# Router Misalignment?



## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

Hello all, new to this forum. Hope all of you are safe and coping well with the Covid19 pandemic.
Had an issue while routing a channel on a piece of fully dressed Red Oak which is 24" long and 2.5" wide. Using a 1/4" bit to cut a channel about .5" from the left side ( closest to my hand in picture ) end to end using a Ryobi Variable speed plunge router fully secured to a custom made jig. I am kind of beside myself as to how the 1/4" cut could be off this much. I used a custom made jig with a fence to guide the router on the first side ( where my thumb is in the picture ).
Because this is Red Oak which can be a bugger at times I made three passes, gradually cutting deeper to avoid chipouts, burns etc. When I flipped the stock over to cut the channel out on the opposite side you can see a drastic difference in placement. I had to custom build the jig exclusively for the dimension of this stock so it did not shift or move. As you can see the channel to the left where my index finger is not as deep which was the second side, and it was noticed after the first cut on that side which pretty much halted this initiative.
My Router was snug against the fence while making the cutting pass on both sides. As you can imagine I am beside myself, any suggestions? Please tell me this is not a freak occurrence as I am seriously doubting myself here, I must have done something wrong but what? I mean placement should be identical once the stock is turned over unless my brand new 1/4" bit is made of rubber or something. I am using a Ryobi Variable Speed Plunge Router which is brand new as well.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Cheers


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

20cc; Hey, welcome!

As you've already discovered you can post pics of your subject as long as they're on your own computer...no pics or links off the 'net until you've made 10 comments.
But having said that we need to see pics of your jig. 
In the meantime, try placing your router/ jig back on the original side and see if it still lines up.
If I had to take a wild guess I think you might have done the 2nd side of the material without restoring the router position back to the location of the very first cut on the original side, ie you started the 2nd side using the position of the final cut (of the first side). Does that sound possible?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Wouldn't an edge guide have been a simpler approach?
https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/router-guide
That one is about as basic as they get...no micro adjustments, but it'd get the job done.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

welcome to the forums N/A..

I believe Dan has found your cause and cure....

plan ''B''....

do you own a tablesaw???....
if so, repair the grove that is out of alignment and recut it using the TS...
a FTG (Flat Top Grind) saw blade will be the blade to use...
i will give you a flat bottomed and square shouldered grove...

.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I don't know if it's my imagination but it looks like the bit went in at an angle.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> I don't know if it's my imagination but it looks like the bit went in at an angle.


as in the groove isn't parallel to the edge???
or as in the groove isn't 90° to the face???
Both???

.


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## Bstrom (Jan 2, 2020)

Unless you can rectify this issue shortly, I would return that router and spring for something a little better - DeWalt, Bosch, etc. You still need to center the shaft to the base with a centering tool to get/keep accurate measurements. Hope you get it going!


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## roxanne562001 (Feb 5, 2012)

Welcome to the forum


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> as in the groove isn't parallel to the edge???
> or as in the groove isn't 90° to the face???
> Both???
> 
> .


If you look at the deepest groove it appears to have a "bat ear" in one bottom corner and a chamfer in the other. I don't know how you can do that with a straight bit.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> If you look at the deepest groove it appears to have a "bat ear" in one bottom corner and a chamfer in the other. I don't know how you can do that with a straight bit.


I think the bat ear is tear out and the chamfer is a splinter..


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Looking at the picture in Stick's post the right edge of the board appears to be rounded, particularly in comparison to the left edge. On looking at the first photo the top edge appears flat and the bottom edge rounded. If correct, that could account for at least add to to difference in two grooves.


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## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

Hi folks, wow a lot of helpful suggestions from all of you. So kind thank you. I already dismantled the jig piece by piece to try and determine the issue. Basically I sandwiched the stock between two pieces of planed stock as well as the ends and secured them to a planed piece of pine as a base. On the top I also secured an offset piece of planed pine as a guide to slide the router while resting on the workpiece. Probably not the safest as the workpiece was not clamped down 100% 

I have a rough drawing of my makeshift jig, please excuse the crude freehand drawing.
The 2 3/8" is the distance between the centre of the Router Collet and the guide on top of the jig which I used as a guide to align with the flat edge of my router to cut the channel .5" while cutting from left to right from the top edge of the stock. Yes there was a bit of play as the flat edge of my router is slightly taller than the top pine guide
Bad idea? 
A router attachment may be more suitable as I do not have a table saw unfortunately.


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## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

Here are some pictures of the jig that I took, my apologies again as I reassembled the jig to help illustrate how I assembled this colossal failure in the first place.
Again thank you all for your input, I really appreciate your suggestions.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Don't take this as an insult, absolutely not meant that way! Is it possible that you used the flat face of the router base for one side and the curved portion for the other side?
Easy enough to check if the two respective router base faces line up with their respective channels...

Added text: the very _last_ thing I would consider is the router itself. It's new; what could be wrong?
http://www.woodworkingtoolsetc.com/ryobi-router.html
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-10-Amp-2-HP-Plunge-Base-Router-RE180PL1G/205509658
Great price for a plunge base router.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

From the pictures it appears the base of the router does not sit flat on the base in front of your edge guide/fence...this can allow for some tilting when you depress to plunge.

Maybe you can do something about that...not absolutely necessary if you can keep the router base flat on the work piece.

Maybe the router base (flat edge) could be "jumpy" as you route your piece...recommend waxing the face of the fence so it slides easier.

Are you sure the work piece is held in place on all four sides, specifically the edge that faces the fence...this could be the big factor in the distances varying...

Is the plunge action smooth or does it have any rough spots...? Are you using the plunge depth adjustment rod against the turret to make your cuts...?


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## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

Hello folks, sorry to seem evasive but below is what I am restoring. It is a bracket to support a table top on a desk,, I kind of need a matching one as the original is in very inoperative shape,, rotted out and discarded actually, so that is what I am working on. Those grooves on the sides are where you attach brackets that fasten the desktop to. 
But I may have produced a solution,,,hopefully. Bring the mountain to Mohammed so to speak,,,,
Instead of revisiting the previous failed method that I employed, I built a makeshift sliding jig that I attached to my router, which is a bit safer too because it allows me to clamp the stock down more securely,, and hopefully more accurately. 
And Nick thank you,,,,I will wax the bottom of this contraption too before I give it a go. 
For now? 
Having a cup of coffee,,No joe??? No Go!!!


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

One other thing that can affect what you are doing is feed direction. If you are following a guide that is on the opposite side of the router from you then you should be working from left to right. If it`s between you and the router you should be working from right to left. Going the opposite directions might possibly cause the bit to ride up as you cut and it makes the bit more prone to wander away from the guide strip.


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## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

Hello Chuck, thank you for your advice. This makeshift gizmo unlike the last jig I devised will ride on top of the stock from left to right which will be secured in a vice on my bench, sandwiched between two pieces of planed pine, and offset to accommodate the .5" from the top edge. I agree with you on the left to right feed direction, hopefully this will prove to be more accurate than my previous attempt which yielded a most unsatisfactory result. And I like Nicks advice too, waxing the underside of the sled-jig to allow for more fluid feed motion.
Cheers!!!
Wish me luck, gonna give this a go in the am.


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

Placement: Is the fence moving?
Depth: Is the collet snug? Does the plate sag? Is the plunge depth lock on? Is the oak straight?


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## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

Hello Paul , The collet is snug, plate does not sag and yes I usually set and lock the plunge depth edge to edge as opposed to plunging from the top. I did set the oak straight using the piece from my first failed attempt, so in a sense the first piece did not get trashed in vain, it actually allowed for better bit setting. And the stock has a bit more support from both sides, so to answer your first question, yes I suppose this will be a moving fence. What do you think? Good? Not so good? have you tried this before?


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## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

*Channel Completed ,,,YES!!*

Well folks, the sled-jig worked, not 100% But way more satisfactory than the previous attempt. 
Thank you.


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## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

Not a bad router,,
Kind of looks like a ,,,cycloptic Shrek!


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

20cCc20 said:


> Not a bad router,,
> Kind of looks like a ,,,cycloptic Shrek!


Like my M12V2. The looks turned a lot of prospective buyers off which was too bad because it is a top notch router for both handheld and router table use. I was told quite a few years ago that one of the older members of this forum left because he got tired of being kidded about it.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

@20cCc20...

where dies this pat get installed???
is it an apron???


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

Cole, I had depth problems with my first attempt at a home-made router table. I had used 1/4 inch cast acrylic (plexi) for the plate. It seemed stiff but it sagged. When holding the material down the ends would get a deeper cut than the center. Very noticeable on smaller round-overs. I have an aluminum plate now - big difference.

Glad to see that you're getting better results.


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## 20cCc20 (Mar 28, 2020)

The biggest mistake I made was, the minimal clamp down with the first jig with the assumption that I would make each cut in one pass.
The plunge feature allowed me to resume my cuts precisely after I alternated my clamps on the stock from end to end. This was much safer and surprisingly accurate. It took a bit longer than doing the cut in a single pass but the extra safety precaution paid off as you can see. Safety should always be paramount when using any powertool, everything just falls into place afterwards.
Cheers!!!


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