Router Question

[Dennis Putnam]

I'm in the process of rounding off some red oak boards. As I pass the boards through the bit makes a lot of "ribbons" along with the chips. That in turn clogs up my dust collector and it won't remove the chips. At that point my bit starts "bouncing" which I assume is due to the clogged dust chamber. Are these "ribbons" cause by a dull bit? It is a pretty new bit that has only been used once or twice on softwood. TIA.

[Greg Hines, MD]

It sounds like you are routing against the grain. I would try flipping the board end for end and try it again. I would also make sure that your bit is sharp and is not loaded with pitch, but that does not sound like your problem.

Doc

[lowell holmes]

341129
Is your bit one like this? I can't visualize what your doing.

I've never experienced issues with one of these. Maybe you need to round over in increments.

[Dennis Putnam]

Yep, except I need to do both sides since I don't have a edge beading bit so I need to go both ways with the grain. I didn't think about it until now but maybe I am trying to take too much at once. I have a bunch to do so making multiple passes was something I didn't think of but if I must then I must. It takes time to unclog the dust chamber after each pass too. Thanks.

[lowell holmes]

If your router is variable speed, you might play with that.

Are you routing a bead? If so, you may need a bit like this one.

http://www.rockler.com/edge-beading-router-bit-1-4-shank

[pat warner]

"It is a pretty new bit that has only been used once or twice on softwood. TIA. "
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HSS or carbide?
Time on cutter = ? Minutes or maybe an hour?
Appreciate that router bits are essentially toys (compared to shaper cutters).
And wear lines begin to show up in <300'! So at 20'/min, you've reached 300' in 15'. As such even modest use can dull a cutter.
Rounding over on both sides of the stock often puts the pilot on the round-over from side one. Stringy swarf is not uncommon.
Suggestion, get the cutter with a 1/2 radius and do this on the router table without the pilot.
Caveat: Some species produce a fluffy chip (maple), some produce just dust (teak) and some species don't cotton to router bits no matter their country of origin, drying cycle or whatever!

[Prashun Patel]

What kind of wood is it? Unrelated, make sure you're not leaving a lip right in the middle of the lip. Register off the table fence - not the bearing.

Try taking shallower passes. If the ribbons are too thick, it can result in bad tear out.

[Charles Lent]

+1. Make shallower passes and use the fence, not so much the bearing. A 60-70% removal on the first pass, followed by the remainder on the second pass. If doing three passes, remove about 50% first, then about 40% more on pass 2 , then about 10% on the final pass. This is approximate, but the final pass should be very light.

Charley

[Lee Schierer]

What you are describing is pretty typical of plain sawn Red Oak. In conventional routing the bit is tending to lift the grain. If the grain ends are exiting the edge in opposition to the direction the router is traveling pieces tend to splinter off, sometimes in pieces that pull out deeper than the round over will clean up. You need to look closely at your wood and in some instances make climb cuts to prevent this tear out. You can also start with a smaller radius bit and run it across all the edges first and follow that up with your finished size, but even then you are likely to get the splintering. Table mounted routers make climb cutting easier to control and you can also use a fence to sneak up on the final profile. If you are using a hand held router then insure your work piece is securely clamped down so it cannot move and keep a firm grip on your your router.

[Curt Harms]

What you are describing is pretty typical of plain sawn Red Oak.
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That was my though too. Multiple passes may help.