# Using a palm router



## roberttw (Oct 9, 2010)

I've always used a plunge router and now have purchased a Bosch Colt 1.0 hp palm router as well. I want to use the new router to cut away background on my wood carvings.
What is the safest way to do this, and what is the best bit to use? I want to be able to move the router back and forth horizontally and vertically. 
Thanks for any help.


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## Neil Tsubota (Mar 20, 2010)

*Laminate Trim Router <=> Palm Router....*



roberttw said:


> I've always used a plunge router and now have purchased a Bosch Colt 1.0 hp palm router as well. I want to use the new router to cut away background on my wood carvings.
> What is the safest way to do this, and what is the best bit to use? I want to be able to move the router back and forth horizontally and vertically.
> Thanks for any help.


Use the tool for the "intended" purpose. 

It is my understanding that a Bosch Colt 1.0 hp is intended to "trim" laminate, (or formica counter tops). Read the instructions and most "quality" wood working tools will send you the Instruction Manual in PDF format for little or no costs. This is cheaper than dealing with a "personal-injury-lawyer".

Why are there more lawyers in California, than ANY other statein the US ?

Thanks
Neil


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Robert 

The colt is a great tool and not just for trimming , see my uploads for many pictures of the Colt...you will want to get a base for your Colt for a bigger foot print and two knobs to hold on to for more control on your wood carvings..
It will turn just about any router bit with a 1/4" shank.

Amazon.com: Woodhaven 8320 Bosch Colt PR20 Bushing Plate: Home Improvement

http://www.routerforums.com/general-routing/22786-bosch-colt-palm-router-unsafe.html

http://www.routerforums.com/attachm...06-bosch-colt-palm-router-unsafe-100_1805.jpg

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roberttw said:


> I've always used a plunge router and now have purchased a Bosch Colt 1.0 hp palm router as well. I want to use the new router to cut away background on my wood carvings.
> What is the safest way to do this, and what is the best bit to use? I want to be able to move the router back and forth horizontally and vertically.
> Thanks for any help.


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## bill strop (Oct 26, 2009)

That's because the voters in New York and California decided to swap lawyers and New York won. That vote raised the IQs of both states.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

roberttw said:


> I've always used a plunge router and now have purchased a Bosch Colt 1.0 hp palm router as well. I want to use the new router to cut away background on my wood carvings.
> What is the safest way to do this, and what is the best bit to use? I want to be able to move the router back and forth horizontally and vertically.
> Thanks for any help.


Hi Robert, welcome to the forum
I assume by "carvings" you are doing 3 dimensional stuff like statuetes or something like that?
I have the Trend T-4, also a laminate trimmer, and the manual has me removing it from the base for freehand carving. Doubt I will ever use it that way, sounds a bit risky to me. Wouldn't be any way I can see of controlling depth of cut other than some severe concentration. Trend is considerably larger than the Colt is though so that may be the way to go, kinda like a Dremel on steroids.
As far as bits go, I would guess a small dish cutter or round nose would work. V-groove for finer detail work.
May help if you posted a pic or two of what you are planning. Picture worth a thousand words (does take about a million times the disc space though):haha:


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## Neil Tsubota (Mar 20, 2010)

Does a 1.0 HP Laminate Trim router produce a "kicK" when started ?

If so I would not like this unit....if it does.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Neil Tsubota said:


> Does a 1.0 HP Laminate Trim router produce a "kicK" when started ?
> 
> If so I would not like this unit....if it does.


Hi Neil - All motors are going to produce some "kick", Isaac Newton thing. Question is how well is it controlled. I think most of the newer routers have a "soft start" feature which reduces the kick. My Trend T-4 produces a little kick but nothing that isn't managable and can be reduced further by having it on the lowest speed setting when powering up and then increasing the speed to where you want after it is running. The Trend has an almost ridiculously high speed anyway, like 32 - 34,000. I have yet to run it over half speed of 24,000.


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

I believe the Colt, like other Bosch routers has a soft start, which dramatically reduces the kick.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Neil Tsubota said:


> Why are there more lawyers in California, than ANY other statein the US ?


Do they have less road kill there as well?


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## roberttw (Oct 9, 2010)

The kind of carving I'm working with is "relief" carving. The background I want to remove is all that wood from around the relief. I use carving chisels to carve the relief. To try to remove the background with carving tools is just too time consuming. 
Thanks for the help so far. I'll post a picture later to try to demonstrate better.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

This fall many of the big companies have jumped on the palm router market. Wood Magazine reviewed a couple of the new 1/4 HP models. As far as carving free hand goes, I have seen RotoZip (by Bosch) with a sabrecut bit used free hand for 3 dimensional carving. Since these bits are delicate and subject to breaking from sideways pressure I would suggest wearing a leather coat and using a face shield over safety glasses.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Robert....

Here's a thought for you... A Trend T-4 router (with plunge feature) and a set of skii's. 
The plunge feature would allow for you to control your depth of cut quite easily and the skii's would give you added control especially over irregular surfaces. Alot of the folks in here are very familiar with skii's and swear by them for bigger work. Any texturing you may want to do can easily be done afterwards. You could easily make a down sized set of skii's for next to nothing. Do a search on router skii's in the forum and if you think it worth looking into, start asking questions. 

To my knowledge, the colt does not come with a plunge base?? wish it did...

bill


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

*The Palm and the Fist*

Although a palm router with a plunge base would seem like the ideal tool for this sort of application, a conventional router on skis, as suggested, may be the better option. Remember, the objective is to "hog" out a bunch of wood from the background, probably using a bottom-cutting bit of reasonable size, with enough precision so as to minimize sanding or gouge work. Smaller bits can then be used to get closer to the edges of the relief carving, followed by precision hand work.


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