MAKING BASEBOARDS FOR THE WORK STAND
I think I'll do this in three successive posts. First I'll show how I set up the router. Then I'll show the making of a template. Finally I'll show how to make a baseboard from the template.
Router
Here is a picture of the router I use. I got it several years ago from Harbor Freight. It bears the name Chicago, but it is actually made in China. I've had very good luck with this brand for several kinds of power tools that I've purchased.
Routers make much smoother cuts than a saw would, provided that they are guided precisely. There are a few of things that should be mentioned about routers in general. Always use protective eyewear when using a router. The blades are very sharp and frequently at every place you could touch. The blade I use here cuts sideways as well as downward. Routers turn at a very high speed. This one rotates at 20,000 RPM. And when you turn it on it will kick a little bit. But nothing that you can't control if you're expecting it and hold on to it securely.
(Router Front View)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]522070[/ATTACH]
As shown, with the blade up, the router is pretty safe. This is called a plunge router, because it has springs, located inside the chrome tubes on either side. This allows one to plunge the blade straight down into the work, to start cutting. It takes constant effort to hold the router in this down position and I don't use it. A router is tough enough to control along a guide surface without the need to apply this downward force. I lock the blade to the position I want beforehand, then drill a starter hole, placing the blade down into it before even powering up the router. If you work with the blade down as I do, be very careful.
This router came with several different attachments which guide the way it cuts. There may be a dozen or more ways of cutting, using edges, patterns or templates. Some techniques use a roller guide on the tip of the blade itself. The collar attachment used here may be the simplest. It is a plate with a collar that is mounted over the base of the blade. It simply offsets the cutting location from the edge of the guide.
(Router Guide 1)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]522071[/ATTACH]
I use the three washers under the plate. For whatever reason, the plate was designed to mount some distance above the router glide surface. It didn't ride an edge reliably. I shimmed the plate out, or downward, with three washers underneath the plate on each side, allowing more of the collar to ride the template edge. It works a lot better this way.
(Router Guide 2)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]522072[/ATTACH]
Below is a picture of the router from underneath showing the guide collar position relative to the cutting blade. In the case of this router and blade, it is 5/32" from the collar to the blade. The template must be created this amount larger than the final edge that is cut. A picture of the blade and the collar shows the spacing.
(Router Blade)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]522073[/ATTACH]
The blade as shown here is set low enough to cut all the way through the piece of wood being worked on. Making the template requires this. However, for the making of the baseboard the blade will be set to cut only a short distance into the surface of the wood. This is how the stepped edge is made.
Making A Template next.
John