Plunge vs. Fixed Based Routers
George VondriskaGeorge Vondriska demonstrates the difference between plunge and fixed based routers. A WoodWorkers Guild of America (WWGOA) original video. For more woodworking videos, please visit www.wwgoa.com!
George Vondriska demonstrates the difference between plunge and fixed based routers. A WoodWorkers Guild of America (WWGOA) original video. For more woodworking videos, please visit www.wwgoa.com!
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Shouldn’t the flat side of the plunge base be against the fence? It looks like the rounded side is against the fence and you have the flat side facing out towards the camera.
Another router tip is to have a second router dedicated to your router table so you don’t have to bother with mounting and unmounting when you need to use it free handed.
As noted – not using the flat side – seems counter intuitive.
However, on further consideration seems that the non-faceted [round] side actually makes sense since any deviation in router rotation [e.g. router’s toque when entering say knots or harder wood grain or while progressing down the cut] will be readily accommodated by the round base whereas if one uses the flat side the deviations from the line cut – paralleling the temporary fence – will be magnified by any offset on either side of the flat side from the fence. Most name-brand mfgs make their bases [nearly circular] so any offset from nominal rotation during actual routing is generally imperceptible for all but the most exacting cuts.
[Maybe an overthink, but my thoughts on it; challenging enough to maintain base-fence contact for even the simplest of cuts of any length requiring weight transfer or body re-positioning.]
Maybe counter intuitive but using the round side actually affords greater /stability/repeat-ability:
– slight rotation of “round” router base is essentially inconsequential, except perhaps for the most exacting of plunge cuts requiring sub-millimeter precision [1/64]
– conversely, any rotation of “flat” router base is guaranteed to result in deviation(s) in the path cut [its simple geometry/leverage really: offset of bit to fence is predicated on maintaining perfect contact along its fence-face contact…any deviation offsets the routed path proportinal to the router’s rotation.]
it’s strange how you pulled the cable out of the socket
I was totally unaware of multi-base routers! Great video thanks!
Which type router is best overall on a router table?
Hi Ken. In general, a fixed base router will work better on a router table.
Thanks
Paul-WWGOA