how much pressure on the router

General Discussion
1

on eps foam

2

Hey Glassbreaker,

Let the weight of the router do the work. Just hold it very firmly and go slow.

  1. Always rest the router on the board (in the jig) on an angle, with the cutter clear off the board. Then turn it on and slowly rotate the router into the board and move it till the edge contacts your jig. Then route around the perimeter.

  2. Always turn the router off while in the hole and do not pick it up until the bit has stopped rotating.

  3. When routing the stringer it’s easier and safer to take shallow passes. 1/8" -1/4" deep at a time until the desired depth is reached.

  4. Routing side fins in EPS foam - No worries, relax and let the router do the work.

~Brian

www.greenlightsurfsupply.com

3

Greenlight’s giving you good general advice, especially from a safety viewpoint (for you, your jig, router bit, and board),

but depending on which system you’re installing, bottom contours, and jig configuration, you may or may not have to

put some pressure on the router. I do routes everyday. It’s always best to test fit the box before you remove the jig,

then you can touch-up as needed. This is easier with some systems/jigs than others.

What system are we talking about here?

4

Howzit glassbreaker, when using a router the main thing is holding it steady so it doesn’t get away from you. Routers can be very dangerous tools so be careful.Aloha,Kokua

5

I’m assuming that you talking about pushing pressure, not downwards pressure. Pushing pressure should be very light, but with enough control so that the tool doesn’t get away from you as Kokua cautioned. The light pressure has to do with the depth of cut, and you don’t want to have your template jarred by pushing too much. If you’re cutting just foam, you make one pass at half depth and another at full. If you’re dealing with stringers, use a plunge router and make at least 3 passes, cutting the stringer first each pass. Use a sharp bit (3/8 or 1/2) and pay attention to moving in the correct cutting direction. With EPS, you will get a smoother cut using a roto-zip or other high speed cutter instead of a router. These are much easier to control, but the bits are only 1/4". You can cut deep on a single pass with these though.