(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best router parts & accessories

Sorry it took so long to reply. Been busy in the shop.

Plywood. Love or hate it, right? There is nothing inherently wrong with using plywood. Plywood makes fantastic drawer bottoms. I have a big chunk of it in the middle of the top of the coffee table I'm building. I am even using it for door panels in the built-in closet I'm also working on. In each of these instances the edges of the plywood is completely concealed. Before the thought crosses your mind, slapping a 1/4" thick strip of hardwood does not conceal the edge. It looks like a piece of veneered plywood with a hardwood strip glued on. No finishing tricks will ever make it look good. I've tried. Oh how I have tried.


There are tricks to using plywood so nobody knows. For lower-grade furniture I have built for friends, I have used the hot-melt glue edgebanding. I only use it for painted pieces, because whatever they say the veneer is, it isn't and it will never match the walnut or cherry plywood. Unless you spend hours using tints and dyes to get it to match. Your time is money, so it would have been cheaper to just use solid wood. If you have a perfectly dialed in tablesaw, and have some serious balls, you can use a dado blade to hog out the plywood in-between the outer veneer layers. Modern ply uses 1/128th or maybe 1/64th" thick veneer, so you have very tight tolerances to work with. And they can't support any weight, so you have to MacGuyver some way of supporting the plywood while you do this. But then you glue in a strip of hardwood and it is nearly invisible. Or, you can do what I do and cheat.


I use plywood for building drawer boxes all the time. For the shop. I always use a dado to hold the plywood drawer bottom. This guy's use of a plywood drawer box with a luan bottom on what is portrayed as a piece of fine furniture detracts from the piece aesthetically so much that McIKEA crap looks like a Maloof original. I would have use solid maple sides 3/4" thick with a 1/2" thick front and back of maple, and maple ply in the bottom. All untreated. I'd route a 3/8" deep dado 1 1/2" wide on the drawer box front to back, and centered. On the inside of the drawer cavity I'd mount a 3/8" thick maple strip, just a smidge under 1 1/2" thick on each side. Wax both the groove in the drawer and the rail with a good wax like Renaissance Wax, and call it a day. That would look a million times better than the cheap Chinese drawer slide.


If you are starting woodworking, go to antique shops and ask permission to look at how older pieces of furniture were built. They didn't have plywood back in the 1800's and they had dressers, chests, tables, etc. as wide as could be. The name of that game is wood movement. Here is a 3m video by some dude on wood movement. Here is a calculator from Fine WoodWorking that you can use to figure out how much wood will move. I've built a Dining Table, and to accommodate the seasonal wood movement, I used breadboard ends (glued the middle 2", each end free to expand/contract) and attached it to the frame the same. (Screwed in the middle, and figure-8's on the corners.

Onto Dominoes. Full disclosure, I think 90%+ of Festool is overpriced plastic crap. Floating tennons are damn cool, and if I cannot jury-rig a horizontal mortiser, I might buy one. In this case, he has to use a floating tennon because the miter joint isn't working. So before you drop $1500+ on the latest plastic do-dad stop. Pull your head out of your butt and think. Maybe a miter is not the best joint for what I want to do... A 1/8" hardwood spline would have been a better choice than dominoes. Those floating tennon thingys are not cheap. A domino would be one of the last tools i'd buy. There are much better places to spend your money.


>A miter vs a dovetail should be mainly in aesthetics in the end right?

Nope. A miter has zero mechanical strength - the only thing holding it together is wood glue. With plywood only a half of the wood is a long grain to long grain joint, which is the strongest glue joint. Also, unless you have your tools dialed in perfectly, it is really hard to get two perfect 45^o joints. A miter does have the advantage of hiding all endgrain. A dovetail is self-squaring and provides a lot of glue surface. Also, because of how the dovetail is assembled, the grain on both pieces run in the same direction, so seasonal wood movement will not blow the joint apart.


