Ryobi RE170VS - Manual (Page 16)

Page 16
FREEHAND ROUTING
See Figure 21.
When used freehand, your router becomes a flexible and
versatile tool. This flexibility makes it possible to easily rout
signs, relief sculptures, etc.
There are two basic techniques for freehand routing:
■ Routing letters, grooves, and patterns into wood. See
Figure 21.
■ Routing out the background, leaving the letters or pattern
raised above the surface.
When freehand routing, we suggest the following:
■ Draw or layout the pattern on workpiece.
■ Choose the appropriate cutter. NOTE: A core box or V-
groove bit is often used for routing letters and engraving
objects. Straight bits and ball mills are often used to
make relief carvings. Veining bits are used to carve
small, intricate details.
■ Rout the pattern in two or more passes. Make the first
pass at 25% of the desired depth of cut. This will provide
better control as well as being a guide for the next pass.
■ Do not rout deeper than 1/8 in. (3.2 mm) per pass or
cut.
WARNING:
Do not use large router bits for freehand routing. Use of
large router bits when freehand routing could cause loss
of control or create other hazardous conditions that could
cause possible serious personal injury.
WARNING:
Do not use with router tables that fail to conform to safe
woodworking practices and offer proper guarding for the
cutter. Failure to comply can result in an accident causing
possible serious injury.
ROUTER TABLE USE
See Figures 22 and 23.
■ Your Ryobi RE170VS router can be used on UL listed
router tables such as the Ryobi BT3000SXI Precision
Cutting System. It may be necessary to remove the
subbase to utilize the full pattern of some edge forming
bits such as Roman Ogee and round-over bits. Remove
the four (4) #10-32 pan head screws and subbase. With
the subbase base removed, the router is secured to the
mounting plate with 5/16-18 x 3/4 in., tapered flat head
screws provided in the Ryobi Router Mounting Kit model
number 4950300 or available at your local hardware
store.
OPERATION
Fig. 21
FREEHAND ROUTING
WARNING:
Use only 5/16-18 x 3/4 in. machine screws to mount the
router in an inverted position for table use. The use of
smaller screws, such as the #10-32 machine screws
provided for mounting the subbase, could provide an
insecure mounting and result in the risk of serious
personal injury.
WARNING:
ALWAYS make sure the shank of the router bit is seated
within 1/16 in. of the bottom of the collet. Extending the
shank of the router bit more than 1/16 in. beyond the
base of the collet could cause improper engagement of
the collet to the bit and result in serious personal injury.
WARNING:
When using a UL listed router table, large router bits
should be used for edging only. Do not use router bits
that are larger in diameter than the opening in the router
base for any purpose. Failure to heed this warning could
result in serious personal injury.
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