Mills, wood cutters. Shank - attached to the router chuck

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This article will be of interest to carpenters and woodworkers. In it, Andrey, the author of the YouTube channel "Joiner Design Bureau", will present you the technology of assembling a frame - a thickness planer for a router. This frame is designed to facilitate the processing of large slabs (wood panels) and leveling of planes.

So, Andrey will show you a slightly unusual milling thicknesser that he was ordered to make.
The scope of application of such mechanisms is quite extensive.

They sell blanks for slabs, and they also sell just boards, say, made of ash or oak.
In some cases, there are cedar boards that are quite thick. Such starting materials always require additional processing along the plane. Alignment may also be required if they are humpbacked or twisted with a screw.

In order to level a wide, large plane, you need to use some special mechanism.
The mechanism that the author made moves on sliders in two directions - therefore, various vibrations and backlashes of the router are minimized. This distinguishes the proposed mechanism from the standard design, which, as a rule, uses rubberized rollers, for example, from roller skates.

And this is not entirely good - you get stripes, which you subsequently have to deal with with the same sanding. This is a rather labor-intensive operation associated with a large amount of dust, and it is not always possible to perform it efficiently and conveniently.

Tools used by the author.
- Nailer (pneumatic stapler) and nails for it 30 mm long

- Clamps
- Brush, hammer.

Materials.
- Cut slats made of laminated MDF 18 mm thick
- Aluminum corner
- Oak bars
- Self-tapping screws
- PVA glue.

Manufacturing process.
To begin with, the author makes a frame. All the details have already been prepared for her.

Apply glue to prepared laminated MDF parts. This will be the frame body.

Starts assembly. Glues the sides of the guide. It also glues stiffening ribs inside the guide body so that over time it does not sag due to load or other factors.

Having first tightened the guide with clamps in the area of ​​the stiffening ribs, tap it with a hammer for a tighter shrinkage.

Then he additionally fixes the parts using a pneumatic stapler.

Having glued the last edge, clamp it with clamps and also fix it with nailer. And leaves it while the glue dries.
Modern PVA D3 allows you to tighten workpieces for a short period of time. And after 20-30 minutes of drying, you can release the clamps if the ambient temperature is more than 20°C.

So, the main parts of the large frame are glued together. As a matter of fact, Andrey made four such structures for the frame and two for the guides.

This is exactly what a 1750X1590 mm frame looks like.

And there, under the frame, a blank 75 mm thick passes. It is possible to invest longer than 1700 mm.

Now all that remains is to make the slider itself, which will move the router over the workpiece.

The author cut triangular slats from oak bars. The slats will be secured like this.

I glued slats onto two additional glued guides and pressed them with clamps.

An aluminum corner is installed on the slats. Fixes it with self-tapping screws. It is softer than steel, the carriage moves along it softer. Even if the guides are tightly tightened, over time the carriage selects the minimum path and always moves smoothly.

This is what the movable carriage looks like.

The author shows from all sides how it is made. At the bottom of the carriage there is a plexiglass sole, 4 mm thick. A plywood frame is attached to it using 5 mm furniture ties and glued together.

Processing manufactured parts with a milling machine offers many possibilities. Parts with the necessary grooves and grooves of various shapes are necessary for high-quality finishing. Operations involving manual woodworking equipment are performed with a special tool - cutters. Each type of action involves a separate type of equipment used.

Classification and types of cutters for wood processing

A power tool for working with lumber – a manual router. The surfaces of parts made of wood are subject to work performed using special devices. The manufacture of products that require the necessary grooves, recesses and recesses involves the use. Before you begin, you need to purchase equipment designed for specific purposes according to the product configuration.

The choice of tools for processing wood occurs according to the specifications of the crafts. Professionals have sufficient experience and skills to use the right equipment. A wood cutter has many purposes:

• In edging, it is used to join workpieces together by splicing grooves.
• Making recesses for use, installation of hinges, and other devices.
• Making decor - in this case, a cutter is used to make a design or in woodworking processes with a complex configuration.