Although it does show end-grain, the dovetail is almost universally seen as a hallmark of fine furniture. You can control where you see the end grain if you use half-blind dovetails. For this piece, I would attach the top (pins) to the sides (tails) with half-blind dovetails. this way, the top is unmarred by the tails' end-grain. I'd probably just use full dovetails to attach the bottom. The grain of all 4 sides would run left <-> right and up <-> down. This way, seasonal movement would only make the piece stick out from the wall 1/8" more or less depending on the season.


>Plus why is it better to use chisels? That to me sounds kinda snobby.

Chisels are not snobby. I am firmly in the middle of the Normite versus Neanderthal argument. I use power tools and hand tools alike. Some operations are best suited to one or the other, but there are no absolutes when you work with a once-living medium. Sometimes my random-orbital sander is the best way to get a piece ready to finish, and other times it just makes a mess of the delicate and wild grain of a burl. So I use a #80 scraper.


Every woodworker should have a decent set of chisels. I have a set of Marples, but it looks like they were bought out by Irwin. This looks like a good set for the money All 8 for $100 sounds like a good deal to me. I have the Narex mortise chisels and the cranked-neck paring chisels and they are more than adequate for what I use them for. Those paring chisels are just fucking awesome for cleaning out glue from the inside of joints.


Every woodworker should also have a #5 bench plane, and a low-angle block plane. I got my Stanley #5 for $5 at a flea market. Cleaning it up and sharpening the blade took ~45 minutes. I can cut a shaving that is too thin to measure with fractional calipers. Veritas planes are really nice, but $300 for only a marginal improvement over my $5 Stanley?


A set of scrapers will run you $20. If you don't have strong hands when you start using them, you bet your ass you will when you are done. A #80 is just a fancy holder for a larger scraper. Those are rare as hell at flea markets. I've only seen one, and I bought it for $20.


I hope this has helped you out. The things that have helped me the most are:

1. Fine Wood Working - I read it religiously. I study the gallery and read every article.
   
   
2. New Yankee Workshop - Nahm Abrams began this show as a carpenter, and ended it as a furnituremaker. I live on the South Shore, so his Yankee frugality - building his own tool stations - strikes a chord w/ me.
   
   
3. WoodWorks hosted by David Marks. - Although I am not a fan of contemporary design, his show helped me a lot. I didn't have the balls to try tung oil until I watched this show. He uses it on everything.
   
   
4. Woodnet forums A bunch of friendly peeps on a woodworking forum.
   
   
   I have seen both shows up on youtube and are popular re-runs on cable tv. Especially on the DIY channels in the wee hours of the morning. Set your DVR.
   
   Damn this got long. Send me a PM if you need advice. I cannot guarantee I'll respond right away, but I will respond.
   
   edit: fixed some formatting

Kudos on diving into a huge project. You're going to learn a ton.

1. Router sled is a great option. Watch LOTS of videos. If you don't have a bench or table big enough to set up a router sled, you can do it on the floor just fine, as long as your floor is flat. Here is an example of the type of router bit you'll need. Go slow and make shallow cuts - trust me on this one. And be sure that with a slab this big, it's not rocking at all when lying on a flat surface (you may have to use shims or the like when setting it up). If it's got any twist to it then it may rock, and you won't get a flat surface when planing it.
   
   
2. Wood filler and epoxy will both work, as will very fine sawdust mixed with wood glue.
   
   
3. Yep, take it off. I've done this once, so I'm not exactly expert, but I took the bark with a chisel (be careful not to gouge the wood) then sanded the edges with sanding drill bits. Worked for me.
   
   
4. There are as many opinions about finishing as there are woodworkers on this sub. I recommend you take the top 4 or 5 suggestions you get on here and try them all on the underside of the slab. See which one you like the best and go with it. If it were me, I'd seal with shellac first (maple gets blotchy so sealing first is a good idea) then finish with a wiping oil-based poly, doing a ton of coats. Personally, I thin [this stuff] (http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/251617123224?lpid=82) with paint thinner (about 50/50) because the dude who owns my lumber yard recommended it and it's worked great for me, but please do your own research.
   
