# Don't have a planer. Do have a router.



## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

I'm replacing the lower part of a cabinet in a bathroom. Most cabinets have a toe-kick, but this one has a rail and stile touching the floor, so the face frame is even/flush from top to bottom.
The left side of the rail and 6 inches of the stile were rotted out from a bathtub that's probably been slowly leaking for 50 years. ..........drip.......................drip......................drip.......................drip.
So I broke out/removed the 30 inch by 5 inch high floor level part of the cabinet that was rotted. I also cut out 6 inched of the rotted left stile.
I can use the good portion of the original rotted rail section to fill in the little stile that I cut off........... Most of the 1 1/2" wide by 7 inch long rail seam will be be 1/2 way between the lower hinge so pretty much invisible.
I bought a board long enough to make up the rail portion. It's 1/32nd or more thicker than the original material, meaning it's not going to butt perfectly flush with the cabinet's rails.
What's that song.......... if I had a planer, ...........I'd planer in the morning, I'd planer in the evening........... OK, I don't have or have access to one.
I'm looking for ideas if there are any suggestions, better than my own thoughts. I figure using a 1/2" bit to remove the additional thickness. I'm thinking of using a guide and starting at one side, and just make pass after pass until the router isn't stable as I approach the opposite side.
From there, I can remove the rest with my table saw.
I also suppose I can cut the first part with my table saw too, and then use the router for the middle section.
Mt table saw is an old Makita portable, not a stationary cabinet makers 12 inch saw. If I had that, I'd make my fix in two passes.
Any enlightenment? Basically, I'm removing 1/32 second or so from a birch board that's about 6X32 inches. Pass after pass with a 1/2 inch bit seems to be my idea.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Randy, Do you have a belt sander, or access to one? You can rent them from rental houses. 

Can you rip the board on edge on the table saw, and raise the blade in several passes til it is full height? Do this on first side the flip it over rip, raise the blade repeat, do it as many times as it takes to raise the blade all the way up. You will then have a rib left down the middle . 
Take and lay boards down each side ,that are the same thickness of the original board for the router to ride on, and set the depth of the end cutter bit to your saw cut and run down the board trimming the center waste out.

Herb


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Randy, what tools do you have? That would help us solve the problem.


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

You might need to borrow Harry's skis. https://www.routerforums.com/jigs-fixtures/23799-beginners-guide-making-router-skis.html#post203824


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

Router sled.
Lots of you tube videos using everything from angle iron to top quality wood. i used a piece of surplus MDF with the router mounted central and an old kitchen floor tile as the bed, with some bits of chipboard upstands. 
Cost about a dollar and will smooth good enough that the wood only needs a final sanding.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

As Herb said try to get hold of a belt sander. If you can't find one then any sander will work if you use coarse paper and spend a little time. But why not just build a whole new cabinet? I posted a picture yesterday of one I build for about $30 dollars and did it in less than a day. I'm guessing that you will spend several hours trying to fix yours and in the end you will have a repaired 50 year old cabinet.


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

Herb, the Makita saw has an 8 inch blade, and being a portable saw (1989 era) the fence isn't ideal for ripping something that tall. The wood is heavy and hard, not sure what kind. maple, ash birch? The accuracy of the cut is only needed on 3 edges mostly, where they make contact with the cabinet frame. the two sides only need accurate thickness for 3/4 of am inch. ......well, pretty much for the top side to. The rest can be hogged out with an axe or rocks........  No need to be pretty nor accurate for most of the board. just 3/4" or so on the edges.
The center of the board needs to be close to the same thickness as the edges, but again, the center doesn't need to be pretty. This cutting is done on the back of the board.
I have a PC router, and a PC offset laminate trimmer. The offset with a wing bit makes for a good alignment tool by using it as a biscuit jointer.
I have a belt sander too, but that could mess up the edges. I could use it in the center of the board to clean up any high spots.


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

The entire cabinet is made of 3/4" plywood except the backing panel that's 3/8". It's 80 or so inches tall and has four 3/4 inch plywood doors and 4 shelves. It's too tall to remove from the bathroom with the door casing in place. This is just a repair... in a rental.


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

This is going to be a 45 minute one time job. It will take longer to set up my portable table at the warehouse and get my tools and extension cords ready


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

I hand held the router and did all but the last inch. I'll take my table saw to the warehouse tomorrow and take off the last inch, then dance over it with the belt sander where needed. The board is about 3/4 of an inch wider than the rotten face I tore out, so I'm good. I'll trim and fit in pieces in place once I get the new flooring installed and the cabinet fastened back to the wall opening. 
To get the color match we tried orange shellac. Just that alone was almost dead on. The paint place said they could put a sealer over the shellac, so the polyurethane would bond. 
Orange Shellac is waxed. I saw someone use that on a woodworking show and before the top coat, they wiped the dry finish coat of shellac with something to remove the wax............. I can't remember what it was. Acetone?


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

Is is possible to have a Friday the 13th on a Monday the 20th? On Sunday I routed the back side of the board except for the last inch. Yesterday I took my table saw to the the warehouse to shave off the last inch or so. Once adjusted, I ran it slowly through the saw and thought I was done. I layed the board face up and discovered I now had a scratch that ran the entire length, right through the center of the good side. This is a Makita 8 1/4 inch portable table saw. Many years ago, I added a 1/4 inch by 3 inch piece of aluminum to the fence. Makita's fence is a formed metal one. It had a bow in it and the thick aluminum made the fence taller, straighter and touched the table well enough that I could run thin materials like Formica through the saw without it creeping under the fence.
Without knowing it, the top corner of the aluminum fence got hit by something and was distorted somehow in transit. That's what caused the scratch in the board.
The warehouse fella mentioned a place almost across the street. I had no idea who he was or what he did, but drove over there with the board. He had a planer. Yahoo! Wish I'd know it earlier. Our little town doesn't have a cabinet shop on every corner. He made two passes taking off a very tiny amount and saved my bacon. The fella does cabinets and anything wood. He even has a small stockpile of wood. I'm sorta glad I messed up. Now I have another source of help when I find a new project that's beyond my abilities.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Randy...might this have been a good application for an oscillating tool (like the FEIN) and do plunge cuts...?

