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Page 12
OPERATION
PROPER FEEDING
The right feed is neither too fast nor too slow. It is the rate at
which the bit is being advanced firmly and surely to produce
a continuous spiral of uniform chips — without hogging into
the wood to make large individual chips or, on the other hand,
to create only sawdust. If you are making a small 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 is deep
or the wood is hard to cut, the proper feed may be a very slow
one. Then, again, a cross-grain cut may require a slower
pace than an identical with grain cut in the same workpiece.
There is no fixed rule. You will learn by experience. . . by
listening to the router motor and by feeling the progress of
each cut. If at all possible, always test a cut on a scrap piece
of the workpiece wood, beforehand.
SPEED SELECTION
In general, if the material being cut is hard, the cutter size is
large, or the depth of cut is deep - maximum 1/8 in. (3.2 mm),
then your router should be run at slower speeds. When these
situations exist, turn the variable speed control selector until
the desired speed is reached.
See Figure 10.
NOTE: Carbide cutters cut at higher speeds than steel
cutters and should be used when cutting very hard materials.
Keep cutters sharp at all times.
FORCE FEEDING
Clean, smooth routing and edge shaping can be done only
when the bit is revolving at a relatively high speed and is
taking very small bites to 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 it revolves. “Bigger bites” mean bigger chips, and a
rougher finish. Bigger chips also require more power, which
could result in the router motor becoming overloaded.
Under extreme force-feeding conditions the relative RPM of
the bit can become so slow — and the bites it has to take so
large — that chips will be partially knocked off (rather than
fully cut off), with resulting splintering and gouging of the
workpiece.
See Figure 12.
Your Ryobi router is an extremely high-speed tool (15,000 -
25,000 RPM no-load speed), and will make clean, smooth
cuts if allowed to run freely without the overload of a forced
(too fast) feed. Three things that cause “force feeding” are bit
size, depth-of-cut, and workpiece characteristics. The larger
the bit or the deeper the cut, the more slowly the router
should be advanced. If the wood is very hard, knotty, gummy
or damp, the operation must be slowed still more.
You can always detect “force feeding” by the sound of the
motor. Its high-pitched whine will sound lower and stronger
as it loses speed. Also, the strain of holding the tool will be
noticeably increased.
TOO FAST
Fig. 12
TOO SLOW FEEDING
It is also possible to spoil a cut by moving the 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, it simply scrapes away sawdust-like particles.
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 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 will
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 12.
“Too-slow feeding” can also cause your router to take off in
a wrong direction from the intended line of cut. Always
grasp and hold your router firmly with both hands when
routing.
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.
TOO SLOW