Craftsman 315.275061 Owner's Manual download pdf (Page 12)

OPERATION

PROPER FEEDING

The rightfeed is neither too fast nortoo slow. It is the rate at

which the bit is being advanced firmly and surely to produce

a continuous spiral of uniformchips -- without hogging into

the wood to make large individualchips or,on theother 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 isa large one, the cut is deep

or the wood is hard tocut, the properfeed may be avery slow

one. Then, again, a cross-grain cut may require a slower

pace than an identical withgrain 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 (maximum 1/8"), then your

routershouldbe runat slowerspeeds. When these si!uations

exist,turnthe variable speed controlselector 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

takingvery small bites toproduce tiny,cleanly severed chips.

If your router is forced to move forward too fast, the RPM of

the bit becomes slower than normalin 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 overloaded.

Under extreme force-feeding conditionsthe relative RPM of

the bitcan 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 isan extremely high-speed tool(25,000

RPM no-load speed), and will make clean, smooth cuts if

allowed torun freely withouttheoverload of aforced (toofast)

feed. Three things that cause "force feeding" are bit size,

depth-of-cut, and workpiece characteristics. The larger the

bitor the deeper the cut, themore slowlythe routershouldbe

moved forward. If the wood isvery hard, knotty, gummy or

damp, the operation must be slowed stillmore,

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 FAST

TOO SLOW

Fig. 15

TOO SLOW FEEDING

It is also possible to spoila cut by moving the router forward

too slowly. When it is advanced into the work tooslowly, a

revolvingbit does not dig into new wood fast enough to take

abite; instead, it simplyscrapes away sawdust-likeparticles.

Scraping produces heat, which can glaze, bum, or mar the

cut -- in extreme cases, can even overheat the bit so as to

destroy itshardness,

In addition, it is more difficultto control a router when the bit

is scraping insteadof cutting. With practicallyno loadon the

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

have a much greater than normal tendency to bounceoff 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 ina

wrong directionfrom theintended lineof cut. Always grasp

and hold your router firmly with both hands when rout-

Ing.

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

pitchedsound of the motor;orby feeling the "wiggle" of the bit

in the cut.

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Craftsman 315.275061 Owner's Manual Page 12

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