I’ll be cutting slots into a drawer face using my router table. The bit will be burried in the wood as I slide the drawer face across top of the router table and the bit.
Basically I’m confused about whether or not an upcut or downcut spiral bit is appropriate for this function. People seem to have differing opinions and I’m not sure which one ejects chips/dust better from underneath the piece.
Is there a better bit?
The slots are 1/8″ and 3/8″ wide respectively. The depth of cut will be about 1/2″.
Replies
The chip is gonna stick in the slot no matter what the spiral design is. Take it in stages to minimize the clog. And if you waste the 3/8" slot with a cutter<3/8 there will be next to no clog whence you do the finish cut. The 1/8" slot will be problematic, start to finish, unless you can attack with a (3 wing) slotter.
Would use a down cut, however for less surface tearout, something you're bound to encounter.
Routs
Edited 9/30/2009 9:36 pm ET by Routerman
I use a straight bit, 1/8 and 3/8". I have never used an up or down cut bit,can't comment except to say the straight bit works for me.
mike
Up and down are relative to the working end of the cutter. An up spiral lifts the chips away from the cutter in the wood and clears them out of the cut, at least in theory.
A down spiral tries to push the chips to the bottom of the cut. Since the slot doesn't offer an escape route for the chips, they will be left behind in the groove that you are cutting. As the chips pack in behind the bit they will cause friction which leads to heat build up and the bit cutting slowly with a heavier load on the router. To minimize the problem you will need to take progressively deeper cuts cleaning out the chips by hand between cuts. The only advantage to using a down spiral bit is that it doesn't cause tear out of the surface grain along the edges of the cut. Tear out is most likely to occur with thin veneers on plywood and when cutting across the grain.
A couple of examples: If you are doing lengthwise grooves in solid wood, such as for drawer bottoms, you would use an up spiral. If you are making decorative, across the grain, grooves in the veneered front face of a drawer you would be better off using a down spiral.
My first choice for doing grooves, when possible, is to use a dado set on a table saw, the cut is faster with fewer potential problems, although tear out is likely with across the grain cuts. The better quality dado sets generally cut across the grain with less tear out.
The 1/8" grooves, 1/2" deep, are definitely going to be challenging with a router bit, do test cuts on scrap before trying this on good wood. Among other things the thin bits snap of very easily in deep cuts.
Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007
An ordinary straight bit will do the job just fine. A dado on a table saw is faster and can handle deeper cuts in one pass, if it's not a stop cut. 1/8" router bits are a little fragile, you have to go easy.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
John White has the right idea with this; use a dado blade for the 3/8 inch slot. For the 1/8 inch slot, why not just use a sawblade?
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
It's not a through cut. All of the slots will stop before they reach the edge of the drawer face.
Thanks for all of your help. Looks like a straight bit, nice and easy, will do the trick.
Just a thought. What is the purpose of these slots? If they are decorative, then my question is why 1/2". You would get virtually the same visual effect with much shallower cuts that would be dramatically easier to cut.
The drawer sides and bottom will fit into the slots.
Bear in mind that I am reproducing a broken drawer front. The style, fit, design, etc. is already in place. This is easier than making a whole new drawer.
Thanks for the comments. I'll be using straight bits.
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