Router bit too tall for one piece fence

[Dennis Jarchow]

I just bought an Amana one piece rail and stile bit. The bit is pretty tall and while it works fine for the stick cut, if I raise it up where it needs to be when using my coping fence, the shaft hits the top of my one piece fence on the router table. The bit has bearings on the top and bottom. Since my wood rides on the fence anyway could I move the top bearing down on top of the bottom bearing on as that would raise the cutters up and I think I would have enough room.

Thanks for any advice.

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[andrew whicker]

do you need a fence? Why not use the bearings as the guide?

(build a sled that rides against the bearing instead of using a fence. You have to find a way to reduce / remove tear out. A sled is an easy way to do this (in my opinion))

[Bruce Wrenn]

I just bought an Amana one piece rail and stile bit. The bit is pretty tall and while it works fine for the stick cut, if I raise it up where it needs to be when using my coping fence, the shaft hits the top of my one piece fence on the router table. The bit has bearings on the top and bottom. Since my wood rides on the fence anyway could I move the top bearing down on top of the bottom bearing on as that would raise the cutters up and I think I would have enough room.

Thanks for any advice.

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Why not add an aux. fence to existing fence? Could be as simple as two pieces of BB ply, or a couple layers of MDF, fastened in place with double stick tape

[Dennis Jarchow]

Andrew,

Thanks for the reply. I do have a coping sled for the cope cut and that uses a backer board behind the stock to reduce tearout. But my coping sled is made to ride on a fence. The other reason I like having the fence there is I can make a shallower cut the first pass and then take off the final 16th in s second pass. More work, especially since I have 40 rails and stiles to rout but it seems gives me a cleaner final cut.

[Dennis Jarchow]

Bruce, thanks. I hadn't thought of adding an extra layer to the fence. I will give that a try. Thanks again!

[Mitch schiffer]

+1 on adding a layer of mdf or something to the existing fence.

[Steve Eure]

I had a similar problem in the past on my router table set up. What I found is I had the router motor set too high in the lift cradle. I was able to lower the motor by 3/4" and it worked out fine. Just another thing to check.

[Mark Brewer]

Plus 1 on router height in the lift mechanism, also I have a 2 piece fence on my router table. Can be opened for large diameter bits, or closed completely to work as a one piece fence.

[Dennis Jarchow]

Steve, Mark,

I had a similar problem in the past on my router table set up. What I found is I had the router motor set too high in the lift cradle. I was able to lower the motor by 3/4" and it worked out fine. Just another thing to check.

Thanks. It's not a problem with the lift/motor. The bit is just tall and my Bench Dog router fence isn't. I can open mine up too but the aluminum back of the fence is all one piece . With the cope cutters on the bit at the right height for the stock on my coping sled, the top of the shaft/bolt is almost 3"" off the table and hits the aluminum frame of the fence. I am doing all my stick cuts first, but when I get to the copes, I will either have to use a thicker fence face or move the top bearings to the bottom which will raise the cutters up.

Thanks again.

[Dennis Jarchow]

Thanks again for all the replies. I appreciate it. I ended up moving the top bearing to the bottom of the cutter and am able to make the cope cuts on my coping sled.