Router Question

[Scott C. Williams]

I am building a table top from oak plywood with a solid oak perimeter. Is it prefered to route the table top edge before or after glueing to the plywood? Is there a chance of chip-out when routing the corners after installation?

[Cory Hoehn]

There's always a chance of chip out when routing so be careful whenever you do it. Set up your router to take small passes and don't try to go to fast. Also, make sure you rout the end grain first. Subsequent passes will take care of any minor chip out.

I would just run a router around the perimeter after attaching the trim, but you could just as easily run it through a router table.

[Lee Schierer]

As Cory says there is always a chance of chipout, you can clamp or doublesided tape a sacrificial piece at the corners and remove the piece after the routing is done. Alyays do the end grain first.

I read a really great tip in a magazine this week. Apply 2-3 layers of masking tape along the surface where the guide bearing runs. Do your cut, then remove the tape and make one more pass. The tape is about .003" thick for each layer so the final pass will only be removing about .009-.010" of material so chip out at the corners should be minimal if any. This is great for eliminating tearout and burn marks as you can keep teh router moving easily.

[Tony Bilello]

I never really gave it a thought, it is something that I normally do, which is always route as a last step in table top construction. This is after the solid oak strips have been 'leveled' with a card scraper and rough sanded.
If you route first and one corner is 1/100th of an inch off, it will be noticable and you will have to route again. The same holds true if the solid strip is 1/100th of an inch higher or hopefully not lower than the level of the plywood. I just treat the whole top as one piece and route last.

Is there a chance of chip-out when routing the corners after installation? Sure the chance always exists, but not any more than if you routed it ahead of time. Actually a lot less probable if 'after' as the edge of the table will be solidly glued in place ans wont vibrate as much as a narrow strip.

Next question?..............
How do you plan on attaching the solid edge? I usually use 1/4" or larger luan plywood or Baltic Birch plywood for the spline material..