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If you have ever wondered how they create the patterns and fancy edges in wooden furniture and doors then let me introduce to you the wood router and wood router table.
The router has helped woodworkers and manufacturers create finer looking wood products like doors and tables since it was invented.
The CNC router also works on the same principle and has advanced the availability to produce intricate decorative patterns and is even more capable than the wood router and table combo.
This is because you can set the shapes and patterns through a program on your computer and the CNC router will operate with incredible accuracy.
Rout stands for hollow out and the router works by using an electric motor to rotate the sharp router bit at very high RPMs.
Wood Router Table
Not long after the wood router was invented the router table followed and there are many different sizes and models of router tables available.
The shape of the router bit determines the shape of the groove or edge you will be left with.
After that, it just requires a small bit of sanding and painting or varnishing to finish the job.
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Getting Started
If you are interested in trying your hand at learning how to use a router and router table you can purchase the equipment at a relatively low budget. Around $200-$300 is enough to get you the basic tools to get started.
Bosch makes some really good low priced router tables and you wouldn’t go far wrong with one of those as your first one.
Wood Router Safety
You will need to be shown how to set it up by an expert at first until you learn the ropes because the wood router will need setting up to the wood router table and the fences so your workpiece is in the correct position for the router to hollow out in the correct positions.
Routers are also dangerous power tools when operated incorrectly so you will need to be a safe way to use a router.
You will also need to wear the correct PPE as the router will create lots of fine dust that gets in every gap available, you should wear a dust mask and protective goggle to keep the dust-out.
Most wood routers and wooden router tables come with the connections to attach a vacuum to extract the dust but this never catches all the dust so you still need the PPE equipment to keep it out of your lungs and eyes.
Some wood dust is known to be extremely harmful to your lungs when it is turned into a fine dust so don’t take any risks and complete some research before you start.
Before routers and router tables having any pattern or grooved parts was labor-intensive work and would be required to be completed by hand which took many hours to complete.
This made any decorative wood products much more expensive and thanks to the wood router those nice decorative patterns and edgings you see on many items are much more affordable to the masses.
Base Plates
If you are purchasing the best router table to go with your router you should check it will fit the base plate the router will fit on to because there are many different shapes and sized base plates and they are not all made to be a universal fit.
You can find router tables with universal baseplates but most are built with base plates to only fit certain sizes so always check before you buy.
You can buy wood router tables or the normally expensive metal-framed router table but both are equally capable.
