Routing hole in hadwood floor

[Jery Madigan]

Hi,

I plan to install two brass flush floor receptacles in our oak floor. My initial plan is to use the router to rout the large 4.25" lip area and then use my jigsaw to cut the 3.75" through-hole. The lip needs to be about .5" deep.

My concern is running into a nail in the floor with the router and shattering the bit. I may acquire a HSS bit. What do you think?

Jerry

[Peter Quinn]

You may hit a nail and waste a bit, it's the risk you take. I did a few in my house that required a stepped rabbit, I hogged most of the material with a fein tool and bi-metal blade, then gingerly established the "show" edges using a template double stick taped to the floor with a shallow climb cut after first scoring the edges with a razor knife. The second lower step in my rabbit was a course thing for clearance, that I just whacked out with a chisel and hammer. By wasting the material first you can mostly find any nails, staples or screws, and the bi metal blade will cut them anyway. I would avoid the jig saw because the reciprocating action can have adverse effects on the surrounding wood grain if it is at all old or brittle . PDAMHIK!

[Jery Madigan]

I'm not worried about losing a bit, but about carbide flying around. An exploratory cut near the perimeter with the multimaster is a good idea.

[Dave Zellers]

Maybe a strong magnet would respond to a floor nail?

Also you could set your router for the first cut just above the tongue (1/4"?) and after removing that, poke around with a chisel to expose the tongue and any nail if it's there. Then set the router at the full depth you want.

[Jery Madigan]

Maybe a strong magnet would respond to a floor nail?

Also you could set your router for the first cut just above the tongue (1/4"?) and after removing that, poke around with a chisel to expose the tongue and any nail if it's there. Then set the router at the full depth you want.



Both good ideas. I have some strong magnets. In fact, we plan to position the receptacles using one magnet on the floor and one on the subfloor ceiling in the basement to avoid surprise obstructions below.

[Lee Schierer]

You can use a little wizard metal detector to check for nails in the floor before your use the router. I would suggest using a template to insure you don't catch a hard spot in the wood and end up doing a repair around your recess.

[Benjamin Miller]

Buy a high-speed steel endmill from enco or mcmaster-carr, and use that. They're designed for cutting metal in a milling machine, so nails are no problem.

[Bob Falk]

I would use a 3-3/4 hole saw to cut the first hole and then use a rabbeting bit (1/2") to cut your rim using the cut hole as a guide....less chance of hitting a nail with the router especially if you don't have to make the recess in the rim too deep.

[Joe Scharle]

I would use a 3-3/4 hole saw to cut the first hole and then use a rabbeting bit (1/2") to cut your rim using the cut hole as a guide....less chance of hitting a nail with the router especially if you don't have to make the recess in the rim too deep.

+1 3-3/4 hole saw to cut the first hole (is that 10 chars?)

[Peter Quinn]

I'm not worried about losing a bit, but about carbide flying around. An exploratory cut near the perimeter with the multimaster is a good idea.

Not really a problem, it will be at the tip, just gets buried in the wood. I've whacked plenty of them. If its old steel hand bang flooring cleats, the router just eats them up anyway, that old steel was much softer than todays brittle version. A metal detector is a good plan to get the lay of the land.

[Roger Feeley]

+1 on the end mill.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Several years ago I had to route some pockets in a gym floor. First I made a template from a piece of 3/4 plywood that was about 18" X 36". To hold the template in place I bought four bags of sand from home center which I returned after use. Placed the sand bags on the template and routed hole using pattern trim bit. You could use router bushings instead, and do both operations at one setting. HF sells a set of three HSS spiral mortising bits for about ten bucks, which did the trick, or you could route smaller hole, then use rabbeting bit to create ledge.

[Jery Madigan]

I finally got around to doing this. It worked out great with no mishaps. I first found a good spot using powerful (like 30LB+ pull) magnets from above and below. Then I tested around the spot with small magnets from above to locate nails. I missed ‘em. It turned out that I had a ¼” end mill, so I use that just in case. Using my router circle jig, established the perimeter first, then routed out the ½” deep and ½” wide “shelf” required. Then, drilled the rest of the hole with a 3-5/8” hole saw – don’t have a 3-3/4” so I used the rasp to finished up. Came out great. Will be totally flush when I screw it in for good. Thanks for the input. Jerry

[Myk Rian]

You need to buy a metal detector. More useful than magnets.

[george newbury]

Then, drilled the rest of the hole with a 3-5/8” hole saw – don’t have a 3-3/4” so I used the rasp to finished up.
Reads like you should have bought a 3-3/4" hole saw. Every project deserves a small tool purchase.

[Jery Madigan]

You need to buy a metal detector. More useful than magnets.

I looked quickly, but the cheaper ones generally get poor reviews. The magnets actually work better for this IMHO.