Figured work by a milling cutter on wood. Devices for a manual router - how to "train" your machine? Carving with a milling cutter of unusual and artistic objects

Milling cutter, or manual milling machine - universal tool suitable for various kinds wood processing. With it, you can drill holes, cut grooves, grooves and chamfers, process edges and edges wooden product. It is very convenient for installing locks in doors, when assembling floors and furniture, and other work with this material. Carving on a pre-prepared tree with the help of a milling cutter can be mastered with your own hands quickly if you immediately choose the type of manual machine for yourself.

There are several types depending on the work performed. So, allocate:

The router is used both for making through holes and for cutting blind grooves in the rock.
Edging is useful for processing the edges of a tree. Has little power great advantage is of low weight
Combined serves both of the above purposes, has two bases for them.

We disassemble wood carving techniques with a do-it-yourself milling cutter

The now popular art, wood carving, can also be done using this tool. There are many milling cutters, that is, working heads, for various purposes. Advanced craftsmen even make cutters or parts themselves. the main task when working with manual router- learn how to use them correctly. When mastering this tool, you can perform any kind of artistic carving.

In order to learn how to carve a pre-prepared tree using a router with your own hands, you can sign up for thematic courses. However, not everyone has the time and desire to visit them. For such people, there are many video tutorials that will give you an idea of this skill.

Even before watching the video, it is important for beginners to carefully read the instructions for use of their electric assistant. You can find a lot there good advice about how to assemble the tool, adjust the depth of the cut, what each cutter is for, read about the completeness of your router model, and also find out what nozzles you can buy additionally to achieve exactly your goals. Be sure to check the safety section and specifications device.

After that, you can proceed to the first small steps in developing the skill of carving with a wood cutter. These training activities are described below.

Through or slotted wood carving.

To have a general idea of the learning process, suffice it to say that most craftsmen start by cutting simple patterns from a template. To do this, you need to take a piece of wood and draw a sketch on it. There is a large selection on the Internet and in art books, in addition, looking at the photo finished works with abstract ornaments, it is easy to copy these drawings with a pencil.

After the sketch is applied to the log, the router should be adjusted so that it makes through cuts. Start working with the outer parts, and when the form is ready, you need to cut holes, give the pattern an openwork. If you cut out platbands or other elements of the facade of the house, then you need to take a canvas made of hardwood. Good fit conifers and also oak. For smaller, interior products, it is better to take a softer linden or birch.

Figured woodcarving with a manual milling cutter.

After mastering the technology through thread you can start more complex elements. For example, by adjusting the depth of the cut, add a pattern to the finished trim using V-shaped or other cutters. Not just flat figures look beautiful, but complemented by notched carvings or made using other techniques. Chamfers on flat or rounded surfaces of large diameters will look very handy.

Various types of bevels.

After training in these techniques, you can take on more complex ones. With the help of a customized router, it will not be difficult to make your first product in flat-relief technology. Such drawings look amazingly beautiful on wall panels, caskets, and in addition, photographs of furniture with carved elements make you look closely and consider the whole pattern.

We hone the skills of owning a milling cutter and woodcarving

To achieve mastery in absolutely any business, constant practice is important. Even if the first time the products turn out to be a little clumsy or nothing comes out at all, you should not give up. After all, each time the cutout will turn out smoother, the finish is thinner, and the products are more beautiful.

Wood carving with a milling cutter - photo for inspiration.

Video tutorials and videos on the topic of the article

There are different types of manual routers, however, the most used and versatile can be called a manual plunge mill, which is described below. Plastic wood, perfect in its aesthetics, and a universal manual milling cutter. This combination allows you to get products of almost any shape - from the simplest in the form of straight planes, to the most complex, more suitable for works of art than for utilitarian things. Working with a manual wood router is an opportunity to fully enjoy creativity, creating original, exclusive products.

Types of work performed by the milling cutter

All operations that are carried out using a manual router can be divided into several categories.

Milling grooves, grooves, quarters and other recesses in the workpiece, which can be located both along and across the layers, be open (exit to the edge) or closed. With some exceptions, these forms perform certain structural functions - most often they form detachable and one-piece connections.

Edge milling- profiling. Used for the production of molded profile products(cornices, skirting boards, platbands, glazing beads, etc.), as well as in interior design, furniture manufacturing and different kind crafts. These elements, in addition to being functional, also carry a decorative load.

Milling complex surfaces and contours when creating original furniture, exclusive interiors and manufacturing products for various purposes claiming artistic sophistication. At the same time, templates are widely used that allow copying repeating complex shapes with great accuracy, making them almost completely identical.

