I got my first router today, God help me!

randella

Not a stupid question at all.  I've found the main differences to be:

1) The very cheap ones leave lots of burn marks in hardwood.  I have a Silverline 1/2" roundover bit that I used for that Strat body, and let's just say it's a good job the body is to be painted.  I suspect it wasn't particularly sharp to begin with, and the Swamp Ash body was too much of a challenge for it.

2) The cheap ones are also quite possibly not true, as in accurate.  Another Silverline straight-cut bit from the same collection would not cut at 90 degrees however hard I tried.  I gave up on it quite quickly.

They're probably alright for a bit of furniture making if you intend to do a fair bit of sanding to get things right anyway.  I've used them for cutting softwood and they were OK.

For something as delicate as your guitar where accurate, true cuts are important and tear-out is a no-no, it's probably worth spending a bit more.

Moonrunner

Hey Victor, will you be posting any pics of your routing projects? I am interested to see what you do and want to get a router myself at some point.

Corvus

For cavities I use cheapo bearing bits from Toolstation, about £3 a pop. They're not the fanciest things in the world but getting say a set of top & bottom bearing bits in different sizes is cheap and they're fine if your not doing tons of routing every day. Or 1/4" for the tight radius corners and 1/2" for quicker hogging out the main area faster etc.

victorludorum

Cheers all, I'm going to buy a couple tomorrow to get going.

As always, I appreciate the info ;-)

bloodandtears

randella

Corvus said:

For cavities I use cheapo bearing bits from Toolstation, about £3 a pop. They're not the fanciest things in the world but getting say a set of top & bottom bearing bits in different sizes is cheap and they're fine if your not doing tons of routing every day. Or 1/4" for the tight radius corners and 1/2" for quicker hogging out the main area faster etc.

@Corvus - do they cut reasonably accurately?  The cheap ones I've had overcut the bearing, if you see what I mean, so you cut away more than you intended to.

I could do with a couple more and if these from Toolstation are OK I'll give them a go.

Corvus

I guess these are the same sort that loads of places sell, sometimes if you swap a size there might be a tiny lip but I've either ignored it or given a quick swipe with sandpaper. Or used the one bit all the way around. I guess being cheap there's luck of the draw when it comes to exact fine tolerances from one to another and won't stay sharp as long as better ones. I only use them for cavities, pickguards type things where they do OK. Nicer ones for like headstocks, bodies etc.
Tried to find pics, I'm crap with cameras but these are chopped out with these ones, seem pretty clean

http://www.alleykat.co.uk/images/stuff/jazzmaster_n/11_pink.jpg
http://alleykat.co.uk/images/stuff/exbird/fb09_cav.jpg

Moonrunner

Hey Victor, will you be posting any pics of your routing projects? I am interested to see what you do and want to get a router myself at some point.

victorludorum

Moonrunner said:

Hey Victor, will you be posting any pics of your routing projects? I am interested to see what you do and want to get a router myself at some point.

I'll certainly try! ;-)

StoneWolf_Mike

Congratulations on the new router!

I have to say routing is something I've come to really enjoy doing over the years. Like yourself, I was a bit wary at first as I'd heard so many horror stories of work pieces going flying but after getting the hang of it, I now find it very satisfying work.

I think one of the key things is getting to know the feel of your machine. Getting to know when it feels like it's going to rip or catch and feeling the difference between wood densities and how they affect the router. 

When i first started building guitars, I was very ignorant to the world of woodworking and their tools. I had no idea that router bits with bearings existed and you could use them with templates to make life easier, so everything I routed was done freehand...aaand to this day it still is. I just use templates to just draw round in pencil to get the shape I need and then take it away and rout to the pencil lines, freehand. While I don't really recommend this as it can be a recipe for making very expensive firewood, it does give you a good feel of things, especially on making extremely fine cuts and passes. Definitely something to try on scrap wood, even if you don't adopt it for main projects.

