Plunge Routers

Dovetail Joinery

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:32:21 +0000

When you look at dovetail joints in a woodworking project you immediately think quality. The joint is tight, it looks fantastic. Getting the hang of cutting dovetails used to be the sign of a master craftsman. Now cutting dovetails has become easier with great new jigs and the help of plunge routers.

Jigs

Using a dovetail jig and a plunge router greatly increases your accuracy of producing a tight dovetail joint. Each jig has their own set of instructions and all the details and steps have been thought out. This takes the hassle out of trying to figure out how it works verses enjoying the process. Usually most jigs allow you to cut the pins and the tails separately using a pre-spaced template. There are many dovetail jigs available on the market today. Even if you just “Google” the term “dovetail joinery jigs” you will come up with a host of products. Price usually varies greatly, so does simplicity of use. You can find some jigs that literally take hours to learn how to use. One of the best ways I have found to evaluate woodworking jigs is to go to a woodworking show and watch the demonstrations. You can see how the jigs operate and watch how long it takes to set up the jig. When there is a slow spot in the demonstration, you can ask questions until you figure out if the product is right for you.

Hand cutting

Hand cutting dovetails is a lost art. Hardcore woodworkers will swear by its ability to cut dovetails with very low cost. All you usually need is a quality handsaw and a pencil. This takes some time to master and finding someone who knows how to do it well would be the very best way to learn.

Types

It is also to point out that there are several different types of dovetails. Cutting each type involves a different technique. There are

Through dovetails, half-blind dovetails, full blind dovetails and sliding dovetails. Each has their own specialty.

Through dovetails are common in case construction such as cabinets and boxes. They are rarely concealed and are designed to be showed off. Ask any quality furniture salesman about the dovetail joint and they will immediately know what you’re talking about.

Half-Blind dovetails are commonly used in drawer construction and are designed so that you do not see the end grain. They still provide a great amount of strength as well as quality.

Full Blind dovetails are used where strength is required but without a visible joint. Fine cabinet or box work sometimes uses this method.

Sliding dovetails are used to join two boards at right angles. These can give a lot of strength as well as glue area. They can be used for cabinet shelves, cabinet sides, drawer fronts to sides and partitions. They also can be used for drawer slides instead of using mechanical drawer slide kits that you purchase at home improvement stores.

As you can see, learning to make this joint can give you many applications in the workshop. The time spent learning this technique can pay off by increasing the quality of your work.

Ken Schulte is a contributing editor to http://www.routertabledepot.com as well as a coach for small business specializing in manufacturing.

Industrial Router Bits For Heavy-Duty Woodworking

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:34:18 +0000

Furnishings or other woodworking performed in a factory often requires industrial router bits to add design and stability to the products being created. Even if you craft wood items in your own home, you may want to consider industrial router bits if you frequently work on larger products or have a shop outside your home especially for woodworking.

Woodworking is both a hobby for some and a way to make money for others. Industrial router bits allow you to do all kinds of things, from creating strong joints for bookcases, shelves and cabinets to creating grooves and making decorative edges. You can start with a basic piece of wood, and end up with a cabinet, bookshelf, door or piece of furniture that is exquisite in detail.

Here are a few tips before you begin using these wonderful tools that will make things simpler – especially if this is your first project.

1. Make sure to use a sharp bit, as one that is dull can easily damage your wood.

2. Practice makes perfect! Before you begin your actual woodworking project, try your router bits out on a scrap piece of wood so that you can determine the best speed for you and how to move through the wood without burning it or causing your router to overheat.

3. Listen to the sound of your router as you practice. You can tell a lot about whether you are moving at an efficient speed that is neither too slow nor too fast by simply listening for a whirring or dragging sound.

Once you use the tips above, you will quickly get the knack for using your industrial router bits.

It’s important to be familiar with the tools and attachments you plan to use, so that you can insert them correctly and adjust the cutting depth. Inserting them correctly is crucial; without a tight connection, a bit could fly off and injure you if the router is operating at a high rate of speed. Whether you are a hobbyist just starting out in woodworking, or you build furniture or other wood goods for a living, industrial router bits will come in handy for creating unique, beautiful pieces.

