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Router

USES

Making edge details, rabbets, dados, mortices, tenons, and many other features. 

PRE-RUN CHECKLIST

Position & check machine

  • Unplug cord from cabinet to wall.

  • Raise cabinet onto all four casters, move cabinet to working position, and lower cabinet back onto floor.

  • Check that router is securely installed on plate, and that the plate is installed securely to the router table. If anything is not secure, do not use the router.

Set cutter height

  • Double check that cord is unplugged from wall.

  • Use coarse adjustment to set approximate height.

  • Use fine adjustment to set exact cutting height.

  • Details of these adjustments are beyond the scope of these checklists. If you’re not sure of anything, get help from someone who knows.

Install cutter

  • Double check that cord is unplugged from wall.

  • Use the two open-end wrenches hanging on left inside cabinet.

  • Set router height so that you can easily access the hex collet that holds the cutter from above with the larger open-end wrench, and that you can access the flats on the cutter from under the table with the smaller wrench.

  • Take care not to damage the cutting edge with the larger wrench when tightening.

  • Set cutter height for your job using procedure above.

Install fence     

  • Use fence for all straight cuts, and when using any cutter that does not have a bearing.

  • Hold fence to table using F-clamps from the rack on the other side of the shop.

  • When using a cutter with a bearing, align fence so that the straight edge is aligned with the point on the bearing nearest to you.

Startup procedure

  • Double check that cutter, router, and plate are all securely installed.

  • Plug cord into wall.

  • Check that cord from router is plugged into outlet inside cabinet.

  • There are two switches, one on the outside of the cabinet (cabinet switch) and one on the router body (router switch). Turn cabinet switch on. If router isn’t running, turn cabinet switch off, turn router switch on, then turn cabinet switch on. 

OPERATIONAL CHECKLIST

  • Always feed wood from right to left, cutting with the side of the cutter closest to you.

  • Never free cut (no fence) with a cutter that does not have a bearing.

  • When free cutting (no fence), always be conscious of where your hands are relative to the cutter. Be especially careful when routing around convex corners and curves.

POST-RUN CHECKLIST

  • Unplug cord from wall.

  • Clean up sawdust from router table, inside cabinet, and floor.

  • Raise cabinet onto all four casters, move cabinet back to near wall, and lower cabinet back onto floor.