Feeding The Router; Direction Of Feed - External Cuts; To Guard Against And Help Prevent Kickback - Craftsman 320.2767 Operator's Manual

FEEDING THE ROUTER (Fig. 13}
The secrets to professional routing are a careful set-up for the cut, selecting
the proper depth of cut,
knowing how the cutter bit -_ _,_ _i_
reacts in your workpiece, _
and the rate and direction _
of feed of the router.
DIRECTION OF FEED--
EXTERNAL CUTS (Fig. 13)
The router motor and cutter
bit rotate clockwise. This
requires the feed of the
cutter bit to be from left to
right (see Fig. 13). Feeding
the bit from left to right will
cause the bit to pull the
router towards the workpiece.
If the router is fed in the opposite direction (right to left), the rotating force of the
cutter bit will tend to throw the bit away from the workpiece, making it hard to
control. This is called "Climb-Cutting:" cutting in the opposite direction of the
proper feed direction. "Climb Cutting" increases the chance for loss of control,
possibly resulting in personal injury. When "Climb Cutting" is required (backing
around a corner, for example), exercise extreme caution to maintain control of
the router.
Because of the high speed of the cutter bit during a proper feeding operation
(left to right), there is very little kickback under normal conditions. However, if
the cutter bit strikes a knot, an area of hard grain in the workpiece, or a foreign
object, the normal cutting action could be affected and cause "Kickback."
This Kickback may cause damage to your workpiece, and could cause you to
lose control of the router, possibly causing personal injury. Kickback is always in
the opposite direction of the clockwise cutter bit rotation, or counterclockwise.
To guard against and help prevent Kickback, plan your set-up and direction
of feed so you're always thrusting the router, keeping the sharp edges of the
cutter bit continuously biting straight into new (uncut) wood (workpiece). Also,
always inspect your workpiece for knots, hard grain, and foreign objects that
could cause a kickback problem.
WARNING: Kickback causes the power tool to jerk back toward the user,
causing possible loss of control and serious injury. Always take precautions
against kickback as described in the power tool operator's manual.
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