Feeding Too Slow, Direction External | Craftsman 315.26921 guide

Feeding Too Slow

Utis aBo possiMe to spoil a cut by moving the router forward too sbwUy. When it is advanced into the work too sbwUy, a revoMng bit does not dig into new wood fast enough to take a bite; instead, it simpUy scrapes away sawdust-Hke partbbs. Scraping produces heat, which can gUaze, burn, or mar the cut and in extreme

cases, can even overheat the bit so as to destroy its hardness.

Unaddition, it is more difficuUt to controU a router when the bit is scraping instead of cutting. With practically no bad on the motor the bit wHUbe revoMng at dose to top RPM, and wHUhave a much greater than normaU 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 11.

"Too-slow feeding" can also cause your router to take off in a wrong direction from the intended line of cut. Always grasp and hoJd your router firmly with both hands when routing.

You can detect "too-slow feeding" by the runaway, high-pitched sound of the motor; or by feeling the "wiggle" of the bit in the cut.

DIRECTION (EXTERNAL)

See Figure 12.

The router motor and bit revolve in a clockwise direction. This gives the tool a slight tendency to twist (in your hands) in a counterclockwise direction, especially when the motor revs up (as at starting). Because of the extremely high speed of bit rotation

during a "proper feeding" operation, there is very little kickback to contend with under normal conditions.

However, should the bit strike a knot, hard grain, foreign object, etc. that would affect the normal progress of the cutting action, there will be a slight kickback--sufficient to spoil the trueness of your cut if you are not prepared. Such a kickback is always in the direction opposite to the direction of bit rotation.

To guard against such a kickback, plan your setup and direction of feed so that you will always be thrusting the tool--to hold it against whatever you are using to guide the cut--in the same direction that the leading edge of the bit is moving. In short, the thrust should be in a direction that keeps the sharp edges of

the bit continuously biting straight into new (uncut) wood.

PROPER CUTTING SEQUENCE

TOOFAST

Fig. 12

TOOSLOW

Fig. 11