Craftsman 315.268350 Operator's Manual download pdf (Page 14)

PROPER FEEDING

The rightfeed is neither too fast nor too slow. It is the rate

at which the bit is being advanced firmly and surely to

produce a continuous spiral of uniform chips -- without

hogging into the wood to make large individualchips or, on

the other hand, to create only sawdust. If you are making a

small diameter, shallow groove in soft, dry wood, the

proper feed may be about as fast as you can travel your

router along your guide line. On the other hand, if the bit is

a large one, the cut is deep or the wood is hard to cut, the

proper feed may be a very slow one. Then, again, a

cross-grain cut may require a slower pace than an identi-

cal with grain cut in the same workpiece.

There is no fixed rule. You will learn by experience from

practice and use. The best rate of feed is determined by

listening to the sound of the router motor and by feeling

the progress of each cut. If at all possible, always test a

cut on a scrap piece of the workpiece wood, beforehand.

SPEED SELECTION

In general, if the material being cut is hard, the cutter size

is large, or the depth of cut is deep, then your router

should be run at slower speeds. When these situations

exist, turn the variable speed control selector until the

desired speed is reached. NOTE: Carbide cutters cut at

higher speeds than steel cutters and should be used when

cutting very hard materials.

FORCE FEEDING

Clean, smooth routing and edge shaping can be done only

when the bit is revolving at a relatively high speed and is

taking very small bites to produce tiny, cleanly severed

chips. If your router is forced to move forward too fast, the

RPM of the bit becomes slower than normal in relation to

its forward movement. As a result, the bit must take bigger

bites as it revolves. "Bigger bites" mean bigger chips, and

a rougher finish. Bigger chips also require more power,

which could result in the router motor becoming over-

loaded.

Under extreme force-feeding conditions the relative RPM

of the bit can become so slow -- and the bites it has to

take so large -- that chips will be partially knocked off

(rather than fully cut off), with resulting splintering and

gouging of the workpiece. See Figure 15.

Your Craftsman router is an extremely high-speed tool

(10,000 - 22,000 RPM no-load speed), and will make

clean, smooth cuts if allowed to run freely without the

overload of a forced (too fast) feed. Three things that

cause "force feeding" are bit size, depth-of-cut, and

workpiece characteristics. The larger the bit or the deeper

the cut, the more slowly the router should be moved

forward. If the wood is very hard, knotty, gummy or damp,

the operation must be slowed still more.

TOO FAST

TOO SLOW Fig. 15

You can always detect "force feeding" by the sound of the

motor. Its high-pitched whine will sound lower and stronger

as it loses speed. Also, the strain of holding the tool will be

noticeably increased.

TOO SLOW FEEDING

It is also possible to spoil a cut by moving the router

forward too slowly. When it is advanced into the work too

slowly, a revolving bit does not dig into new wood fast

enough to take a bite; instead, it simply scrapes away

sawdust-like particles. Scraping produces heat, which can

glaze, burn, or mar the cut -- in extreme cases, san even

overheat the bit so as to destroy its hardness.

In addition, it is more difficult to control a router when the

bit is scraping instead of cutting. With practically no load

on the motor the bit will be revolving at close to top RPM,

and will have a much greater than normal tendency to

bounce off the sides of the cut (especially, if the wood has

a pronounced grain with hard and soft areas). As a result,

the cut produced may have rippled, instead of straight

sides. See Figure 15.

"Too-slow feeding" can also cause your router to take off in

a wrong direction from the intended line of cut. Always

grasp and hold your router firmly with both hands

when routing.

You can detect "too-slow feeding" by the runaway

too-highly pitched sound of the motor; or by feeling the

"wiggle" of the bit in the cut.

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Craftsman 315.268350 Operator's Manual Page 14

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