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The moment I stopped fighting my trim router and started letting it work
I spent 2 years using my trim router like a full-size plunge router, pushing it hard through dado cuts and then wondering why my edges always looked burnt and chattery. Last week I was routing a shelf edge in my garage in Portland and my neighbor, who builds cabinets for a living, watched me for about 30 seconds. He said, 'You're not supposed to fight it, just take light passes and let the bit do the walking.' I had this stupid lightbulb moment because I'd been forcing a 1/4 inch bit through a 3/4 inch cut in one shot this whole time. He showed me on a scrap piece how two or three shallow passes give you a glass-smooth finish with zero tearout. I tried his way on an oak board and it took maybe 3 extra minutes but the result was better than anything I'd ever made. Now I'm kicking myself for all those ruined edges and wasted wood over the last couple years. Does anyone else have a basic tool technique they learned embarrassingly late? What was your 'wait, that's how you're supposed to do it' moment?
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jana_fox501mo ago
Wow, two whole years of burning edges and you needed a cabinet guy to watch you for 30 seconds? That's a real talent for making the simple stuff hard. My own dumb moment was drilling pilot holes after snapping like a dozen screws, and yeah, it took a neighbor kid to point out the obvious. At least you got there before you ran out of oak, because that wood ain't cheap.
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