   
5. No nails. They are shitty fasteners. Screws are great, but you need to account for wood movement when you decide how to attach your slab to the base that you build. That's too long a discussion for here - please do yourself a favor and read up online about wood movement. You'll pretty quickly figure out your different options. Here are some examples of discussions on topic.
   
   Good luck!!!

They're a fortune. No one builds a solid desk out of ebony, and few do it out of black walnut. I've done this math. I'm sitting at an Ikea Jerker desk with a 3'x4', 3/4" thick top. If I were to remake the top out of Home Depot's cheapest hardwood - poplar - it would be on the order of $50. If I were to go with ebony gaboon from Woodworker's Source (decent online prices), it would be around $2600. Remember, that's just for a 3'x4' rectangle.

However, I'd never build out of ebony, even if I could afford it. All species that fall under the ebony umbrella are rare and dwindling in numbers, because of rapid population growth in the areas where it grows, the fact that it tends to grow in poorer areas where people are often more concerned with where their next meal is coming from than in conservation, which leads to overharvesting, and the fact that most ebony takes between 60 and 200 years to grow to usable size. It is not being reponsibly managed, and there are groups, conservation movements, scientific studies, published papers, and much else revolving around what to do about the fact that this resource is highly threatened. A lot of woodworking stores won't supply it, or can't, legally. In fact, I've actually never seen ebony in anything close to the size needed to build a desk. I have a few 1' long 2x2s.

Walnut is a far better option. My desk top would only be over $100, instead of over $2500 :) Walnut, from what I've seen, has a hugely varying BF price (board foot - a unit of volume equal to 144"³, e.g. a 1" thick 12"x1' board). I've seen it anywhere from $6+ to $10+ per BF, or on sale for about $4/BF. You can probably find it <$4/BF at a sawmill in a walnut-rich area. As rare as I find it to be here in LA, and the fact that it's being ravaged all over the western US by Thousand Cankers Disease (thankfully, most of the US' black walnut trees seem unaffected so far, in the eastern half of the US), I still see people talking about it in woodworking forums like it's a weed where they live, and many of them use it as firewood!

If you do make it out of walnut, you can cut costs considerably, and save a few walnut trees with what are called secondary woods - i.e. woods for the interior, unseen part that are much more affordable and commonplace. You can see in the pics of this walnut desk build that they used poplar, baltic birch ply, and some oak ply for the interior.

As for the beveled edge, that's a tricky one. The top is too big for a router table (unless you build or buy many rolling supports - but still, awkward). The bit you'd need is far too big for most routers. You'll probably be building up the top out of separate planks glued together, so that gives you the ability to use a router table on a single plank which you'd then glue to the front. For bits, you might be able to find raised panel bits like you want, but more likely you'll want to go for a table top bit, or more likely, as most table top bits impart fancy edges (like this), you'll want a handrail bit. Grizzly makes this one and this larger one. There are also versions from Amana, CMT, Yonico, and Freud.

Definitely research the quality of those, and determine the actual sizes before you buy, as it's hard to tell from an image. I have no affiliation or preferences here. I've only worked with Freud, and only 1 or 2 bits briefly, and they were fine, but so have been pretty much all router bits I've ever used. I can feel the difference in a quality bit, in that wood just seems to slide past with little effort. This is likely a case of better quality steel sharpened more lovingly. I've broken a handful of Ryobi bits, but in fairness, they were 1/4" shank, and I was pushing them pretty hard. It's really hard to break these 1/2" shank. In fact, I've never heard of it happening.

I keep feeling there's a clever way to do this with something like a wide moulding plane.

