A Beginner's Guide to Routing

Beginner’s guide to routing with the Dremel Multi-Tool
  • Difficulty
    Easy

Looking to try your hand at improving or decorating your home and creating handy gadgets? Well, you’re certainly in the right place. Follow our step-by-step beginner’s guide and learn everything you need to know to get started routing. Whether you’re looking for your next project inspiration or searching for the right router bits; you’ll find everything you need right here! Stay awhile, and be guided through the routing process. How to Get Started Routing Table Routing With A Dremel: Whether you want to get creative with decorative edges or try your hand at woodworking, a good router tool is what you need. In our handy beginner’s guide to routing, we introduce you to the skill and the tools. From choosing the right router bit to working with a Dremel Plunge Router, you’ll get your DIY on in no time.

You need

Step By Step Instructions

Step17

What to rout, gathering your materials

Softwood, plexiglass and rubber are great materials for a handheld router

Before you embark on your new DIY adventure, let’s take a look at the basics. First, what is a rout, exactly? A rout is a groove or hollow created with a power tool, so naturally routing is the process of ‘hollowing out’ your material. When you’re starting out, it’s best to choose materials that are easy to rout. We recommend soft woods: carbon, chipboard, fiberboard, laminates, plastic, plexiglass, plywood and rubber. You can also use your handheld router on hardwoods – just move more slowly. Helpful Hint: When using a handheld router on hardwood be conscious of burning your wood and/or bit (see tip #7 for more on this).

Step27

Which rout should you take?

Using the rotary tool

The type of rout you want depends on the job at hand. If you’re starting out, you’ll be using your router quite often to make grooves. Grooves are long cuts in surfaces that can be flat-bottomed, v-shaped or rounded. You can create functional inlays with them in wooden tables, cutting boards or even your kitchen countertop if you want to get fancy. For a simple way to add an interesting edge to a plain surface, you will want to use another type of rout called a cove; also known as a rounded groove. If you want to add a little jazz, use the chamfer as a decorative rout. Think of it as a ‘flattened corner’; the chamfer is straight, but doesn’t extend across the material’s entire profile. Depending on the rout you choose, you’ll want to use the right bits, which brings us to our next point.

Step37

Set yourself up for success, find the right router bit

Find the right router bit for the job

 

Let’s take a look at router bits. A straight bit ( 650 , 652 , 654 ) cuts straight, square-bottomed grooves, such as rebates and trench grooves. A piloted bit is a guide that keeps the bit in place and is suitable for routs such as cove and chamfer. There are two main kinds. The first (612) is a piloted beading bit, and is used most often for decorative work. A piloted rounding-over bit (615) is used for smoothing edges. A V-groove bit (640) cuts decorative V-shaped grooves. It routs grooves into picture frames or anything else that needs to be hung. Looking for more info? Check out all our routing accessories here Tip 3: Set yourself up for success, find the right router bit.

Step47

Convert your Dremel into a plunge router!

Meet Dremel’s Plunge Router attachment

The most essential attachment, when it comes to routing, is the 335-01 Plunge Router attachment. When woodworking or doing other DIY routing projects, this attachment converts your Dremel rotary tool into a plunge router. In other words, it eliminates the need for a separate plunge router tool. With just this one attachment, you can use your rotary tool to rout circles, cut letters and signs, as well as inlay work. Want to rout in a straight line? Easy! Use the edge guide that comes with the Plunge Router attachment.

Step57

Think smart, be safe!

Gloves and goggles are routing must-haves

Before you start your new DIY project, let’s do a quick safety recap. Protect your hands with gloves; they will prevent any accidental cuts or scraps. Goggles and a dust mask are also essential when it comes to routing; you don’t want to be breathing in sawdust or plastic particles, or getting them anywhere near your eyes. Complete your router safety with a pair of insulating earmuffs, and then you’re good to go!

Step67

Grab hold of the router, slightly slanted!

Before you start routing, first create a ‘slide’ in the wood

Now that you’ve got the right router bits and ticked off all the safety precautions, it’s time to get down to business. When you turn on the tool, hold it slightly slanted. Why? The tip of most router bits doesn’t actually cut: the working part is on the side of the bit. Holding the router at an angle creates a ‘slide’ in the wood. Once you make your way into the wood (or whatever material you’re working with), you can then hold the router upright.

Step77

Set the RPM and move slowly

The ‘feed rate’ depends on the material

Ensure that your material or router bit doesn’t burn by letting the tool do the work and pausing when you see the material getting hot. Move slowly, especially with hardwoods like oak. If you’re routing in plexiglass, keep the Rotations Per Minute (RPM) low. The packaging of each router bit has information on the advised RPM. Finally, always rout in stages – don’t remove more than 3mm of material at once. Want your groove to be 1cm deep? Set your router’s depth to 3mm, and do it in 3 phases. And finally, always test it on some scrap material, and you’ll be routing in no time! Ready to rout! Now you’re ready to route your way into your next DIY project. Be sure to tag us on social so we can check out your stuff! Be sure to check out this quick demo with the Dremel 200 series tool.


Warning

To reduce the risk of injury user must read instruction manuals for all tools used in this project. Wear eye and respiratory protection. Use clamps to support work piece whenever practical.