The tool differs greatly in the type of configurations and purpose. Before starting any actions with wood, it is necessary to determine the type and types used for the preparation. The unit of measurement for the tail is calculated in millimeters or inches, depending on the type of router used. Common options are types of cutters with a diameter of 6 to 12 mm. It is worth emphasizing that the use of an inch collet and a millimeter tail is unacceptable, as this can cause equipment failure or injury.

Manufacturers of the kits provide various modifications. On the construction market there is a large selection of types of hand router bits, depending on the purpose and the material used in the manufacture. The hand-held device can be used for processing plastic and metal, but is most widespread in wood processing. The main types of wood working.

1. The production of grooves and the formation of recesses are carried out using end milling cutters.
2. Grooved, the cylindrical wood cutter used cuts the required rectangular groove.
3. Shaped wood tools are used in shaped recesses and edges, allowing you to add uniqueness to the product.
4. The edges are made in a bearing design, which allows the product to be manufactured according to a template.

It is important to remember that the presence of a bearing in a hand router involves maintenance. It is necessary to lubricate the rotating element with a thin layer; this action is performed in order to ensure a long service life of the tool.

End mills

The end devices are similar in design and appearance to a conventional drill. A distinctive feature is the absence of a conical part at the end of the cutter. On the end part, located at an angle of 90 degrees to the sides, cutting teeth are made. The design feature allows you to perform various operations. The main types of work performed include:

• Manufacturing of products with grooves of a certain depth and through holes.
• Cut out the products.
• Drilling or processing the edges of a part.

The main functions of a manual end-mill milling cutter include obtaining grooves for locks and hinges installed in doors into parts. The kit is multifunctional; with the help of prepared equipment and a competent approach, you can perform many interesting elements.

Edge cutters for wood

Edge tools are used to produce various types of edges and recesses. Wood products can be processed using a manual router with edge cutters and fully processed. The edge type is the most common in use and has many modifications:

• Profile sets process parts in such a way as to give the required shape to the edges.
• With moulders, it is possible to round the edge of a part by a quarter of a circle.
• Conical ones remove a chamfer, the angle of which is often 45 degrees.
• Disc machines are used to produce chamfers in parts, making subsequent connections possible.
• Folded ones process the part from the edge, leaving a quarter of the height.
• Fillings are necessary for making a groove, which is drawn into a quarter circle.

Wood edge cutters used for hand routers are often equipped with a bearing, the function of which is to limit the depth of processing required. The overhang of adjustment of the processing area is made by adjustment on the tool itself. Machining large parts requires many attempts. A hand router is used to work on wood in several stages until the thrust bearing begins to operate.

Groove cutters for wood

The main purpose of the type of grooves for wood is to make grooves using hand-held power tools. There are enough varieties of devices; a groove cutter allows you to perform operations on wood with a hand router. Main types of slot cutters:

• Spiral, drill-like, formed with an outer type helical edge. They make it possible to produce parts with recesses and grooves with right angles.
• Fillet - made with a rounded tip.
• Conical ones are often used for operations with planes.
• Shaped ones allow you to make recesses of the required structure.
• "T" shaped, dovetail cutters.
• Combined ones are used when joining large wooden parts.

Most types are made in a monolithic format; accessories made of carbide metal are less common.

Copy cutters

The least common type of attachment when performing woodworking tasks with hand tools is copy cutters. Distinctive features are the numerous types of cutting elements, different locations of thrust bearings and small sizes. The milling head for wood crafts is arranged in the shape of an arc. The depth into the part depends on the processing angle.

Using a tool according to a template allows you to achieve the desired result when working with wooden workpieces. It is necessary to use a hand router with precision and caution; failure to comply with the requirements may lead to damage to the part or electrical equipment.

Designs of cutters and their influence on the technology of milling operations

The instruments under consideration are divided into several main categories, classified by type and purpose. They perform their functions not only under axial load, but have the ability to move during operation due to the presence of side edges. Cutting edges, or rather their number, directly depends on the quality of the actions performed by a manual router.

