Proper Feeding; Speed Selection; Force Feeding; Too Slow Feeding - Craftsman 315.275062 Owner's Manual

OPERATION
PROPER FEEDING
The right feed is neithertoofast nor too stow It is the rate
atwhichthe bil is beingadvanced firmly andsurelyloproduce
a conlinuous splraIof uniform chips-- withouthoggtnginto
thewoodtOmake fargo individua! chips or,ontheotherhand,
tocreateonlysawdust, tfyouaremaklngasmafldlameter,
shallowgroovein soft, dry wood, the properfeed may be
aboutas fast as youcan travelyourrouter along yOL_ guide
linerOn the olherhand.if thebitIsa large one,the ctJt I sdeep
or thewoodIsherd tocut,the properfeedmay be a veryslow
one, Then, again, a cross-grain cut may require a slower
pacethanan Identical withgrain cut in the sameworkplace.
There is no fixed ruts, You will learn by experfence from
practiceand use. The best rate of feed is determined by
listeningto th_ soundof the router motor and by feeling the
progressof eachcut. If at all possible,aJwaystesta cuton
a scrappiece of the workplacewood, beforehand
SPEED SELECTION
In general, if the materialbeing cut is hard,the cuttersize is
large,or thedepthofcutis deep (maximumI/8 in..), t henyour
router should berunat slowerspeeds.When thesesituations
exist,turnthe variable speed controlselector u ntilthe desired
speed is m.s_.. NOTE: Carbide cutters cut at htgher
speeds than stee! cutlers and shouldbe usedwhen cutting
very hardmalari!!a..
FORCE FEEDING
Clean, smooth routing and edge shaping can be done only
when the bit is revolving at e relatively high speed and ts
taking very small bites Io produce tiny. cleanly severed
chips.. If your router is forced to move forward too fast. the
RPM of the bit becomes slower than normal in relation to its
forward movement AS a result, the bit must take bigger bites
as 1! revolves, "Bigger bites" mean bigger chips, and a
rougher finish. Bigger chips also require more power, which
could resuft in the router motor becoming overloaded
Under extreme force-feeding conditions the rstative RPM o!
the bit can become so slow --and the bites it has to lake so
large --. that chips wgt be pa_atty knocked off (rathor than
fully cut off), with resulting splintering and gouging of the
workpiecao See Figure 15,
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 treefy without the overload of a forced
(too last) feed° Three things that cause "forge feeding" are
bit size, deplh-of.-cut, and workpiece characterfstics The
larger the bit or thedeepar the cut, the more stowty the muter
should be moved forward.+ If the wood ISvery hard, knotty,
gummy or damp, the operation must be slowed still more
You can always de_ecl "force feeding" by the sound of the
motor, tts high-pitched whine will sound tower and shonger
as it loses speed. Also, the strain of holding the tool WIll be
noticeably increased.
TOO SLOW FEEDING
It is atso possible to spoil a cut by moving the router forward
tooslowly° 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, if simply scrapes away sawdusHike par-
ticles. Scraping produces heat. which can glaze, burn, or mar
the cut -- in extreme cases, can even overheat the bit so as
to destroy Its hardness
In addition, it is more difflcuf! to control a router when the bit
is scraping instead of cutting.. Wtlh practically no load on the
motor the bit wilt be revolving al close to top RPM, and WIll
have a much greater lhan normal tendency to bounce off lhe
sides of the cut (especlafly, it the woo,d has a pronounced
grain with hard and sofl areas)• As a result, the cut produced
may have dppled, instead of straight s_des., See Figure tS_
"Too-slow feeding" can also cause your router to take off tn
a wrong direction from the Intended line of cut. Always grasp
end hotd your muter firmly with bolh hands when
muting.
You can detect "too-slow feeding" by the runaway too-highly
pitched sound of the motor; or by feeling the "wiggle* of the
bit in the cut,
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