EXPERT KNOWLEDGE ROUTERS

What can I do with a router?

Unlike most other power tools, the Routers is a real all-rounder! While you can only drill and screw with a drill and only make straight saw cuts with a Portable circular saw, this machine is suitable for very different uses. Basically, you can realise complete furniture construction projects with a Routers:

• Profiling edges. Many woodworkers use their router exclusively for decorating edges. Compared to working on a router table or table router, the hand-held router has a clear advantage here, as it is much easier to guide the router along the edge than, for example, to push a large table top past the router on the machine table. And the selection of Profile cutters for Routers is huge!
• Using suitable end mills and appropriate fixtures, numerous classic wood joints such as finger joints, dovetail joints, grooves and rebates or burr mouldings can be produced with machine support. With so-called counter profile cutters, you can decorate frame parts with just two routing passes and produce a durable joint at the same time.
• Joining systems: Joints that are usually made with joining systems can also be produced with a router. These include, for example, flat dowels (so-called lamellos), loose tenons (so-called dominoes) or wooden dowels.
• Routing with templates In order to mill furniture parts with curved shapes (e.g. door arches), cut-outs for inlays, sap grooves on cutting boards and the like, you can make templates and trace them with the router. Making templates is particularly useful if you want to produce several identical workpieces. There are also suitable drilling templates and special drilling cutters for rows of holes in the System 32.
• Engraving and carving: You can create simple motifs, ornaments and lettering yourself using a router and suitable engraving cutters. You can do this either with the help of templates or, with a little practice, by hand.

Which routers to buy?

This mainly depends on what you want to do with the router. As you can read above, routers can be used for very different tasks. And depending on the dimensions, the materials and how intensively you want to use the router, different performance and equipment features are crucial.

How much performance should the router have?

Routers are available with Engine power ranging from 800 to over 2000 W. Put simply, the more Performance a router has, the more Material it can remove in one operation. For example, if you work in staircase construction and want to mill steps into stair stringers, a router with 2200 watts is a good choice. However, this has its limits and also disadvantages. The more performance the motor delivers, the bigger it is and the heavier its weight. So if you mainly want to mill edges and make simple wood joints, a router with approx. 1000 watts is probably sufficient. Routers in the medium power range with approx. 1400 watts are versatile. They have sufficient performance to mill larger wood joints and are still light enough to be pushed over the workpiece without much effort. Engine power is independent of Speed, by the way. Almost all routers operate in speed ranges between 10,000 and 22,000 rpm.

How deep can I mill with a router?

There are several aspects to consider here:

• Maximum material removal per milling pass To achieve a good milling result and to protect the milling cutter, you should always work in stages and remove the wood in several passes. Depending on the material and the milling cutter, you can mill to a depth of 5 to 10 mm in the first milling passes. Towards the end of the milling work, the removal should be max. 2 to 3 mm in order to achieve a clean surface.
• Each end mill has a limited cutting length and therefore also a limited milling depth. Never pull the milling cutter out of the collet so that it is no longer clamped to the minimum clamping depth in order to achieve a few millimetres more milling depth. This can go wrong very quickly and can lead to serious injuries!
• The most commonly used routers are so-called plunge routers, in which the height of the routing unit can be lowered or the routing depth can be adjusted. The distance available on the milling cage between the motor block and the base plate is known as the milling cage stroke. The usual milling basket stroke is 50 mm, but a few models also have a stroke height of 70 mm or more (e.g. Festool OF 1400 EBQ).

What accessories do I need for a router?

