Sears 315.17473 owner manual Proper Feeding, TOO Fast Speed Selection, Rate of Feed, Forcefeeding

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 isdeep 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 workplece.

There is no fixed rle. You will learn by expedence.,, by listening to the muter 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.

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TOO FAST

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.), then your router shouldbe run at slower speeds. When these situations exist, turn the variable speed control selector until the desired speed is reached. NOTE: Carbide cutters cut at higher speeds than steel cutters and should be used when cuffing very hard materials.

RATE OF FEED

IMPORTANT:The whole"secret" of professionalroutingand edgeshapingliesin makinga carefulset-upfor the cuttobe made and in selectingthe properrate of feed.

FORCEFEEDING

Clean, smoothroutingand edge shapingcan be done only when the bit is revolvingat a relativelyhigh speed and is takingverysmallbitestoproducetiny,cleanlyseveredchips. If yourrouteris forced to move forward too fast, the RPM of the bit becomesslowerthan normalin relationto itsforward movement.As a result,the bit must take bigger bites as it revolves."Biggerbites"mean biggerchips, and a rougher finish. Biggerchips also require more power, whichcould resultin the routermotorbecomingoverloaded.

Underextremeforce-feedingconditionsthe relativeRPM of the bit can becomeso slow--and the bites it has tp take so large--thatchipswillbe partiallyknockedoff(ratherthanfully cutoff),withresultingsplinteringandgougingoftheworkpiece. See Figure9.

Your Craftsman Router is an extremely high-speed tool

(25,000 RPM no-loadspeed), and willmake clean, smooth cutsif allowedto runfreely withoutthe ovedoad of a forced

(toofast)feed. Threethingsthatcause=forcefeeding"arebit size,depth-of-cut,andworkpiececharactedsUcsThe. larger thebitorthedeeperthecut,the moreslowlytheroutershould bemovedforward.Ifthewoodisvery hard,knotty,gummyor damp,the operationmustbe slowedstillmore.

Fig.9

You can always detect=forcefeeding"by the sound ofthe motor.Itshigh-pitchedwhinewillsoundlowerandstrongeras it loses speed. Also, the strain of holdingthe tool will be noticeablyincreased.

TOO SLOW FEEDING

It isalso possibleto spoil a cut bymovingthe routerforward too slowly.When it Is advancedintothe work too slowly, a revolvingbitdoes notdig intonewwoodfast enoughtotake

abite;instead,itsimplyscrapesaway sawdust-likeparticles. Scrapingproducesheat, whichcan glaze, burn,or mar the cut-- in extremecases, can even overheatthe bit so as to destroyits hardness.

In addition,itis more difficultto contr I a routerwhen the bit isscraping insteadof cutttng.With practicallyno loadonthe motorthe bitwillbe revolvingat close to top RPM, and will havea muchgreaterthan normaltendencytobounceoffthe sides of the cut (especially,if the wood has a pronounced grainwith hardand softareas). As a result,the cutproduced may have rippled,insteadof straightsides. See Figure9.

"Too-slowfeeding"can alsocauseyourmuterto take offina wrongdirectionfrom the intendedlineof cut. Always grasp and hold your router firmly with both hands when rout- ing.

You can detect"too-slowfeeding"bythe runawaytoo-highly pitchedsoundofthemotor;or byfeeling the =wiggle"ofthebit in the cut.

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