Router For Finishing Edges

[almac]

hello all,

i have been considering getting a smalldrill press for finishing the edges of my projects, when a friend offered me an small old router table in good condition.

would a router be suitable for this or would it spin too fast and burn the leather?

please forgive my ignorance as i am a newb.

[Spinner]

hello all,

i have been considering getting a smalldrill press for finishing the edges of my projects, when a friend offered me an small old router table in good condition.

would a router be suitable for this or would it spin too fast and burn the leather?

please forgive my ignorance as i am a newb.

Should be fine if you use a light touch. Buy a couple of inexpensive sanding drums at Harbor Freight, chuck them up and you should be good to go. Will likely be too fast for a wood burnisher or plastic slicker though.But at least you could round your edges fast & easy and then burnish by hand.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Spinner

[BAD HIDE]

Way too fast.

I have a variable speed router and the lowest setting is like 10,000 RPM, and I can't imagine any other router would spin slower. Sanding drums should not exceed 2500 RPM, and the fastest you need to sand leather is more like 1000 RPM. You're more likely to make the sanding drum explode apart before you even have to worry about burning leather.

If you want to mechanize the sanding part of your edges, you could use the table and use a regular motor with pulleys to spin the drum, or even better would be a spindle sander. As far as burnishing, I'd think you'd want the spindle horizontal so you can use different grooves for different size edges without reseting the table depth.

[Dwight]

hello all,

i have been considering getting a smalldrill press for finishing the edges of my projects, when a friend offered me an small old router table in good condition.

would a router be suitable for this or would it spin too fast and burn the leather?

please forgive my ignorance as i am a newb.

A router will do your edges, . . . and will do a really good job, . . . but you have to have your work fence and the opening in the table set up so the leather does not flex at all.

And under no circumstances, put anything in a router except a router bit. They turn far too many rpm's for sanding drums, discs, etc, . . . and will get you hurt if you try to use them.

No, . . . if your router bits are sharp, . . . they will not burn your leather, . . . they will cut it so smooth that it will look like it is already partially burnished.

The most important thing to remember here though, . . . you cannot "see" the piece as the blade touches it. You have to run it through, then turn it over and look at what was done. I've tried it with mixed success, . . . finally quit for now, . . . but I have to admit that the good pieces were good. The bad pieces just proved that the router blade is just absolutely unforgiving, . . . non merciful, . . . it just cuts.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Spinner]

I have a variable speed router and the lowest setting is like 10,000 RPM, and I can't imagine any other router would spin slower. Sanding drums should not exceed 2500 RPM, and the fastest you need to sand leather is more like 1000 RPM. You're more likely to make the sanding drum explode apart before you even have to worry about burning leather.

Learned something new today. I didn't realize routers were that fast on the lowest settings.

Color me thankfully corrected!

[Billy P]

Way too fast.

I have a variable speed router and the lowest setting is like 10,000 RPM, and I can't imagine any other router would spin slower. Sanding drums should not exceed 2500 RPM, and the fastest you need to sand leather is more like 1000 RPM. You're more likely to make the sanding drum explode apart before you even have to worry about burning leather.

If you want to mechanize the sanding part of your edges, you could use the table and use a regular motor with pulleys to spin the drum, or even better would be a spindle sander. As far as burnishing, I'd think you'd want the spindle horizontal so you can use different grooves for different size edges without reseting the table depth.

I went to Harbor Freight and bought a Rheostat. You plug it into the power and then the router int the rheostat. I can slow my router down until I can count the RPM's. Should work with a burnishing tool chucked up in the router, can slow as much as you want to. Hope this helps Billy P

[almac]

thanks for all your useful comments.

i've been thinkig more about this, and i think i'm going to wait for a sale on a small drill press for this instead.

i think it would be more versatile for the outside and inside(like belt slots) edges of my upcoming projects.

all i need to do is find a drill press with an adjustible speed down to around 800 rpm.

my 8-9oz european single bend just came in last night! i look forward to using it.

thanks again for all your input. this forum has been a great learning experience.

al

[landm42006]

I am making watch straps as a hobby. When I finish my edges, or am roughing down a tapered strap, I use my belt sander. Filp it upside down, mount it to a board, and clamp the whole thing down on a table. Turn the belt sander on, and get to work.

[rickmoo]

i have a ridgid oscillating sander, but i usually put a sanding drum on a ridgid drill press. drill or cut a hole in a piece of wood 1/4" or 1/2" . let the drum sit down in the hole { clamp the wood on the table } that way the bottom edge of the leather will be sanded also. i like to sand the edge, then burnish with water and canvas. go back and lightly sand again . this way the edge is even and not fuzzy.