handheld router with big bit

[andrew whicker]

Hi all,

If I get a custom made router bit for this chamfer and I only take small passes at a time (like 1/16") will handling this router bit be an issue?

This is a chamfer on a table top that I don't have room to do with my router table. I am will to change the dimensions some. I think it looks good though in my drawings.

I can sub it out if safety is going to be big concern.

410475

[Jamie Buxton]

The big concern is that the router might rock a bit. I'd mount the router to a base extension which goes quite a ways on the surface of the table -- either the top or the bottom, I can't tell. You could even put a weight on the extension to make sure the router doesn't rock down.

[Mel Fulks]

I would cut it with tilted blade table saw. Then finish with plane and sandpaper. I think the router will be messy,slow,and
more work to smooth up.

[Jack Frederick]

Having asked the question you are obviously not in the “hold my beer” mode. Can it be done? Sure! The question is, what can go wrong and what happens then. The answer I think is, lots and you don’t know. The inertia on that is enormous. I have done this on a router table and with that large a bit I was nervous. I’m not a pro, but I bet once you mount that bit in a router big enough to spin it and turn it on, you will get a little weak in the knees at the prospect of putting it on wood.

[Rick Potter]

I'm with Mel.

This is basically the same as doing a raised panel on a table saw. Plenty of videos on that are available. In a nutshell: High fence that wraps your TS fence...work clamped to fence... push the whole thing along your TS fence.

If you have a horizontal raised panel router bit, you could make a quick, one time horizontal router table out of a couple hunks of melamine and use spacers to gradually lower the work to the final cut. It's a lot more trouble though. Lots of videos on that also.

Of course this all depends on how big a table top we are talking about.

[Mike Walsh]

I did something similar to the underside of a cherry dining table. Got as far as possible with shallow cuts using a big 45deg (Freud) bit in a handheld router and finished the rest with handplanes. Did a practice run first on some scrap poplar to convince myself it would work ok - both came out fine

[Jacob Reverb]

What about a (big) circular saw and homemade jig? I think I would be tempted to try it with my 8-1/4" worm gear, then hand-plane the "chamfer."

One side note: Are you sure that having just a 1/4" edge on the tabletop isn't going to make it look (and be) too fragile/vulnerable to denting/damage? I've found that even putting too large of a 1/4-round profile on the top edge of a tabletop makes the top "appear" too thin -- even it it's made from 4/4 or 5/4 stock –– so I generally just use a file/sander for this radius for that reason...

[Al Launier]

I would cut it with tilted blade table saw. Then finish with plane and sandpaper. I think the router will be messy,slow,and
more work to smooth up.

I would also use the table saw as suggested above.

[Peter Kuhlman]

To hand hold a router for this you need a LOT of mass / weight for the router. It will want to grab at times due to grain changes. If I was doing this hand held I would use my Festool 2200 on a wide offset base or my PC 7518 still installed in the router lift for increased mass. If possible I would take it in 2 or 3 cuts. I have done something similar cut wise with a massive bit but was cutting MDF so constant density so no surprises.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Andrew, that's a piece of cake on a shaper with a tilting spindle, do you know anyone who has one near you?

I wouldn't do it on a tablesaw or with a hand held router.............Regards, Rod.

[Jamie Buxton]

You say "I don't have room to do on my router table". Rather than make the cut handheld, I'd seriously consider moving machines around your shop, or moving the router table elsewhere.

[Curt Harms]

That cut looks very much like a raised panel cut. Raised panel bits are run in router tables, using one handheld would be .... exciting I think, too exciting for my tastes. If you were to try using a raised panel bit in a hand held router, you'd need to be sure the entire bit would fit in the router's base. The bit would likely be 3 1/2" diameter so your router base would need an opening larger than that. I don't know how many routers have that large an opening but it'd be something to check for starters. I wouldn't check because I wouldn't consider the idea.

[Jim Becker]

Anything over about 1.5" in diameter really shouldn't be considered for hand-held use. Based on your diagram, that's going to be a very large diameter cutter...in excess of 3". That's a table mounted situation for sure and even there, multiple bites are generally a best practice. I use a Freud cutter from a "Shaker" door set for this purpose on the Shaker style side tables I occasionally make, leaving the edge at between 3/8 and 1/2"...whatever it ends up with with the bit adjusted to provide the angle to flat transition which is largely out of sight.

[Steve Jenkins]

Last year I posted a couple of pictures of a 42”x9’ dining table with a big undercut bevel. I used a porta-planer. The name of the thread was dining table. It worked quite well.

[Jamie Buxton]

Andrew, how big is this table top? Is it a dining table? If so, the idea which folks have proposed of standing it on edge and running it through a table saw would be a challenge.

Does the top have any curved edges? If so, a router or a shaper may be the only workable approach. A table saw or a power planer won't do.

[Mike Henderson]

I would go neanderthal here. I'd use a marking gauge and run a mark on the side and on the top where you want the chamfer to end. Then use a bench plane and plane it down by hand. I've done that before and it's not all that hard.

Mike

[andrew whicker]

Wow, thanks for all the responses!

