I love my router but...

[Ironballs]

Is it just me, or is setting up the router all out of proportion timewise to the amount time you actually spend routing. Particularly with the router table like tonight, spent best part of 2 hours in the garage and around two thirds of the time taken was setting the bleeder up.

Though 2 of those minutes were spent retreiving a test piece from the wood pile after it got propelled off the table when I got forgot two basic laws - one regarding safety (thank heavens for push sticks) and the other regarding simple physics

Still, I do now some beautifully routed channels in my rails

 

[jimi43]

Horses for courses mate.

The router is an extremely versatile tool with a good fence (or not) a few jigs and some quality bits.

There are some things that a router can do that nothing else can do so well...but there is always a hand equivalent.

Have fun with it.

Jim

 

[Chems]

I found this with my first table, but with bit change above the table that saves a lot of time.

Do you think it would have been quicker with a dado blade in the table saw? As thats always one of my considerations, if I had a dado set would it take me ages to set it up vs the router table?

 

[stuartpaul]

I will quite often spend longer setting up than it takes to do the actual cut but I think that's just a function of machinery based woodworking. There's also the issue of tolerances but I won't go into that here as it's been done recently.

Do you have any tools were you can just turn on and do it without any form of setting up, test cut, adjust, retest, etc?

Whilst it can be a bit of a pain it's just woodworking isn't it?

 

[chingerspy]

I too love my routers but I don't use them hardly enough. This is mainly to do with your point of setup time. Plus the fact that I almost always get the setup wrong

I would love to see how much longer it would take to use a handplane to route a channel or ogee an edge.

I saw Alf's Youtube vids the other day, it was by complete accident that I stumbled on them. It opened my eyes to how it used to be done with handplanes and I was gobsmacked at the results. I suppose I shouldn't have been as you only need to look at older furniture to see the results but even still I was impressed at how easy she made it look!

Well done Alf, I'd love to see more of these videos although I guess there is a reason or two why you didn't make more. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for the three I did see though

 

[OLD]

I have the Axminster router lift in a Norm clone table.It makes it all very easy and quick with the router table, quite expensive but saves lots of temper recommended.

 

[woodbloke]

Is it just me, or is setting up the router all out of proportion timewise to the amount time you actually spend routing. Particularly with the router table like tonight, spent best part of 2 hours in the garage and around two thirds of the time taken was setting the bleeder up.

Though 2 of those minutes were spent retreiving a test piece from the wood pile after it got propelled off the table when I got forgot two basic laws - one regarding safety (thank heavens for push sticks) and the other regarding simple physics

Depends what you're doing I 'spose. For a small run of stuff you're probably correct, but it pays dividends for bigger or more pieces.

I forgot once which way to pass the wood as well ...only once mind :wink: 8-[
Edit: have a look at a recent Blog entry for better ideas on push sticks and blocks - Rob

 

[yetloh]

All too often our first instinct is to try to find a way of getting a machine to do a job when, in terms of overall time it would be quicker to do the job by hand. In a recent period of workshop upheaval when machine use became more difficult, the need to work more by hand has reminded me that it can be quicker. it helps to hone hand skills and is so much more enjoyable, not least because of the absence of all that noise and dust. And isn't enjoyment the main reason for doing it for those of us who don't do woodwork for a living?

Jim

 

[chingerspy]

I agree Yetloh, I find I get more enjoyment from using hand tools right at the moment. I'm not sratching my head setting up too much before the task as I know I can correct a cut on the way to the end. I find with a power tool it's setup for a while and then a race to the end (at least for me) like cooking chinese food

Until I can get some proper dust extraction I am going to be concentrating more on hand tools. I'm fed up hooving and wiping everything after using the circular saw or the router for example. I want to save up for a decent vacuum hoover style one though, maybe even a festool after seeing my mates one.

I had a great time practicing last night just sawing joints for no other reason than to get better at it. Sad I know but my sawing skills are improving no end, even my dovetails are nearly fitting together properly

I'm having trouble finding bargain old Stanley or Record no. 5 or 51/2 and no.6 planes. Although fingers crossed I will be getting a phone call this evening/tomorrow with some good news.

 

[bugbear]

Is it just me, or is setting up the router all out of proportion timewise to the amount time you actually spend routing.

You REALLY wouldn't like model engineering ;-)

BugBear

 

[Ironballs]

Jim you're right that on some occasions it's easier to use a handtool, but not always. The jobs I was doing involved tablesawing the tenons on 48 little spindles (each end as well), that was pretty dull, then I cleaned up the surfaces with a smoother and last night I was putting a trench into rails.

Perhaps it's the particular project, but sometimes there are dull jobs you have to get done before getting back to the good stuff. I'll have to get round to posting it up in projects so I can share the pleasure and pain

 

[mailee]

Got to agree with Woodbloke, lot of setting up for single run but invaluble for multiple runs of things. I wouldn't be without all of mine. IMHO the router is the best thing ever invented for woodworking. Saves so much time and effort in the long run. Greatest thing since sliced bread. :wink:

 

[Sawdust]

OK, I'm curious..

2 hours in the workshop 2/3 spent setting it up. By my maths, that's 80 minutes spent 'setting up'. I have a Triton in my table and reckon I could take it out, strip it down, clean it, fit new brushes and refit it in an hour so I'd love to know what you were setting it up for??

Maybe I'm being thick but I use mine a lot and can't ever remember spending more than ten mins setting it up for anything.

Very, very puzzled of East Yorkshire.

Cheers
Mike

 

[jimi43]

Exactly Mike...VERY curious...mind you....they 'ad it 'ard...there were 13 of them in septic tank in middle-a-road....

Until I can get some proper dust extraction I am going to be concentrating more on hand tools.

I have never made so much mess than now using handplanes...the bloody shavings are EVERYWHERE...and they get caught on yer pullie and socks.... :wink:

Mind you...I ain't started up the P/T in anger yet so that view may change drastically!



Jim

 

[devonwoody]

The Triton big one is the way to go, mine is 7 years old and I had left it in the table over winter this year for 4 months, couldnt wind it up last week, it was painful on the wrist, so got out the WD40 sprayed each column and it was like spreading soft butter after that.

 

[Digit]

If the grooves are open ended I normally cut them on the TS. Much quicker.

Roy.