# Routing Oak



## Alec Hosterman (Oct 6, 2007)

I'm a newbie here and wanted to ask a question about routing oak. Is oak hard to get through? I tried routing an edge and it seemed awfully difficult to get through to the end. I also had some burn marks and scuffs where I routed it. I'm using a Skil router fixed to a table using a 1/4" straight bit. If oak does happen to not be a router-friendly wood, then that solves the problem. Just wanted to get your opinions on it.

Thanks,
Alec
Mishawaka, Indiana


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Alec

" Is oak hard to get through? " Yes, some times,,, how deep are you going with the 1/4" bit ?

You maybe asking a bit to much from the bit...

A slot is always hard to do because it's hard for the bit to move the chips out of the way and out of the slot and in turn they go around and around many times this will buld up heat and burn the stock..

It 's always best to make small cuts ...in Oak it takes a bit longer but it quicker than trying to sand out the burn marks out..

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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Alec

" Is oak hard to get through? " Yes, sometimes,,, 

You maybe asking a bit to much from the bit...taking to much at one time.

Edging and slots are always hard to do in Oak because it's hard for the bit to move the chips out of the way and out of the slot and in turn they go around and around many times this will buld up heat and burn the stock..this can be true also when running a edge.

It 's always best to make small cuts ...in Oak, it takes a bit longer but it's quicker than trying to sand out the burn marks out..

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## Alec Hosterman (Oct 6, 2007)

Ahh, that might be the answer. It's a 1/2" thick piece oak I'm going through and I'm only doing about 1/4" routing. I wonder if I go through it twice, each time taking about 1/8" off if that will help.

I've scrapped the original box top and am going to do another. Too much to fix vs. starting over. I'll see if that does the trick.

Thanks for the quick feedback!

Alec


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## challagan (Feb 7, 2006)

Welcome Alec, glad to have you hear. Yup, oak can be a tough one some times. I have oak that was fine and other that I needed a brand new bit and multiple passes. If you generating a lot of heat the bit will get toasted. 

Corey


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## vapochilled (May 2, 2007)

My first table routing was Oak, so I can atest to all the above, destroyed the bit and the wood!
Shallow cuts, sharp decent quality bit, take it steady


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## del schisler (Feb 2, 2006)

*carbide bit*



ahosterman said:


> I'm a newbie here and wanted to ask a question about routing oak. Is oak hard to get through? I tried routing an edge and it seemed awfully difficult to get through to the end. I also had some burn marks and scuffs where I routed it. I'm using a Skil router fixed to a table using a 1/4" straight bit. If oak does happen to not be a router-friendly wood, then that solves the problem. Just wanted to get your opinions on it.
> 
> Thanks,
> Alec
> Mishawaka, Indiana


wouldn't a flush trim bit work better Something with a angle on it ? cross grain on oak sometines cut's hard


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Welcome to the RouterForums Alec. Glad to see you start off with a question for our members.


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## jjciesla (Oct 20, 2007)

Alec,
Another item for future consideration is how you have stored your wood. The oaks (red & white) and American Beach have a propensity more than others to absorb moisture. Especially in the summer months. This leads to a higher tangential movement than other hard woods. With the short pieces that we normally work with this usually isn’t a problem especially if it’s quarter sawn vs back or flat saw. If you look at what the router bit is seeing (on a micro scale) a higher moisture content is going to create (more) steam than usual and thus a higher temperature. The wood and the bit heat up at a much faster rate "than usual" thus pushing you into the wood burning hobby. A piece of wood that cuts great in the winter may be problematic in the summer with the same feeds & speeds. Like the guys have said, take little bites on the Oaks. (Don’t you just love the smell)
Jim


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

I'm not technically qualified to comment on the above but, during my extensive routing career here in Western Australia, where it can be wet in the winter and 100+deg in summer, I have never noticed any difference in routing between the seasons, using mainly West Australian Jarrah which is a hard dense timber. The secret is to use a decent size router with 1/2" shaft sharp cutters, take cuts of around 1/8" and don"t force the feed.


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