Milling special features carrying a purely functional load. These are grooves and holes for awnings and locks, spikes, etc. In serial production, these elements are made by specialized milling cutters (filler, etc.). But in everyday life, universal manual milling cutters quite successfully cope with them.

A manual milling cutter processes wood with the help of special milling cutters consisting of a cylindrical shank (collets for shanks with a diameter of 6, 8 or 12 mm are more common) and a working part with a cutting edge. There is a huge number of cutters that differ in size and design, the shape of the cutting edge, material. For soft woods, milling cutters with knives made of high-speed tool steel are used, for hard materials(oak, ash, beech, aluminum, etc.) - from hard alloys.

To give the product a certain shape, it is necessary to ensure the exact positioning of the cutter relative to the workpiece in three coordinates. The position of the tool in a vertical position is ensured by the immersion mechanism, which moves the motor with the cutter along the vertical guides of the bed and stops it in the desired position in height.

Positioning in the horizontal plane can be achieved in various ways. With a guide bearing mounted on the router bit, or a guide bushing attached to the bearing surface of the router, as well as a variety of special tools that come with routers and are purchased independently or made by yourself. Available a large number of manuals and recommendations describing how to work with a router using these devices, read one of them.

When using cutters with a guide bearing, the latter rolls along the edge of the workpiece or template located below or above the workpiece, thus providing a certain distance between the cutter and the workpiece. Milling cutters with a guide bearing and processing edges of parts are called edge cutters. They are used only for processing the edges of workpieces. There are different types of edge cutters.

Profile cutters(a and b) give the edge various curly profiles that carry a decorative load.

cone cutter(c) designed for bevelling at an angle of 45°.

Moulder cutter(d) used for rounding edges. It forms a profile in a quarter of a circle and happens different sizes with a circle radius of 3-16 mm.

Disc cutter(e) cuts a horizontal groove of various depths and widths in the workpiece.

Rebated cutter(e) is used for milling quarters that perform a variety of functions.

Fillet cutter(g) is used to obtain fillets on the edge. It is used to give the edges a decorative effect.

Milling cutters without guide bearings, called slot cutters, are designed to machine the workpiece anywhere. Their use requires the use of devices (pro branded and homemade devices for a manual router, read ), which ensure the positioning of the cutter in a horizontal plane.

Rectangular groove cutter(a) is perhaps the most used. It is used for milling grooves that ensure the connection of parts - both one-piece and detachable.

Fillet cutter(b) creates semicircular grooves or grooves in the workpiece, often performing decorative functions.

V cutter(c) forms a groove with walls at an angle of 45°. If you insert the cutter to a greater depth, you get a groove with vertical edges. With the help of a V-shaped cutter, letters and various decorations are cut out.

cutter " dovetail" (d) commonly used in furniture production when arranging open and hidden spiked joints.

Mounting the cutter in the collet of the router

The installation of the cutter can be carried out both in the engine, taken out of the bed, and located in it. It is carried out in the following sequence:

The cutter is laid on its side.
The spindle is fixed against rotation - depending on the design of the router, wrench or push button.
Release (if it is screwed onto the collet) or screw on the clamping nut of the collet.
IN collet the cutter shank is inserted until it stops or at least 20 mm.
Using a wrench (if the spindle is fixed with a wrench, a second wrench is required), the clamping nut is tightened, the spindle is unlocked.

If there is no cutter in the collet, the clamping nut must not be tightened. This may damage the collet..

Working with a milling cutter involves performing various adjustment operations. One of the main ones is setting the depth of milling. It may vary slightly for routers. different models, but its principle for all plunge cutters remains the same. The essence of the setting is that when the cutter reaches the required depth, the immersion limiter rests against the turret stepped stop and prevents further immersion of the cutter.

Milling depth setting: 1 - turret stop, 2 - immersion depth limiter, 3 - depth limiter locking screw, 4 - limiter slider, 5 - fine-tuning mechanism, 6 - immersion scale, 7 - spindle lock for installing the cutter.

The operation is performed in the following order:

The milling cutter is installed with a supporting surface on the workpiece.
The turret stop, which sets the immersion depth, is set with its lowest stop opposite the limiter end.
The limiter locking screw is released, as a result of which the latter acquires the ability to move freely in its guides.
The immersion (lowering) mechanism of the router is unlocked.
The motor slowly lowers down until the cutter touches the workpiece.
The engine lowering mechanism is again blocked.
The depth gauge is lowered until it touches the lowest stop.
The limiter slider is set to "0" of the dive scale.
The limiter rises to the position at which its slider shows on the immersion scale the value of the milling depth that you want to set. This operation can be done by raising and lowering the limiter by hand (coarse setting) or by using the fine adjustment mechanism (fine setting).
The limiter locking screw is clamped, fixing the slider in the set position.
The plunge mechanism is unlocked and the cutter moves up with the motor.

