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  • Wichita Sam February 9, 2011 at 10:00am

    Another couple snow in days in southern KS, so I had to try it.  Decided to make a "Plank-caster".... here's the results so far....

     

    305700731?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

    Chuck Dubman said:

    Indispensable for production work.  For one-off pieces that you're not rushing, there's *always* a hand-powered alternative -- my Stanley 271 router plane gets more use than my PC693 plunger. 

     

    Got a drill press?  Here's how to convert it into an overarm router for less than $2.00:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b3CWkHHSYE

  • Mark Bliss February 6, 2011 at 10:36pm
    Excellent link Chuck, that ones a keeper.
  • Chuck Dubman February 6, 2011 at 7:49pm

    Indispensable for production work.  For one-off pieces that you're not rushing, there's *always* a hand-powered alternative -- my Stanley 271 router plane gets more use than my PC693 plunger. 

     

    Got a drill press?  Here's how to convert it into an overarm router for less than $2.00:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b3CWkHHSYE

  • Mark Bliss February 5, 2011 at 12:06pm

    Just to provide more information, the current home page at Stewmac.com is themed on routing tools, accessories and techniques.

    http://www.stewmac.com/

  • Neil Ritter February 5, 2011 at 9:57am
    So fare ive been able to do all my jobs with a dremel. But there have been times when a router would have been a lot faster. Im sure ill invest in one someday. But yes Diane that little bosch one looks like a winner. Its a bit pricey though.
  • Kel Wilson February 2, 2011 at 8:22pm
    I'm leaning toward a set of router bits for my dremel
  • Murray February 2, 2011 at 7:53pm

    I'll bet those 80's bits might be better quality than what comes with a $30 router or is offered as accessories for the $30 router. I try to limit myself to hand tools and not power tools from inconsistent-quality sources. I've heard too many horror stories of flying pieces, be it the woodwork, or parts of the tool.

     

    While 'you get what you pay for' applies in many cases, I don't mean to badmouth H-F across the board. They have offices and Customer Service in the US, and I have gotten competent answers from them about trying to use something for slightly different purposes, and for one product (a white nylon pop-up 'photo tent' for photographing small objects with external illumination diffused through the white fabric), the manual had no information about how to collapse the thing and maybe get it back inside the box. They emailed me a sequence of photos illustrating the steps needed to do so, in a matter of minutes.

     

    Within reason, and within their terms and limitations, I think they will stand behind their products. How smoothly and precisely they perform compared to the more costly alternatives leaves us at that budgetary crossroads...

     


    Uncle John said:

    I have a router and the same  bits my dad gave me in the early 1980s - all much used when I got them.  I am a cheap-ass and have never bought new bits.   I have used the router for rounding necks, but now prefer not to do this.  I think with a '1inch' neck + 1/4  inch fret board (what I most often use) that I don't want to remove any more wood than necessary.  I round with a rasp and sand a bit.

     

    One of my most used tools is a random orbital sander.  Great for sanding and shaping. 

  • Uncle John January 31, 2011 at 10:24am

    I have a router and the same  bits my dad gave me in the early 1980s - all much used when I got them.  I am a cheap-ass and have never bought new bits.   I have used the router for rounding necks, but now prefer not to do this.  I think with a '1inch' neck + 1/4  inch fret board (what I most often use) that I don't want to remove any more wood than necessary.  I round with a rasp and sand a bit.

     

    One of my most used tools is a random orbital sander.  Great for sanding and shaping. 

  • Wichita Sam January 31, 2011 at 10:04am

    Diane,

     

    That small router is good, depending on what you are using it for.   If you're rounding of the back of necks, then no... too small and probably wouldn't work in a table.  If using it for shaping tops, cuting designs and routing pockets for pups, then it could be really handy.  I have a full size bosch on a table that I use to start necks.   This discussion has me motivated to pull out a 1/4 drive that has been setting in a cabinet for over 2 year.

     

    the best,

     

    Wichita Sam

  • Murray January 30, 2011 at 9:27pm

    Yeah, a bastard file can do less damage than an SOB router...

     

    When I had a wood shop class in high school, the 'bring it home' safety instructions about a bandsaw included alerting us that it's a common tool for butchers...works great on fresh or frozen cows and pigs, so you can count on it working just fine on human fingers.

     

    I also learned you don't cut round dowels freehand - you can get whacked in the stomach when it gets thrown by the blade...NOW they tell me! A v-shaped holding fixture prevented that.


    Lionel Berthelon said:

    I think I'd want a tabletop bandsaw instead, I have a porter cable router and it ate the shit out of my perfect headstock after catching a grain once while round back of neck. I'll stick to bastard files and drum sander
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