The tool used for processing is considered to be a manual milling cutter. There are crown-type tools; they allow you to perform work with an ordinary drill. In this case, the milling head used for wood performs the role of processing edges and making simple holes.

The design and production of products with grooves of the required depth and size is carried out using end mills. Knives used for wood milling are subject to considerable loads. Preventing unnecessary machining is achieved through the use of bearings. Hand router end mills allow you to create joints in wooden structures using a tongue/groove system.

To make the necessary hole in the tree, you will need a burr. In most cases, such a tool is used for intermediate processing. The cutters allow you to “open” the hole to the required depth, after which further actions are performed.

Types of cutter design

There are many designs and varieties of equipment for a manual woodworking machine. When choosing a tool, you should pay attention to the purpose and design of the equipment. The sharpening shape of cutters can be of two types - screw and straight. Using a straight sharpening form can lead to rapid damage to the equipment, and the final product may end up with gouges and burrs.

For woodworking with a hand router, the best option is to use a tool with a helical line of teeth. The only drawback is that sharpening is impossible with improvised means; to restore its former sharpness, you need to use special equipment. When using cutters for working with a hand router on wood, you should pay attention to the sharpening angle. A wooden surface is best processed with a tool whose sharpening angle is no more than 90 degrees. The design provides for efficient chip removal, thereby achieving maximum tool performance.

Prefabricated

The most common type on the market is prefabricated. Consists of a blank with welded edges on top. Simple manufacturing makes them most attractive to the manufacturer. The relatively low price allows you not to waste time on sharpening, but simply replace it with a new one if it loses its sharpness.

With replaceable cutting edges

Cutters with replaceable edges. They have replaceable cutting edges; when the knife loses sharpness on one side, it is possible to turn the tool over and continue working.

Monolithic

Monolithic type cutters have cutting edges at the base. They are characterized by increased strength, however, after short work and subsequent sharpening, the part quickly loses its cutting properties.

Types of cutter blades

The materials used in the manufacture of wood cutters differ in some characteristics. The first type of material is high-speed steel. Products made from this material are marked with HSS symbols. With hand tools, using this type of equipment, it will be easy to process soft wood. Thanks to the sharpened properties, the working speed increases in relation to the solid cutter.

The cutting part can be made of carbide metals. Such products are designated HM and are primarily used in the processing of hardwood. A distinctive feature is strength and resistance to elevated temperatures. It will be difficult to qualitatively process soft wood with such a cutter, since the frequency of actions performed is noticeably different from high-speed materials.

Functional cutter sets

You can often find functional sets on sale that consist of two or more elements. This set includes accessories and attachments for a wood router. The main purpose of such kits is to process two or more parts to obtain similar connections. For example, there is a set of 2 cutters, one of which forms an edge inside the product, and the second allows you to make a groove part.

There are universal options that, thanks to their design, can be used for various purposes. The collapsible part involves replacing the cutter blades, after which work with wood is carried out.

It is worth noting that the presence of a table for storing all types of equipment accessories will reduce the time for the actions performed, and it is also possible to build something like a milling machine. By installing movable stops on the table, the master expands the range of possibilities of the tool for woodworking.

Areas of application

The use of any type of equipment involves dangerous work with rotating elements. When working with wood, you must remember safety precautions. Complex elements cannot be completed in one approach; the edges of the cutter must be sharpened for the best result.

Wood carving with a router

When getting started, you should understand what type of cutter you need to use. The tool of the edge category has become very widespread. This category makes it possible to perform almost all types of woodwork with your own hands. Slotted or cylindrical cutters are used mainly for making recesses at the ends of the material.

How to choose a wood cutter for a hand router

The choice of cutters on the building materials market is very rich. The price range is varied; it is not always possible to determine whether the purchase is being made correctly. It is necessary to adhere to several basic conditions for choosing the right wood cutter.