Now, if you lower the engine with the cutter to the lowest position (until the end of the limiter touches the shortest pin of the turret), the cutter will penetrate into the workpiece to the depth, the value of which is set on the scale.

If milling is carried out to a greater depth, it must be carried out in stages. This is done by turning the turret in such a way that during the first passes the depth gauge rests first on the higher stops and only on the final pass on the lowest stop.

Choice of cutter speed mode

Unlike rotary hammers, screwdrivers and drills, the speed of rotation of the cutter is relatively high - usually over 10,000 rpm. This is because the faster the cutter rotates, the cleaner the cut surface is. However, too high speeds are also undesirable, since the machined surface can be charred, and excessively increasing centrifugal forces - especially when using cutters large diameter- cause damage. Therefore, the speed of rotation of the cutter is regulated within certain limits depending on the material being processed and the diameter of the cutter.

In fact, the cleanliness of the machined surface is determined not by the rotation speed of the cutter, but by the linear speed of the cutting edge relative to the material. The larger the cutter diameter, the higher the linear speed. Therefore, when using cutters with a large diameter, the rotation speed is set lower. For example, for a cutter with a diameter of 10 mm, the speed should be from 20,000 rpm and higher, for a cutter with a diameter of 40 mm - 10,000-12,000 rpm. Specific values are given in the operating instructions. The rotation speed is also determined by the hardness of the material being processed. The higher the hardness, the lower the number of revolutions of the cutter should be.

After long work at low speed, the router should be turned on for several minutes at maximum speed for Idling for engine cooling.

Direction of cutter rotation

The direction of rotation of the cutter can be forward or backward. At the first, the cutting edge of the cutter moves relative to the material in the direction opposite to the movement of the router (the edge cuts into the rough surface of the board and exits at the bottom of the milled groove). In up milling, the edge of the cutter moves in the same direction as the movement of the router (plunging starts at the depth of the slot). The up-cut milling is correct, the down-cut milling is used only in exceptional cases - when processing edges in which the location of the fibers leads to flakes. This method is considered unsafe, as it can lead to tearing the router out of your hands.

Milling

Milling parts with a manual router, as a rule, is associated with the use of various devices that ensure the exact position of the router. Therefore, milling techniques are discussed in the article Milling fixtures, which describes not only branded fixtures, but also do-it-yourself ones.

Before starting milling, the following must be done:

The cutter is fixed in the collet.
The correct engine speed has been set for the job.
Desired milling depth set using plunge cutter (when working with plunge cutters) or fixed certain value cutter overhang in relation to the sole (when working with edge cutters).
A guide bearing or ring (when working with edge cutters) or other device is installed to provide the necessary path of the cutter. At the same time, it should be set optimum thickness cut - as a rule, no more than 3 mm.

The methods of working with a manual milling cutter differ somewhat depending on the mode in which the work is carried out. But in any case, the milling cutter is installed on the base - the workpiece or the auxiliary surface. The guide element of the router (bearing, ring, edge of the sole or other surface) is pressed against the guide edge (part, rail or template), after which the engine is turned on and the cutter is first immersed (if using the immersion mode), then the router smoothly moves along the path , given by the guide element.

Basic safety measures when working with a router

Safety measures are described in detail in the operating instructions for the router. The most important ones that are simply vital to know include the following:

Fastening the cutter and setting up the router must be carried out with the power cord unplugged from the outlet.
Working with a manual milling cutter requires care and concentration. When milling, it is necessary to stand steadily on your feet and firmly hold the router in your hands. You can't work when you're tired, distracted, or drunk. This could cause the router to be pulled out of your hands and cause serious injury.
The workpiece must be firmly fixed, otherwise it can be torn off by the cutter from its place and thrown from great strength and speed.
During the contact of the cutter with the material, you must be especially careful to avoid the so-called kickback - the effect when the cutter hits the material and receives a reactive blow in return, which can lead to the router being pulled out of the hands, breaking it or causing injury. To prevent a kickback, you need to firmly hold the router in your hands, firmly press it to the base and move the tool smoothly. The thickness of the cut layer should not be too large - no more than 3 mm.
Clothing should not have dangling elements - those that can be wound around the cutter.
Avoid inhalation of fine dust generated during milling. It's bad for the lungs. Dust can be sucked off with a vacuum cleaner or you can use a respirator.

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Those who love carpentry, that is, woodwork, must definitely know how to handle a hand router. With the help of such a device, you can create real masterpieces without any effort at all. However, this will require skills in work and knowledge of what this tool consists of, how to assemble and disassemble it. With the help of a manual wood router, you can create beautiful door, decorative furniture or other original items. You can even open your own business, making a variety of wood products.