For router bits, cheapo stuff is absolutely fine for taking large chunks of material away but I found they don't give as fine a cut for the really precise stuff and are a bit more prone to catching and tearing. I know the price is somewhat eye watering but I bought this set when I first started and they are still going strong 8 odd years later. Pretty much gives you most of the bits you'll ever really use for guitar work but maybe something to look at later down the line. https://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+power-tool-accessories-router-bit-sets-multi-profile-tct-router-bit-set-66-piece-multi-profile-1-2-shanks-rutlands+tr303

Apologies for the lengthy essay!
Cheers!
Mike

victorludorum

No need to apologise, Mike! It's great to hear some more encouragement; I'm sure the others who are thinking about taking the plunge (excuse the pun) are happy to hear your words too ;-)

randella

@Corvus - thanks loads for taking the time to post that.  Those cavities look clean as a whistle, the lip cut on the control cavity is very nice.  I'll give ToolStation a look.  I think I was probably unlucky with the cutters I had.

Also I wowed your post - I was going to go for wis but I love that copper colour on the Jag body (or is it a JM?  I can never remember which is which!).

Corvus

Hi @randella and cheers muchly, it was a JM body that got darker later, up to that oxblood/maroon sort of colour.

I'm sure these cheapies aren't super consistent from one to another so I only use them on cavities and suchlike. I've had the fine lip thing sometimes when you swap around, like you said. Far as I can remember it's not been so bad where a quick sand didn't wipe it out though. I do keep nicer ones for where you take no chances like a headstock or body edges and stuff, but the cheapies seem OK for some things. If I could ever stop buying bloody pedals I'd prob spend more on smart router bits though for sure .. : )

rexter

Like @Corvus ;; says some of the cheap ones are definitely decent enough for cavity work with no issues - I think toolstation sell the silverline bits for next to nothing - I’ve been using one to get deeper into body cavities and it’s fine. It’s a top bearing 1/4” bit and I think it was only £3 or something!

Keep them clean by wiping off all the gunk with ipa or something after using and that helps avoid burn. I have a couple of nice whiteside bits that I save for more critical areas, but so far the cheap one hasn’t given me any major problems. Will probably grab some more to have as spares or whatnot 

Roland

@rexter ipa=?

randella

Roland said:

@rexter ipa=?

Oddly enough, just been routing stuff this afternoon. Not guitars, much more mundane. 

I reckon soon it’s going to be time for an IPA

Kalimna

IPA = iso-propyl alcohol, a general solvent for cleaning gunk.

Would waste a pale ale on it

rexter

Roland said:

@rexter ipa=?

Haha, yep sorry guys, it's an abbreviation a guitar builder I work with uses and it's stuck with me. I used to always think of delicious Sierra Nevada or other strong pale ales when he said it.  Had to nip that habit in the bud  

randella

Reading victorludlum's opening posts again, I have the sneaking suspicion that the router you have is a copy of mine - the Bosch GKF600

http://www.bosch-professional.com/om/en/palm-router-gkf-600-225424-060160a170.html

I discovered at the weekend just how useful the fine adjustment wheel is.  With the base in the 'lock' position but the buckle undone, you can turn the thumbwheel to get everything just-so.  For some daft reason I never bothered with it before.  If yours has the same, have a play with it - it got me some very precise cuts over the weekend.

victorludorum

randella said:

Reading victorludlum's opening posts again, I have the sneaking suspicion that the router you have is a copy of mine - the Bosch GKF600

http://www.bosch-professional.com/om/en/palm-router-gkf-600-225424-060160a170.html

I discovered at the weekend just how useful the fine adjustment wheel is.  With the base in the 'lock' position but the buckle undone, you can turn the thumbwheel to get everything just-so.  For some daft reason I never bothered with it before.  If yours has the same, have a play with it - it got me some very precise cuts over the weekend.

The bits should turn up this week, so hopefully I'll be playing with it at the weekend.