1. Quality. It is worth paying attention to the appearance of the part. The product must be free of burrs, have high-quality threads and seats.
2. Thermal strength is indicated in the passport; the higher, the better and more reliable for further use.
3. The solder material, as well as the connection between the tail and the part responsible for cutting.

The quality of soldering of the product plays an important role when working with lumber. Then, when working with hard wood, a certain margin of safety of the tool is required. Solder is divided into types and brands; when purchasing, you need to pay attention to its quality in the cutter. It is advisable to pay attention to a tool whose solder grade is not lower than PSR 37.5. The higher the number, the better the reliability and quality of the part. The brand is indicated by the amount of copper and silver in its composition. When connecting by welding, using a router becomes unsafe and pointless.

Monolithic cutters must be inspected before use. The quality of the metal is determined by the cut. If noticeable scratches or cracks appear, then you should put this tool aside. The optimal metal hardness is from 58 units. The quality of work performed with a manual router directly depends on the availability of devices and kits.

Selecting the right tool is the right way to a good result when working with wood. A cutter made for a wood router must meet all standards and be of high quality. There are many kits that are designed for woodworking. A high-quality kit guarantees not only completed tasks, but also safe operation.

This review will be useful to anyone interested in carpentry and making furniture from wood. We will talk about the most common types of cutters for hand routers, their intended purpose and describe several typical examples of use.

Main sizes

Manual milling machines have become widespread due to their ease of use and the ability to perform delicate operations on large parts. However, they are not at all universal, mostly due to the limited size of the cutting element - the cutter.

The largest among cutters for manual processing can be called analogues of Forstner drills, used for making blind grooves for furniture hinges. Some linear dimensions may be higher, so some cutters are classified as disk or finger cutters. In general, the maximum depth can reach 80-90 mm, and the diameter - 60-70 mm. It is important to know this in order to determine in advance whether this or that type of processing can be performed with a manual milling machine.

This is not to say that absolutely all cutters are interchangeable. They vary in shank diameter and should exactly match the collet size of your tool. Milling cutters with seat sizes of 6, 8 and 12 mm are considered to be running. However, a set of replacement collets or adapter sleeves will eliminate the compatibility problem.

Milling cutters of different sizes have their own specific operation. While small cutters with a cutting depth of 10-15 mm can be operated relatively freely, deeper cutting will require a slow feed with little force. And if a high-hardness part is to be processed, a significant increase in speed will also be required.

Blade materials, replacement knives

Before moving on to the description of the cutters, one small nuance should be clarified. For most craftsmen, cutters for a hand router are consumables that cannot be sharpened or repaired. This is only partly true, because there are serviceable components used in small-scale production lines.

This type of cutter consists of a base and a set of knives. Such a design is necessary when a certain technological processing operation is carried out constantly, and a significant load is placed on the cutter. An option for such an application is the production of furniture overlays, lining or euro-window frames. The mechanical fastening of the knives allows for their fine calibration, so that all products from the batch will be identical, even if the cutter breaks during the manufacturing process. For sets of cutters that form mating parts of parts, this is especially important.

Both replaceable and soldered blades are made from the same types of steel. If you do not take into account special consumables for processing plastic, artificial stone and non-ferrous metals, wood cutters are divided into HSS (high-speed) and HM (carbide) based on the material of the knives. The latter have obtuse edge sharpening angles, which increases the working life when working with dense wood species. Quick cutters are sharpened at a sharper angle, so they are good for processing soft fibrous rocks.

Edge cutters

End or edge cutters are one of two main types, designed to give the edge of a workpiece a shaped profile. They can be either simple, forming a chamfer or fillet cut, or very complex in shape.

Edge cutters are often also called copy cutters due to the presence of a thrust bearing. In the simplest milling technique, the bearing simply rests against the machined edge of the workpiece, and the cutter takes the grip strictly to a certain depth. When copying, the bearing rests against a template applied flat to the workpiece, and thus the cutter sets not only the profile of the edge, but also the shape of the part itself. The bearing can be located at the very tip of the cutter or in its upper part near the shank. There are also cutters with two bearings.

