Free Plans
Bev wrote from Ontario to tell us how much she likes our site and how much she appreciates our Free Plans … which she finds easy to read and understand. You’re welcome, Bev!
Questions and Answers
Router Power and Speed Questions
A woodworker wrote to share a similar experience he recently had while making cabinet doors. He agreed with our experts that bits (raised panel cutters and the rail/stile cutters) are not meant for spinning at 23,000 rpm … the larger the bit, the slower the router speed. He learned his lesson when he tried using his Porter-Cable 690 with big cutters … thinking that he could just take more passes and slow down his feed rate. It doesn’t work, and he cautioned that you’ll just burn the wood and the bit and tear up your router! His solution is to get a monster router — a Porter-Cable 7539 — which he’s now very comfortable using.
Zero Clearance Insert
Graham Neil makes his zero clearance inserts out of 1/4″ plywood (or whatever thickness fits your saw). His approach is to double-side tape several layers of oversized plywood onto his regular insert and rout them with a flush trim bit. He places the insert on his saw and — holding down with a board near the kerf — slowly raises the blade. To reinforce the insert, he suggests gluing scrap plywood on the end.
