Can somebody educate me on router rabbit bit usage?

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I've got my speaker boxes almost finished for my TB W3-871s', and now I'm ready to use the rabbit bit to create the flush-mount for the speakers. I went to Home Depot last night and didn't exactly see what I was expecting. They only had a few sizes, and the way they measure them (diameter) makes it impossible for me to know what size groove it's going to cut, since none of them were thoughtful enough to provide the bearing diameter. The guy at Home Depot showed me a package of different bearing sizes that I could swap out, but the package only had 2 different sizes.

So anyway... what tool do I need to be able to route different size notches for my flush mounts? In this particular case, I need the notch to be 5/16".
 
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The easiest way is to use a collar guide fitted on the baseplate of your router, not bearing guided bits. First, make a test cut with your collar and say, a standard 1/2" bit, with a thin (1/8" or so) ply or MDF sheet resting on top, 1/2" or so in from the edge, Measure the ofset of the cut from the edge, and cut a template from this same wood oversize by the amount you measured over the driver diameter. Use this jig to cut the rebate for the driver. Make a smaller jig for the actual cut out. When you have been doing this for a while, you build up a nice collection of templates for different drivers, that can be used quickly and easily, again and again.

General routing advice, don't cut too deeply in any one cut, 1/8" to 1/2" in any pass gives the best results with a normal domestic grade router.

Good luck, :)
 
I've been to home depot, and I didn't really have a problem finding what they had, part of the reason is that they have very little.
At best you will be able to find a 3/8 and a 1/2. Probably only a 3/8 and it will be about $30, quite a lot for a bit you will very seldom use.
And the bits that they had at my home depot all gave what the cutting depth was, not the diameter of the bit.

I would suggest looking somewhere online maybe and seeing what you can find there, something with adjustable bearing sizes would be good.
 
I did some searching online and found numerous companies that sell rabbet sets with multiple bearing sizes, to achieve a bunch of different cut widths. For $30, it doesn't seem like a bad setup, and will be versatile enough to be useful on a lot of future projects.

Unfortunately, nobody in my area sells it, so I guess I'll be putting my speaker project on hold until I can order one. :dunno:
 
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IMHO the best way to cut holes is with a circle cutting jig. A Jaspar is nice, but you can make one yourself from a chunk of 1/4" hardboard. A small hole for a pin or screw at the required radius is the pivot and a one inch hole for the bits.

Two straight bits...3/4" and 1/4" are all that is required...no collars or rabbeting bits. Use the 3/4" bit to cut the rebate first at the required depth...usually about 1/4". Since the center pin is still anchored solid for the full cut you're guaranteed a perfect circle.
Then switch to the 1/4" bit and cut the through-hole being careful at the end of the cut since the "circle" will come loose. There might be a little "nub" leftover, but it won't show and it's easily smoothed with some sandpaper.

Regards,

Davey.
 
Timn8ter said:
I use a router witha 1/4" straight bit and a Jasper Circle Jig. I cut the rabbet first then cut the hole.


I would do what Davey and Timn8ter said. All you would have to do is go purchase some more MDF (if that's what you are using). It probally would be cheaper than buying a rabbeting kit.

On another note--what types of bits do you use on MDF? I have a HSS bit that my dad gave me and it burns like crazy. Would a carbide bit not burn, or should I cut less at a time (was doing about 1/4").

-NoTalent
 
Seriously Jim, if you have a plunge router, a circle jig and a straight bit is all you need for making a large variety of rabbets and cut outs in 1/16" increments. Granted, it's $40 from Parts Express but if you're planning on continuing in this hobby it's money well spent.
 
Timn8ter said:
Seriously Jim, if you have a plunge router, a circle jig and a straight bit is all you need for making a large variety of rabbets and cut outs in 1/16" increments. Granted, it's $40 from Parts Express but if you're planning on continuing in this hobby it's money well spent.
In the future I'm going to try that, but since I already have a pair of 3" holes staring at me, it's not going to help me for this particular project.

Plus, there are still plenty of other times where a rabbet would come in handy, so I'd like to have one in my posession.
 
tacomaboy said:
Is it very difficult to do with a non-plunge router? Cant you just drop it into place?

I am thinking about buying the Jasper Jig from P.E. since I cant make a circle for squat, and the 1/4" MDF home made one doesnt work well for me.