I assumed it was a bit much. The table saw obviously comes to mind, but doing the end grains on a 66" long table sounds terrible. Lots of setup for a one time fixture that I wouldn't want hanging around my already stuffed shop.

I'll see if the local woodshop can take care of it. $155 for a custom router bit gives me plenty of money to afford a vendor.

[andrew whicker]

I also like the hand plane idea. I've been thinking about ripping it with a jig, but doing the endgrain with plane.

[Kevin Jenness]

In my shop I would run it on the shaper with a raised panel cutter below the workpiece and a power feeder. Otherwise I would rough it out with a power plane and clean up with a hand plane and/or belt sander. Curves are not out of the question.

[Brian Holcombe]

Set knife marks, Rough cut with a track saw then finish with hand planes.

[johnny means]

I've done spiral handrails with thumbnail bits in that size range. They have to be cut on a single pass and their is no flat surface to hold the router on. I'll say this, I would never ask anyone else to do such an operation. That being said, I consider your chamber very do-able, with a heavy duty router and good technique. I would get the top on some low horses, so I could really get my weight on top of it.

[andrew whicker]

Set knife marks, Rough cut with a track saw then finish with hand planes.


This is what I shall do.

Thanks,

[Bill Dufour]

Rough with a bandsaw and finish with a hand plane and belt sander.
Bill D.

[Larry Edgerton]

My biggest custom bit is 4 1/2" in diameter. So obviously I would do it. I use a 3 1/4 hp PC router as it is heavy and solid. Sometimes a router is the best option. I climb cut until it is close and then do a final pass. Would I let a new employee do it? No. If there is fear there is a good chance of a wrong decision.

[Jim Becker]

My biggest custom bit is 4 1/2" in diameter. So obviously I would do it. I use a 3 1/4 hp PC router as it is heavy and solid. Sometimes a router is the best option. I climb cut until it is close and then do a final pass. Would I let a new employee do it? No. If there is fear there is a good chance of a wrong decision.

Larry, I feel I have to reiterate that spinning a large bit like that with a hand-held router...even a heavy one...is considered "not a good idea" and can be very dangerous. The force generated by the action can too easily move/throw the tool and cause injury or worse. The industry pretty much consistently recommends nothing larger than about an inch and a half hand-held and they do it in writing and not just for legal protection. It's said in the router documentation and is usually on the tooling packaging, too. I'm saying this not in any way to correct "you" or cause you to personally change what you are comfortable with, but for the benefit of newbies and others who might not know this or might not have read their tool's manual...

[Edwin Santos]

This is what I shall do.

Thanks,

I hope you post back with a progress report or finished photos of your project. It sounds like an interesting look.
I'm wondering how it will turn out, and specifically what scale and type of base you might build for a table with an edge profile as you have designed.

Best of luck with the project.

Edwin

[Pat Barry]

Hi all,

If I get a custom made router bit for this chamfer and I only take small passes at a time (like 1/16") will handling this router bit be an issue?

This is a chamfer on a table top that I don't have room to do with my router table. I am will to change the dimensions some. I think it looks good though in my drawings.

I can sub it out if safety is going to be big concern.

410475

How will you control taking light passes? What material is table top? This makes a huge difference between somewhat easy and you'd better be a gorilla. Overall, very difficult with hand held.

[andrew whicker]

Sigh. You people with nice bandsaws... I hope to be one one day.

[andrew whicker]

I 'was' going to use my Festool track as a guide (using the non-plastic side probably). I like the handtool idea though. Makes me feel much more comfy.

[andrew whicker]

Definitely. Hoping to get this thing done by mid July. Need to start making some progress right meow.

[Tom Bender]

Get a bit to make the outer 1/2". Make a jig to let you hand saw crosscuts the depth of the cut. Follow up with hand planes, a big rasp and sanders.

[andrew whicker]

I hope you post back with a progress report or finished photos of your project. It sounds like an interesting look.
I'm wondering how it will turn out, and specifically what scale and type of base you might build for a table with an edge profile as you have designed.

Best of luck with the project.

Edwin

Edwin,

Here is where I got so far. I think it looks good. I did the endgrain sides with a steeper plane.

412074

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'd have used my Makita cordless track saw or my Festool TS55EQ. This type of cut is easy-peasy & much safer than either router or table saw.

[johnny means]

Here's a setup I just used to cut 5" wide 24° chamfers for a conference table. It could also be used for complete tops on a smaller scale.

[Dave VanDewerker]

If I could not use a table saw or router table I would probably use an adjustable rabbiting bit or a straight bit and straight edge in my router to remove the bulk of the waste and then finish up with a hand plane.

[andrew whicker]

I hope you post back with a progress report or finished photos of your project. It sounds like an interesting look.
I'm wondering how it will turn out, and specifically what scale and type of base you might build for a table with an edge profile as you have designed.

Best of luck with the project.

Edwin

Edwin,

It's taken too long to get to this point, but here is the pre-glue, pre-tweak, pre-finish look. I like it.

414993

414994

[Mike Henderson]

Looks great. I like it, also.

Mike