Shopsmith 555970 manual Using Piloted Bits for Decorative Edging

MARK V – MOUNTED OVERARM PIN ROUTER 555970

GUIDE

PIN

STARTER

PIN

Figure 23. Use the Pin Routing Table Insert

when routing against a pin.

moving your workpiece into the bit un- til the edge of your stock also makes contact with the Guide Pin.

Once contact is made with the Guide Pin, move the workpiece around and away from the Starter Pin, maintaining contact with the Guide Pin at all times until you’ve completed your cut.

Re-position the Depth Control Handle for each subsequent pass until your de- sired final depth-of-cut is reached. Once you’ve completed the final pass, loosen the Depth Control Handle, raise the Router, re-tighten the Handle and turn off the Motor. Only when the Motor has stopped completely should you remove and inspect the workpiece.

USING PILOTED BITS FOR DECORATIVE EDGING

Cutting decorative edges on workpieces with piloted bits is a common operation for a hand-held router. With this operation, the Bit pilot controls your lateral depth-of-cut, while the vertical depth-of-cut is controlled by the plunge mechanism of your hand-held router (in the case of plunge-style routers), or by changing the height relationship between the router motor and its base through some other method.

With the Overarm Router, the process is al- most identical . . . with two differences:

•First and foremost, with the Overarm Router, your hands are used to grip the workpiece instead of the router motor. This provides improved visibility of the cut and allows you to rout the edges of workpieces that may be too small or oddly-shaped to grip properly with clamping devices.

WARNING

NEVER attempt to work with a small piece of stock less than 12" x 12" or that puts your hands closer than 3" from the guard.

•And secondly, with the Overarm Router, your stock is supported by the Worktable, while your vertical depth-of-cut is con- trolled with micro-precision by the up- down action of the Arm.

Piloted router Bits come in two styles: 1) Bits with solid steel pilots . . . or . . . 2) Bits with a ball bearing pilot.

When making cuts with a piloted Bit, your up-down depth-of-cut — and the number of cuts you’ll have to make to form the complete profile — can vary, based on two factors:

•The amount of stock that must be re- moved to produce the profile you want. If you’re forming an edge on thick stock, you may not be able to cut a full profile all at once without workpiece burning or tear-out. In these cases, you’ll have to make more than one pass . . . l owering the Arm with each subsequent pass until the profile you desire is achieved.

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