Well... that didn't work

Re: Well... that didn't work

A Freud 50-126 or 50-130 is the bit to use for that kind of template work. The large diameter of the cutter makes it feel like a shaper. Very little vibration. I also cut to within 1/16" of the line on the bandsaw. Get over 1/8" and well, you know what happens!

Re: Well... that didn't work

I always figure any time both hands are on your router, you are orders of magnitude safer than with both hands on the workpiece.  Not that that is the point here.

Is this a production job?  Doesn't look like it from the tooling.  If it is just that you are making some table parts.  I would rough them on the bandsaw, and then hand plane them, or spokeshave them.  It is remarkable how much curve one can get by skewing the plane.

Re: Well... that didn't work, two or three things

What I do with some success, I lay the pattern on the work and draw the curve with a Sharpie.  Then with the pattern off I saw the wrong side of the line, leaving the sharpie line mostly on the work.  (I don't like sawing with the pattern on the work because if my mind or the blade wanders it ruins the pattern.)

Then when routing with the pattern firmly reattached I use the bit to enter the work at ninety degrees about every half inch or inch in the area I'm working against the grain.  This cuts the waste into small blocks that might limit the runout if it grabs the grain. And I climb cut, holding on tightly.

If you are going to do enough to justify it, get a spiral bit or a compression bit and still sneak up on it.  (I am trying to convince myself to buy one the has a bearing top and bottom and is about 7/8 or one inch in diameter and ground for a compression cut but at over $150 I have not gotten up my courage yet.)

And, if you have a spindle sander you could skip the router and tape all of them together and sand them into submission.  By flipping the pieces back and forth in the stack you can get them remarkably symmetrical pretty easily.  I don't have a spindle sander but I use my drill press.

Re: Well... that didn't work

When cutting curves with a router there are areas where you need to reverse the feed direction by either flipping the piece over or climb cutting.  Any time the cutting edge is hitting the ends of the grain as shown below, you should cut the other way to prevent tear out.

Lee.....great illustration.......

Spiral Bits and Compression Bits

Spiral bits may help some when cutting against the grain but not much. They are typically small in diameter and switching to a larger diameter bit will help more and cost less.

When cutting veneered plywood with a router a spiral bit will produce a cleaner edge on one side and some blowout on the other. A compression bit will produce cleaner edges on both sides. When I ran a CNC router I used these bits a lot but now that I'm a hobbyist I use other methods to control chipping and blowout. In addition to their high initial cost spiral and compression bits are expensive to have sharpened.