In terms of profile shape, end mills have the highest variety among other types. In addition to decorative edges, wide slopes (curly cutter), end grooves (disc cutter), recesses (rebated cutter), and even double-sided figured chamfers can be formed. Note that not all edge cutters have a thrust bearing, but all cutters with bearings have edge cutters.

Finger and solid cutters for grooving

Milling cutters without bearings are usually called slotted cutters. Some of them have edges that close at the bottom end, some are equipped only with end knives, like a Forstner drill. With such cutters it is possible to enter with a vertical feed of the router, and therefore they are ideal for cutting out lugs and blind grooves.

Cutters with side edges make grooves and grooves only starting from the edge of the workpiece; sometimes they are used for copying according to an internal template and making carpentry joints. Most cutters of this class are monolithic; their shape can be:

• rectangular;
• trapezoidal;
• fillets;
• wedge-shaped;
• shaped with a more complex shape of cutting edges.

Spiral cutters are ideal for cutting blind grooves with a vertical entry, since their helical edges remove chips well, significantly increasing the speed of work. Spiral cutters are considered faster cutting than conventional cutters, but have a rather meager selection of profile shapes. However, fillet, trapezoidal and V-shaped grooves are cut much faster with their help.

A special type of groove cutters can be called rosette cutters, designed for cutting radial patterns of complex shapes. You can work with them either with a point immersion or according to a template, leaving a groove with equal shaped sides. Also keep in mind that almost all types of end mills can be used for edge processing, either by trimming or to the end using a special stop.

Milling cutters for creating carpentry joints

Structural cutters are called cutters designed for cutting parts for carpentry joints. As a rule, these are not individual cutters, but sets with counter-mirror profiles. There are several main types of such cutters.

Microtenon cutters are used for trimming the ends of parts before glue splicing. With their help, you can form grooves and tenons of both rectangular and wedge-shaped shapes. The kit usually includes two cutters, in one of them the cutting edges are offset by half a tooth.

The set of tongue-and-groove cutters also consists of two parts: one for cutting the groove, the other for the protrusion on the counter part. As a rule, such cutters are used in the manufacture of tongue-and-groove floorboards or when joining furniture panels. Unlike conventional disk or slot cutters, which could be used for the same purpose, the tongue and groove set has optimal additive values ​​and does not require careful height adjustment.

The cutters for corner joints are single, but the parts to be joined are passed in different positions. It is also possible to use such a cutter for flat splicing with glue. Please note that initially a cutter of this type was intended to work on a milling table, and it can only be used with a hand tool if there is a special stop and limiter.

A single trapezoidal finger cutter is used to cut the dovetail joint. However, to cut the desired profile at the end of the board, again, you will need a cross stop or a special template. The width of the tail can be arbitrary, but more often the groove for it is prepared in one pass of the cutter. This type of connection includes others that are similar in principle, but with a T-shaped or F-shaped groove. They also have their own paired sets of cutters.

Special and combined cutters

Many wood or MDF products today are made by hand milling using templates and specially designed cutters. These include door panels, furniture facades, wooden handrails, even finishing lining - the range of special cutters is wide enough for you to start your own production with just one hand cutter.

Even more possibilities are provided by the so-called shell cutters. They consist of a spindle and one or more mandrels with blades of various shapes. By rearranging the attachments in different orders, alternating them with bushings and bearings, you can achieve a high variety of profiles when processing edges. That is why such sets are so popular among furniture makers working with solid wood and MDF.

Standing apart are cork cutters, designed for drilling cylindrical dowels to strengthen carpentry joints and locally eliminate wood defects. Sets of narrow cutters for fine engraving are also common. Finally, if none of the thousands of samples meets your needs, there is always the opportunity to contact a specialized company and make a custom-made cutter.

Wood processing at home has become much easier thanks to the advent of new tools. One of the most popular of them is the manual router. But to choose the right consumable tools, you need to familiarize yourself with the types of wood cutters and their functional features.