Find all of the best industrial router bits and other tools you need for professional results! Katherine Renison invites you to visit http://www.cncsupplystore.com for exceptional woodworking tools at exceptional prices.

Find Out Which Wood Router is Best For You Before You Buy

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:35:04 +0000

The wood router is essential among woodworking tools because it adds decorative detail that enhances and defines the final appearance of your woodworking project. Used correctly, this tool is to the woodworker what a fine paintbrush is to an artist. It’s all in the details. The router is a versatile woodworking tool that can be used for a variety of tasks including rabbeting and making dado grooves.

There are four, basic types of wood routers on the market today: laminate trimmers, lightweight or low-powered routers in the 7/8 to 1 1/2 HP range, medium-powered routers in the one and three-quarters to two and one-quarter HP range and high-powered routers in the 3-4 HP range. Each has its use and I have owned all of them at the same time. The laminate trimmers do what their name implies as well as other light-weight tasks such as making hinge mortises. They are only suitable for small router bits but they are easily maneuverable and fit nicely right in your palm.

If you need more horsepower but still like the ease of a lightweight router, the 7/8 to 1/12 HP routers will do a fine job of spinning router bits up to a half-inch radius round-over bits. Every shop should have one of these handy for bench-top work. They are a bit small for router table use. Two and one-quarter HP woodworking routers have sufficient power to spin large router bits through hardwood and yet they are still light enough to be manageable as bench-top wood routers. While any wood router over 2 HP can be used in a router table, I prefer the high powered ones for that application because there is no need to worry about how heavy they are and you might as well have as much power handy as you might need. Most, but not all, of these larger routers are plunge routers. The high horsepower is necessary to plunge large bits deep into hardwood to make mortises and the like.

If I could only afford one wood router, it would be the two and one-quarter HP variety because it is light enough for most bench-top work and can also be used in a router table. If I could afford two routers, I would probably have a 7/8 to 1½ HP machine for bench-top work and a 3½ HP wood router under my router table. I don’t like mounting and dismounting routers under my router table, so having a lighter wood router on hand near the bench at all times really speeds things up.

I’d like to make a few observations about routers. First, I suggest you consider using only high-quality carbide-tipped router bits in these woodworking tools whenever possible. They can be re-sharpened many times and they usually don’t burn up and load up if they are kept sharp. High-speed steel bits don’t last long, they are not worth sharpening and they dull quickly, burning your work piece as they soon load up and turn black from burning. Sometimes, however, the bit profile you need may only be available in a high speed steel bit: This is the exception rather than the rule.

Second, as hand-held power woodworking tools, heavy and/or top-heavy routers are hard to manage. Not only will you be struggling with them all day, they tend to tip easily which can often ruin a cut or leave an incomplete cut. If a smaller, low-profile wood router could have spun that bit, then that is the tool you should have been using. On the other hand, an under-powered wood router will not do a good job and may not even be safe. Also, be sure to check the weight of any wood router you may be considering, if it is to be hand-held. Heavy woodworking tools are tiring and clumsy to use all day long. A pound or two less can make a big difference.

Third, consider how you will be hanging onto the wood router while it is cutting. Are the handles comfortable enough for continuous use? Do the shape and material of the handles allow you to control the wood router properly? Some of these woodworking tools are also available with “D” handles (at extra cost) which may give you better control and feel. One wood router from Milwaukee even offers a padded grip around the exterior of the router base. One hand goes on the rubber grip while the other goes on a conventional knob.

Fourth, if your wood router is in the 2 1/4 HP range, you will want it to have a variable speed feature, especially if you are planning on using large bits like raised panel bits. You will need to run these large bits a bit slower. They will stay cooler and cut better at a lower speed. On the other hand, you will get smoother cuts with small bits of you keep the speed high. No matter what RPM you choose, you will want your wood router to be able to maintain that speed at all times, no matter how hard you push it. Electronic speed control allows your wood router to compensate for heavy loads by automatically adding a sufficient amount of extra power to keep your wood router spinning at the same speed it was before the cut began.

