# Birdsmouth router bits



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I got a set of birdsmouth style router bits a while back and gave one a try for the first time the other day. I made a planter out of some 5/4 x 4 cedar decking from our HD store. The bit instructions are for 1/2 or 3/4 material but they did the 1" thick material just fine. I went with the 16 segment bit so 16 pieces 11 7/8" long came out of 2 eight footers. 

I set my fence a little farther ahead than recommended so that I wouldn't have issues with snipe at the end of the boards. This left very small lips at the joints which I hand planed off later but made the setup much easier and the routing more reliable. 

I realized right away that trying to glue up 16 individual pieces was going to be just about impossible so I glued pairs of them up first. This allowed them to stand on their own after so the rest went pretty well. When I glued the pairs together I got all of them together in a circle and then put some ratchet straps on them (ones I got from Lee Valley with no hooks) and cinched them together. They came together pretty well. All but two of the joints were perfect. The other two had gaps and the planter is slightly oval shaped instead of round.

So I'm curious if anyone else has used these bits much and what your experiences are with getting joints tight. I'm thinking next time I might build a couple of gluing clamps at a 22.5 degree angle to make sure the pairs are glued together at the correct angle and see if that helps. Anyone else have experience to share?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

What about making a circular 'form' to act as a temporary brace on the inside. Slightly under the finished inside diameter would be my thought, for ease of removal afterwards.
Maybe even cut in half across the face, then fix a patch across the face to hold it together until you need to get it out.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

You'd still need something to hold the individual slats in place until you get them all together and a strap on them. That would be tricky but gluing pairs made that part easy. Maybe the circular form side would help get the eight pairs together. I should check around the outside to see if all the angles are the same I guess but right now I'm working on my Silverado's front brakes.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

DaninVan said:


> What about making a circular 'form' to act as a temporary brace on the inside. Slightly under the finished inside diameter would be my thought, for ease of removal afterwards.
> Maybe even cut in half across the face, then fix a patch across the face to hold it together until you need to get it out.


When I make my buckets, (no birds mouth,just straight cuts) I do like @DaninVan and make a round donut the od the size of the id of the bucket.
I lay the staves tight together on 2 ribbons of tape,glue, then roll them into a circle. Then insert the donuts and put the clamps on,this holds them in shape for a circle.
On the buckets I do dado the bottom into the staves when making them, that also keeps the bottom in shape as I roll them up.
Herb


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

dado blade for the cuts..
flat edged inside templates (2) to hold the roundish shape.. (cut a skosh light)
outside donuts as a keepers... (a fuzz light)
super slow set glue... (Weldbond)
set the staves as you want...
set the donuts as a clamps/retainers...
shims between the donuts and IS template to perfection... 
now add the ratchet clamps (3) if needed...


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

@Cherryville Chuck. 
I use the Birdsmouth bits In making planter barrels and a combination of the approaches suggested by @DaninVan and @Herb Stoops for the glue up. I cut and assemble the base for the barrel and a piece of heavy cardboard to match it in size and shape. The cardboard serves as a temporary top to the barrel for the glue up. I lay the staves out on 2” wide painters tape and then roll them around the base and the cardboard piece to complete the barrel. Once that is in place I use banding similar to what you use for the base and top being careful not to crush the cardboard at the top. 

Adding a bit of wax to the edge of the cardboard keeps it from sticking to the barrel. 

A critical choice in the process is whether or not you want the joints to overlap or not as that will impact the fit and sizeing. I use the overlapped version which is easily sanded away once the glUe up is finished. This also keeps the joints from slipping during the roll up phase.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I forgot about the masking tape part of the process; bouquets to Herb and Jon for that advice!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DaninVan said:


> I forgot about the masking tape part of the process; bouquets to Herb and Jon for that advice!


me too..
thanks Herb and Jon...

but I'm going to hold on the bouquets...


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> me too..
> thanks Herb and Jon...
> 
> but I'm going to hold on the bouquets...


A little flower power goes a long way.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JFPNCM said:


> A little flower power goes a long way.


apple pie...


