Using routers with carbide burrs?

[JG Custom Metal Works]

I saw a video a long while back by a maker with the name Gavko. He had a couple routers(at least that’s what they looked like) hooked up to a piece of aluminum plate, with carbide burrs. They were almost positioned like those oscillating spindle sanders. Only with carbide burrs. They’re on this video at .20seconds in.

The problem is he doesn’t say what they are, or give any model information. He says they’re $90 or so at Home Depot. I’m thinking they’re a $90 compact router Ridgid. They look like they work real well though. Has anyone tried a setup like this?

Also, would it be possible to hook up endmills with a setup like this? Obviously you’d want to make sure your speed was right for the given material you were using it on. It would probably be easy to break though.

Lastly, how would something like this work for channeling out a saya?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Yes, those are low cost light duty routers.

While it would work for channeling, you are working blind, as the channel is facing down. It is better to get a mini router and use a carbide burr and work on the saya piece from above. There is a Dremel router base that fits a hand held Dremel or a flex shaft.
There is a great little tool for mortising that is used by guitar makers for cutting the edge trim lines and other inlay recesses. It uses small router bits and can clean out a mortise really simply. It fits a Foredom handpiece or a powered handtool.
It comes as a base only or as a full set:
http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tool...s_and_Bits/Routers/Precision_Router_Base.html
http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tool..._Base/Precision_Router_Base_Complete_Set.html

 

[kuraki]

Yeah, it's a neat idea. I'm basically doing that with a dremel and a rounding bit for rounding the corners of folder scales with a consistent radius. And @Erin Burke did something similar with a ball burr to flute inside corners on a guard. This guy has just taken it to another level.

I would not use endmills in a setup like this on metal. The way they are ground I'm betting at best you would get chatter, and worst, launch your workpiece. The only way I would do it is if you built guides that contained the part in 2 axis so you only had to control the feed by hand.

 

[Grayzer86]

If you want to look into them, you won’t find much under mini routers. They are typically called laminate trimmers or trimming routers, but they are in fact basically a mini router. If you went that route, variable speed would be key, because fixed speed models typically run 25-30k rpm. If you just want one for carving out sayas, a plunge cutting router bit would be much better than an endmill.

 

[Josh Rider]

I did this to route out a saya. I used a regular router bit though and a plunging router. It worked great. Then sandwiched the two halves together, bada boom bada bing, no issues.

 

[WC53]

I wouldn’t use an end mill for metal with it..

For wood etc, I use trim routers with templates all the time. Most of my templates are just 1/4 ply rectangles glued to the size I need the slot to be. A 3/4 ply base with alignment pin and clamp. You work from above nice and easy. Think like the hinge mortise jigs they have, just on a tabletop small parts version

 

[joedhiggins]

I definitely would not use a carbide burr for wood. Use a router bit. A patterning bit may do what you are looking for perfectly.