Fifth, (and this is a safety consideration) try to buy a wood router that has “soft” start-up. This would not be a needed feature in stationary woodworking tools but is an important safety device in a hand-held wood router. Historically, routers have had only one speed (high) and when you turn them on, they spin up quickly. The gyroscopic force of that can flip a spinning wood router right out of your hands. A soft start-up power tool gradually increases its speed from zero to full, thus eliminating almost all of the gyroscopic effect.

Sixth, if you are going to be changing bits all the time, consider what steps you will have to go through to accomplish that task. Some routers have a shaft lock button so you only need one hand to hold down the button and one wrench to turn the collet nut. I’m kind of used to the two-wrench variety. I usually take the router motor completely out of its base, lay it on its side on the table, putting one wrench on the flat part of the shaft and the other wrench on the collet nut. If I am loosening the collet nut, I will first lower the shaft wrench to the table top and then push down towards the bench with the wrench that’s on the collet nut. If I am tightening the collet nut, I will put the collet nut wrench down to the table top and then push down against that with the shaft wrench on the flat part of the shaft.

If you’ve used routers at all, you must have noticed that when you are loosening a collet nut, you will feel resistance at the start of the turn of the wrench and then it will turn freely for a while before resisting the wrench one more time. The first resistance comes from loosening the nut itself. The nut then unscrews a bit down the thread and then it begins to push against the collet, releasing it from the shaft of the router bit. When you are tightening a bit into a wood router, you will feel resistance only once as you squeeze the collet around the shaft of the bit while turning the nut as far as it will go.

Some people like to change router bits with the wood router upside down on the table with the two wrenches sticking out to the side. In this case, the technique is to arrange the wrenches so that you can squeeze their handles together with one hand to loosen, or tighten, the collet nut. For these people, some manufacturers make routers with flat tops. If find this way to be a bit clumsier than laying the wood router down on the bench: There is less leverage in case of a stuck bit.

Seventh, router bits come in three shank sizes, one-quarter inch, three-eighths inch and one-half inch. The half-inch shank bits are only slightly more expensive than the quarter-inch ones and yet, they give you a distinct advantage. With a larger diameter shank and a larger diameter collet, there is much less chance of slippage under heavy loads. Consider buying only half-inch shank bits, especially if you are spinning large cutters.

Eighth, some routers offer “above router table” height adjustment capability. This is usually accomplished by sticking a hex T-wrench into a hole provided. It’s hard to adjust the height of a wood router accurately from underneath a router table while on your knees, fighting gravity. An even more elegant solution is to purchase a router lift for your router table.

Ninth, there are three types of wood router bases: conventional, spiral and plunge. In a conventional fixed base, the router motor just slides straight up and down in the base and is clamped into position. The spiral-type base has an adjustment ring that turns in a spiral groove cut into the outside of the router motor casing, thus raising or lowering the router motor relative to the base. A plunge router base clamps onto the router motor and then pushes the wood router and router bit down unto the work piece from above. Some routers are offered in kits containing two or more types of bases so that you only need to buy one router motor for a variety of uses.

Tenth, some of these woodworking tools gauge and control their fine depth-of-cut with a spiral ring while others utilize a geared shaft attached to a calibration knob. All routers have a means of making gross height adjustments by releasing the lever or cam that locks the router motor into the base. Once adjusted to a position close to the final position, the fine depth-of-cut adjustments can be made in increments as small as 1/64 of an inch and, in the case of one router reviewed here, 1/128 of an inch.

Eleventh, consider that motor amperage is usually a better indicator of motor power in woodworking tools than stated horsepower. All 2 1/4 HP routers claim to develop two and one-quarter HP but their amperage (electrical power used) varies from 11 to 13 amps.

Twelfth, and finally, there are some less important (to me) but nice features available on some, but not all, of these woodworking tools including: the availability of a 3/8″ collet, an automatic motor power lock-off during bit-changing, a carrying case, a clear plastic sub-base for better viewing, a detachable cord set, a dust proof switch, a switch that can be located left or right for the comfort and convenience of the operator, oval, rubber-molded handles, self-releasing collets and a way to fine adjust the sub-base so that it is exactly centered around the bit shaft.

