Replies

1. 
   Pondfish | Nov 16, 2004 02:41am | #1

   Score the cut line with a knife first.  A cut of even 1/64" deep will make a difference.

   Also, make sure your router bit is clean and sharp.  Don't feed too fast!

2. 
   Andrew | Nov 16, 2004 03:46am | #2

   use a backer board

1. 
   macalex | Nov 16, 2004 12:22pm | #3

   Cut away from the grain (if that makes sense). When I rebate (rabbet in North America?) difficult timber or a face side, I try to orient the wood so that the router cutter is parallel to the face, not at right angles.

   New Zealand | New Thinking

3. 
   joinerswork | Nov 16, 2004 05:07pm | #4

   All good suggestions so far, I'll add another.  Try a light cut first, then go to the full depth.  Two passes takes longer, but less time than cleaning up chip out.

   Cheers,

   Ray

4. 
   douglas2cats | Nov 16, 2004 05:29pm | #5

   OK - I'll throw my $0.02 worth in. I've got a couple ideas.

   If you're going to go completely with router cutting, put some blue painters tape over the cutline. At least that way if you do still get tearout after trying the other suggestions, you'll have the slivers trapped. You can then put a drop of glue on them and glue them back into place and probably never be able to tell it was repaired.

   My preference though would be to first use a sharp 80 tooth blade on the table saw set to the exact depth of your rabbet bit to crosscut. Then when you switch to routering with the rabbet bit, set your router fence so the bit doesn't cut beyond the middle of the saw kerf. Thay way your bit will never be in contact with the face grain.

5. 
   Dave45 | Nov 17, 2004 03:58am | #6

   I use Rosewood quite a bit on some stereo casework I do for a regular customer. 

   Rosewood tends to be pretty brittle and will chip almost as badly as birch.  What I've found to work best is to use a carbide cutter and make multiple passes taking a small amount with each pass.  On my final pass, I'm only taking .001" - .002".  This has eliminated most of the chipout but I still plan for some waste.