Routing; Proper/Force/Too Slow Feeding - Craftsman 315.174710 Owner's Manual

OPERATION
RqUTING
_or case of operation and maintaining proper control, your
touter has two handles, one on each side ofthe router baser
When using your router hold it firmly with both hands as
shown in figumm 7. Turn router on and letmotor build toits full
speed, then gradually feed cutter into workplece. Remain
alert and watch what you are doing. DO NOT operate muter
When fatigued,
PROPER FEEDING
The right feed is neither too fast nor too slow. It ts the rate at
which the bit is being advanced firmly and surely to produce
a continuousspiral of uniform chips m without hogging into
the wood to make large individualchipsor,on the other hand,
to create only sawdusL If you are making a smail diameter,
shallow groove in soft, dry wood, the proper feed may be
about as fast as you can travel your router along your guide
line. On the other hand, if the bit is a large one, the cut ts deep
or the wood ishard to cut,the proper feed may be a very slow
oneo Then, again, a cross-graincut may require a slowerpace
than an identicalwith grain cut in the same workpisCeo
There Is no fixed rule. You will team by experience°., by
listening to the router motor and by feeling the progress of
cach cut. If at all possible, always test a outon a scrap piece
of the workpiece wood, beforehand.
RATE OF FEED
IMPORTANT:The whole "secret"of professionalroutingand
edge shaping lies in making a careful set-up for the cut to be
made and In sclcctlng the proper rate of feed.
FORCE FEEDING
Clean, smooth routingand edge shaping can be done only
when the bit is revolving at a relatively high speed end is
takingvery small bites to producetiny,cleanly severed chips.
If your muter is forced to move forward too fast, the RPM of
the bit becomes slower than normal in relation to itsforward
movement.. As a result, the bit must take bigger bites as it
revoiveso "Bigger bites" mean bigger chips, and a roughcr
finish. Biggcr chips also require more powcr, which could
result in the router motor becoming overloaded.
Under extreme force-feeding conditions the relative RPM of
the bit can become so slow-._nd the bites it has to take so
large--that chips will be padiatly knocked off (ratherthan fully
cutoff), with resultin_ splintering and gouging of the workplace.
Sea Figure 8.
Your Craftsman Router is an extremely high-speed tool
(25,000 RPM no-load speed), and will make clean, smooth
cuts if allowed to run freely Without the ovedoad of e forced
(too fast) feed. Three things that cause =forcefeeding" are blt
size, depth-of-cut, and workpiece characteristics° The larger
the bit orthe deeperthe cut, the more slowly the reutershould
be moved forward. If the wood is very hard, knotty, gummy or
damp, the operation must be slowed stilI more.
You can always detect "force feeding" by the sound of the
motor. Its high-pitched whine will sound Iowerand strongeras
it loses speed. Also, the strain of holding the tool will be
noticeably increased Page 7
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Fig. 7
J
TOO SLOW Fig, 8
TOO SLOW FEEDING
it is also possibleto spoil a cut by movingthe router forward
too slowly° When it is advanced into the work too slowly, a
revolving bit does not dig into new wood fast enough to take
a bite; instead, itsimplyscrapesaway sawdust-_ike padicles.
Scraping produces heel which can glaze, bum, or mar the
cut-- in extreme cases, can even overheat the bit so as to
destroy its hardness.
in addition, it is more difficult to control a router when the bit
is scraping instead of cutting With practically no load on the
motor the bit will be revolving at close to top RPM, and wilt
have a much greater than normal tendency to bounce off the
sides of the cut (especially, if the wood has a pronounced
grain with hard and soft areas) As a result, the cut produced
may have rippled, instead of straight sides See Figure 8
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