Official Luthiers Forum!

After reading Hesh's post on climb cuts led me to wonder on another routing cut question.

When I try to rout my headstock I use a template cut router bit with either my handheld router or a table router and the same proble always occurs....TEAR OUT i take it very slow and most of the times I just finish by it hand which is a little too tedious and time consuming for me!! (specially with 4 little children at home that want some of my time too!)

I've seen many people routing hardwoods with no problems, and John Mayes also uses the same technique with no problems.....(i think)
maybe I am using the wrong bit or is there a better way to do this job?

Any help would be EXTREMELLY apreciated.
TIA

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I use a spiral downcut bit with no problems.

Think about where the chip out is occuring and then change the order of your cuts.

Here is an example. I have a fingerboard routing templates that size my boards perfectly. However I ***KNOW*** that I need to route the body end of the board first because it always takes a little hunk out of the edge as I come off the board. Then I route the two long tapered edges. That way it ends up perfectly clean. The area with the chip out gets removed.

Another thing you can do is cut the stock VERY close to the template. That also helps with chip out. It isn't fool proof, but it works pretty well.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Peter, what size is your router? When I upgraded to a 1/2" spindle machine a few years ago, I discovered that most of my routing chipout problems disappeared.

Robosander/cutting very close to final works, and couple that with a solid, high-power router (like Barry says) and move the bit at the right rate (not too fast, not too slow), and chipout decreases.

I think using the Robo-sander is a great idea!
Thanks for the input, I'll try that nest time....

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

take as little cuts as possible, and pay attention not to run too much into
the grain with runout. I use a shear cut pattern bit.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

On operations like this what speeds (RPM) so you find best, high speed or slower?

it all depends on the wood and the feed rate. Faster speed means you
can move faster, but I prefer slower speeds and slower feed rate.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

John, a shear cut pattern bit? But those don't cut straight do they? I thought a shear cut pattern bit would cut at an angle... Now you really got me confused!
Can you let me know how your bits look like?

Thanks

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I *think* shear cutters are essentially like spiral cutters; the blade doesn't intersect the wood at a right angle.

Me, I like fairly high speeds on small bits, and keep things moving. Less tearout that way. As long as you keep things moving.