Craftsman 17541 Operation Manual - Page 26

FEEDING

THE

ROUTER

(Fig.

15)

The

secret

to professional

routing

is in making

a careful

set-up

for the cut,

selecting

the

proper

depth

of cut,

knowing

how

the cutter

bit reacts

in your

workpiece,

and

the rate

and

direction

of feed

of the

router°

.<

ROUTER

EED

®

DIRECTION

Fig.

15

Q

ROUT

END

GRAINS

FIRST

CUTTER

BIT

(_

ROUT,

ER FEED

DIRECTION

DIRECTION

OF

FEED

- EXTERNAL

CUTS

(Fig.

15)

The

router

motor

and

cutter

bit

rotate

clockwise.

This

requires

the feed

of the cutter

bit to

be from

left to right

(see

Fig.

15).

Feeding

the bit from

left to right

will

cause

the

bit to pull

the router

towards

(up against)

the workpiece.

tf you feed

the

router

in the opposite

direction

(right

to left),

the

rotating

force

of the

cutter

bit will tend

to throw

the bit away

from

the workpiece,

making

it hard

to control;

this is called

"Climb-Cutting';

cutting

in the opposite

direction

of the proper

feed

direction.

"Climb

Cutting"

increases

the chance

for

toss of control,

resulting

in possible

personal

injury.

When

"Climb

Cutting"

is required

(backing

around

a corner

for example),

exercise

extreme

caution

to maintain

control

of the

router.

Because

of

the

high speed of

the

cutter bit during a proper feeding

operation

(left to right),

there

is very little kickback

under normal conditions.

However,

if the cutter bit strikes a knot,

an area of hard grain in the wood workpiece,

or a foreign object, the normal cutting

action

could be affected

and cause "Kickback".

This

Kickback

may

cause

damage

to your

workpiece,

and could

cause

you

to lose

control

of the router,

causing

possible

personal

injury.

Kickback

is always

in the opposite

direction

of the clockwise

cutter

bit rotation,

or counterclockwise.

To guard

against

and

help

prevent

Kickback,

plan

your

set-up

and

direction

of feed

so

you're

always

thrusting

the router,

keeping

the sharp

edges

of the cutter

bit continuously

biting

straight

into new

(uncut)

wood

(workpiece)o

Also,

always

inspect

your

workpiece

for

knots,

hard

grain,

and

foreign

objects

that

could

cause

a kickback

problem.

26

Craftsman 17541 Operation Manual - Page 26

Router

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