If you have a router, you can use a router-planer jig. The only annoying part about this is making sure your jig is level and your board is planned out, but it's very important. Here's a random example from youtube https://youtu.be/Z9ECXZulTDU?t=12 but you can find plans all over the internet.

But lets say you got yourself a jointer or planer - because each are different and have their own benefits and drawbacks; for example I prefer a jointer to a planer for many reasons - what happens if the board becomes super twisted or crazy cupped during your drying process? What happens if you don't have enough space to plane that super long/wide board but your project requires the length or width of board? Aren't jointers and planers expensive, and require lots of maintenance? Aren't jointers and planers huge machines that take up valuable shop space? Don't they leave nasty marks at the end that you'll have to sand off anyway? This is where the router jig will come in.

• A router jig is safer than a jointer or a planer. You can more safely shim up sides on twisted or cupped boards and plan your final board more easily. Since your hands and body are moving towards spinning blades with a jointer or planer you're much less safe than using a router jig if the piece goes crazy on you. With the router jig, your hands and body are safely away from the cutting implement.
  
  
• For larger pieces, you can simply build a larger jig rather than cutting the piece down and re-gluing later, buying a larger machine, working unsafely to "get the project started", trying to figure out another router or planer solution, or infeed/outfeed table solution. The size of your router jig is determined by you, large or small, and you can just move it out of the way back to the side of the shop (or hanging up, or disassembled!) when not in use.
  
  
• A router jig is cheaper than a jointer or planer. If you already have a router, all you need is a larger flat cut bit (like this and a way to sharpen it. Buy a couple just in case. When one is done, just get another and keep working.
  
  
• There's virtually no maintenance on a router jig. If you build it out of metal, it will always be square. The large flat cut bit on a router takes less time and requires less work to sharpen when dulled. If you're sharpening a jointer or planer blade, then you've got to disassemble the entire machine to get at it, and reassemble (ensuring it's flat and square!) when done sharpening.
  
  
• A jointer or planer uses a cutter that leaves marks at the end that need to be sanded, scraped, or planed away. Your router jig will also leave marks that need to be sanded, scraped, or planed away; what I'm saying is you'll have to plane, sand, or scrape anyway with a jointer or planer so why not just build it into your board preparation process from the start and work with something safer, cheaper, and more extendable.

I’m using Kool Mist for just about everything and I’ve been happy with it. It’s cheap, works well and doesn’t leave a huge mess. If I could run a proper flood coolant system I would, but due to being an open machine I can’t.

The bath is super easy, it’s just a bit more involved to set up. If I had an enclosed machine, I’d be inclined to run it with flood coolant every time, but I’d be worried about that getting into the machine. Getting that powder on your ways is fucking terrible and can destroy a machine pretty quickly if you’re not cleaning everything after each time you cut CF. I think the extra time for setup is worth it, but I’m not running production or having to hold super tight tolerances in most cases.

I’ve mainly been doing 3mm CF using 1/8” end mills. I’m pretty sure I’m using what you’re describing. I get the coated carbide diamond pattern end mills from Amazon. (HQMaster 10Pcs CNC Rotary Burrs Set End Mill Engraving Bits PCB Milling Bits 1/8'' Shank Titanium Coated Tungsten Steel Corn Milling Cutter Tool for SMT Mold Plastic Fiber Wood Carbon Insulation Board https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G3Z5FJ7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_G7YTCbMCMRXQ1). They’re incredibly cheap, last pretty long and give a surprisingly good finish. It doesn’t feel right that they work so well.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ppmfdrz532wbtu4/Photo%20Apr%2017%2C%204%2054%2020%20AM.jpg?dl=0

Here’s the part I cut last night. I’m very happy with those end mills. Especially considering I was using a 400 watt spindle slapped onto the Fryer’s head ahah.

Hard to say for sure without knowing his shop, so you'd probably want to try to scope out any recommendations for specific stuff to see if he already has something similar before you buy.

