I broke down yesterday and spent $200 for a router to replace the dremel. My first longboard and that 10 1/2" box was saying “no way in hell” to the dremel tool. Anyway, I purchased a Dewalt fixed base/single speed router. When I’m going at the stringer she heats the wood up (the wood facing the bit burns to black) and slings it at the EPS foam and the EPS melts =/. I believe this to be the case anyway, it could also just be the heat created from the bit/wood that melts the EPS. First thing I tried was going slower, then I tried only making a 1/8" cut, then I tried a combination of the two. No dice with any of them.
try a new bit even if the other one was new ive bought cheap router bits and toasted them out in one pass…good router bits are not cheap…personally i go slow and cut no more than an 1/8 " at a time…like you said you tryed…so maybe it is a bad bit
Router speed correction for each bit. Take smaller (shallow) cuts. With any friction…EPS will melt and gum up your router bits (clean frequently during box cut out). Sharp bits!!! and buy good quality ones. I like CMT bits
As mentioned before, try a speed control and keep bits clean and sharp. I use Dri-Cote to keep bits clean and use a diamond file to maintain their edge.
Here’s a trick that I use to save router bits on fat longboard stringers. Take a circular saw, I use a Ryobi 18V with a real thin blade, set the depth of cut a little shallower than the box. Mark your box location out on the board. Place the front shoe of the saw on the board and gently lower it into the stringer. (Pratice on some wood first to get a feel on where to start along the length of the box). Carefully run it as close to the length of the box as possible. Scoot over a little a repeat until most of the stringer is gone, only the ends will be left at the full depth of the box. Then use the router to clean it all up and make it square. Works like a charm for me, hope it make sense to you, but it is faster and doesn’t burn up a bit per board like I used to.
Thanks a lot guys. Lots of good tips for me to follow. First and foremost, I need to go out and buy a decent bit. The craftsman 4-pack for $20 lured me in with false promises. Get what you pay for I suppose.
Native Customs: I like your idea. Didn’t understand it last night, but this morning with some more sleep under my belt it made sense. Sounds like a good idea. I will try it out next box.
Howzit RyGuy, Definitly get a carbide bit. they last a long time if used correctly ( go slow ) I have used the same one for years and the only thing I do is occasionally wipe the blades with acetone to get rid of the resin build up from the heat. Also a plunge router is better for doing boxes.Aloha,Kokua
Use a template and 1/8" deep passes. You can also saw or drill out some of the stringer, but it doesn’t make any difference with shallow passes. Lots of template advice in the archives.
Like the man said, do it in small bites. Me, I prefer steel bits for soft materials like foam and softwoods - they are sharper; carbide, being brittle, has to be made to a different sort of edge. But I am an old-fashioned sort of bozo anyhow.
Also, if this is an EPS blank, did ya glue it up yourself and what kind of adhesive did you use? Where I see you’re getting heaqt and such right where ya hit the stringer, I’d suspect the adhesive- say, frinstance if ya used epoxy - of being a mite more than ya really need and possibly in there thicker too.
Our Dewalt router comes fitted with a 2 flute 1/2 bit that you can get at homey depot for $22. Most of our customers get hundreds of boards out of them. Keep in mind that we train people to use the tip of the bit by plunging down repeatedly with the plunge action of the dewalt 621. This uses the tip of the bit rather than the side making the bit last forever. No burnt wood or foam,no smoke or wood smell and most importantly no little camp fires.