Types of milling work

The milling cutter is a unique device that performs a large number of rotations per second, while creating holes of the required diameter and shape. Work in progress divided into several categories. The holes that are created by the router are almost always part of a detachable or one-piece design that decorates the product.

It is necessary to consider in more detail the work carried out with the help of a milling cutter.

Profiling of such products as cornices, platbands, plinths, glazing beads, etc., is carried out with an edge. Such works are suitable for furniture manufacturers. This is a wonderful solution for decorating wood products.
Decorating the edges of complex products with a router helps to create an exclusive product. A professional can even create a masterpiece. For beginners, the video will help in this case. Such a process is necessarily carried out using templates. They contribute to the creation of identical patterns over large areas.
With the help of a wood router, simple problems are solved everyday problems. For example, it is necessary to make recesses for locks or under awnings. For this, a special milling cutter is used, however, for homework, you can also use a hand tool.

All woodwork is done with special cutters. They are chosen, focusing on the type of work that will need to be carried out, and the type of wood that is milled. On the Internet you can find a large number of videos that explain in detail and clearly show what the cutter looks like and how to choose the right one.

The milling cutter is a component of the milling cutter and is shank and working element with cutting edge. They are distinguished by:

the shape of the cutting edge;
the type of material from which they are made;
size;
designs.

Thus, for working on soft wood, lightweight materials for the cutter are needed. And for the manufacture of an object from solid wood, preference is given to "hard" cutters.

Cutters are:

conical;
V-shaped;
disk;
cutters "swallow's nest";
profile;
rectangular groove;
molding;
folded;
fillet.

In addition, cutters are divided into those that direct the movement, have bearings and those that do not. With the help of a manual milling cutter without bearings in the cutters, work is carried out anywhere in the workpiece.

Installing the cutter

Once the required template has been found, further woodwork should be carried out with a hand router. To do this, select set the correct cut. This is done in the following sequence:

How to do the job with a manual router

A large number of electrical appliances for construction and repair carry out their work by rotating the shaft. A hand mill makes a large number of revolutions per second. It is generally accepted that woodworking will be done cleaner by a milling cutter if there are as many revolutions as possible. In fact, this is an erroneous opinion. The object may char and break if the speed control is not set correctly and when working with a large diameter cutter.

That is why for each type of work and material it is necessary to select and set a certain number of revolutions per second. The work will be much cleaner if the ratio of the speed of the cutter to the wood being cut is correctly selected.

Work with a manual milling cutter is carried out by installing it on a special table or simply holding it in your hands. Small items are usually milled on stationary table . This contributes to the performance of work without any defects. On such a table, the router is installed with the spindle up.

In order for milling on the table to be performed without errors, it is necessary:

set the rulers on the surface of the table, under the shape that will need to be cut;
narrow rulers with an oval end are necessary for working with parts of a variable profile and are attached to the surface of the table perpendicular to the workpiece.

It should be remembered that when working with a manual router, it must be moved in the opposite direction relative to the movement of the cutter. Otherwise, the tool often breaks out of the hands and causes injury.

Safety Compliance

Manual wood router required requires safety precautions so as not to cause harm to health:

Conclusion

It is not easy to learn how to make wood products with a hand router. Best to explore video lessons from necessary instructions . Do not forget that this is a rather dangerous tool that can cause serious injury. That is why it is important to observe safety precautions, to be attentive and careful.

The hand router is indispensable tool for most carpentry work. For those who want to master the skills of a carpenter and learn how to make with their own hands not only various wooden crafts, but also the original beautiful wooden furniture, decorated with carvings, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the main features of using the device. In Rus', since ancient times, houses, furniture and other products have been decorated with wood carvings. In many cities there are museums of wooden architecture, the exhibits of which cause admiration and surprise.

A mechanized tool can significantly speed up the execution of work, production can even be put on stream if there is a sales market. Of course, in addition to a manual router, you will need a workbench, various fixtures, and high-quality material.

Basic Operations of a Hand Router

The use of manual wood routers allows you to perform the following types of processing:

production of slots, folds, grooves;
precise processing of laminate for furniture and other products;
various types of carving wooden surfaces, engraving works;
cutting round and oval holes;
the device of connecting spikes of various types;
grinding work;
cutting quarters;
production of sockets for fittings.

If equipped, a wood router can be used to work with plastic, plexiglass, artificial stone, non-ferrous metals. IN skillful hands the device will be able to show all its capabilities.

Manual milling machines three types are produced:

for processing lamellas;
for processing edges;
upper.

