While you won't go far wrong with a shallow 8th inch depth of cut this is
dependent on a few variables.
The power of the router. I have a big old triton which will drive an inch
diameter bit through an 8th inch cut in the hardest wood without noticing it.
The size of the bit of course. The cross sectional area increases following the
inverse square law so, a half inch bit has four times the cross sectional area
of a quarter inch bit and a 1 inch bit is 16 times the cross sectional area of
a quarter inch bit. Similarly, as the outer diameter increases so the distance
or the amount of cutting surface which passes a particular point increases.A
one inch bit has nearly three inches of distance around the outside, at 30
thousand revolutions per minute that is 90 thousand inches a minute or about 24
inches a second compared with a quarter inch bit which will present more like 6
inches a second.This has not only resistance implications but heat generations
and other concerns.
Then there is the shaft size. A half inch shaft will take a lot more load than
a quarter inch shaft, remember here the inverse square law.
I am unaware of any safety recommendations for depth of bit cut probably
because of these variables and probably several others I haven't thought of.
Use load as your guide. You can probably make quarter inch depth passes or even
a little more but judge your speed and depth by how the motor pulls
down.Generally the bigger the bit the slower your speed both of progress and
RPM should be if you have the luxury of variable speed.
I find it helpful to blow out the cut between adjustments, be a little careful
though, sometimes those cuttings are smoking. They can pack nearly as tight as
the wood you are cutting and it all adds resistance to the second and
subsequent passes.
Hope this is helpful.
If I was Han Solo I'd probably pet my wookie
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Kennedy
To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 7:06 AM
Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Cutting depth per cut
If you are just making a round hole, go as deep as you want.
If you are making a mortise type cut that means you have to move the wood
over the bit, you can make the end cuts as deep as they need to end up. Then
come back and cut no more than an eighth, of an inch, 5 millimeters over there.
----- Original Message -----
From: Agent086b
To: Handyman
Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 3:05 AM
Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Cutting depth per cut
Hi all,
well have just purchased my first router and router table so will have
many questions.
For a start.
If I wish to make a plunge cut, with say a 12 mm diameter bit. what is
the maximum depth I should go for a first pass?
I am not sure if this is explaining myself correctly, so I will wait for
the responses and modify the question if necessary.
Thanks as always for the great help.
Max.
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