highquality
New member
Im looking for a router and do not want to go overboard. what do you recomend?
What the lowest cost router you would use to clean edges on acrylic?
- Thread starter highquality
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MinibowMatt
Active member
porter cable 690
blfuller123
Premium Member
Dont worry so much about the router as the bits you use. I have gotten good results with a cheap router and good bits and bad results with a nice router and cheap bits.
highquality
New member
does the collet size and horsepowr matter much? I guess less horsepower routers have smaller collet.
hllywd
Premier World Traveler
I have a 1/2" 2hp Craftsman, probably overkill for what you want. I would think you could get away with a 1/4" router and good bits I only use Freud bits for wood working. I don't know too much about routing acrylic but I would think variable speed might be important. A $70 Craftsman would probably work except it won't be VS.
Tim
Tim
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Well there is no such thing as going "overboard" with a router.
Stick with the DeWalt, PC, or other well recognized name brands. Be carefull with the Craftsman stuff. Some of it is great, some of it is pretty bad. Sometimes only time tells with the craftsman stuff. I stopped buying craftsman power tools long ago, but do love many that I already own.
A 2HP is the bare min I would buy and if you can afford it a 3 HP is more versitile.
The harder choice is to choose between a plunge router and a fixed base unit.
In all honest what do you see yourself using the router for now and in the future?
As others mentioned good bits are important. Cheap HSS (high speed steel) bits will smoke in a heartbeat, esp with a novice at the helm. Get a good carbide bit to do your trim. Whiteside makes decent bits... again some of the sears stuff is O.K. Freud also makes decent bits. Expect to pay $20-$50 for a good trim bit. Make sure you get one with standard size replacable guide bearing. The bearings simply do not last long.
Stick with the DeWalt, PC, or other well recognized name brands. Be carefull with the Craftsman stuff. Some of it is great, some of it is pretty bad. Sometimes only time tells with the craftsman stuff. I stopped buying craftsman power tools long ago, but do love many that I already own.
A 2HP is the bare min I would buy and if you can afford it a 3 HP is more versitile.
The harder choice is to choose between a plunge router and a fixed base unit.
In all honest what do you see yourself using the router for now and in the future?
As others mentioned good bits are important. Cheap HSS (high speed steel) bits will smoke in a heartbeat, esp with a novice at the helm. Get a good carbide bit to do your trim. Whiteside makes decent bits... again some of the sears stuff is O.K. Freud also makes decent bits. Expect to pay $20-$50 for a good trim bit. Make sure you get one with standard size replacable guide bearing. The bearings simply do not last long.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
The more HP, the larger bit the router can swing and maintain RPMS. You are correct most low HP routers only come with a small collect. The bigger routers come with both collects.
Whenever possible ALWAYS use the large collect bits. They flex MUCH LESS and are a LOT safer (less chance of shearing). Your work will turn out better with a large collect bit. Also, esp as a novice, try to use anti-kickback style bits. These limit the depth of cut by using webbing between the cutting surfaces.
Just remember that the larger the cutting diamter, the more dangerous the bit is. Though a 3HP router can swing LARGE buts (think raised panel or molding heads) it is not really a good idea. If you really need to do that kind of work, then a dedicated shaper is MUCH safer. If nothing else when using a router with cutters over 1.5" it (the router) should be table mounted, not handheld. Honestly... anything over a 3/4" roundover can be a bear to hold onto and get a clean safe cut.
Bean
highquality
New member
i will just be cleaning up the saw cut edges on acrylic befor bonding them together. for sumps and tanks. I have lots of expeience with power tools , just not done any routing. as with most tools tho im sure you get what you pay for
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Are you planning on just doing a sump or two... or is this a business situation?
I'm with Bean on most of what he says, 'cept I'm dedicated PC. What thickness is the material you are planning on trimming? If 1/2" or less, the 1 1/2hp will do a fine job but IMO bigger is preferred and you'll find alot more uses for it so will kinda pay itself off. If you do more & more of this - you'll want the 3 1/4hp at some point anyway 
IMHO plunge routing is a mistake with most plastics and variable speeds are a waste as well unless you are also doing wood - then it's a different story.
1/2" collets whenever possible.
Whiteside and Freud make good bits, Amana is good as well. Bosch used to make good stuff, but something changed in the last few yrs IME. Carbide tipped all the way, solid carbide flush cutters are great but are spendy so prolly not the best investment unless you d a bunch of this stuff. If you do acrylic and anything else, keep different bits for acrylic, and "everything else". Acrylic requires very sharp bits to work well and many materials (partical board, MDF, laminate, etc.) kill router bits for acrylic work.
Is this to be handheld or table mounted?
HTH,
James
IMHO plunge routing is a mistake with most plastics and variable speeds are a waste as well unless you are also doing wood - then it's a different story.
1/2" collets whenever possible.
