Router Table ProFence Instructions

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PARTS list - Router Table ProFence Quantity A AluminumFence 1 B AdjustableMDFFenceFaces 2 C BitSafetyGuard 1 D DustPort 1 E 3/8-16T-Knobs 2 F 5/16-18x11/4"T-Bolts 6 G 1"RoundKnobs 6 H KnobSpacer 2 I 3/8-16x21⁄2"HexBolt 2 J 3/8-16x23⁄4"CarriageBolt(UsewithProPhenolicRouterTable) 2 K 3/8"NylonWasher 2 L JointerBars 2

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FeedDirectionAlwaysfeedtheworkpieceagainstthecutterrotation,asshowninFigure1.Feedingtheworkpiecewiththecutterrotationiscalled“climbcutting”.Climbcuttingisverydangerous,becausethecutterwillgrabtheworkpieceandthrustitthesamedirectionasthecutterrotation.Evensmallrouterbitswilloverpoweryourabilitytoholdontotheworkpieceduringaclimbcut.

Donotusethisroutertableuntilyouunderstandproperfeeddirectionandbitrotation.Ifclimbcuttingisstillunclear,askyourretailerforhelp,giveusacall,orreferenceabookonroutertableusage.

CAUTION:NEVERCLIMBCUT!

AvoidingFenceTrapsFencetrapsoccurwhentheworkpieceisfully“trapped”betweentherouterbitandfence.Fencetrapsposetworealconcerns:thepossibilityofclimbfeeding,andhumanexposuretotherouterbit.Asstatedearlier,climbcuttingshouldbeavoidedaslossofcontroloftheoperationisapossibility!

Figure2showsaclassictraptobeavoided.Whatappearsasanormalfeeddirection(workingfromrighttoleft)iswrong,andwillinsteadproduceaclimbcut.Becausetheworkpieceistrappeditcaneasilybepulledfromone’sgripandthrownwithgreatvelocity.Feedingthestockfromlefttorightwilleliminatetheclimbcutbutnotthedanger.Itwillbedifficulttokeepthestocktightagainstthefenceasthebit’srotationwillthrustthestockawayfromthefence.Also,yourbodywillbedangerouslyexposedtothespinningrouterbit.Thebitguardwillnotprotectyouagainstflyingstock,norguardagainstthislevelofexposure.

WhereasFigure3isnotatrap,aslongastherouterbitcutsonlypartiallyintothestock.Inotherwords,therouterbitmustnotcompletelycutthroughtheworkpiece.Inthiscut,thebitwillgrabandpushthestocktowardthefence.Thisisgood,asthefencewillcontroltheworkpiecebetterthanyourhands.Typicaldadocutsresemblethisset-up,andarecommonlyperformedonroutertables.Ifthedadoistobewidenedwithtwo(ormore)passes,becarefulnottosetaclassictraporclimbcut.

AdjustingtheSubfencesThe(2)MDF(mediumdensityfiberboard)subfencesaredesignedtoslidealongthefenceapproximately2".Thisresultsinarouterbitopeningfrom0to4".

A.“Close”SettingManyapplicationsrequireadjustingthesubfencesclosetotherouterbit.Thisaccomplishesnearlythesamebenefitsofatrue“zeroclearance”setting(“B”)withoutcuttingthesubfences.Beforetherouteristurnedon,andafterthefenceandrouterbitheightareproperlyadjusted,slidethesubfencestowardthebittoreducethegap.Confirmthattherouterbitcanfreelyrotatewithouttouchingthesubfences!

Fig.1-Atypicalsetup.Here,thefenceispartiallycoveringtherouterbit.

Fig.3-Notatrapaslongastherouterbitdoesnotcutallthewaythroughthestock.

Routertop(topview)

Routerbitrotation

Workpiece

Properfeeddirection

Fence

Fig.2-Aclassictrapresultinginaclimbcut.Alwaysavoidthisset-up!

Fence

Bitrotation

Workpiece

Properfeeddirection

Fence

Bitrotation

Workpiece

Properfeeddirection

AVOID!

