Rate of Feed Figs and 17a | Craftsman 320.17541 specs

RATE OF FEED (Figs. 17 and 17a)

The proper rate of feed depends on several factors: the hardness and moisture content of the workpiece, the depth of cut, and the cutting diameter of the bit. When you are cutting shallow grooves in soft woods such as pine, you may use a faster rate of feed. When making deep cuts in hardwoods such as oak, you should use a slower rate of feed..

FEEDING TOO FAST (Fig. 17)

Bit

Clean and smooth finished cuts can only

be achieved when the cutter bit is rotatingFig. 17 Cut at a relatively high speed, taking very small

bites, producing tiny, clean cut chips°

Forcing the feed of the cutter bit forward too fast slows the RPM of the cutter bit, and the bit

takes bigger bites as it rotates. Bigger bites

Cutter

mean bigger chips and a rough finish.TOOFAST This forcing action can also cause the

router motor to overheat.

Under extreme force-feeding conditions, the RPMs can become so slow 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 the overload of forced feeding. You can detect forced feeding by the sound of the motor. Its usual high-pitched whine wilt sound lower and stronger as it loses speed. Holding the router against the workpiece will also be strained and harder to do.

FEEDING TOO SLOW (Fig. 17a)

When you feed the cutter bit too slowly, the rotating cutter bit does not cut into new wood fast enough to take a biter Instead, it scrapes away sawdust-like particles. This scraping produces heat, which can glaze, bum and mar the cut

in the workpiece and, in extreme cases, overheat the cutter bit°

When the cutter bit is scraping instead of cutting, the router is more difficult to control as you feed it.

_Bit

Fig17a._Cit	_ _ Shank
.....................	Cutter
	TOOSLOW

With almost no load on the motor, the cutter bit has a tendency to bounce off the sides of the cut in the workpiece, producing a cut with a rippled finish instead of clean straight sides.

RATE OF FEED (Figs. 17 and 17a)

FEEDING TOO FAST (Fig. 17)

TOOSLOW