using a router

I have a piece of maple that i need to rout a profile on. the problem is that it is only 3/4 x 3/4 x 72 . it's my last piece so i need to use it. i don't own a router table so i have been routing everything free hand. i'm sure there is a safe way but i don't see it. i don't want to glue it to a piece of scrap because it's already the right size. i'm not sure that i could rip it back off without losing some of the thickness. thanks

go buy a board! your fingers are worth much more than the cost of wood

What tod said. There is no way that you can safely and successfully work a piece that small with a handheld router and you would need to build a supporting rig of some sort even if you had a table to hold the router. I know that it is frustrating to go spend money on more wood but just think of it as a head start to your next project.

Gene, the way I do it when I have a situation like that and I don't feel like putting my router in the table is I just clamp the piece down and hit all the parts that the clamps don't keep me from hitting, then I move the clamps out of the way and clamp an already routed area then hit those last 2 spots with the router and I'm good to go. It works fine for me.

I don't know if that made any sense at all, but I'd be happy to draw up a quick pic in paint or something so you can get a better idea if you need me to.

Allen Grimes said:

Gene, the way I do it when I have a situation like that and I don't feel like putting my router in the table is I just clamp the piece down and hit all the parts that the clamps don't keep me from hitting, then I move the clamps out of the way and clamp an already routed area then hit those last 2 spots with the router and I'm good to go. It works fine for me.

I don't know if that made any sense at all, but I'd be happy to draw up a quick pic in paint or something so you can get a better idea if you need me to.

Click to expand...

Thats also the way I do it. I also don't presently have a router table. To do it this way you might want to clamp a wooden piece down the same thickness as you piece to give your base a little more stability. I also on a piece that long often do short sections and move my clamps several times. What ever you do be sure and be safe.

If I really want to use a table I have a piece of particle board from an old computer desk or some such thing. I mount the router to the board and the board to my Black and Decker workmate and have routed a ton of stuff with it. It works so well I am not sure I ever want another router table. Actually my old table was on the right side of my saw. When I bought my Delta saw I gave the Wards saw, router side piece and all to my son.

Garry

Purchasing the extra piece of wood is the best thing. Or buy pre-made moulding in the profile and species of wood you are using. If those things don't work, back your wood to a piece of 3/4" plywood or mdf, maybe use double stick tape if you have some to stick them to a flat surface. Anchor the ply/mdf down, and another piece as your "fence" for the router to ride against and route the piece. Just be very, very careful if you try something like this. It will be dangerous. If it is a stock type profile, I'd look for the moulding already made. Safest of all methods discussed. Jim.

Don't have a router table?

All you need is to drill a hole in a piece of ply, bolt the router to the underneath of it, and fix the whole thing somewhere very secure. Screw a length of 2x1 down either side of the cutter as a fixed fence. Just keep your fingers well away - use push sticks.

Then build yourself a proper router table - I can't imagine life without one.

I've got six!

i appreciate all the help and advice. don't worry i won't get my fingers anywhere near a moving blade of any type. fingers may sew back on but who wants to try. anyway i realized during lunch that i can glue it in the place i want to use it and then rout it. i just didn't think of it before. i think it was way to obvious.