Wood goes very well with a plunge router, and there are endless possibilities of what you can achieve when you combine the two. A plunger router is a very essential tool used in the workshop to cut through planks of woods to get desires shape or designs. Whether you’re a newcomer or a professional, a well-handled plunge router will do a very good job on your wood.
However, despite the usefulness of the plunger router, a lot of people still do not know what is a plunge router used for and how to use the plunge router. A lot of people do not know or understand the full capacity pf their plunge router.
Because of the fixed base router and how much or is easier to use than a plunge router, a lot of people have let go of the versatility of the equipment. With this article, you will get to explore and learn about this awesome type of router, and you will be able to see the endless possibilities with this tool in your workshop.
What Is A Plunge Router Used For: Some Applications
Mortising
If you own a small wood workshop, you will mostly find a plunge router handy at all times. Wood routers can be used to deliver great and awesome results, and the techniques for using the tool is quite very easy to learn, and you can go on with the wood cutting that would help you complete your project. What makes this more interesting is the whole process of the wood cutting which takes just a few minutes.
The focal point is the easy-to-use, easy to construct bits of the tool. It also comes with two adjustable arms that make handling the equipment during wood cutting and designing to be easy.
The arms serve two purposes, they allow you to reference the cut off one edge to accurately position the wood in the work piece. And they also help to take absolute control of the equipment as you work on the wood and carve out your design. Thereby giving you the needed space and power for accurate and precise cuts and designs.
To start with your wood design, you will need to install the blade in your router, and put the jig in place. You can then proceed to lower the router on the wood till it is centered in the layout.
Ensure that the arms are tightly snuggled in your hands, then begin your cutting by plunging the router down the inside of the end of the line. Put a stop block on the wood you’re working on so that you’ll be able to stop the cutting rich on the line. This way, you will definitely make precise cuts and designs on your wood.
Circle Routing
This is another thing you can use your plunge router for that you’re probably not aware of. To make a circle routing, you place the router on a trammel arm. This trammel arm then circles one point on your wood. And then you can quickly and easily (without the need of a saw) cut the circle off from the wood.
Doweling
You can make use of the plunge router for doweling. To do this the setup will be the same a when you were working on your mortise. To make your dowels versatile, you can create different tops with different hole spacing.
To do this, you don’t need much stress. The setup is as for mortising, and once the setup is done, you can go on with your doweling tasks with relative ease.
Stopped Flutes, Grooves, and Dadoes
All these cuts and designs can be made and can only be made with a plunger router. Trying to do these projects on a fixed base router might cause damage to them. With a plunge router, however, you can get these works done easily and at a very good speed.
Dual-Light Offset Sub Base
If you have access to a LED light and/or Laser locators, creating a dual-light offset sub base will be very easily achievable with your plunge router. To line up the plunge cut, the lasers will pinpoint exact positions that need cutting, and with the LED light you will easily see the tasks that are otherwise visually hidden.
Keyholes
With keyholes and keyhole slots, you can easily hang your stuff in the walls without the use of wires or hanger bracket. And with your plunge router, you can easily make your keyholes. There are bits of plunge routers that are created for the sole purpose of making different sizes of keyhole slots.
All you need is to choose the right bit for the screw you intend to use, layout the keyholes and gently drive the screws into the wall studs. Whether horizontal or vertical keyhole placing, the process is identical and straightforward.
Inlay
If you are looking to make an inlay that will tightly fit where you want to make use of it, your best bet is to use a plunge router. Using this equipment will help you eliminate every chance of going off course because you will be able to use templates as guides for the work.
Whatever your reason for making an inlay, whether to patch a wood flaw or to decorate someplace, once you get the kits from a store, your inlay will get produced in no time.
Conclusion
All these projects, and even many more are examples of the uses of a plunge router. With these amazing line of possibilities of use, you can easily see the importance of having a top rated plunge router in your workshop. This router is compared with a fixed base router a lot of times.
But in reality, they each have situations in which they excel and those where they don’t perform optimally. Therefore, owning a fixed base router is not a reason enough for not having a plunge router in your workshop.