A good suggestion that I think always works well for any budget is to go to a local hardwood dealer and just pick out a selection of interesting exotic lumber, any woodworker will always appreciate getting cool woods to use in their projects.

If you want to have some ideas for stocking stuffers / tools though I'll list some cool things that I think are not super common that I enjoy owning or make my life easier.

Tiny-T Pocket rule

6" precision t rule

A really nice miter gauge

Router setup bars

A nice marking knife

Marking gauge

Magports

Tapeboss

Grr-ripper

Dozuki & Ryoba

Alexa (Alexa, what is 5 and 3/8 times 16... Alexa set reminder for 30 minutes to spray the second coat... Alexa order shop towels... etc, it's actually really useful, and it plays music too)

Shop apron

Quick sanding strips

Digital Angle Gauge

Digital Height Gauge

Anything from Woodpeckers is pretty much guaranteed to be great, albeit kinda pricey

Sure!

A planer is essentially just a really big two flute router bit with removable blades that can also be adjusted.

Get yourself a two flute straight edge plunger bit, (something like this), and put it in your router. Make sure your bed is setup properly to mimick a jointer setup, then hold the board flat to the table, and push into the router wall a little bit, and you'll get a clean edge suitable for jointing.

It's effectively a planer on its side. I really like it because I prefer the motion of pushing compared to a planer but that's just me.

Sadly, using this method, you're bits will wear uneven over time and you'll start to notice that your joints aren't perfectly 90, so you'll have to replace the bit. But in all honesty, planer blades wear too (people just don't notice as easily since you can't pick up the blade and compare it to a straight edge compared to a bit) and they're probably the same cost as a new bit to get sharpened professionally or replace.

There are router jigs that are really cool you should google. I don't use them but i really want to try them out. They help remove a lot of the pressures and help give you a straight edge to work with.

Youtube is your friend!

I bought this set ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KZM2Z6A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1425627797&sr=8-1&keywords=yonico&pi=AC_SX200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=51nZHmFaV9L&ref=plSrch ) and have been very happy with them so far. I did a lot of research before deciding on these and am glad that I went with such a large set. The set gives you the ability to experiment with a lot of bits and figure out what you like. As others will say you can always find the ones you use most often and upgrade those to the more expensive brands. This set is great to start with if you're like me and buying bits and experimenting with a router for the first time like I was. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to try new things and hoped that I would have the bit I needed and found out that I did.

I think they look great! Maybe a relief cut on the underside at each end to make it easier to pick up off a table? Maybe a small cubby that is made to fit a bic lighter? I think these are good as is though.


Did you use a router with a bowl cutting bit? I've been thinking about making rolling trays, ash trays, and maybe a sherlock stand?

This is the thing I'm talking about

http://www.amazon.com/CMT-851-502-11B-Bearing-Diameter-Carbide-Tipped/dp/B000P4O5ZC

Another point of reference -- I'm assuming you're using the standard 1.5kw/2.2kw spindle. I've been doing 0.9mm DOC, 1000mm/min at 12000rpm using single-flute 12mm CEL cutters in 6061. The shorter flute length is key -- I went through a pack of 17mm CEL cutters on one part, but then cut almost 10 pieces with slightly more aggressive settings using the shorter tools.

Another very important thing is to evacuate the chips in deep slots. I was mostly doing 1/4" aluminum, and I ended up using an air compressor pointed at the cut to blow out the chips reliably at the bottom. I had to use a ton of WD40 to flush out the chips, which is not economical. Standard isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) actually worked just as well, if not better since the evaporation carries away more heat.

Another thing I've been meaning to try is trochoidal milling for cutting out aluminum plates like that. Should save a lot on tool life.

One last hint I forgot -- you need a VERY STIFF machine to go this aggressively! On my little X-carve clone, the best settings I got was 0.25mm DOC, 800mm/min, 20krpm. The "chips" were basically just aluminum dust. The new machine I'm using is an old retrofitted CNC router with linear rails and servos, and actually cuts nice solid chips at these settings.

