if you're just getting started in carpentry or woodworking and you're ready to start using a router then this video is a great place for you to start routers are an extremely versatile tool and as you can see there are different options out there which we'll talk about later in this video but routers all routers have one thing in common and that they were designed to turn sharpen bits like these at high speeds making their primary use then for cutting joints and for shaping edges of stock when it comes to the bits available the sky's the limit literally there are hundreds of bits available made by different manufacturers from the simple of just a roundover to the most complex and making kitchen cabinet doors now most router bits come with either a quarter inch or a half inch shank the shank is located below the body and this is the part that actually gets inserted into the router itself now when it comes to basic router kit sets this one is a great option and it would include things like a round over a rabbeting bit cove bit a 45 degree chamfer straight cutters and a flush cutting bit before we move on to routing technique I want to talk to you about two important things as a beginner first routers can be put into two different categories first fixed based routers and plunge routers the two routers that I have here on my right side are both fixed based routers meaning that they cannot be adjusted during the cut your course can make the adjustment before the cut but not during the second category is the plunge router the one to my left generally bigger and as you can guess by the name it can actually be adjusted during the cut plunging the bit down into the material making this really a versatile tool now that you know about the two different categories let's move on to the last important thing which is to call it size now the collet is the piece that actually holds the router bit itself into the router generally they come in two different sizes a half inch and a quarter so these two routers right here are half-inch routers meaning that they can hold half-inch bits because they have half-inch call it sizes generally you can swap out then half's for also quarters they have no problem holding a quarter inch size bit because that's smaller but like this little guy over here it can only hold a quarter-inch shanked bits and rightfully so I mean look how small that thing is could you imagine spinning this monster in this little thing just not going to happen moving on let's talk about basic routing technique the first thing you need to know is that the router spins the bit in a clockwise direction so when you're feeding the router through the material you want to be pushing against the bit rotation making what is known as a push cut so let's say you want to round an edge all the way around this piece of material here because of the bits rotation being clockwise it naturally wants to pull the router in this direction going from right to left knowing that you want to route in the opposite direction then going against the bit rotation moving from left to right in certain instances especially when dealing with difficult wood grain there are times when cutting clockwise known as a climb cut is advisable to install the bit you simply insert it into the collet bonding it out and then pulling it out maybe about an eighth of an inch or so this router has a to wrench system to go ahead and tighten up that bit setting the proper bit depth is next what I like to do is actually set the router right on the workpiece and then go ahead and lower or raise the bit so that I can get the profile that I'm looking for the other thing the note here is that if you're going to be taking off a lot of material and that's your plan that you need to do it in multiple passes now for the cuts I like to start with the end grain to help reduce tear out squeeze the trigger get the blade going first and then I lay the base flat and then slowly feed into the wood letting the bearing just slowly ride against the edge of the stock I'm gonna go ahead and flip the board and do the other end grain once you get down to the end you want to slowly make the transition around the corner whoa and wobble apparently then I'll work my way up the side going from left right again always against the rotation of the bin well I'm going to stop it right there I trust that you guys will be able to finish these up no problem on your own but if you need any help if you have any questions just leave them in the comment section below thanks for joining me today see you again soon
