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Specialty Accessories

Among the many accessories and literally dozens of bit profiles available for routing, a few are deserving of special mention:

Hearing Protectors… are a necessity with routers. Their high-pitched whine has been widely recognized as one of the most annoying and detrimental sounds in your shop. Our recommendation is that you NEVER operate a hand-held router motor without this protection. (Safety Goggles are equally important)

Router Bit Depth Gauges… are inexpensive devices that makes quick work of setting accurate router bit depths, without a lot of fiddling around.

Dovetail fixtures… are a “must” for creating machine-cut dovetails. Available in a wide range of prices that can go as high as several hundred dollars, they can also be used to form box joints.

Router Pantographs… help you make engraved wooden designs and fancy patterns on workpiece surfaces by merely tracing paper patterns of varying sizes with a stylus.

Router Mats… are great, inexpensive aids that are used to provide a non-slip surface that (when placed on a benchtop) will hold workpieces in position (without the need for clamps) while you work on them with your hand-held router.

Router Corner Chisels… are spring-loaded, self-aligning devices with a 90o, L-shaped chisel. Slip them into a routed (rounded) corner and strike with a hammer to quickly turn your rounded corner into a square one !

Router Bits…are available in hundreds of different profiles and styles to tackle virtually any workshop task you can imagine from decorative edging and creating your own moldings for trim work or picture framing to producing fine, tight-fitting joinery.

Routing Tips

1) ALWAYS wear proper eye and ear protection when working with routers as their motors operate at very high speeds and prolonged exposure could result in hearing loss.

2) ALWAYS unplug your router when making adjustments or changing bits.

3) When inserting a bit into the router motor collet, insert the shank all the way into the collet, then back it out about 1/16” to 1/8” before tightening. This approach will allow you to clamp the bit securely...and remove it without hassles.

4) When routing against the grain of the wood, move your router over the stock at a slower pace and take shallower cuts to reduce splintering and produce smoother results.

5) When a substantial amount of stock must be removed, make several passes instead of just one. Make your first cut shallow…then adjust your depth-of-cut and make another pass. Continue as necessary until the desired depth or profile is achieved.

6) Use dust collection whenever possible. Shopsmith’s Routing set-ups all offer built-in dust collection hook-ups. Use them. Because of their high speeds, routers can be among the messiest of all workshop tools. For certain hand-held routing operations, Shopsmith’s Utility Vacuum Extension can be clamped to your bench or elsewhere to pick up a great deal of the dust and chips that are produced.

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