Detail Routing Problem...

[Derek Arita]

So, I've this little clock case that I made for an antique clock. It measures about 4" tall and is oak. When I made it, I couldn't figure out how to rout a detail around the front edge of the upper case, without going against the grain at some point. I know this is probably a newbie routing question, but I just couldn't figure it out. Thanks for the help.375020

[Joe Jensen]

You often have to go against the grain when router an edge detail. I always make sure the bit is very sharp and I take several lighter passes instead of a single pass. Keep in mind that if you go too slow the wood will burn and that's really hard to sand out of end grain.

[John TenEyck]

I use a handheld router and climb cut when I want to eliminate the possibility of tearout. If the profile is very large I take several passes to get to final depth.

John

[Lee Schierer]

Okay, imagine the numbers on the clock face as they appear in your photo on your wood and the router is on the side we can see. The router bit will be rotating clockwise. The best way to route the circular opening to guard against tear out is route in the normal feed direction from 12:00 to 3:00 and from 6:00 to 9:00. To route the area from 6:00 to 3:00 and 12;00 to 9:00 climb cut.

Note: when climb cutting the router will want to pull itself along the piece of wood so make sure your wood is securely held and have a good grip on your router. Light cuts are your friend when climb cutting.

[Al Launier]

Lee just took my comment. To elaborate why climb cutting produces a better finish has to do with the geometry of the chips as they are cut. When conventional milling the chip starts off as thin & ends up thick; perceive it as a wedge. So the thick end of the chip at the end of the cut tends to pull out material with it while pushing the work piece against the holding fixture. On the other hand, when climb milling the chip starts off thick & ends up thin, pulling less material with it & resulting in a better finish. This is true for woodworking as it is for machining metals. But, as Lee pointed out you must be sure to secure the work piece well when climb milling as grabbing onto a thicker chip at the beginning of the cut will tend to pull the work piece to the cutter and away from the fixture. Cut carefully & end up with what you wanted.