Working principle of cutters

The purpose of this type of woodworking tool is the formation of recesses of a certain shape or fine processing of the surface of a workpiece. To perform these functions they have individual design features.

Currently, there are several fundamental differences between wood cutters for various purposes. To complete a manual router, so-called finger models are used. Structurally, they are similar to drills - they have a tail, main and working part. However, this is where the similarities end. The main difference is the type of movement of the part and the tool. The processing part for wood has a rotational moment, and the workpiece has a translational moment.

Using finger tools, you can perform the following types of processing of wooden workpieces:

• edge processing. Necessary for interfacing various workpieces with each other. In effect, a tenon/groove assembly is formed;
• insertion of hinges or other fittings;
• decorative function. Using a hand-held wood router, you can make three-dimensional shapes on the surface of flat products or workpieces with complex configurations.

In practice, any professional craftsman can list several dozen ways to use finger cutters on wood or metal. But to correctly select a specific set of tools, you need to familiarize yourself with the official classification.

In addition to the processing tool, the quality of work is affected by the configuration and type of hand router. In particular, a set of additional stops and templates.

Classification of cutters

The determining parameter for cutters is the types of work that can be performed with their help. For a small furniture production, a set may consist of several edge processing tools. Professional carpentry shops will require more tools.

Profile cutters

They are among the most popular tools for processing wooden products. They can be used to form grooves, quarters and grooves. One of the methods of application is the production of curves on the ends of the workpiece.

Depending on the area of ​​application, processing tools of this type are divided into the following categories:

• For rounding edges. Structurally, they can consist of cutting parts with different radii. In this way, a complex figured edge is formed in one pass;
• For chamfering. They differ in the angle of inclination of the chamfers (from 45° to 60°), as well as their number. In their design, the working edges are only lateral. To improve positioning accuracy, they contain a thrust bearing in the lower part;
• Grooving. In many ways similar to models for forming chamfers. The difference lies in the presence of a cutting part at the lower working end.

The most popular area of ​​application for this type of tool is furniture production and the production of decorative frames of various types.

Grooved

Designed for the full implementation of the cutting part into the workpiece and the subsequent formation of grooves or grooves with a complex configuration. Groove models consist of main working parts (side) and auxiliary (end). The latter is needed to deepen the tool into a wooden part.

After installing the tool on a hand router, you can make grooves of various shapes in wood. The configuration of groove models depends on the design and shape of the cutting parts. Based on these parameters, the processing tool can be divided into the following groups:

• straight edges. They can have a diameter ranging from 2 to 30 mm. Well suited for primary processing;
• spiral configuration of the cutting part. Their size varies from 3 to 8 mm. Designed for processing soft wood. Their shape allows for good removal of chips from the processing area;
• for cutting tenons;
• finger-type disc instruments. Designed for making grooves on the end parts of products. To ensure accurate groove formation, it is recommended to make multiple passes of the cutting part.

When choosing grooving tools, you need to pay attention to the size of the rotation angles of the edges being machined. Additionally, the parameters of the templates and stops of the hand router are taken into account.

Rebate selection (quarters)

Their configuration is in many ways similar to finger cylindrical models. The difference lies in the presence of thrust components located at the bottom of the structure. They may take the form of thrust pins. An alternative option is to install a bearing.

This addition is necessary for precise positioning of the edges at the end of the workpiece. In this way, the same groove width is achieved. Depending on the configuration, the following types of cutting tools with a lower stop are distinguished:

• fit. The diameter of the bearing and working edges is the same. Designed for flush processing of the edge part of the workpiece;
• prefabricated Several cutting parts can be installed on the tool shaft, thereby changing the configuration of the future groove or quarter. This function is necessary for connecting several parts with complex shapes.

When choosing models that use a rotating thrust pin as a stop, it should be taken into account that it will leave an uneven surface after processing. But at the same time, the processing speed of such models is much higher than that of tools with thrust bearings.

