How To Set Up A Roundover Router Bit

How to circular over an border with a router





	Why round over an edge?
		Rounding the border of a piece of material tin be benign for several reasons. While you lot could use sandpaper to circular over an edge, this would be time-consuming as well as difficult to become a consistent edge all the way effectually. With a router, and appropriate cutter, you can create an edge with a constant radius in much less fourth dimension.

		Rounded edges are less susceptible to splintering or chipping and tend to withstand knocks or dents with less visible impairment compared to sharp edges. A rounded edge is far more than forgiving, and will do less impairment to someone who accidentally knocks confronting it. This is why items made for children, such equally toys or article of furniture, will usually have rounded edges for safer use.

		A rounded border can besides exist functional, for example every bit one-half of a drop foliage table articulation. Also, rounded edges are unremarkably considered to be more than attractive compared with straight ones for some applications. They are often added to the edge of guitars, chopping boards and shelves to give a softer, more than pleasing look.

	Before you brainstorm
		Choose a round over, or ovolo, cutter with a guide bearing which will work for your application. A round over cutter has a flat-bottomed body with curved sides that straighten towards the shank. The radius of your rounded edge will depend on the radius of the cutter. Circular over cutters have radiuses of between half-dozen.34mm (¼") and 18.5mm (¾").

		The radius you lot cull volition often be down to personal preference. Nevertheless, you lot should go on in mind that mostly, for more frail projects, a smaller radius cutter is used to avert removing also much material. For larger, thicker pieces of material, round over cutters with larger radii are needed to finer soften the edge. When using particularly big cutters you may demand to employ the router mounted in a table, so bank check the specifications.



		Feed direction When rounding over the outside of a workpiece, y'all should motion in an anti-clockwise direction. When routing the inside, you lot should move in a clockwise direction.

		Bank check and support workpiece Check the edges of the workpiece are polish and directly. The guide bearing on the cutter will be post-obit this edge and any imperfections will be reflected in the cutting. If your workpiece is particularly sparse, you lot tin can place some scrap cloth below it to give sufficient clearance to the bottom of the cutter.

	Rounding over an border
		Step 1 - Set up the router Insert the circular over cutter of your pick in the router'southward collet. Position your router on the edge of the workpiece and adjust the summit of the cutter to alter the cut depth. Large cutters will need to be college than the final cut at first. They need to be set for making progressive cuts which remove a few millimetres of fabric with each pass until the final depth is achieved.

		If y'all want to cut a shoulder in the top of your rounded border, you should lower the bit until the direct edge at the top protrudes from the base. How much of the straight edge you utilize will depend on how big y'all want the shoulder to exist. If you only desire to round the border, expose only the curved section of the router scrap.

		Step 2 - Brainstorm routing With your cutting depth set, switch the router on, plunge the router until the depth finish stops it and lock it in this position. Move the router and so that the router cutter's guide bearing is touching the edge of your workpiece. Then, motility the router around the workpiece, keeping the guide begetting in contact with the edge. Repeat the passes, resetting the cutter lower each time, until yous have the size of rounded edge you lot desire.

		Step iii - Stop When you've rounded the desired edges, switch the router off and set aside. Now inspect your workpiece to cheque for any areas that may need going over once again.