A lamellar router is used to make connecting grooves in various details. The edge router is designed for precise edge cutting and chamfering. Both devices are highly specialized and are rarely used for other work.

Type "top" is available in 2 versions: fixed and submersible. This type is the most versatile and is used for most operations.

Stationary - the device is an electric motor with the function of adjusting the depth of the cut. The depth of milling is set by moving the milling cutter relative to the sole and is fixed with a special clamp. When starting work, you need to hold the tool on weight above the selected point and slowly deepen the rotating cutter. At the first attempts, this operation is usually very difficult, the cutter goes away from the right place.

This deficiency has been corrected for milling devices submersible type. Rigid springs and guides are installed between the sole and the engine for moving in vertical plane. The immersion depth is set and fixed with a special clamp. In the normal position, the cutter does not reach the surface of the material. In order for the cutter to begin to deepen, it is necessary to press the device with force. The clamp will limit the immersion depth. When the pressure disappears, the router will automatically rise and the workpiece will be stopped. This design greatly simplifies the work.

The most requested types of work

All types of surface treatment that a manual wood router can perform can be classified into several categories:

Production of long longitudinal and transverse recesses with various section shapes. This category includes quarters, grooves, grooves. Slots can go to the edge of the product (open) or located inside (closed). They are mainly used with a constructive purpose in groove-ledge joints.
Production of edges of various shapes (profiling). With the help of this operation, it is possible to produce glazing beads, platbands, skirting boards, cornices and other products with various surface shapes. In addition to the constructive function, these details are used as decorative elements.
Production and processing of complex contours and surfaces. This operation is used in the manufacture of furniture, various interiors for premises, products of artistic craft. In the serial processing of products, templates are used that allow the manufacture of identical elements of parts with great accuracy.
The device of various elements for constructive purposes. Basically, these are holes for mounting parts.

The main operations that can be performed are listed. If you have tools and fixtures, the list can be much longer.

Router tool

Work with a manual wood router is performed using cutter nozzles with the shape of the cutting edge necessary for processing. Surfaces with different shapes have cylindrical shank for installation in collet. The tool is made with fasteners standard size corresponding to the size of the collets. Trading companies offer a wide range of cutters various forms and sizes. When purchasing a tool, you need to pay attention to the material of the cutting edges. For wood of different hardness, different steel is used.

To process parts with the required accuracy, it is necessary to ensure a stable position of the tool relative to the surface in 3 planes. The vertical position is provided by a sole with an immersion mechanism.

A stable position in the horizontal plane can be maintained in several ways:

use a cutter with a guide bearing;
use the guide bushing on the support surface of the router;
use accessories supplied with the device or purchased separately.

Milling cutters with a guide bearing in most cases are used for processing the edges of parts and have the corresponding name - edge cutters. The shape and size of the tool can be very diverse.

The guide sleeve and fixtures are used when working with groove cutters. Mounting a bearing on this type of tool is not possible because the cutting surfaces are in the vertical and horizontal plane of the tool.

Installing and changing tools

Installation and change of cutters can be performed on the device with the base removed or assembled. The main rule is that the tool must be disconnected from the mains. Shutdown does not mean the start button turned off, but the plug with the power cord of the router removed from the socket.

You can change the tool correctly in the following order:

place the milling cutter in a position convenient for access;
fix the spindle or motor shaft (some models are equipped with a special button for fixing, if not, fix with a key);
loosen the clamping nut of the collet clamp, remove the cutter;
insert new tool to a depth of at least 20 mm or until it stops;
tighten the collet clamp;
unlock the spindle or motor shaft.

If there is no tool in the collet, it cannot be tightened with a nut. He might break.

Optimum rotation speed

Compared to other power tools, the router operates at higher speeds - over 10,000 rpm. At higher speeds, the quality of the machined surface is much better. Working at high speeds has its drawbacks - the tool and the surface become very hot due to friction. The surface of the part may be charred from high temperature. When using large diameter cutters, centrifugal force may cause the device to fail and break.

To eliminate these shortcomings, start buttons with adjustable rotation speed are installed on the motors of the milling cutters. On some models, the speed control is not combined with the start button.

The surface finish depends on 2 parameters that are closely related - the speed of rotation of the cutter and the linear speed of the surface of the cutter. At the same rotation speed for cutters larger diameter line speed will be higher. The regulator will help bring these ratios to optimal value. To use the regulator correctly, you need to look at the table of manufacturer's recommended values for various tool diameters. When choosing a speed, the hardness of the material being processed must be taken into account. Here the ratio is inversely proportional to hard rock wood, it is desirable to use low speed and vice versa.

If the router heats up when working at low speeds, for quick cooling, you need to run it at maximum idle speed. The air flow will quickly cool the engine and other parts of the device, as well as remove accumulated dust.

