Router Job Suggestions

[Joe Pelonio]

I'm doing a job with acrylic (laser) that requires a 1/4" roundover on the top. The items are approximately 10"x12" with 1.5" radius corners, and 3/8" thick. In order to rout the way they want the bearing is going to be below the level of a table, so I need to secure it to something so that the edges are stcking out. I did a sample using my clamps to hold it to a table, did about half, then reclamped and did the other half.

Sticking it to the top of a gallon paint can with double sided tape is something I thought of, but for the quantity, I'm looking for a suggestion for a faster and more secure method where it won't let the work move.

[tod evans]

joe, vacuum clamped templates are the ticket here....02 tod

[Joe Pelonio]

Tod,

Vacuum clamping would be great but buying a pump for this job might not really be cost effective. Looks like I'll make about $30 each on them with quantites of about a dozen at a time, several times a year.

[tod evans]

joe, if you have a quality shopvac and if the pieces are large enough(surface area) a shopvac can do the job? doesn`t cost much to try? tod

[Joe Pelonio]

Ah, I actually have two of them. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

[glenn bradley]

At that quantity I'd talk myself into a router table and not need the bearing for a guide, use the fence. Unless of course they're already mounted; then I'd double stick tape a piece of 1/2" material to the surface to use as a guide.

[Joe Pelonio]

Unless I'm missing something I have to use the bearing as a guide due to the 1.5" radius corners on them. I have a router table but thought a fence only works on straight material.

[Brian Hale]

Make a template the size of your part, use double stick tape to stick the two together and rout away letting the bearing ride on the template.

Brian :)

[Bob Wingard]

yup .. .. what Bian just said .. .. .. don't cut the rectangle, then roundover .. .. leave the piece oversize and trim the whole thing whilst attached to a template .. .. ..

[Bruce Wrenn]

Tod,

Vacuum clamping would be great but buying a pump for this job might not really be cost effective. Looks like I'll make about $30 each on them with quantites of about a dozen at a time, several times a year. Air-Vac sells a vacumm generator for about $22.00, that uses compressed air to generate vacumm. They only sell through distributors. Reid Tool also stocks SMC vacumm generators for about the same price. An old refrigerator comp can be used to genrate vacumm also. Two cylinder AC compressor( Borg-Warner, York, Techumsie) from a car makes a great vacumm pump. Simply weld clutch plate into on position and add an electric motor. If your air compressor has a pipe thread on inlet filter, it also can be made into a vac. pump.