Really Surprised Me
I am making some large alphabet letters out of Baltic Birch. I had the 14" letters printed out on a plotter using Times New Roman font. I then carefully cut out the letters with an Xacto knife and then bonded it to some 1/4" tempered hard board with a spray on adhesive. I then cut out the letter with my scroll saw and sanded everything smooth. This made a great template.
Next I traced the letter onto 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood and rough cut the letter out with a bandsaw. I left about 1/8" on the Baltic Birch to clean up with a pattern bit on my router table. I tacked the hardboard template onto the back of the Baltic Birch pylwood to use as a template for the roller to ride on. My plan was to do this freehand around the entire letter.
I must admit that I had never routed the edge of Baltic Birch plywood so I was surprised at the force with which the bit grabbed the letter and ripped it our of my hand. I have done this many times with regular hard and soft woods with no problem Baltic Birch was another story. I almost ruined the letter not to mention what could have happened to my hand. With a firm grip and careful starting I was able to complete the letter but not sure I want to ever do that again. I was using a first class Jasada bit so that was not the problem. Trouble is I have 10 more letters to make.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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