Quick router advice please

[Jerry Strojny]

I'm working on a sidetable that has an 18" round top. I need to put a 3/8" drop roundover edge on it and I just realized I have never used the router on a round object. It's the technique that I'm second guessing myself on. What is the proper approach to minimize tearout?

[Gary Keedwell]

Jerry,

Routing is not my forte but are you hand routing or table routing? I would rough it out with a conventional cut and then finish it up with a climbing cut. Hope that makes sense.


Gary K.

[Laurie Brown]

It's the same as routing a straight object. Assuming you are not using a table, but hand-routing, just go around the circle in a counter-clockwise direction with the router.

[Lee Schierer]

Assuming you already have the circle cut, use a piloted router bit for your edge treatment. You will probably need to climb cut the 2 quarters of the circumference where the grain is opposing the cutting edge to avoid tear out. Anywhere on teh circumference where the cutting action is tending to lift the grain you may get tear out. Climb cut those areas. I would also advise light cuts until you get to your final dimension.

[Jerry Strojny]

So, when going counterclockwise there will be times when it is "climbing" and then going "down hill". I take it I just need to keep good control of the rate at which I am moving the router.

And yes, I'm hand routing.

[Doug Shepard]

If you're using a bearing guided bit, getting a couple extra bearings of increasingly larger size can help too. Start with the bigger bearing. This will let you take off just a little bit at a time until you're at the final profile.

[Jim Becker]

So, when going counterclockwise there will be times when it is "climbing" and then going "down hill".

No climb cutting refers to the direction you are moving the machine relative to the direction the bit is turning. If your router is on top of your workpiece, moving it left to right is "normal". Right to left is "climb". What was suggested is that a climb cut on a final pass can clean things up a little, but one must also be careful when moving in that direction as the machine can jump/wander on you and that is dangerous. Making your initial cuts to not-quite-full-depth and then a final, very light pass at full depth can also result in a nice clean cut without climbing.

But the species you are working can affect that. When shaping oak, for example, one sometimes has to do part of the work in "climb" to avoid splintering off where the grain shifts.

[Jerry Strojny]

But the species you are working can affect that. When shaping oak, for example, one sometimes has to do part of the work in "climb" to avoid splintering off where the grain shifts.

The piece is made from alder. It's softer than maple, harder than pine.

So basically, go slow, but not too slow, hold on tight, and pray I don't get any tearout....sounds about right.

[glenn bradley]

It's not the same as routing a straight piece for me. You'll be going with the grain and then across the grain transitioning to with the grain in the oppisite direction, etc. Your transition points will be eager to tearout. I'm with the shallow cuts and back-routing the last pass suggestion. This works for me but, I use a router table so everything is reversed CW to CCW wise (boy that's a mouthfull).