• Routers are pointless without them! The range of end mills is huge and there is a suitable cutter for almost every use: Profile cutters for decorating edges, Groove cutters for slotting, dovetail cutters for tines and burrs, flattening cutters, counter profile profile cutters, T-slot cutters ... A cutter set with 12 or 22 cutters is a good basic set to start with, which you can then expand with special cutters for your projects.
• Copying rings You can insert copying rings into the base plate of the router to trace templates. Some routers require a centring pin to align the copy ring exactly in the centre (e.g. Festool OF 1010 REBQ). On some routers, the copy rings are automatically centred by the bit holder in the base plate (e.g. Mafell LO 55 and Festool OF 1400 EBQ). By skilfully combining copy rings with different diameters, you can, for example, mill both the cut-out and a precisely fitting inlay with a single template.
• To be able to use milling cutters with different shaft diameters, we recommend always using an exactly matching collet. Collets for milling cutters with diameters of 8 and 12 mm and 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) are common. Smaller diameters, such as 6 mm and 1/4 inch (6.3 mm), are now rather rare. Whether a router can also accommodate larger collets with a diameter of 12 or 12.7 mm depends on the column bore in which the collets are inserted. Important: Each collet requires a suitable union nut into which it can be clipped!
• Rip fence For routing along an edge or for parallel grooves, a rip fence is included in the scope of delivery of most Routers. Rip fences with fine adjustment are particularly practical, as they are easier and more precise to adjust than simple fences. Depending on the use, you can also modify the rip fence, e.g. with slightly longer stop jaws made of plywood, in order to have more contact surface at the start and end when edge routing.
• Router table For some uses, the router must be mounted in a router table for safety reasons, e.g. when working with counter-profile Profile cutters. In general, a router table, in which the router is mounted under the table, expands the range of applications of the router enormously. On a router table, for example, you can also safely process narrow mouldings and use the router to dress edges.

• Router templates router jigs are very practical tools for routing rectangular or curved shapes with repeat accuracy. For routing rectangular or square shapes (inlays, recesses, juice grooves in cutting boards, etc.), there are adjustable routing frames that you can set to the right size (e.g. the DICTUM universal guide rail set). When routing joints (e.g. corner joints in kitchen worktops), ready-made router templates speed up the workflow considerably. And whenever you want to produce several curved parts in exactly the same shape, it is worth making a corresponding router template.

• Routers. As already mentioned, the Routers is the most versatile power tool for woodworking. Adapted jigs, which are used either directly with the router or on the router table, allow standardised tasks or work steps to be carried out precisely. For example, you can produce finger joints or dovetail joints in no time with a jointing jig. The PantoRouter, a routing device in which templates are scanned usingastork beak or pantograph, is particularly versatile.

Tips for working safely with the Routers

Safety is always the top priority when working with machines! Here are a few tips to help you use your Routers safely:

• General handling of the Routers: Read the operating instructions for your machine before using it. Service, maintain and clean the router and cutters at regular intervals.
• Disconnect the router from the power supply and always pull out the mains plug when changing cutters, adjusting or servicing.
• Only use flawless and sharp milling cutters whose shaft diameter corresponds exactly to that of the collet chuck and which are approved for use in manual feed mode (MAN labelling). Always clamp the milling cutter at the minimum depth and observe the marking on the milling cutter (in the shape of a K).
• Adjust the speed to the material and cutter size. Basic rule: the larger the Diameter of the milling cutter, the lower the Speed.
• Always mill larger profiles and milling depths in several steps to protect the milling cutter and improve the milling result.
• Always clamp the workpiece and secure it against slipping using suitable clamping elements.
• Wear personal protective equipment. When milling, wear close-fitting clothing, ear protection, safety goggles and, if necessary, a hair net or hair tie.
• Use a suitable extraction device. Wood dust is hazardous to health and sometimes even carcinogenic.

In which direction do you mill with a router?

The hand-guided router is always used for counter-rotation routing! When working in counter-rotation, the machine is pressed against the workpiece and pushed forwards against the direction of rotation of the router bit. As the cutters on routers always rotate clockwise, i.e. in a clockwise direction, the router is guided around the workpiece in an anti-clockwise direction. Only when routing in cut-outs is the router guided clockwise.Tip: Extend the index finger and thumb of your right hand and place your thumb on the edge you want to mill. The index finger will show you the feed direction!

Take advantage of our range of courses! In our workshop centres and in our online courses, you have the opportunity to learn how to work safely with the router from experienced instructors. You will usually receive a voucher for participation in a router course directly from us when you purchase a router!