I blew the installation of a fin box this afternoon. I'd like to blame this one on my wife, but in the end I should have said, "I will not start the grill now." Anyway, somehow the finbox shifted during the resin setup, of course while I was wrestling with the grill, and I had a fin the leaned and pointed left. I am great. So I calmed down and ate dinner, announced that I was going to work on the board and I shall not be interrupted, and then did my best Peter Griffin imitation, "I have spoken."
After grinding the box and resin overflow down I began to grind the box out with my router. BTW, my grinder is one of those advanced models; the switch doesn't work and it fires up as soo as the plug hits the socket. I never had to grind a finbox out. This is probably the most nerve wracking thing I've ever had to do to a board. The router hits that plastic box and just wants to kick the snot out of the board and my face. Anyway, I got the thing routed out after 30 long minutes of taking a thin sliver off on each pass.
So I got it out and installed a new one straight and level and board #006 is well on its way.
Next thing... obviously my router just wants to take an eye out or a finger off with the non-working off switch. Any recommendations from the experienced board craftsmen? I'm quite adroit with using the $15 Harbor Freight death router, but now I'm willing to pay at least $20 and maybe even $60 or $80 for a better one. Thanks in advance for the router recommendations!
Believe it or not, it's NOT difficult to replace on/off switches on electric tools. I've done it several times. Various types of toggle, and other style switches are available at Home Depot.
Believe it or not, it's NOT difficult to replace on/off switches on electric tools. I've done it several times. Various types of toggle, and other style switches are available at Home Depot.
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Bill, you're taking all the fun out of this. Ok, let me restate, my router stinks. It only has a 1/4" chuck and I have bits that I would like to use, up to 1/2" shanks. Any recommendations. Thanks.
Don't go on the cheap. I like Porter Cable. Sears has some good ones, on easy financial terms, and good warrenty. Good quality tools are a delight to use. Indulge yourself!
Sears has a good 1/2" router for $70. Really good ones from Makita, Bosch, etc. are all over $150. If you’re just using it for non-production fin boxes, go with Harbor Freight. Invest in the bits, not the router.
Always use some sort of a jig to insure fin alignment. I make them out of plywood to fit the slot of whatever finbox used, but make them much higher than the fin so that you can sight down the board and easily check alignment. On a center 7 or 10" box, I use a 4" wide x 12" high x 5/16" piece of ply. Use an adjustable angle-bevel gauge against the wood to precisely check vertical alignment, adjusting it until you get the same angle each side. Use a piece of tape over the jig and rail to rail to hold the alignment. For horizontal alignment, always mark the center of the stringer instead of eyeballing it. On regular center boxes, always set them with 1/8" fill first and do the alignment in case anything goes south.
I will most likely replace the switch and convert that router into a fin shaper table. I do have a jig. It's a high-tech corregated cardboard & tape thing. I've been thinking about making a finbox template out of some decent 1/4" plywood that I have laying around. Thanks for the tips and I appreciate the help!