Direction of tool rotation

How to work with a hand router so that the rotation of the tool provides maximum efficiency work?

The rotation of the tool may or may not match (advance) the direction of movement of the device. Main and right position there will be up milling, when the cutting edge creates a force directed against the movement of the device, pushes it back.

Climb milling can be used only in emergency situations, when material chips are formed during counter milling. When working with a passing direction, special care must be taken. Coinciding forces can pull the device out of your hands, causing injury.

Depth adjustment

For precise processing of the part in depth, many devices are equipped with special regulating and limiting devices. Despite different designs the principle of operation is the same in most cases.

Installation order required depth next:

install the device vertically on flat surface;
set the disk with stops to the position of maximum depth;
release the limiter fixing screw;
disable the engine start blocking system;
lower the engine until the cutter touches the surface;
block the engine in this position;
lower the depth gauge to the opposite stop;
set the position indicator to the zero mark of the scale;
raise the limiter so that the pointer on the scale matches the required size;
fix the slider;
unlock the engine.

Setting the required milling depth is now complete. A disk with 3 stops is needed for a large depth of processing of the part. In order not to create a large load on the tool and device, processing is carried out in several passes. First you need to select the highest stop (the first pass at the minimum depth), then the second (middle depth) and the third (maximum).

A milling cutter is a rather expensive and dangerous device during operation.

When working with a manual router, it is necessary to observe all the safety measures specified in the instructions.

Before using new untested methods of work, you need to carefully weigh all the positive and negative points so as not to be without a tool with injured limbs or other parts of the body.

Processing lumber, inserting loops, making technological holes and recesses, woodcarving - all this can be done by such a device as a milling cutter. And it can not only professional equipment, but also relatively inexpensive manual copies. But working with a manual wood router requires knowledge of some techniques and rules. All this is in the article.

What is a cutter and what is it for?

A milling cutter is a device for processing wood or metal. They handle flat and shaped surfaces, also forms technological recesses - a groove, a comb, recesses for installing hinges, etc. According to the installation method stationary machines(There is different types to perform various operations), but there are manual milling machines. Manual electric milling cutters are a universal tool that allows you to carry out any operation. To change the operation, you just need to change the nozzle - the cutter and / or its location on the part.

Machine tools are mainly used in mass production. In them, the cutter is installed motionless, and the workpiece moves along a certain trajectory. When working with a manual milling cutter, the situation is the opposite - the workpiece is fixed motionlessly, the milling cutter is moved. When processing large volumes of identical parts, it is more convenient to fix a hand router on a horizontal surface, making something similar to a milling machine.

Homemade milling machine - a horizontal plane with a hole in the middle, to which a manual router is attached from below

There are many different types of milling machines, but for home master or for semi-professional use, universal ones are more suitable. They are equipped with various cutters and special devices, which allows you to perform any operation. It just takes more time and skill to complete them than on a specialized machine.

What can be done with a manual milling cutter:

Similar operations are used in carpentry, in the manufacture and assembly of furniture. Even embed a lock or hinges on the door - this can also be done by a hand mill. Moreover, it will do it much faster and more elegantly than similar operations, but performed with a hand tool.

Preparation for work and care

To understand the principles of working with a manual router, it is desirable to have at least a general idea of its structure and the purpose of the parts.

The structure and purpose of the main nodes

The manual electric milling cutter consists of a housing in which the motor is hidden. A holder protrudes from the body, where the collets are inserted. Collets are small adapters that allow the use of cutters with different shanks. A cutter is already inserted into the collet and tightened with a clamping bolt (on some models it is fixed with a button).

Another one important detail hand mill - a platform that is connected to the body using two rods. The platform is usually made of metal. There is a sliding plate on the underside of the platform. It is made of a smooth material that ensures the tool runs smoothly as it moves through the part.

Setting the parameters of the milling cutter is done using:

Handles and jackals for setting the depth of milling. The tuning step is 1/10 mm.
Adjustment of the number of revolutions. Changes the rotation speed of the cutter. For starters, it’s worth trying to work at low or medium speeds - it’s easier to drive the tool at first.

Also, be sure to have an on / off button on the case, there may also be a lock button. Here, in a nutshell, are all the nodes. In addition, there is also a parallel stop that is quite convenient to use. It can be simple or adjustable - you can move the cutting part slightly to the right or left.

Care

From the factory, the equipment is lubricated, so in principle, no additional operations are required. But it is necessary to keep the equipment clean - it is necessary to clean the dust more often, change the lubricant if necessary. Lubrication is needed for moving parts - guides. You can use liquid aerosol lubricants (preferably), but you can also use ordinary grease-type "Litol". But, when using thick lubricants, they will have to be removed periodically, as chips and dust stick, it becomes difficult to work. When using light aerosol formulations, there is practically no sticking.