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B.“ZeroClearance”SettingCuttingthesubfencesintotherouterbitprofileproduces“zeroclearance”.Zeroclearanceeliminatesthegapbetweenthefenceandrouterbit.Thispreventstheworkpiecefromgettingpulledintothefencejustbeforetherouterbit.Moreover,azeroclearancesettingachievesacleanercutbecausethesubfencesupportstheworkpiecefibers.Ifatruezeroclearancesettingisdesired,followthesesteps:

1. Adjustthebitheightandfenceposition. Note:ThesubfencesmustNOTcontacttherouter bitatthistime.

2. Installthebitguardandsecure.

4. Startrouter,andusedustcollection.Fromthebackof thefence,slightlyloosenthesubfenceknobsand carefullyslidetheinfeedsubfenceintothespinning routerbit.Holdontothesubfenceknobs.

5. Afterthesubfencehasreachedtheguidebearingof therouterbit,fullytightentheknobsonthesubfence. Note:Ifthebitdoesnothaveaguidebearing(i.e. verticalraisedpanelbits),slidethesubfencehalf-way intothebit,thentightenthesubfenceknobs.

Caution:Neveradjustorslidethesubsfencesfromthefront!Alwaysworkfromthebackwith

bothhandsontheadjustmentknobs.

ImportantNotes:Theoutfeedsubfenceisrarelysettozeroclearance,becausedoingsohaslittleperformancebenefitandcandamagethesubfence.A“close”settingismoredesirableformostapplications.Settingtheoutfeedsubfencetozerorequiresgreatcarebecausetherouterbitcancauseaportionofthesubfencetochiporbreak.Ifanoutfeedzeroclearanceisabsolutelynecessary,slidetheoutfeedsubfenceveryslowlyintothebittominimizethechippingandtearing.

MDFworksverywellasasubfencebecauseitissofterthanmostwoodsandismuchlesslikelytodamageexpensiverouterbits.MDFalsoretainstheshapeofdelicateprofilesandthusallowspropersupportforzeroclearancesettings.

Whenadjustingthefence,ensurethatnopartofthealuminumfencebodycouldcontacttherouterbit.

JointingJointingistheprocessofmakingflat,squareandstraightmatingedges.Jointingisnecessarywhentwoboardsareedgegluedtocreatealargerpanel.Itisalsousedto“fit”piecestogether,aswellastotrimstocktosize.Note:Jointingonaroutertableisnotintendedtoreplaceafreestandingpowerjointer,especiallyfor

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Theinfeedsubfenceiswideopen,andtheoutfeedsubfenceissetto"close".

Outfeedsubfence

Infeedsubfence

Routerbitguidebearing

Outfeed subfence Infeed subfence

Heretheinfeedsubfencehasbeenadjustedtozeroclearance.

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Toresetthesubfenceposition,loosenthe4knurledknobsonthebackandslidesubfenceintodesiredposition.Besuretoretightenallknobspriortousing.

stockwiderthan1.25".However,jointingwiththeroutertabledoeshaveadvantagesoverthejointer.First,smallandshortpiecesofwoodcanbesafelyjointedbecausetheopeningofthefencecanbemadeverysmall:about1/2".Second,thequalityofthecutisusuallybetterbecausetherouterbitspinsmuchfasterthanthejointer’scutterhead.Afastercutterspeedisespeciallyusefulonwoodspronetotear-out,likebird’seyemapleandquiltedcherry.Besurenottomovetooslowly,asthiswillleaveburnmarksinyourworkpiece.

Yourfencehasbuilt-injointingslotstoacceptthe(2)smallaluminumjointerbarsthatshippedwithyourroutertable.Installedinpairs,thesebars“shimout”theoutfeedsubfenceeither1/16"or1/32".

Rev Rev08/12Distributed by Rockler Companies, Inc.