Special

In most cases, special-purpose models are used to improve the aesthetic qualities of processed products. With their help, you can form complex convex patterns on the end and front parts of the workpieces.

To form the ornament, you can use V-shaped tools. In addition, they will perform the function of engraving. Changing the position of the tool on wood often occurs not according to a template, but freely - by hand. In addition to this model, the following special types of wood cutters are used:

• for forming holes for dowels;
• for installation of furniture fittings - hinges, locks and similar elements;
• formation of two matching profiles. One of them serves as a response.

These are just typical cases of using special woodworking tools. To create truly complex designs without a lot of time, special one-piece models are often developed.

Additionally, when choosing a milling tool, it is necessary to take into account not only its configuration, but also the material of manufacture. For processing hard wood, it is recommended to use models with carbide tips. They will not only quickly complete the required work, but will also ensure high quality. To increase functionality, you can use models with removable cutting edges.

Mills for hand routers are presented in a wide variety on the modern market, which makes it possible to choose such a tool for performing specific technological operations. It is difficult to imagine that relatively recently, several decades ago, cutters designed to equip a hand router were considered scarce goods.

Using a hand router, you can create all kinds of profiles, recesses or grooves using a wide range of attachments

Today there is no problem in purchasing both the manual router itself and the working attachments that turn such a device into multifunctional equipment. At the same time, they are available for free sale for hand-held milling machines, as well as for processing wood and other materials. Sometimes such a variety of power tools and working attachments for them makes it difficult to choose, so the buyer should have a good understanding of the design features of these technical devices and the areas of their use.

Design features

The design of any milling cutter attachment includes two main elements: the shank and the working part.

• The shank allows you to fix the cutter in the chuck of the equipment used. According to its design, the shank of a tool for a manual milling cutter can have a cylindrical or conical shape; in addition, there is often a flat on the shank that prevents it from slipping in the equipment chuck. In addition to reliable fastening in the chuck of a hand-held router, the shank also ensures that the tool penetrates the material being processed to the required depth. A bearing is installed on the shanks of individual models, which acts as a stop that goes around the template during processing. Thanks to the use of this design, the edge of the part processed using a manual milling machine is given the required configuration, and the device itself, the bearing in which is easy to replace, is subject to minimal wear. In addition, such an attachment, equipped with a bearing, does not need to be installed on a manual router with a copy ring, which greatly simplifies the work.
• The working part of the tool for a manual milling machine performs the main job - it determines the shape and quality characteristics of the surface being processed. This element has a monolithic design (made entirely of high-speed steel) or is equipped with replaceable dial disks mounted on the central axis. The second design option has a higher cost, but is more practical, since it allows, using one shank, to create on its basis tools with different configurations of the working part (the so-called attachment cutters).

Based on the material used, tools for hand routers are divided into two main types.

• Milling cutters made from high-speed steels are marked HSS. Tools made from this material perform well when processing soft wood with a hand router, but when working with hard wood they quickly overheat and become dull. The big advantage of this type of cutter, among other things, is its low cost.
• Tools for a wood router may have a cutting part made of carbide inserts. You can recognize such products, which are used primarily for processing hard wood, by the designation HM. Despite the fact that they wear out more slowly, when used for processing soft wood, it is quite difficult to obtain a high-quality cut. Milling should be performed at a slower speed than when using high-speed steel cutters.

Wood cutters for a hand router also differ in the shape of the sharpening of their cutting teeth, which can be straight or helical. Tools with straight cutting teeth, although easier to maintain, become dull faster. In addition, when using such cutters to process wood with a heterogeneous structure, chips and gouges may occur on it.

You can get an almost perfect milled surface with tools for a hand router, the cutting teeth of which are located along a helical line. Meanwhile, the use of such cutters is associated with certain difficulties, which consist in the fact that for sharpening it is necessary to use special equipment, therefore, if they lose their cutting properties, they are most often simply replaced with new ones.

