DIY Help Guide - Trend Straight Router Cutters

Trend provide the market leading range of Router Cutters and Woodworking Tools, and we believe are the best choice in the business.  However for the DIYer the choice can seem a little overwhelming.  Here we have set out a helpful basic guide to the simple Straight Router Cutter.

Straight cutters are generally used for trimming and cutting straight edges, cutting straight rebates, slots and grooves. For these operations the router is guided by the side fence or used against a batten edge. Using a template or guidebush, they can also be used for similar operations on regular or irregular curved work.They are also valuable for producing a range of joints.

Feed Direction

When using the router, the direction that the cutter is fed into the wood must always be against the rotation of the cutter. This also ensures that the cutting action pulls the side fence or guide bearing into the wood rather than allowing it to wander away.  

A 1/4” (6.35mm) cutter can be plunged in centrally away from the board edge. The larger 1/2” (12.7mm) cutter must enter from the edge of the board. 

Geometry

Trend Router Cutters have tungsten carbide tips brazed onto a steel body and are designed to cut natural timbers, plywood, MDF and chipboard. The clearance and cutting angles have been designed to leave a perfect finish. Cutters over 15.9mm diameter have been made to conform to the European EN847-1/2 safety standard.

Feed Speed

The optimum speed at which the cutter is fed into the wood must not be too fast that the motor slows down or too slow that the cutter leaves burn marks on the face of the wood. Practice judging the speed by listening to the sound of the motor.

Tongue and groove joints

Use a straight cutter to rout a squaretongue on the edge of a board. Cut a matching groove down the centre of the other component, using a wooden strip clamped to both sides to provide a wideflush surface to support the base of the router.

Rebated and grooved joints

Lap joints, barefaced housings andhalving joints are all variations on a basic theme. By clamping several components together flat on a bench you can cut anyone of these joints using a straight cutter in a router run against a guide batten.

Helpful tips

Always resist the temptation to rout grooves and joints in one pass of the router, so take several shallow cuts. This will ensure a better finish is obtained and it will reduce the load on the router.  Mounting a waste piece at the end of the components clamped ready for machining, will ensure the end panel does not split out as the cut is carried through into the waste piece.

Please contact one of our door handle specialists if you have any questions on the Trend range routing and woodworking tools.

TEL - 01228 516516

WEB - morehandles.co.uk

EMAIL - sales@morehandles.co.uk