I bought some really long bits from Amana, the catalog says, “do you really want a bit this long”, worn bearings or a bent shaft can turn a bit this long into a grenade, no amount of end whip is safe, a speed control is a real safety feature with a bit that long
Hey Jim.
The yellow dial on my Ryobi pictured above is a very nice speed control…
The router has a “soft start” feature so the bit ramps up to full speed with contol, giving you time to shut down if everthing is not feeling right…Very unlikely that the router will torque out of your hands on start up like a Tazmanian devil with this soft start feature
I prefer 1/2" dia. shanked bits for the resistance to any bending … And bits just slightly longer than the blank thickness @ 2 1/2" max.
The on off switch is right next to your thumb as you hold the right handle for instant access… You don’t have to remove your hands from the handles to switch off…
I believe in 2 handed routing hence the double handle…
It ain’t the most expensive router in the world, but it’s a dandy and it suited my safety first priorities…
2 H.P. Vrooooooooom…
Follow up to this thread…
I went ahead and bought an Onsrud foam-cutting router bit.1/2" diameter; 3 1/2" cutting depth. $40. This was actually not the one I posted at the top of this thread. I went with the 1/2" diameter one because 1/2" collet routers are much easier to find, plus the extra diameter is probably safer. I also got a Craftsman variable-speed router with 1/2" collet from Sears for $90.
[img_assist|nid=1062090|title=Router and Bit|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=251|height=332]
The router has soft start and a minimum speed of 10,000 RPM. That’s the speed I ran it.
I used a full-length template and clamped it at the nose and tail using small EPS blocks on the underside to prevent crushing the blank. I couldn’t cut the whole blank in one pass because I had to move the clamps, but this was very quick and easy. Put on a new clamp, remove the old one. Always two clamps attached to prevent the template from moving.
[img_assist|nid=1062091|title=Clamped Template|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=254|height=336]
Routing was quite simple and not as scary as I thought. The bit doesn’t cut through the stringer (it’s made for foam) so I just cut the stringer tip and tail off at the end with a handsaw. Made one minor error where I dipped the router base off of 90 degrees and put a small “dent” in the rail (visible at bottom right of tail), but this came out later once I got to rail bands.
[img_assist|nid=1062092|title=Routed Outline Half|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=256|height=339]
All and all I am very pleased with the result. There was a slight roughness on the rail at the top, near the template, but this sanded off with a hard-block in one quick pass. Was probably a little faster than cut/true method, and the rails came out absolutely perfectly square.
[img_assist|nid=1062093|title=Square Edge|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=257|height=340]
In my limited experience I have found that nice, square outline cuts lead to a cleaner final design…
[img_assist|nid=1062094|title=6 2 slayer|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=258|height=341]
In this case, a stubby Slayer/Rock-Up type 6’2" x 19 7/8" x 2 1/2" with a 14" nose and a 14 1/2" tail. Single concave to slight vee in the tail. 4 1/2" nose rocker and 2 1/4" tail rocker. Built for Jersey tubes.
[img_assist|nid=1062095|title=6 2 slayer final|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=260|height=344]
I’ll take it, that board looks perfect!
Thanks for the writeup too
Hi Jamie -
Looks good from here.
For those thinking about doing this, please check the bottom of your blank for flatness.
Some longboard blanks (Walker 10'8" and Clark/US Blanks 11'3" for example) have a lot of belly in the bottom straight from the factory.
This cut-out method will result in less than a 90 degree cut at the edge on that sort of blank.
Nice Job Jamie! Thanks for the update. All power tools should be approached with caution and a good respect for the damage they can cause to you in the blink of an eye. You did your homework and had a plan. That should be a good lesson to all who read this thread!
Also wanted to add that while I love this method I still cut some outlines with the hand saw and recently purchased Greenlights "Rail Runner Tool" to clean up the outline, it also works as a fred tool. The tool works excellent and leaves that perfect 90 degree result. I would say for those who just don't want to mess with a router and do it by hand, check out this tool.
Great Looking Board!
hey jamie ive been doing hours of internet shopping for that rouer bit. do u think you can send me a link or tell me where to get it. i cant find under anything under 55 and you said yours was 40. id be stoked to get one.
Here you go, Cam. Small outfit in the midwest. Jack Ballew was a very nice guy:
The narrower the cutting blade the more chance for wobble.
Wobble…bad.
Of course you can cut way outside the line like a 1/4" and be ready to start serious shaping when I break for lunch.
Guys using the long router bit approach best have PERFECT templates.
By the time a guy sets up his template, clamps it, plugs in the router, repositions his clamp, runs the cut… I’ve already:
Taken my trusty saw with the right amount of teeth, with the right thickness blade, cut right on the line straight up and down becuz I’ve done it thousands of times, and because I have the right thickness blade I can even bend to the nose curve on most outlines while KEEPING THE BLADE straight up and down.
If you are a craftsman of any stature, you learn that the angle that you cut at will determine the coarseness of the cut the teeth make and a quick swiping of the cut with the appropriate sandpaper grit and block will smooth the cut w/o changing the outline.
Of course, if you are a beginner, or an idiot, or both, then you may destroy the outline by using my method, or reinventing the wheel with “precision” tool setups like what is outlined in this thread.
I think this approach is probably really viable for a guy using FULL outline templates of certain size models where the boss sticks his head ina door way and says **“CHAKO, WE NEED 22 OF THE 6"8” BUTT TAILS, 16 OF THE 5’10 SQUIRRELY DOGS, 66 OF THE STANDARD TRIED N TRUE, GET A MOVE ON!" :o
**
**…now where’s that wheel.
**
When I was deep into powering out Surfboards Hawaii’s, I made a series of full length templates in 3 inch increments.
Kurt Wilson that owns Xtrak showed me spring clamps he had altered by adding electrical conduit as extensions to reach across the bank to hold the templates in position.
I also glued sand paper to the templates to make sure they couldn’t slide, it became a very relable and extremely fast way for me to do production templating, much faster than I could draw out the plan shape, saw it out and clean it up.
Years ago I had a “pencil” bit, 1/4" about 6" long, way too long and thin for a router, but put a speed control on the router and could keep the RPM’s below where it woiuld start to get end whip, you don’t want to snap off a bit and wonder where it will wind up
I think what has been omitted is the original bit was a 3/8" shank, which should never be used in a high speed router. The shank must correlate with the collet size. At 20 to 30k rpm you DON'T want the bit to wobble loose. That bit is used in machining in a mill not a hand held router. Mill bits can be used in routers only in slower speeds and proper sizing. A 3/8 bit WILL creep in a 1/2 collet....dont do it. Use the 1/2 or 1/4" bits accordingly. At this length of bit, 1/2" is way better and safer.
ps. Good tip and good price on the Onsrud bits.
Just to be clear. The bit is a 1/2" diameter. The router (Sears Craftsman) has a corresponding 1/2" collet and VARIABLE SPEED with the lowest setting at 10,000 RPM and a soft start. The whole kit was $130 (40 for the bit and 90 for the router).
Porter Cable model 691 it’s the 6911 motor with 6912 D-Handle base with a Onsrud Four Edge HSS Upcut Spiral Foam Cutter I use a Staco model PN1010 Variable Auto Transformer to controll cutting speed.
You can find one on eBay.
Use this link to find the foam cutting spiral bit – http://www.ballewsawandtool.com/index.php?keyword=Onsrud+Four+Edge+HSS+Upcut+Spiral+Foam+Cutters&Search=Search&Itemid=1&option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse
