Good safety reminder

MattJ · June 23, 2015, 09:27:32 PM

Thought I'd show the value of good push blocks. I was routing dados for drawer sides when after routing about 12 pieces the spiral bit came loose. The collet must have loosened and it took off going right through the drawer and into my push block. Made a mess out of my drawer piece but luckily my hand was fine. Good lesson to always use ppe.

yukon cornelius · June 24, 2015, 07:51:15 AM

that's a good visual reminder. i think we all need those once and a while to remind us that it is necessary to protect ourselves

clww · June 24, 2015, 07:53:09 AM

Excellent post! Glad that wasn't your hand, too. ;)

MattJ · June 24, 2015, 10:06:03 AM

Thanks guys. I was working on fathers day and my first thought when it happened was all the work needed to recreate the piece and dovetails. Then I looked at my fully intact hand and thanked the lord for my happy ending.

hackberry jake · June 25, 2015, 02:06:46 PM

That is scary! I had a bit come out of a router once. Never did find it. How did you do those fancy dovetails?

Gdaddy · June 25, 2015, 06:58:49 PM

Routers scare me more than anything !!! Push blocks and feather boards are a must. A board can be replaced but not so easy to replace a finger. Glad your ok!!

MattJ · June 26, 2015, 10:18:27 AM

The dovetails were cut with a porter-cable 4212 dovetail jig. It clamps onto my workbench and then holds the two pieces to be joined at the same time. You then use the attached bit and a router.

It was a love hate relationship that got better over time. At first I couldn't avoid getting tearout. I then saw a video showing you need to start with a light climb cut to score the surface and then route out the dovetails and pins. It works pretty well that way.

The other downside is you need to have some scrap pieces the same width and thickness to set the jib up with. It takes me 2-3 attempts to get it set up right. Then you can really knock the pieces out. I love handcut dovetails, but with a day job and family I don't have the time. With the jig I cut five drawers in ~1.5 hrs including setup time.