Router or not?

[mjwincott]

Good eve to all,

I would like to give an edging to my wooden toys like you see on Holztiger toys like seen on the babipur website, especially the elephant, lion and even the tiny duck.

At first I was thinking a bench router would be the best option to do this but i have been told it would not do what i need it to do.

I currently have a belt sander and disc, a bobbin sander and a scrol saw.

The Holztiger animals almost look like a chiseled edge but obviously this would not be the case, I just have no idea on what tool would be able to give edges like this to very small and big wooden animals. Maybe a bench grinder?

Can anyone help ?

Many thanks,

Martin

 

[Jacob]

A hand cut edge - sharp knife and/or chisels? Plus mini sand-paper files etc

 

[sunnybob]

Give us a link to a specific toy so we can see exactly what you want.
I've just done a quick search and cant find any special edging on the toys.

 

[MattRoberts]

Do you mean like this?

It's not a routed edge as it's not uniform in width. It looks like it's done by hand, or perhaps with a strip sander

 

[LancsRick]

I'd say it's done on a belt or disc sander. He hasn't managed to get into the curve of the neck which implies a fixed machine rather than hand work where he could have followed that curve.

 

[ED65]

If that picture shows the general quality it's actually not very well done, but that's part of the charm I guess. Anyway, that makes it easily achievable with hand work!

You could do this with a spokeshave and chisels/gouges I suppose, but my vote would be to use a fine rasp or files. If you don't own any rasps or suitable files sticking some abrasive to a thin strip of wood (or dowel for inside curves) will give you a perfectly serviceable alternative. Because these work so well I've given up on wanting fine cabinet rasps from Corradi. If need be this can be scaled to work of any size, the larger you go though the more it argues for the spokeshave, or a block plane.

But if all you want is a simple chamfer, especially on pieces of uniform thickness, then yes you can absolutely do this on a router table and it would be dead quick, but a bit fiddly with small pieces and it's potentially dangerous so you should rig up a guard if the table doesn't have one fitted as standard, or use a parts holder. Here's one simple holding solution.

 

[thick_mike]

I’d agree with the above. A router would leave a chamfer of uniform profile, unlike the toys you wish to emulate. Routers can be very dangerous tools (especially when working on small pieces). If you were looking for a power tool to do this, I would recommend a narrow belt sander. It should be easier to get into the curves with a narrow belt.

For example...

https://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-h ... der-501255

 

[Eric The Viking]

A few years back we had a forum group buy of Liogier hand-stitched rasps.
I bought two, a half round and a rat's tail. IIRC the half round has "12" spacing of the teeth, possibly "13." It works very nicely in most hardwoods, especially Beech (good for toys, as it's naturally antibacterial, apparently), Mahogany-type woods, and AWO/ARO.

They are kept "for best" as the finish they leave is superb. They would be ideally suited for this task. You would probably be surprised how good the finish is and how little sanding (if any at all) is needed afterwards.

They are not cheap tools, but the quality shines through, and they have the huge advantage over power tools that it is hard to make a mistake so bad that you write off the workpiece. In contrast, one slip with a belt or big disc sander could ruin something you have spent time on.

Cheap rasps leave lines. Good, hand-stitched ones leave controlled smoothness. I am extremely glad I have mine, and when they eventually wear out I shall replace them. Liogier used to sell direct, but there is probably a UK importer too.


E.

PS: all this applies unless you are doing production batches, in which case the approach would be quite different. Then I'd try to design handwork out as much as possible, but that's a quite different set of issues.

PPS: I have learned the hard way that you must clean a rasp immediately after use, especially if cutting oak, because of the tannin (acid) in the wood. I use a brass-bristled suede brush, and if that doesn't work, a steel wire hand brush. A file card might also work, but those "bristles" are thicker and so might damage the rasp - care needed. Rasps and files are edge tools, after all...