The angle at which the working edge is sharpened is also important. This angle, the value of which is selected depending on the characteristics of the material being processed, usually does not exceed 90°. The design of the cutting edge, in addition to the front and back relief surfaces, also includes a rather complex surface configuration, which is responsible for the effective removal of chips from the processing zone. It should be borne in mind that without a properly formed chipbreaker, high-speed milling will not be possible.

Set milling tools (mounted cutters) are often made with double sharpening of the cutting part, which allows them to double their working life. After one of the working elements that make up the cutting part becomes dull, it is simply turned over 180°. Meanwhile, working milling attachments with double sharpening, due to the peculiarities of their design, cannot be made in a complex configuration, which significantly reduces the efficiency of their use and, accordingly, the quality of the processing result.

Areas of application

To equip a manual wood router today, various tools are offered, each of which is designed to perform specific technological tasks.

End mills

End mills in their design are very similar to conventional drills, the working end of which does not have a conical part. The design feature of wood end mills is that their end part, located at an angle of 90° to the sides, also has cutting teeth. This design feature allows the use of cutters of this type to perform various technological operations, which, in particular, include:

1. drilling;
2. creating grooves on the surface of the workpiece, including through-type ones;
3. quarter sample;
4. cutting blanks;
5. edge processing.

In addition, with the help of such a universal tool, you can process stepped surfaces, cut grooves for door locks and hinges, and also solve many other technological problems.

Slot cutters

Groove cutters for wood, in full accordance with their name, are used to create grooves of various shapes and sizes on the workpiece. Depending on the design, slot cutters are divided into the following categories:

1. straight cutters for cutting grooves of a rectangular profile (this also includes a finger cutter for wood for a manual router);
2. shaped cutters for woodworking, with the help of which grooves of a shaped configuration are made on the surface of the workpiece (a shaped cutter, in particular, allows you to imitate a panel pattern on the surface of the workpiece);
3. cutters for creating grooves with a dovetail configuration (such a technological operation requires the use of a special template);
4. structural cutters, which are used to select grooves in a T-shaped configuration (in this case, it is necessary to ensure effective removal of chips from the groove being formed);
5. cutters with a cone-shaped working part (with their help, engraving work is performed with a manual milling cutter, and grooves of a V-shaped configuration are created);
6. fillet tools used to select grooves of a semicircular configuration on the surface of the workpiece (a fillet cutter is often used to perform decorative processing of wood products).

Edge milling tool

Edge cutters, which are among the most common tools used for hand router work, are also divided into several categories:

1. straight cutters, also known as copy cutters and often equipped with a guide bearing (they allow you to create perfectly straight edges on the workpiece);
2. shaped edge cutter, or profile cutter, with the help of which the edge of the workpiece can be given any configuration;
3. figurine cutters used for making door panels and baseboards;
4. a cone-type tool for hand-held milling cutters, with the help of which the edge of the workpiece is cut at the required angle (the design feature of cutters of this type is that they are almost always equipped with guide bearings);
5. edge molding cutter, used to give the edge of the workpiece a rounded shape (edge ​​molding cutter, as a rule, is also equipped with a guide bearing);
6. a fillet tool, like an edge moulder cutter, allows you to process the edges of a product in an arc, but give them a concave rather than a convex shape (by design, such a tool and an edge moulder cutter are a mirror image of each other; like an edge moulder cutter, a fillet tool most often equipped with a guide bearing);
7. microtenon cutter, which allows the formation of thin triangular tenons on the surface of the workpiece, used to create a connection between two joined wooden parts.

Using a milling tool to remove a quarter

To cut a quarter groove (rebate) on the edge of a wooden product, a rebated edge cutter is used. As a rule, when it is necessary to perform a sufficiently large volume of such work, manual milling cutters equipped with an edge rebate cutter are used in conjunction with a special device that is easy to make by hand. The need for it is explained by the fact that creating quarter grooves is a rather labor-intensive operation, so for its accurate and high-quality implementation it is better to use additional equipment.