The ability to center the sub-base means nothing if you are only using ball bearing router buts but if you are using router guides mounted around the bit shaft, it is vitally important that the bit shaft be centered within the guide. If your bit is not perfectly centered when using template guides, your cut will move from side to side as you turn the router around while cutting. Since the guide is mounted to the sub-base, the hole on the center of the sub-base must be concentric with the router bit shaft.

I love wood, especially fine hardwoods. I love woodworking which is the art of turning beautiful wood into useful or decorative objects. I love woodworking tools which enable me to do my woodworking accurately and efficiently. I have been a professional woodworker since 1981 when I established Craftsman Woodworking, LTD in Honolulu, Hawaii. My 7 employees and medium-sized shop produced unique furniture designs, mostly out of Hawaiian Koa wood. During the time that I have been involved in woodworking, I have learned a great deal about the craft, often benefiting from my own mistakes. I have used a wide variety of hand, power and stationary woodworking tools and I’d like to share what I have learned about these woodworking tools, hopefully to the benefit of other woodworkers like myself.

Bob Gillespie
Woodworker

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A Beginner’s Guide to Blogging – Part One

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:36:17 +0000

Are you curious about blogging? Do you feel it’s time you took the plunge and started a blog of your own? Here’s a straightforward beginner’s guide to the world of blogging.

What is a blog?

At a basic level, blogs are websites in which individuals can write about themselves, their thoughts, feelings, and concerns about any subject that interests them. For example, a horse rider might have a blog about horse riding, and the contents of that blog would be all about how she learnt to ride, what equipment she uses, what her thoughts are about various aspects of riding, competing, or just enjoying her life with horses. Someone else might have a blog about traveling, and he might post updates on the new places he’s seen, what he has experienced there, and what advice he offers fellow travelers. As you can imagine there is no limit to the types of blogs and thousands more are started each week.

The Basic Components of a blog

Regardless of the design of a blog, most will contain the following elements:

Posts – these are the updates added to the blog by the author or any contributor. They can be a few lines or a whole article of several hundred words.
Comments – these are the responses and reactions from the blog readers to posts by the author
Plug-ins – optional extras that a blog owner can add in order to add to the features on the blog. These might be a plug-in which allows the author to display pictures or adverts in the sidebar of the blog, or it might be something that increases the likelihood of the blog being found by search engines. There are thousands of plug-ins available and more are being devised all the time.
Widgets – like plug-ins, widgets enhance the display or add to the functions on the site. For example, you might want to use the calendar widget so that a calendar appears in the margin of your blog and the days on that calendar are hyperlinked to the posts (updates) you added on that particular day.
Blogroll – a list of links to other blogs that the author recommends
Theme – each blog design is known as a theme. There are many hundreds freely available and there are commercially produced themes which anyone can buy. Some bloggers even go as far as having a theme tailor made to their specifications.

How do I get started?

If you are familiar with using the Internet and sending email then getting started in blogging should be very easy for you. You don’t need to know how to build a web site and you won’t need to learn any new skills. All you need to do is register for a free blog at one of the many sites that offer this service. For example, there’s Wordpress, Blogger, or Technorati. Once you’ve registered at one of these sites you can start one or several blogs. As a beginner you’ll probably want to start just the one for now so that you can learn the basics and get used to the various areas. Make good use of the FAQ pages and User Guides on any of these sites. They are generally clear and easy to understand and are there to help you.

Your First Blog

So you’ve registered and created your first blog – now what? Well, this is the fun part, or the difficult part depending on your point of view. The important thing is to adopt the habit of posting as frequently as possible. Add fresh content to your blog as often as you possibly can. This will probably be easy at first, especially if you have started a blog about your favourite pastime or hobby. You’ll be enthusiastic and you’ll have plenty to say so by all means add plenty of posts, but keep something back so that you can keep up the momentum of posting as the weeks pass by.

In my next article I will describe how to enhance the look and feel of your blog, how to interact with other bloggers, and how to make your blog more attractive to search engines so that people will find it. After all, you’ve decided to express yourself so you will need to know how to attract some blog readers!