There's always a next time...


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## Steve Pack (Jan 1, 2014)

A router planer is the way to go.Ensure that the router bit is good quality as that will be surface you are left with. I use a Whiteside surfacing bit, not super expensive. I flatten laminated thin wood panes with it and can cut a skim or heavier. Purple heart and the planer were not friends. There are several variations on line. Being frugal I used MDF for table and 1 1/4 angle iron from orange store. I stopped at a dollar type store and bought a plastic cutting board, cut 2 1/8 slot in it and that is what the router slide bed rides one.


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

Nickp said:


> Randy...might this have been a good application for an oscillating tool (like the FEIN) and do plunge cuts...?
> 
> There's always a next time...


I wasn't born yesterday. :grin: That's what I used........... my mostest favorite tool ever. I clamped a carpenters square to the left side if the cabinet and used a very _fine_, Fein blade for the cut. I went slow and easy and it made a great cut. It ended up at a 1 or 2 degree back angle, so I just cut the repair section with the same angle.
The cut is centered between the lower hinge screws. A door trim molding covers another 3/8 of an inch of that seam.


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

Here's the before and after. The new piece looks lighter in the photo than it does in person, but it matched the rotten piece I removed............. and that's what we matched it too. The pieces in the repaired image are just fitted, not installed yet. I still have to spline where all the edges meet. 
Just found out today the cabinet my have to be removed to do plumbing work. I don't want the new pieces to get boogered up from a "*bull in a china closet*" type plumber manhandling the cabinet when he pulls it out of the wall.


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

Steve Pack said:


> A router planer is the way to go.Ensure that the router bit is good quality as that will be surface you are left with. I use a Whiteside surfacing bit, not super expensive. I flatten laminated thin wood panes with it and can cut a skim or heavier. Purple heart and the planer were not friends. There are several variations on line. Being frugal I used MDF for table and 1 1/4 angle iron from orange store. I stopped at a dollar type store and bought a plastic cutting board, cut 2 1/8 slot in it and that is what the router slide bed rides one.


Had to look it up to know what a router planer was. I've seen a couple of them, just didn't know what they were called.
Lot's of designs out there. My problem would be what design and how large I'd need it to be. My shop is a carport, so anything wood will warp. It would need to be small enough to be stored indoors and could be set up on sawhorses if that's possible.
Thanks for bringing that up, Steve.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Some of us call that a router sled. I built one that was about 4' across and 8' long once so that I could flatten the top of the bench I built out of laminated 2 x lumber. If you get wide enough, like I did, then you need to reinforce the cross piece of the sled with sides to keep it rigid enough to prevent deflection, basically a U shaped box.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

ranman said:


> I wasn't born yesterday. :grin: That's what I used........... my mostest favorite tool ever. I clamped a carpenters square to the left side if the cabinet and used a very _fine_, Fein blade for the cut. I went slow and easy and it made a great cut. It ended up at a 1 or 2 degree back angle, so I just cut the repair section with the same angle.
> The cut is centered between the lower hinge screws. A door trim molding covers another 3/8 of an inch of that seam.



GO PLUNGE CUTS...! ! ! ! ! :grin:


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Some of us call that a router sled. I built one that was about 4' across and 8' long once so that I could flatten the top of the bench I built out of laminated 2 x lumber. If you get wide enough, like I did, then you need to reinforce the cross piece of the sled with sides to keep it rigid enough to prevent deflection, basically a U shaped box.


I was looking at different setups with google image search. I noticed the larger beefier setups for wide stuff. Be it large or small, I never saw any hold downs for the work pieces. I know there must be some.
If you have something large and excessively warped are there bits to "hog out" material until it's flat enough for a finish cut? I've never heard of bits for planing with a router, so this is a bit new to me.


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## ranman (Oct 27, 2017)

Nickp said:


> GO PLUNGE CUTS...! ! ! ! ! :grin:


I bought my Fein for one job... and never regretted it. I was asked to remove an overlapping transition on a brand new wood floor install and replace it with a flush mount tapered (teardrop) reducer. I used a 3/16" thick aluminum angle as my guide to straighten out the entire 60 inch width of end cuts. ...the cut was straight enough to butt the new molding to. It instantly became my favorite tool. Doing it over again, I'd have done it differently, using the Fein for just the beginning and end of the cut. But anyhow, I was impressed and I use it every couple of days for something.
I especially like the J-bend cutter for removing the butyl caulking from between the planks on the teak deck of my 400 foot yacht. :grin:


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

ranman said:


> I bought my Fein for one job... and never regretted it. I was asked to remove an overlapping transition on a brand new wood floor install and replace it with a flush mount tapered (teardrop) reducer. I used a 3/16" thick aluminum angle as my guide to straighten out the entire 60 inch width of end cuts. ...the cut was straight enough to butt the new molding to. It instantly became my favorite tool. Doing it over again, I'd have done it differently, using the Fein for just the beginning and end of the cut. But anyhow, I was impressed and I use it every couple of days for something.
> I especially like the J-bend cutter for removing the butyl caulking from between the planks on the teak deck of my 400 foot yacht. :grin:



Obviously, the only way to stop talking about the Fein is to meet on your yacht and open the drinks...I'll bring the blender...but you have to finish the caulking first...:grin::dance3:


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## Kotzen (Nov 15, 2019)

i have a cnc router


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