointed you were climb cutting. Generally a no no. There are few exceptions.

What helps is if you were to draw the spinning direction of the bit with a sharpie marker on the table then it is always a visual cue as to how to feed the stock.( as you look down on the table from above it will be counter clockwise.
Hope this helps.

[Mike Cutler]

Al.

I might also recommend some books. Pat Warner, Bill Hylton, and of course Carol Reed are considered to be authorities on the router.

A router can do a lot of damage very fast. It can cost you a lot of $$$ and time if it gets away from you. Even if you don't get hurt.


Carol.
You sold some routers to buy a lathe! . Well, at least it spins.
You'll always be the Router Lady, no matter what your sig says.