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Feeding Too Fast (Fig . 24a)
Clean and smooth cuts can only be achieved when the cutter bit is rotating at a relatively high
speed, taking very small bites and producing tiny, clean cut chips.
Forcing the feed of the cutter bit forward too rapidly slows the rotation speed of the cutter bit,
and the bit takes larger bites as it rotates. Bigger bites mean bigger chips and a rough finish.
This forcing action can also cause the router motor to overheat.
Under extreme force-feeding conditions, the rotations can become so slow and the bites
become so large that chips become partially cut off, causing splintering and gouging of the
workpiece.
The router will make clean, smooth cuts if it is allowed to run freely without the overload
of forced feeding. You can detect forced feeding by the sound of the motor. Its usual high-
pitched whine will sound lower and stronger as it loses speed. Holding the router against the
workpiece will also come more difficult.
Feeding Too Slowly (Fig . 24b)
When you feed the cutter bit too slowly, the rotating cutter bit does not cut into new wood
rapidly enough to take a bite. Instead, it scrapes away sawdust-like particles. This scraping
produces heat, which can glaze, burn, and mar the cut in the workpiece and, in extreme
cases, overheat the cutter bit.
When the cutter bit is scraping instead of cutting, the router is more difficult to control as you
feed it.
With the reduced load on the motor caused by the slow feed, the cutter bit has a tendency to
bounce off the sides of the cut in the workpiece, producing a cut with a rippled finish instead of
clean straight sides.
Chip Shield (Figs . 25a and 25b)
WARNING
Always wear eye protection. The chip shields are not intended as safety
guards.
To remove the chip shield from the fixed base, press inward on the tabs until the chip shield
releases from base and then remove the chip shield. To attach, place the chip shield back in
position and flex the sides while pushing in the shield until it snaps back into place (Fig. 25a).
The chip shield on the plunge base is held in position with a screw. To remove the chip shield
from the plunge base, simply loosen the screw and take the chip shield off the base (Fig. 25b).
Fig. 25a
Fig. 25b
