Feeding Too Slowly; Chip Shield - Craftsman 320.27666 Operator's Manual

Forcing the feed of the cutter bit forward too quickly slows the speed of the
cutter bit, and the bit takes bigger bites as it rotates. Bigger bites mean bigger
chips and a rough finish. This forcing action can also cause the router motor to
overheat.
Under extreme force-feeding conditions, the speed can become so low and the
bites become so large that chips become partially cut off, causing splintering
and gouging of the workpiece.
The router will make clean, smooth cuts if allowed to run freely without overload
of forced feeding. You can detect forced feeding _V the sound of the motor. Its
usual high-pitched whine will sound lower and Fig. 16a
stronger as it loses speed. Holding the router
against the workpiece will also be more difficult. Bit Shank
FEEDING TOO SLOWLY (Fig.16a}
When you feed the cutter bit too slowly,
the rotating cutter bit does not cut into new
wood rapidly enough to take a bite. Instead,
it scrapes away sawdust-like particles. This
scraping produces heat, which can glaze,
burn, and mar the cut in the workpiece and, in
TOO SLOW
extreme cases, overheat the cutter bit.
Cut Cutter
When the cutter bit is scraping instead of cutting, the router is more difficult to
control as you feed it.
With the reduced load on the motor caused by the slow feed, the cutter bit has a
tendency to bounce off the sides of the cut in
Fig. 17
the workpiece, producing a cut with a rippled
finish instead of clean straight sides.
CHiP SHIELD (Fig. 17)
_, WARNING: Always wear eye protection.
The chip shield is not intended as a safety
guard.
The chip shield on the plunge base is held in
position by a screw.
To remove the chip shield from the plunge
base, simply loosen the screw and take the
chip shield off of the base (Fig. 17).
,_, WARNING: The chip shield helps to keep dust and chips away from the
operator; it will not stop objects larger than woodchips that are thrown from the bit.
CAUTION: Always have the chip shield in place on the base when operating
the router.
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