©2012 Rockler Woodworking and Hardware

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1. Donotuseyourroutertableasasteporseat.2. Thetopandcabinetmustbeproperlysecured,andmustbe levelbeforeuse.Inspectyourtableandbasefordamageand levelnesspriortoeachuse.3. Keepworkareaclean,dryandwelllit.4. Thehardwareaffixingtheinserttotheroutertopmustbe installedforsafeuse.Tighteninserthold-downscrewsbefore eachuse.5. Safeoperationrequiresaroutertablefence,bitguard,dust collectionsystem,startingpinorfulcrum,andspeedreducer forlargediameterbits.Werecommendreducingrouterspeed for1"orlargerdiameterbits.Consultyourbitmanufacturer fortheexactspeed.6. Usetherighttoolforthejob.Donotforceatoolorattachment todoajobforwhichitwasnotdesigned.7. Secureyourworkwithafeatherboard,clamps,oravice whenappropriate.Theuseofinappropriateaccessories maycauseinjury.

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Important Safety InstructionsBeforeoperatingyourroutertablepleasereadthismanualthoroughly.Safetyandusetipsarecontainedinthemanual.Thispageisnotthesolesourceofsafetyinformation.Retainthemanualforfuturereference.Refertoyourrouterowner’smanualforsafetyinstructionsregardinguseofthattool.Thismanualisnotaninstructionbookonhowtodowoodworkingwithapowertool.Weencourageallwoodworkerstocontinuallyseekimprovementintheirwoodworkingskills,regardlessoftheircraftsmanshiporyearsofexperience.Theroutertable,fenceandaccessoriesmustonlybeusedfortheirintendedpurpose:woodworkingvianormalroutingoperations.“Normaloperations”meansbasicshapingofwoodinconditionswheregroundedelectricity,sharptools,dust,andrapidlyspinningpartscanbeusedorencounteredsafely.Thefollowinginstructionselaborateonthisconcept.

AdjustingtheSubfencesUnplugrouterandinstalla1/2"diameterstraightorspiralup-cutrouterbit.Caution:Useonly1/2"shankbitsforjointing.Thebit'scuttinglengthmustnotexceed1.25".Setthebitheightto1.25"orless.

Loosentheoutfeedsubfencemountingknobsandslidebothaluminumjointerbars(alwaysinstalledinpairs!)undertheoutfeedsubfenceineitherthe2ndand4thslots,orthe1stand3rdslots(seeillustration).

Useastraightedgetoadjusttherouterbitandoutfeedsubfencetothesameplane(seeillustrationbelow).Readjustifnecessary.Removestraightedgewhendone.

Slidebothsubfencestowardthebittodecreasetheamountofgaparoundtherouterbit.Besurethesubfencesarenottouchingtherouterbit.Alsobesuretherouterbitisnottouchingthefence'saluminumbody.

Tightenthesubfenceknobsandplacethebitguardinposition.Firstmakeatestcutinscrapstock.Readjustifnecessary.

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Notethesmall"v"grooves.Alwaysinstallthebarsinpairs.

Useslots1and3for1/16"cuts.

Useslots2and4for1/32"cuts.

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Ifboard"snipe"occurs,realigntheoutfeedsubfencetotherouterbit.Don'tbesurprisedifittakesafewtriestomasterthisoperation.

! Workpiece

Outfeedsubfence Infeedsubfence

Fence(topview)

Straightedge-removebeforejointing!

Snipe

(Bitguardnotshownforclarity,only!)

Useastraightedgetosetoutfeedsubfenceandrouterbitsameplane.

Routerbit

Feeddirection

8. Wearsafetyglasses,dustmask,faceshieldandearprotection. Thisisnotanexhaustivelist.Every-dayeyeglassesdonot substituteforsafetyglasses.9. Donotwearglovesorjewelrywhileusingapowertool.10. Maintainyourequipmentanditsaccessoriesingoodworking condition.Lookforwear,pooralignmentofmovingparts, bindingofmovingparts,breakage,poormounting,orother conditionsthatmayaffectoperationandsafety.Repairor replaceanydamagedparts.11. Disconnectthepowerbeforemoving,adjusting,orrepairing parts,orotherwisemaintainingyourroutertableandany accessoriesyoumaybeusing.12. Keepchildren,pets,andthosewhomaydisregardsafetyaway fromworkarea,cords,socketsandtools.13. Wearsnugfittingclothesandkeeplonghairbacktoavoid catchinginmovingparts.14. Donotoverreach.Maintainbalancedfootingandstance.15. Stayalert.Usecommonsense.

!Alwaysuseapushstickorpushpad.