[ATM] Suggestions on a Router

[Jay Kirkland <jaykirk2@compusmart.ab.ca>]

    A Rule of the Universe regarding tools: you never regret your 
extravagances. You always regret your economies.
    A Rule of the Universe regarding telescopes: nobody ever "finishes" 
a telescope. The first time you use your new scope, you'll discover 
something that you could have done better. And then little things will 
start to nag at you, and in two or three years, you'll be back in the 
shop making a new lighter/stronger/smoother/etc structure to hold those 
mirrors perfectly in place. So if you do it once, you'll be doing it again.
    The Porter Cable dual base is a great tool for the money. In the 
last 6 scopes I've re/built, I've used the plunge base virtually 
exclusively. I only use the fixed base for rounding over edges. It's not 
an extremely sturdily built router but it's powerful and if you're 
careful it should last for many years.
     I also use a 15 amp DeWalt variable speed plunge router that is 
truly great but it is way overkill.
    Note that the busiest place in any Sears is the repair depot. And 
that 1/2 price at Sears IS the regular price.
    The biggest thing to look for in a router is ease of use. The PC is 
small and light and easy to manoeuvre. The DW is heavy and best suited 
to a router table.
    Ease of use is a big factor in safety. You want to be in control of 
the thing at all times. Never, ever use a router without making sure 
everything is secure, both on the machine and on the work surface, or 
use it for anything that it was not intended to do. Clamp everything 
everywhere and build jigs for repetitive or precise work.  I find fixed 
base routers are particularly dangerous because the bit doesn't retract 
back into the machine. They are also difficult to use when you try to 
start a closed cut, like a circle. The plunge is also great for making 
perfectly square holes, like the one you'd love to have your azimuth 
axis going through.
    Always use clean sharp bits. Carbide last a bit longer but regular 
are a bit cheaper, so that works out pretty even. You just have to 
change the cheaper ones more often. If you're cutting baltic birch, the 
wood is dense and the bits get very, very hot. Cut the wood in multiple 
shallow passes, preferably with a 1/2" shaft bit (able to withstand the 
heat better) and an spiral cut (that pulls the wood up out of the cut). 
Don't work too slowly but never force the bit. A broken bit travels 
faster than a bullet and no eye protection is going to matter one iota. 
At  a local wood supplier, one of the clerks showed me the startlingly 
large entry and exit scars on the front and back of his bicep/tricep 
where a tiny piece of the carbide from a bit travelled through his arm.
    Routers are great for cutting regular (not aircraft!!!) grade 
aluminum, too, tho I will admit that this is always the scariest thing I 
do in my life. Do not use carbide bits on metal. And always use upcut 
bits on metal.
    There's a reason routers are considered the most dangerous of all 
power tools. If you're not comfortable with the idea of using a router, 
then just don't do it. Get a woodworker friend to help you out or buy 
the guys at a cabinet making shop a case of beer for a 1/2 hour of 
overtime. That's how I got the pole blocks on the 3d incarnation of my 
20" done. Wood workers and metal workers seem to love working on 
telescope components, and I've run into a couple who only charge for 
materials for small (<1hr) jobs. They really get into doing something 
different.  

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