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

JFPNCM said:


> @Cherryville Chuck.
> I use the Birdsmouth bits In making planter barrels and a combination of the approaches suggested by @DaninVan and @Herb Stoops for the glue up. I cut and assemble the base for the barrel and a piece of heavy cardboard to match it in size and shape. The cardboard serves as a temporary top to the barrel for the glue up. I lay the staves out on 2” wide painters tape and then roll them around the base and the cardboard piece to complete the barrel. Once that is in place I use banding similar to what you use for the base and top being careful not to crush the cardboard at the top.
> 
> Adding a bit of wax to the edge of the cardboard keeps it from sticking to the barrel.
> ...


I did use tape to hold the single slats together to make the pairs but didn't bother in the final glue up. I didn't get around to checking the angles of the pairs yet but the ratchet straps did pull all the joints tight except for the two, which weren't terrible, so I believe at the moment that that may be all I need if every thing else is right. More investigation and attempts will tell me if that's right. 

Jon, when you say overlapped I'm assuming you mean like in this photo of someone elses project. And I think it's necessary to do it without a form and it makes it stronger.


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## MYB506 (Dec 5, 2012)

I bought some stretchable 3M tape from Lee Valley a few years ago and have used this for the glue up. You pull the tape tight as you lay it down so that it stretches and pulls all the joints tight when you roll it up. The advantage to masking tape is that the stretable stuff won't tear. Once it's together I used 2 strap clamps to add more pressure. I just checked the LV website but don't see it there now so not sure where to get it. The stuff I have it about 1/2" wide and lime green.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

the master of birdsmouth; he has at least 4 videos on the things.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

Sweet, just watched a couple of videos explaining these very well. One is


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

And the second one is here


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

MYB said:


> I bought some stretchable 3M tape from Lee Valley a few years ago and have used this for the glue up. You pull the tape tight as you lay it down so that it stretches and pulls all the joints tight when you roll it up. The advantage to masking tape is that the stretable stuff won't tear. Once it's together I used 2 strap clamps to add more pressure. I just checked the LV website but don't see it there now so not sure where to get it. The stuff I have it about 1/2" wide and lime green.


Lee Valley sill sells the green tape, they call it "Binding Tape" 3M™ Binding Tape - Lee Valley Tools It's actually a standard 3M product, you can pick it up from various places on the Internet a lot cheaper.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

tomp913 said:


> Lee Valley sill sells the green tape, they call it "Binding Tape" 3M™ Binding Tape - Lee Valley Tools It's actually a standard 3M product, you can pick it up from various places on the Internet a lot cheaper.


But does it leave a residue when you remove it? If you do a search of 3M 233+ you'll find something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JT5LJG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I ordered a roll of the 18mm (.7") and will see how that works.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> apple pie...


Warm apple pie with a nice slice of cheddar cheese on it.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

@Cherryville Chuck

Charles

That is the overlap I was referring to. Those edges can either be sanded off or left depending on the appearance one favors.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

That was the way I did it. I think the lap helps in putting it together. I hand planed the the outside overhang and then sanded a bit. My daughter took some decent pictures for me. The tree is an artificial one of the little woman's. It was in a thin plastic pot that was filled with a pour in foam. It's so top heavy that even a slight breeze would knock it over and the plastic pot is in pieces but still held together with the foam. So my project was just something to stick it in where we could weight it down and keep it upright. This was a quick effort. Definitely not fine woodworking.

Thanks Bob and Steve for those videos. I may have to try some more of them. This one was kind of fun to do. And Mark I did use some of that tape from Lee Valley to glue the singles into pairs.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

a couple three bricks would work for weights...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

nicely done Charles...


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

JFPNCM said:


> Warm apple pie with a nice slice of cheddar cheese on it.


Seriously? Everyone knows it's peach season and time for, wait for it,..........peach cobbler with a scope of good ole vanilla ice cream. Made two yesterday while smoking 2 whole chickens. And yes, the were ready for the smoker. I learnt my lesson that first time. Who knew feathers could cause so much fire? They settled down after a minute or two............


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Ahhhh, the smell of burning feathers on the evening air...BBQ season at its best.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Well if you want to talk about pies, that’s one of my apple trees and one of the worlds best pie makers standing in its shade. It’s a very old tree that isn’t a good eating apple but it is a great pie and apple sauce tree. Ear your hearts out. I’ll be eating pie soon.


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