Yeah, that use case came to me right after I called it in to question. That does sound perfect if you're a door installer.

But, yeah, it does look like you'll have to either fabricate a baseplate, adapt a full-size router baseplate like this one, or build new jigs that reference off of the edge of the baseplate rather than a bushing.

Ryobi also makes one. I can't find any direct info, but it looks from the picture like the stock base might accept bushings.

Yea, it's pricey, but I was thinking of building a table with the Incra Super Fence so this option is cheaper lol

For the top face, you need one of these - https://www.amazon.com/Whiteside-Spoilboard-Surfacing-Router-Shank/dp/B071748JQN

​

And then you need to get your spindle pointing nice and accurately straight down, and you're good.

I have used this Yonico 1.5" bit for cutting boards with great success

http://amzn.com/B00KZM20GU

Well, normally it would be a roundover bit in a router. Dremel does make a roundover bit, but I'm not sure that it's something that could be done well (or safely) freehand without the router base, which you didn't mention having.

http://amzn.com/B00004UDIJ

That being said, if you're not too concerned about precision you could definitely round over the edge with your sander. Will just take some time.

I like your method for trimming the veneer from the speaker holes, maybe kind of overkill though.

In the past, I've used this bit:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000K2G69M

It only needs 1/8" clearance. https://i.imgur.com/BqDFW4i.jpg

As long as you let the router do the work and don't force it against the wood, it works like a charm.

It's difficult to route out a shape freehand, and keep nice, straight lines. You can either stay inside the lines, and clean it up with a chisel, or make a template and use a pattern bit. With a bit like this, you make the template the exact size of the cut you want to make.

If I were doing it, I'd make a pattern from a 1/4 piece of MDF by:

1. using an adjustable circle cutting bit , cut hole in pattern stock
   
2. use a 'pattern bit' in a router, it has a ball bearing that follows the pattern exactly.
   
   it involves some specialty tools, but they are inexpensive and it provides a way to make a perfectly routed circle of very precise dimensions.
   
   here's a video that shows how pattern cutting works with a router

I need to open a bunch of snap on case backs and don't want to pay a jeweler to do it. Will a $5 case opener do the job? I know that they're poor quality and there's better quality tools, but will a cheap one do the trick?

I was looking at something like this or this

the bosch 16171 is only 150 without any sort of base and the under-table mount can be added for $70. or, you can build your own mount for it for a few dollars. that's an excellent router for a table IMO.

I actually bought a new motor and base for mine. The pair is pretty affordable sometimes from CPO (~$100).

However, you can do just the base, and swap it out easier!:
The base is here: https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-RA1165-Under-Table-Router-Above-Table/dp/B0007VHPFK/ref=pd_bxgy_469_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0S7RNVNBGCZTFHKAA550

I want to say you should buy good quality bits as you need them. However, if this is your first router, you likely don't know what bits you need.

Buy a cheap set, replace the ones you burn through with higher quality freud, lee valley, or eagle america bits.

For $140 you can get a much larger Yonico set. The quality is "decent".

I am current doing a good amount of slab flattening with a different set up with ho hum results. Is this the kind of bit you use? http://www.amazon.com/CMT-851-502-11B-Bearing-Diameter-Carbide-Tipped/dp/B000P4O5ZC

I prefer this style. It slips less, ie. you have more control, and the edge is narrower so it gets into the crack easier.

If you go the sled route you will wants big dish bit to make quick work of flattening the top. Plus the smooth surface is from the dish bit, you won't get the same results from a straight bit. I think this is the bit I used http://www.amazon.com/CMT-851-502-11B-Bearing-Diameter-Carbide-Tipped/dp/B000P4O5ZC

> INCRA LS Positioner fence system

Thank you for making me aware of this.

knife and then sanding could work, or something like this if your recess is 1/8" deep or more.