So that the sole slides easily, you can lubricate it silicone grease. This is especially useful when working with templates. Then the tool literally glides, goes smoothly and without jerks.

Rotational speed

Work with a manual milling cutter on wood, composite, plywood, etc. starts with setting the basic parameters. First you need to set the rotation speed. It is selected depending on the selected cutter and the rigidity of the material and the characteristics of the router, so exact recommendations should be sought in the instruction manual.

Fixing the cutter

Next, a cutter is installed. Most branded cutters have marks that you can navigate. If they are not available, then the minimum must be clamped at least 3/4 of the length of the shank (cylindrical part). Insert the cutter to the required depth (if necessary, having previously installed a collet - an adapter chuck for different cutter diameters), fix the shaft, tighten it with an open-end wrench until it stops (but do not overtighten).

If the model is simple, two keys are needed. They do not provide a mechanism for blocking the shaft, the second key will need to hold it. Middle-class devices have a lock button. Clamping it, tighten the cutter with an open-end wrench. In expensive models, in addition to blocking, there is a ratchet by which you can navigate.

Setting the milling depth

Each model of a manual router has a certain overhang - this is the maximum depth to which this unit is able to process the material. The maximum depth of milling is not always required, then its adjustment is required. Even if it is necessary to mill to a great depth, so as not to overload the cutter and the unit too much, it can be divided into several levels. There is a revolver for this. This is a small disk under the bar with a number of stops of different heights - legs. The number of legs is from three to seven, and more does not mean better. It is much more convenient if it is possible to adjust the height of each leg. This shows the class of the equipment. To fix the turret in the desired position, there is a latch, usually made in the form of a flag.

Setting the milling depth on a manual router takes place in several stages:

The tool is placed on a flat surface, the clamps are released, the hand is pressed so that the cutter rests on the surface.
The turret stop is released by unscrewing its lock.

Depending on what depth of milling is needed, choose the leg of the turret stop. The disc with legs is rotated to the desired position.
The screw is not fixed, but the bar is held with a finger, the movable pointer is moved so that it coincides with zero (in the photo above).
The bar is raised to the milling depth mark, after which the turret lock is lowered (pictured below).

Now, when installed on the workpiece and pressing on the upper part, the cutter will enter the part at the set distance.

On good routers there is a wheel for fine adjustment of the depth of milling. It allows you to adjust the depth without knocking down the settings (you do not need to repeat the entire operation), albeit within small limits (in the photo above this is a green wheel).

Milling cutters for manual router

Cutters are cutting tool, which processes and shapes the surface. They consist of a cylindrical part, which is clamped by collets in the unit holder, and a cutting part. The cylindrical part can be of different diameters. Choose one that has a collet for which your machine has. The shape and location of the blades of the cutting part determines the look that the wood receives after processing. Some cutters (for edges) have a thrust roller. It sets the distance from the cutting surface to the workpiece.

Working with a manual wood router involves the presence of a certain number of milling cutters. This is a small part of what exists

Make cutters from different metals and alloys. For processing soft wood - pine, spruce, etc. - use conventional nozzles (HSS), for hard rocks - oak, beech and others - from hard alloys (HM).

Each cutter has a certain resource and maximum speed, which ensures normal operation with minimal runout. Do not exceed the recommended speed - this can cause damage to the router. It also makes no sense to sharpen the cutter if it is dull. This is done on special equipment (worth about $ 1000), where you can set the required sharpening angle. Nothing good can be done manually. So blunt ones are easier (and cheaper) to replace, since they cost relatively little.

Popular types

There are a number of types of router bits that are most commonly used.

There are simple milling cutters, formed from a single piece of metal, there are type-setting. Type-setting have a shank - a base, a certain set of different cutting planes, a set of washers of different thicknesses. From these details, you can independently form the required relief.

Type-setting cutter - a set of several cutting surfaces and washers from which you can make a cutter of the required shape

These are the most popular types of cutters, but in fact there are a lot of them. In addition to different diameters of shanks, there are different diameters of cutting surfaces, their height, the location of knives relative to each other, etc. In general, do-it-yourself milling usually requires about five of the most common milling cutters. They are usually present all the time, and the rest are purchased for specific types of work.

Principles of work with a manual milling cutter

An electric milling cutter is a rather dangerous thing - sharp cutting parts rotating at high speed can cause serious injuries, and chips flying from under the tool too. And although most models have a protective shield that reflects the main flow of chips, goggles will not interfere. So the work of a manual wood router requires attention and concentration.

