Router speeds

[Bob Johnson2]

I fired up my router this am with a 2 1/2" bit for the first time and decided that before I actually try holding wood against it I'd look into what the speed should be for such. After looking in the 2 books on routers I have I find nothing that corresponds the size of the bit to a suggested rpm. Does anyone have or know the where abouts of such a table? I guess the only other option is to just try it and see what the cut looks like. Any suggestions? It's a Dewalt 625 if it matters, cutting drawer profiles in hard maple.

[Andrew Ault]

Here is a link to an article by Tom Hintz on router speed:

http://www.newwoodworker.com/rtrbitspds.html

He includes a maximum speed chart in the article.

[Bob Johnson2]

Thanks Andrew, that's what I needed.

[Corey Hallagan]

Bob, my DW 625 manual has a speed chart in it. For any cutter with a diameter over 1 1/8 inch it has the following recommended speeds for the different materials:

Hardwood - speed 1 (8,000 rpm) good, speed 2 (12,000 rpm) best
Softwood - speed 1 good, speed 2 best
Plastic Laminated Chipboard - Speed 2 good, speed 3 (16,000 rpm) best
Plastics - Speed 1 good, speed 2 best

Hope this helps,
Corey

[Dave Falkenstein]

And here's another article:

http://www.jesada.com/pdf/Speeds.pdf

[Bob Johnson2]

Imagine that, look in the manual, last place I'd of thunk to look. Of course if I still had the manual I might have thought of it. Just downloaded it.

Thanks to all.

[pat warner]

Some notes on speed , no. 5 at the FAQ link (http://www.patwarner.com/faq.html).