Which design is that looks like RS drivers?

Are you using a proper surfacing bit in the router? It makes a huge difference in this application. Here's a cheap one that I can't vouch for, Magnate 2705 Surface Planing ( Bottom Cleaning ) Router Bit - 1-1/2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006B0QX4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_eot.zbAEX7S4E

Ooh, probably not unless you find one that has the little stem instead of a roller bearing. Maybe the kind meant for a dremel tool in a routing base. Does it have to be round, or just not a sharp corner? If you just want to break the edge a hand plane would do it. Lee Valley used to sell a tiny chamfering plane, but I don't see it on their site any more.

Edit to add I found the bit I was thinking of.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004T7CZ/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_ztwGybJKHHQHK


My bits are part of this series:

http://www.infinitytools.com/routing/router-bits/carbide/groove-making-router-bits/dado-planer-router-bits

This low cost bit worked surprisingly well for me:


Magnate 2705 Surface Planing ( Bottom Cleaning ) Router Bit - 1-1/2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006B0QX4/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_iNwGybJCQKMXB

I agree with /u/t2231 about the Bosch. Its a solid handheld, but you can also buy a base for table mount -

​

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-RA1165-Under-Table-Router-Above-Table/dp/B0007VHPFK

Not too sure why you've ruled out a router. Here's a quick example of a straight bit that will go to 2.5" deep. While the flutes may not be 2.5" long, as long as the total bit length is around 3" or more it should be able to reach the full depth with 1/2 an inch being held in the collet. It is still a good idea to hog out the waste with a drill, and take light cuts with the router. The bit that I linked to has an overall length of 4 1/8", which would provide a comfortable amount of shank in the collet.

It's a Bosch 1617EVS - 2-1/4HP

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004TKHV/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The bit is a Yonico 1-1/2"

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KZM20GU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It worked well but I did have to remove a lot of material to get it flat and ended up making to passes per side.

This bit was recommended in another 'planer jig' thread. I don't own it personally.

Magnate 2705 surface planing bit

Cuttable area
Btw I am using the dual endstops I think that is critical for what I am doing
It makes it much easier to split up jobs or change a bit etc
HQMaster CNC Router Bits, 10 Pack... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F35WQYG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
These are the bits I used so far
They measure 3mm with my calipers

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KZM2Z6A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1425627797&sr=8-1&keywords=yonico&pi=AC_SX200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=51nZHmFaV9L&ref=plSrch

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

Found my answer...
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-RA1165-Under-Table-Router-Above-Table/dp/B0007VHPFK/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1485206475&sr=1-3&keywords=router+raizer#Ask

I bought this guy


And it rules, all day long.

This one is what I used. A lot cheaper than those Amana cutters with inserts.

https://www.amazon.com/Whiteside-Spoilboard-Surfacing-Router-Shank/dp/B071748JQN

Any decent bottom cleaning router bit. I use [this one](Yonico 14976 1-1/2-Inch Diameter Bottom Cleaning Router Bit 1/2-Inch Shank https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KZM20GU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_vikVCb82PFRBK) most of the time.

Bosch Under-Table Router Base is the table mount. The package came with the router, this base, the plunger base, and a case. $170 total. It was a split package though, not everything in one box.

Gotcha--regarding the router sled setup--if you're unhappy with the finish, try using a bowl bit. I've got one of these monstrosities, and the rounded corners seem to make tearout less of a possibility, although I'm generally not using mine for end grain . I DO, however, use it for guitar bodies, and I'm generally fairly picky about marring the surface, since my router is used for final thicknessing.

I've ordered this bit based on the recomendation of some people on this subreddit: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006B0QX4/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_3p_M3T1_ST1_dp_1

There's also a 2.75" but that just sounds kind scary (http://www.amazon.com/Magnate-Surface-Planing-Bottom-Cleaning/dp/B0006B0QXO/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_y)