2008-08-20-WoodworkingwithRouters-TheHadley.docVIP

Seminars@Hadley Woodworking Techniques: Selecting and Using Router Tables Presented by Larry Martin Moderated by Don Golembiewski June 20, 2008 Don Golembiewski Good afternoon. I’d like to welcome you to today’s seminar from the Hadley School for the Blind. Today’s topic is Woodworking Techniques: Selecting and Using Routers and Router Tables. Now let me welcome today’s presenter Mr. Larry Martin of Woodworking for the Blind, who’ll be covering a number of topics on woodworking safety and using routers and router tables to make your time in the woodshop more enjoyable. So at this point I will turn the presentation over to Mr. Larry Martin. Larry Martin Thanks very much, Don and good afternoon to all of you out there in cyberspace. It’s a glorious day here in the Chicago area, some light broken clouds, nice clear skies and wonderful temperatures. I’m going to celebrate my seventieth birthday in just a few more weeks and I’ve been in the Chicago area for about 50 years now and I’ve to say this is simply the nicest summer I ever remember in this area. Well, we’ve got a lot to do today, so let’s get into routers. The very first thing that I want to bring up is to talk about router bits and how the woodworkers organize their collections. For myself I have three major categories of router bits. I refer to them as the straight bits, the small edge bits and the large edge bits. I keep my bits in their original sleeves, plastic slips or boxes that they were purchased in and I house them in a plastic drawer container. It’s a little plastic box with three drawers in it, one for each of the three categories. I’ve received answers from a number of people on how they do it and there’s a lot of variety. Roger Hood for instance, has a 2’ x 2’ rack with holes. He has a Braille sheet to describe each of the bits and their sizes. He winds up using the 1/2 inch round over bit most frequently. Frank Chennels for instance, has tiered strips of wood with 1/4 inch and 1/2