Whiteside and Freud make good bits, Amana is good as well. Bosch used to make good stuff, but something changed in the last few yrs IME. Carbide tipped all the way, solid carbide flush cutters are great but are spendy so prolly not the best investment unless you d a bunch of this stuff. If you do acrylic and anything else, keep different bits for acrylic, and "everything else". Acrylic requires very sharp bits to work well and many materials (partical board, MDF, laminate, etc.) kill router bits for acrylic work.
Is this to be handheld or table mounted?
HTH,
James
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
I purchased a 4" flush cutter to do some shelves and a custom desk. Sadly, it only lasted about 200' linear feet of 3" thick MDF and is now pretty much useless for anything important. I think it was a freud... I was pretty hard on it I guess.
Like Acrylics said... keep the "acrylic bits" apart from your wood bits. Hehe 1.5HP... thats a toothbrush in todays age. Though I have to admit the old 1.5 HP craftsmand did a nice job on my skimmer neck (never got the Dewalt mounted in the saw table and stole dads old Crapsman and ancient aluminum table to get the job done the easiest way possible... and with a HSS bit to boot!).
Yes, the PC stuff is very nice... next router will be a PC! The good dewalt spun a bearing a month or so ago... likely a direct result of me using a router to mill dados in aluminum plate when I was younger and less fearfull (read more stupid).
The plunge router was great for cutting the skimmer flanges and o-ring grooves etc. It is kinda clunky to use as an everyday trim and finish router. The only thing that has me looking at the dewalts is the quick change base system they have.
Bean
Like Acrylics said... keep the "acrylic bits" apart from your wood bits. Hehe 1.5HP... thats a toothbrush in todays age. Though I have to admit the old 1.5 HP craftsmand did a nice job on my skimmer neck (never got the Dewalt mounted in the saw table and stole dads old Crapsman and ancient aluminum table to get the job done the easiest way possible... and with a HSS bit to boot!).
Yes, the PC stuff is very nice... next router will be a PC! The good dewalt spun a bearing a month or so ago... likely a direct result of me using a router to mill dados in aluminum plate when I was younger and less fearfull (read more stupid).
The plunge router was great for cutting the skimmer flanges and o-ring grooves etc. It is kinda clunky to use as an everyday trim and finish router. The only thing that has me looking at the dewalts is the quick change base system they have.
Bean
MinibowMatt
Active member
the best bits (and reasonable priced) i have found yet are MLCS. being that I teach High School kids and they are HARD on tools, we have the best luck with them. http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Do you care to disclose the number of jigsaw blades that you go through
MinibowMatt
Active member
LOL!
Actually I try to steer them away from that tool.... they dont understand feed/speed! put it like this... I buy a gross every year... I also make my own out of band saw blade material..
Actually I try to steer them away from that tool.... they dont understand feed/speed! put it like this... I buy a gross every year... I also make my own out of band saw blade material..
hllywd
Premier World Traveler
I forgot about them, I've got some decent quality stuff from them too.
As for my Craftsman I couldn't agree more on the quality issues. I do some dovetailing but most of the time it's attached to my table saw table and it wouldn't stand up to a lot of production, it was about their top of the line 5 years ago. Anything really important I use my brother's shaper
The reason I mentoned VS was more of a question about what's required for shaping acrylic, is 25k rpm good or will it melt?
Tim
hllywd
Premier World Traveler
I forgot about them, I've got some decent quality stuff from them too.
As for my Craftsman I couldn't agree more on the quality issues. I do some dovetailing but most of the time it's attached to my table saw table and it wouldn't stand up to a lot of production, it was about their top of the line 5 years ago. Anything really important I use my brother's shaper
The reason I mentoned VS was more of a question about what's required for shaping acrylic, is 25k rpm good or will it melt?
Tim
hllywd
Premier World Traveler
I forgot about them, I've got some decent quality stuff from them too.
As for my Craftsman I couldn't agree more on the quality issues. I do some dovetailing but most of the time it's attached to my table saw table and it wouldn't stand up to a lot of production, it was about their top of the line 5 years ago. Anything really important I use my brother's shaper
The reason I mentoned VS was more of a question about what's required for shaping acrylic, is 25k rpm good or will it melt?
Tim
IMHO, you want the high speed, it gives more passes of the cutter with any given feed rate thus a smoother cut and if the geometry of the cutter is good - better chip clearance. I run 3 1/4hp routers (21k RPM IIRC) and can stop mid-length without fear of melting. Of course this isn't the *safest* thing to do but melting is a non-issue, esp with cast materials. Extruded materials give a bit of slag if I stop but this is flicked right off. FWIW I use 1.5" diameter cutters for finish passes as the contact time beween the cutter and material is minimized, cutting speed is increased, and the chip clearance is excellent. The slower you go (RPM-wise) the more apt it is to take larger chunks (again, with any given feed rate) and produce a pitted edge.
Just my experience.
James
Just my experience.
James
highquality
New member
sorry, I just got home .... im using 3/8 for a holding tank . tank is for my business , not for show... I will probably build a couple more, but no not building them as a business
