Owner's Manual

28212 Manual_Revised_07-0713 Page 26
FEEDING THE ROUTER (Fig. 13)
The secrets to professional-looking routing are careful set-up for the cut, proper
depth-of cut-selection, knowing how the cutting bit reacts in the workpiece, and
the rate and direction of feed of the router.
DIRECTION OF FEED: EXTERNAL CUTS (Fig. 13)
The router motor and cutting
bit rotate clockwise. This
requires the feed of the cutting
bit to be from left to right (see
Fig. 13). Feeding the bit from
left to right will cause the bit
to pull the router towards (up
against) the workpiece.
If the router is fed in the
opposite direction (right to
left), the rotating force of
the cutting 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 of loosing 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.
KICKBACK
Because of the high speed of the cutting bit during a proper feeding operation
(left to right), there is very little kickback under normal conditions. However, if
the cutting bit strikes a knot, an area of hard grain in the 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
counterclockwise: the opposite direction of the clockwise cutting bit rotation.
To guard against and help prevent Kickback, plan the set-up and direction of
feed so that the router is always moving, and keep the sharp edges of the cutting
bit continuously biting straight into new (uncut) wood (workpiece). Also, always
inspect the workpiece for knots, hard grain, and foreign objects that could cause
a kickback problem.
Fig. 13
Router Feed
Direction
3
1
4
2
Rout
End
Grains
First
Router Feed
Direction
Bit Rotation
Router Feed
Direction
Cutting
Bit
Router Feed
Direction