One of the models - with a connected vacuum cleaner to remove chips

General requirements

Work with a manual wood router will be easier and more enjoyable, the products will turn out to be of normal quality if certain conditions are met:

Not such complex requirements, but their implementation is the key to good work and safety. Well, the main requirement is that the milling cutter must be driven smoothly, without jerks, shocks. If a strong beat is felt, change the speed. Most often, it must be reduced, but in general it is worth focusing on the manufacturer's recommendations (available on the package).

Edge processing - working with a template

Edge processing regular board it is easier and faster to carry out on a thicknesser, but if it is not there, a manual router will also cope, but it will only take more time. There are two ways: without a template and with a template. If this is the first experience with a router, it is better to use a template. When processing the edges of boards, straight edge cutters are needed, and, most likely, two will be needed - with a bearing at the beginning and at the end of the cutting part (pictured).

For edge processing - make a flat surface

As a template, you can use an already processed board or, for example, building rule. The length of the template should be slightly longer than the length of the workpiece - by 5-6 cutter radii on each side. This will make it possible to avoid the “dive” of the cutter into the material at the beginning and at the end. One important point: the horizontal plane (perpendicular to the workpiece) must be level. In any case, its curvature should not be greater than the gap between the bearing and the cutting part, otherwise the cutter will touch the template, and this is very bad - it becomes imperfect and the resulting irregularities will appear on other copies.

If the width of the part is not more than the length of the cutting edge

The cutting part of the cutters has different lengths, but the larger the cutting part, the more difficult it is to work - more effort has to be applied to hold the unit. Therefore, it is easier to start with a medium cutter. The order of processing the edge with a router (with a template) is as follows:

Set the template so that it sets the required flat surface - stepping back the desired distance from the edge.
The blank with the template is securely attached to the table or any other horizontal surface.
Install a cutter with a roller in the middle part. It is set so that the roller rolls along the template, and the cutting part along the part. To do this, the cutter is installed on a fixed workpiece with a template, a milling cutter disconnected from the network is placed, the position of the nozzle is corrected, and it is clamped.
Set the cutter in the working position - lower the body, clamp it.
Turn on a manual milling cutter, guide it according to the template. The speed of movement is determined by the depth of processing. You will feel everything yourself.
And how to conduct a milling cutter? Pull or push? Depends on which side you're on. If the workpiece is on the left, push; if on the right, pull. You can also navigate by the overhang of the chips - it should fly forward.

On this, in fact, everything. After you have completed the passage, evaluate the result, remove the clamps.

This, by the way, is another way to remove a quarter along the edge of the workpiece or in some part of it. To remove a quarter, set the cutting part so that the processing is of a given depth.

By changing the cutter to a curly (fillet) and shifting the template or using the stop that comes with the kit, you can apply a longitudinal pattern to the workpiece (pictured below).

In general, this milling technique is quite convenient. For the first steps in woodworking, this is The best way“fill your hand”, then it will be possible to level the edges even without guides.

The width is greater than the length of the cutting part

What to do if the thickness of the workpiece is not more than the length of the cutting part of the cutter? In this case, the work with a manual wood router continues:

Now the edge is completely processed on one side. If necessary, repeat with the other side. In general, in order to master the work of a manual wood router, you will need several “rough” blanks. Choose from those that you don’t mind throwing away - at first there will be a lot of jambs, then gradually learn.

Obtaining curly and curved edges

If you need not even, but rounded or any other shape of the edge, you need to look at the state of the existing edge. If the workpiece is more or less even, take the necessary edge cutter, install it and process the surface, as described above. If the surface is too curved, it is first brought to a normal state, and then milled.

This is necessary because the bearing roller rolls over the surface and if there are flaws, they will be copied. Therefore, act consistently - first level, then - give curvature.

If a curved surface is boring at all, a template is cut out. The drawing is applied to plywood with a thickness of 8-12 mm, first it can be cut with an electric jigsaw, so the edge is brought to an ideal state with a milling cutter.

In this case, you will also have to work with a router, but so far without a template. When the surface is perfect, the template is fixed to the workpiece and then the work already described above with a manual wood router. Just one point: if you need to shoot in some places a large amount of material, it is better to do it with a jigsaw, for example. Otherwise, the cutter will quickly become dull.

Video tutorials on working with a manual router

When installing doors, it is necessary to cut the hinges, how to do this with a router - in the next video (there is also a guide on how to make a groove, for example, for installing an extension).

How to make a homemade milling machine from laminate samples (you can use plywood) and how to do it tenon connection for drawers (table, for example) - in the next video

The work of a manual wood router is shown well in the next video, but it is on English language. Even if you do not know English, take the time to look. Many operations will become clearer.