Will I NEED a plunge router?
It's designed to be used with a plunge router. Many manufacturers sell plunge attachments. I've never tried it any other way. You'd have to replace the plate with the jig and adjust the depth which would be a bit tricky. I've never considered it.
 
From my understanding the only difference between a plunge and non-plunge router is that a plunge router sits on a suspension that lets it plunge into place. My router did come with a removable bottom plate, and I am sure the jig would fit, but actually placing it on the board to be cut would be trickier.
 
tacomaboy said:
Is it very difficult to do with a non-plunge router? Cant you just drop it into place?

I am thinking about buying the Jasper Jig from P.E. since I cant make a circle for squat, and the 1/4" MDF home made one doesnt work well for me.

Will I NEED a plunge router?

A plunge router makes it a lot easier. Amazon.com has a great deal on a nice hitachi plunge router for $159 (70% off list price), if you don't want to go all out and get either the Bosch kit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005RHPD

or the excellent new Porter-Cable kit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000DCBKN/qid=1075141685

Hitachi router:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000223K9

Amazon also has the Japser circle jigs for cheaper than P.E. I got this one for $19: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009K77D

Don't forget to use the $25 off $199 coupon if your order is $199 or more. Also, if you don't have one yet, you can get $30 off your order for getting an Amazon.com credit card which has no anual fee and no interest for a while. (No, I don't work for Amazon, I just like good deals.)

I usually cut the circle hole out first then us a rabbeting bit, but if you don't have the right rabbeting bit you can do what the other guy was saying with the circle bits. (Except if you already have the holes cut it'd be a lot easier to use the rabbet bit).

I got my "rabbeting kit" here: http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/katbt3.htm
I definately recomend it, one bit with a set of bearings that let you make different size rabbets. The "Katana" bits are nice good quality bits. You could probably find a rabbet bit for a lot less though, I like the kit. Always use 1/2" shank bits instead of 1/4" shank bits if you can help it.
 
NoTalent said:
I would do what Davey and Timn8ter said. All you would have to do is go purchase some more MDF (if that's what you are using). It probally would be cheaper than buying a rabbeting kit.

On another note--what types of bits do you use on MDF? I have a HSS bit that my dad gave me and it burns like crazy. Would a carbide bit not burn, or should I cut less at a time (was doing about 1/4").

-NoTalent
Oh goodness yes, carbide bits are far far better. If you're just going to use it this once then I suppose it's best to do whatever is most cost effective, but if you're going to be doing more of these sorts of projects then you'll appreciate having the rabbeting kit set. If you want to save $11 you can get the "regular" MLCS kit instead of the "Katana" one ~ it's $25 for either the #8668 or #8667 kits which both can do 5/16". If your router has only 1/4" collet then you'll need to get a kit with a 1/4" shank of course... If can afford it I'd recomend the more versitile (more bearings) #8366 at the bottom of the page for $30.95. I think MLCS has free shipping, takes anywhere from a few days to a week to get your order in my experience.

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shop...tml/pages/bt_rabbt.html#rabetting_kits_anchor

:D
 
critofur said:

Oh goodness yes, carbide bits are far far better. If you're just going to use it this once then I suppose it's best to do whatever is most cost effective, but if you're going to be doing more of these sorts of projects then you'll appreciate having the rabbeting kit set. If you want to save $11 you can get the "regular" MLCS kit instead of the "Katana" one ~ it's $25 for either the #8668 or #8667 kits which both can do 5/16". If your router has only 1/4" collet then you'll need to get a kit with a 1/4" shank of course... If can afford it I'd recomend the more versitile (more bearings) #8366 at the bottom of the page for $30.95. I think MLCS has free shipping, takes anywhere from a few days to a week to get your order in my experience.

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shop...tml/pages/bt_rabbt.html#rabetting_kits_anchor

:D


Nice kit!

Thanks for the advice. I will have to stew on spending another 180 bucks for a router, I still need a table saw... but 19 bucks for a jig is certainly helpful!
 
I wound up getting the Ryobi plunge router from Home Depot for $99. It's not the greatest router in the world, but it gets the job done. I also use the Jasper Jig to cut the flush mount first, then cut the hole. You'll have to use a rabbiting bit for now, but I would recommend getting the Jasper if you plan on doing any future projects.

Cheers,
Zach
 
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