Routing a stopped chamfer - help!

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cumbrian

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Probably a numpty question, but aren't they all when you're a newbie?

I'm making up some simple square section balusters from salvaged sections of old pine, and I want to put stopped chamfers on them. I've experimented using a 45deg chamfer bit in a router table, and the problem I get is a manky finish at the end of the cut. I've tried sliding the workpiece away horizontally, lifting it off the cutter, and backing up slightly before removing it, but I can't get a clean finish.

So, is it:
1 The bit - seems sharp but has been used on laminate faced ply.
2 My technique - what should I be doing?
3 Asking the impossible - there's no way to get a clean finish at the stop with a router.

I've got at least 50 spindles to make, so I don't fancy having to use a chisel to clean up 200 cuts..... :roll: Any help much appreciated.
 
Make-up a couple of end stop jigs to clamp to the workpiece if possible. When you get to the end of the cut and the router is against the end stop, move the router to the right to remove the cutter from the work. The other end may need a small amount of climb milling to achieve the complete cut

Scrit
 
What do you mean by a manky finish? Is it burning the wood, chatter marks, tear out etc?
 
cumbrian, I think this is because the cutter cuts into the wood when it starts, and as the cutter moves through 180degs its cutting out of the wood (a bit like planing off the end of end grain).

This is an educated guess but try routing to the middle then turn the wood over and rout to the middle again overlapping the cut. Hope I've explained properly.
 
Shultzy":25zaa1qd said:
try routing to the middle then turn the wood over and rout to the middle again overlapping the cut. Hope I've explained properly.

That makes sense, but unless I've got it wrong that means running a cut with the workpiece between the cutter and the fence - is that a no-no? Or do I just make up a temporary fence and clamp it on the other side of the cutter?
 
cumbrian, don't run the wood between the cutter and the fence, I think thats a climb cut. If its square section, rout left of cutter, first half. Looking from the top turn wood 180degs anticlockwise. Looking at the end turn wood 90degs anticlockwise. Rout left of cutter, second half. Hope this helps.
 
I have cut chamferss with the timber in a vice and cut using the router in hand. Stops are clampled to limit the cut.
I find there is more control over the router this way.
 
Shultzy":1eqqc1xr said:
If its square section, rout left of cutter, first half. Looking from the top turn wood 180degs anticlockwise. Looking at the end turn wood 90degs anticlockwise. Rout left of cutter, second half. Hope this helps.

Doh! ](*,) That'll teach me to try and do three dimensional geometry in my head in the evening after half a bottle of Rioja! Providing I get everything set up accurately, that'll work - it presents a different face to the cutter, but because it's a 45 deg chamfer, that's okay. Not only that. it should make it easier to set repeat stops up without having to fit some sort of outrigger to the table to cater for the full length of the spindle.

Thanks. Maybe I'll be allowed some time to try it out later.........
 
One thing you need to remember when routing stopped chamfers is that the ends of each side are not symmetrical. One side of the chamfer is swept out rather more than the other. This bothers some people. Like me.

So you could make a little jig which fits over the edge of the spindle, which presents chisel at 45 deg. You can then just trim the ends so that they look just like a trad one as both sides of the chamfer will be stopped in the same way.

Cheers
Steve
 
Continuing the stopped chamfer saga, here's a few pix of what's been going on:

Initial attempt across the router table, leaves waste to be removed and then cleaned up

chamfer1edvh4.jpg


Nice shiny new CMT cutter, same thing!

chamfer2edps3.jpg


Now rout halfway, turn the piece 180 and 90 and here's the result - which looks cleaner in reality than in the picture


chamfer3ediz8.jpg


And as both ends are now the start of a cut, they're symmetrical; job done! Now to get off the practice scraps and onto the real thing.


chamfer4edhz8.jpg



chamfer5edem0.jpg



Many thanks for all the help. Any and all further tips gratefully received!
 
I found that when cutting a chamfer in oak where I stopped moving the router at the end of the chamfer the oak was prone to burn, so I used this method in the pic to lift the router away from the work piece, this could work for your problem too.
509553746_0838e2ec9a.jpg


The yellow coloured wedge piece is clamped to your work piece where you want the chamfer to end.
 
cumbrian":3cpxqw7q said:

Cumbrian

Your photo shows very clearly what I was referring to. Look at the shadow at the end of the cut. The edge on the face facing you is a quadrant, whereas the face on the top is a straght line. That's what I meant about not being symmetrical.

And whilst LN's jig is an excellent idea for preventing burning, it doesn't address this issue of assymetry. ASAIK the only way to fix this is by hand with a chisel.

Cheers
Steve
 
Steve Maskery":1yb3313u said:
Your photo shows very clearly what I was referring to. Look at the shadow at the end of the cut. The edge on the face facing you is a quadrant, whereas the face on the top is a straght line. That's what I meant about not being symmetrical.

And whilst LN's jig is an excellent idea for preventing burning, it doesn't address this issue of assymetry. ASAIK the only way to fix this is by hand with a chisel.

Cheers
Steve

Aha - now I see what you mean about symmetry; I thought you were referring to the shapes of the two ends, rather than adjacent edges of the same end. On balance, as I'm making up lots of balusters to go into a holiday let, I think I'll live with that. I'll just have to hope we don't get too many guests who read this forum :oops:

Lord Nibbo - may I thank your lordship for the post. Looking at your drawing I think it's the same thing that Scrit was suggesting, which I now understand fully. Unless it wasn't what Scrit was suggesting, in which case I don't....... :? Again, given the numbers I need to churn out, I reckon I'll go with the rout halfway and turn,turn method, especially as I don't have burning problems with the pine. However, I have definitely acquired a couple of excellent tips for when I move on to doing something a bit more special - someday......
Thanks again.
 
I assume looking at the pictures that the timber is softwood, and looks resinous to me, So perhaps the wastes timber is clogging up the works?
 
devonwoody":1wumtofo said:
I assume looking at the pictures that the timber is softwood, and looks resinous to me, So perhaps the wastes timber is clogging up the works?

Definitely softwood, although not particularly resinous - I've been cutting up some of the old joists from the barn we're converting, the ones that weren't good enough for much else. Not exactly cost effective, but I didn't like the appearance of the wood on new stuff, plus it's given me lots of learning experience with the bandsaw, p/t, RAS and now the router. Oh, and I'm saving the planet as well, of course.........
 
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