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Thread: Looking for a router fence and table to edge join wood

  1. #16
    Are you looking for a long term good router table and fence, or just something to get you painlessly through your project? If the latter, I suggest you just buy a great glue line blade like Rich suggests. Or, make a straight edge guide for your hand held router with a spiral bit. A straight edge can be made from the factory edge of a piece of store-bought 3/4" plywood.

    Also, can you be a little more specific about the cabinets you are making? When I hear cabinets and face-frame, and schedule, I immediately think plywood carcasses and shelves with pocketscrews for the face frames. If you use plywood, there is no time-sucking edge joining and glue up. Even good, veneered plywood will be on par or less than the equivalent in dimensional. And you'll save all that milling time....

  2. #17
    On the immediate front, I'm building plywood box shelving units that will have a face frame surround and a L- shaped lip on each shelf. The face and shelf fronts will all be 1 1/2 to 2 inch poplar ripped down from 1x6's. when ripping 8 foot boards I can't seem to keep myself from getting at least one blade burn every cut or so. Comes down to the skill set I spoke to in an earlier post. My intent with the router is to oversize my table saw cut and then joint them down to size in the hope of getting nice edges on both sides of the boards.
    As far as the question about my intent with the purchase. I'm trying not to spend money 2 or 3 times for the same thing whenever possible. Feels like spending money on a better fence and blades may be the way to go. I was leaning towards an extension router table for my table saw, but I don't think that will be the best option longterm.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Nashville, TN
    Posts
    1,544
    Quote Originally Posted by Harlon Gilbert View Post
    On the immediate front, I'm building plywood box shelving units that will have a face frame surround and a L- shaped lip on each shelf. The face and shelf fronts will all be 1 1/2 to 2 inch poplar ripped down from 1x6's. when ripping 8 foot boards I can't seem to keep myself from getting at least one blade burn every cut or so. Comes down to the skill set I spoke to in an earlier post. My intent with the router is to oversize my table saw cut and then joint them down to size in the hope of getting nice edges on both sides of the boards.
    As far as the question about my intent with the purchase. I'm trying not to spend money 2 or 3 times for the same thing whenever possible. Feels like spending money on a better fence and blades may be the way to go. I was leaning towards an extension router table for my table saw, but I don't think that will be the best option longterm.
    As far as your current project goes, double check your tablesaw setup to make sure the blade is square to the table (vertically) and the rip fence is parallel to the blade. In my experience, some burning is unavoidable. You are correct, edge jointing will remove burn marks. If I have light burn marks, I sand them away. It is important to not just sand in one spot but all around the area. Don't focus on the blade (but be concious of where it and your hands are!), instead focus on the fence and keeping the board tight against the fence, use finger boards if it helps.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Ft. Wayne, IN
    Posts
    1,453
    I don't have a jointer. So I have three choices: doing it by hand, using the edge as it comes off the table saw, or using my router table.

    I have an Incra router table and fence system and their Wonder Fence makes it extremely easy to joint edges. I have 1", 1 1/2" spiral, and 2 1/2" straight bits from Whiteside that I use. I've had very good luck using it this way. I usually only use it though if I am working on a larger project where jointing the edges by hand would be too much for me (I'm disabled) and where the tablesaw either isn't an option or I need a better joint.
    "I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
    Name withheld to protect the guilty

    Stew Hagerty

  5. I really like my Benchdog universal clamp-on router fence.
    Setting up with a shim on the outfeed fence and a good 1/2 shank pattern bit does the job well enough for me for smaller jointing projects.

    A.W.D.

  6. #21
    Harlon, what you want is not a jointed edge, but a burn-free, smooth edge. If you are getting burning, it could be because your saw is slightly out of alignment. It could also be your technique. Using a featherboard will help get a straight, burn-free cut. You can also just joint the edge on the table saw by cutting a hair wide, and nudging the fence over a tad after your cut, and kissing the edge off. Done that way, the blade encounters very little resistance, allowing you to push through pretty smoothly and consistently. You will get a lot of dust, but almost no burn.

    You're not really after a meticulously 'jointed' edge, just a clean edge that's square to the face. Taking it to the router table is (IMHO) overkill given your schedule.

    ...and don't think jointing on a router table is without burn, either. In fact, unless you move smoothly, there can be more risk of burning from the fast spinning router bit.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Pottstown PA
    Posts
    972
    I have the Incra ls120 system on my router table. It has a split fence system that is adjustable down to the thou. I bought mine used but will work and do what you ask. The outfeed side will be set to the amount that is being removed on the infeed side so it does not snipe at the end. Anyway here's a link.

    http://www.incra.com/product_rtf_lssuper.htm

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    6,982
    In fact, unless you move smoothly, there can be more risk of burning from the fast spinning router bit.
    +1 to that!
    And also- if you feed the board the wrong way, the grain will let you know by sort of,,,,,exploding,,, in your face. It really gets your attention when that happens & not in a good way.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  9. #24
    Thanks Prashun,I'm going to give the feather board a shot tomorrow. I do struggle to get an even push through while ripping. I often use one of my teenage sons to apply lateral pressure towards the fence, but this is often not wholely effective.

  10. #25
    Dry poplar is pretty stable and is one of the softest hard woods. For me, it is one f the easiest woods to work. If you are routinely having trouble keeping it square to the fence, i think you should also look at our fence alignment. What kind of blade are you using? You will get the least burn with a ripping blade, but you will get a smoother cut with a combination blade or general purpose blade. You dont have to break the bank on a new blade. Any of the freuds at the hd will do. Well.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Oakland County, Michigan
    Posts
    92
    Rockler also sells an aluminum 'shims' set that can be placed behind the outfeed side of the router table fence. The look to be a fairly decent option and seem easy enough to insert and remove. Good luck!

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