which way do you move your router across the edge of a workpiece from right to left left to right does it really matter in fact it does moving the router in the wrong direction produces what's known as a climb cut climb cuts can be useful in some situations but they can be dangerous in others knowing when and how to make a climb cut and when not to is a confusing but important lesson for all woodworkers it's important because the quality of the cut can depend greatly upon your feed direction it's confusing because the rules of router feed direction reverse depending on what you may be doing and then they double reverse if you use a router table as opposed to a handheld router this tutorial will sort it all out for you and i think a logical way with diagrams so you can get the best safest results possible now we discussed this subject a few years ago but today we're going to revisit it to help clarify some points that some people found confusing the first time around there are two primary types of router cuts there's a push cut and there's a climb cut think of your router bit as a small wheel when you're using a handheld router the bit is typically pointing downward and from your perspective above the router the bit is spinning in a clockwise direction so if you place that bit against the edge of the work piece the cutters will dig in and they'll try to pull the router from right to left if you let it go all the way around the perimeter of the work piece it's going to want to pull you in a clockwise direction that natural pulling of the cutter may be likened to it trying to climb an edge so it's called a climb cut as i said a climb cut can be advantageous in some situations but you relinquish some control to the tool if you want to be in full control yourself you have to push the router against its will in the opposite direction it wants to climb so in a handheld situation this means pushing the tool counterclockwise around the perimeter of a work piece you'll find if you do this you have a lot more control and that's why we call it a push cut so take a close look at this drawing remember this illustrates a handheld routing situation that's not a bearing on top of the bit in the drawing that's the bits shaft it's just shortened for a better view kind of like this position right here you don't always route all the way around a work piece though do you so look at each edge individually the green arrow illustrates the direction of a push cut when working on the front edge of a work piece a push cut is from left to right but if you reach across the work piece and route the back edge you must go from right to left note how the push cutting direction also reverses depending on whether you're working up the right edge or down the left edge now let's further confuse matters by switching from the outer perimeter of a work piece to an inside cutout or a frame all those green push cut directions are now reversed because the other side of the bit is now in contact with the wood so instead of cutting from left to right on the edge closest to you you would work from right to left if you were to go all the way around the opening it would be in a clockwise direction instead of counterclockwise this can all be confusing but fortunately there is a simple trick to avoid the confusion it's called the rule of thumb so extend the thumb and index finger on your right hand and with your palm facing downward touch your thumb on the edge that you wish to route your finger will point in the direction of a proper push cut while using a handheld router that's the direction you should almost always work in i say almost because there are times when you may want to relinquish a little bit of control by making a climb cut if it will help you avoid tear-up tarot can happen if the wood grain slopes toward the edge of a work piece and against the rotation of the bits cutters in cases like that the cutters may want to lever up the wood fibers and that will leave a regular splintered edge one way to prevent this is to reverse your feed direction so the cutters will engage the wood in a downward motion instead of levering them away in this situation with the grain running against you a climb cut will produce better results as i explained climb cutting feed directions may allow the bit to gain some traction and pull the router motor in the direction that you're feeding it so it requires a firm grip and a light cut perhaps performing your profile in two or three passes rather than just one in fact you might even form most of the profile in the push cutting direction against the grain then take a final pass in the climb cutting direction finishing your profile shape and cleaning up any tear out climb cutting is especially useful when routing a curve because the grain will often change direction at the apex of that curve so you may be getting a nice clean cut with the grain to start out but you find yourself going against the grain and getting tear out as you complete your curve to avoid this you might start at the center of the curve make a climb cut along one half and then a push cut along the other half depending on the direction of the grain climb cutting can actually help you maintain control when you're routing into an open area such as when you're cutting large shallow mortises and inlays in that case a push cut will allow the bit to wander and you may have difficulty keeping it on the right side of your layout line while a climb cut will pull the router forward it may also help you control its path more easily in these open spaces you might experiment on a scrap of wood to get a feel for how the router will react before starting on your good work piece as a rule push cut whenever possible and climb cut only when you must and only with a handheld router everything i'm seeing here including which direction is considered a climb cut and which is a push cut only applies to a handheld router not to the router table at a router table the directions all change because the bit is turned upside down and it can be difficult to safely hold a work piece in a climb cutting situation at the router table if the bit gains too much traction a router table can pull your hands with the work piece into the cutter whereas with a handheld router you're holding onto the machine instead of the wood i'm not saying you can't get hurt with a handheld rotor i'm just saying climb cutting is much more dangerous at the router table i hope this lesson helps you use your router safely and get the best results from it i really recommend saving this video for future reference because this can be a confusing subject see you next time castle doesn't just make pocket hole jigs they make pocket hole joinery machines the internal router cuts a cleaner pocket than any drill bit can with no tear out and a crisp exit the steeper angle centers the screw for a stronger joint and reduces component drift during assembly castle machines are 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