Router

[Dragon]

Went to LeeValley in Ottawa yesterday for a beginner router seminar. Absolutely loved it. It was an all day hands on workshop.
If I can't scroll right now at least I can route.....
Diane

[Gill]

Routers are fabulous tools; you can do so much with them. I'm pleased you enjoyed the seminar.

Gill

[workin for wood]

You got that right Diane. But you can do so much more if you partner the scroll saw with the router. you have a bushing set for cutting templates on your router? Too bad your saw isn't working, when's that problem going to be fixed?

[Bill Wilson]

Diane,

Good for you, going to a seminar. Routers can be pretty dangerous, so getting some of the basics in that kind of setting is very wise. Like most woodworkers, I'm self taught and often wish I had taken more opprotunities to learn at the hands of those more experienced.

[ozarkhillbilly]

Sounds like a day well spent Diane. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Mackem]

Nice one Diane, the router is such a valuable tool in the trained hand, a router table as well is even better, i got a small one a few year ago and it was'nt to expensive( none of my tools are)lol, but even a "cheap" tool can still produce nice work as well as fire-wood.

[Randy Huckeby]

I envy you. I got a Bosch Colt router a couple of months ago & have used it to round over some edges & to do some free hand lettering on a sign. I can see some real potential with it for carving or removing background for relief carving, trim, etc. but I have never used one before & wish that I could attend some classes & learn more about them & tables,etc. Keep us posted with your projects!

[Dragon]

What I have is a basic router, an old Sears one. I do have a table and I now will have to mount it to the table. The table was a birthday present last year and is still sealed in the box. I didn't know how to use the router and was a bit scared of it. Now I am confident. Well a bit more anyway.
I am not sure what you mean Jeff by a bushing for a template. I guess that wasn't covered in the workshop.
The class was worth taking. I've been there before for beginner and intermediate scroll saw and they are great. It cost me $40 CDN for the day and that includes the wood to practice on and the lunch. There were only 10 people in the class. I reserved my seating in November because the classes are always sold out in no time at all. Was well worth the drive over. I am 3-1/2 hours from the place, take off 15 minutes when someone else drives... I'm happy I took it and now I have to practice.
Of course they sell all kinds of stuff there and one never walks away empty handed. Bought myself a keyhole bit because I thought it would be useful for things that I scoll for the wall.
Diane

[unixpro]

A template is like a pattern. It's an outline of the form you're going to route. You put a bushing on your router so that it can follow the template. Templates, therefore, are usually slightly larger than the design you're routing.

An example would be a letter template set like this one from Rockler. You'd put a Bushing Set onto your router and then follow the templates to make the letters in the wood.

If you use templates, make sure that they're held very tightly to the wood you're routing. If they aren't, the torque from the router when you turn it on can take it out of alignment and screw things up. Not that anything remotely like that has ever happened to me

[earlinjax]

Gee! $40 for an all day class. That sure is a deal. Plus, I envy you to be able to go to a Lee Valley store. It would cost me a whole bunch if I walked through the door. I get out their catalog and drool once in a while.

EarlinJax