Ben runs My Footwear; a blog site listing the best in men and women’s footwear, designer shoes and boots, socks, tights, hosiery, stockings, belts and other accessories. Frequently updated with the latest offers from a variety of UK footwear and hosiery retailers.

Ben also runs Voucher-Discounts; a blog site which provides you with the latest discount voucher codes, bargains, and special offers freely available to all on-line shoppers.

Online Dating Websites – How to Earn Cash Using Affiliate Links and Banners

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:22:09 +0000

Internet dating is one of the web’s biggest success stories. Few other businesses have succeeded to the levels and scale that online dating has done in the last ten years and the trend is set to continue for some time yet. You too can benefit from this love boom with some freely available and easy to install links which you can add to your own website or blog. This short guide describes the various ways in which you can become a dating site affiliate.

If you visit any of the more well known dating sites and look at the links at the foot of the home page you’ll probably see a link that says ‘Affiliates’ or ‘Partners’. Click on this and you’ll be lead to a page that describes the company’s affiliate program. These are free to join and will either be run by the company themselves or run by an Affiliate Network like Commission Junction or Affiliate Window. If so then you’ll need to register to use that network and then apply to be an affiliate of your chosen dating site company. This may all sound a bit tedious but the advantage of it is that there may be other dating sites in the network that you could join so registering with one affiliate network could open other doors for you.

If the site doesn’t have an affiliate network looking after its program then you’ll be able to register to be an affiliate there and then on the company’s own pages. After filling out the registration form and confirming your email address you will have become an affiliate and you’ll be able to log in to your account to view the banners and text links available for use. Spend some time becoming familiar with your account and what all the various links reveal. You’ll soon get used to the tools and they will be similar to other accounts even if the page layout is different.

Once you’ve signed up, opened your account and familiarized yourself with the text links and banners available then you’re ready to start making use of these in the following ways: email signatures, forum signatures, websites, and blogs. If you’re new to this ten start by adding text links and banners. You should be able to just copy and paste the relevant HTML code so no technical knowledge will be required. For example, if you have a Wordpress blog you can copy and paste this code to a text box in your Widgets section under the Appearance menu.

Some of the affiliate tools are quite sophisticated and include geo targeting mechanisms that display appropriate content according to the geographic location of the visitor to your site. If you do have a little technical ability it can be fun experimenting with these and by adding things like Flash videos which show a short piece of film. However, it all depends on the context and the audience to which you intend to display these advertisements. Use enough affiliate material to make it interesting but don’t spoil your site design with too much garish and animated advertising.

You can do what you like with websites and blogs but a word of caution about forum signatures; some moderators frown upon excessive use of signatures in forums so stick to small, discrete text links and save the banners for your own sites. Similarly, email signatures should contain enough to contain the message but not so much they irritate recipients who might see it in every email you send. Text links and small banners are probably best there.

In the weeks and months to come your work will bear fruit and people will click on your carefully placed links and banners and register as new members of the dating site you’ve advertised. These leads could be enough to earn you some commission but you’ll almost certainly receive a credit if they upgrade their memberships. Over time these commissions will mount up and you’ll receive your first affiliate commission payment in the form of a cheque or direct transfer into your PayPal account. It can be a very pleasant surprise to receive this payment as you may not be expecting if you haven’t been checking your statistics on a regular basis.

Websites are not the only place in which you can advertise sites. To a greater or lesser degree everyone has a network of friends, family, a business or work colleagues. We communicate with these people in all sorts of ways every day of the week. Many of the people in our networks may already be using an online dating site while others may be thinking about it but have not yet plucked up the courage to give it a try. You could be the catalyst that helps these hesitant people to take the plunge by endorsing a dating site using your links or even by writing a review containing links on your blog. It can be fun to play Cupid and firing off these arrows of desire into the hearts of single people in your network, and, with some discrete advertising, it can be financially rewarding.

Ben Lovegrove has provided more information about becoming a dating site affiliate on this website, which contains direct links to many of the dating affiliate sites available today. Visit his site to learn more about this lucrative home based business.

Router Raizer RZ100 Precise Router for Depth Adjustment