Hello everyone,

With the holidays approaching I am going to treat myself to a few items. Some of these being router bits for my upcoming Betsy project.

I am an absolute novice with routers so I am hoping someone here can help me out.

If any one is in the know.

For the edges of the baffles can I use a "straight bit" or flush bit to make the edge nice and straight?
I do not want to corner edges  rounded off but do not want to be 90' what would that bit be called?

For the drivers (Lii F15s) I need to cut the hole in the baffle, I have  a jig to cut circles what bit would that require?

The driver is mounted from behind so I need to route a small edge so the driver ring fit "inside" the back of the baffle, what is that bit? Then I chamfer the front side.

I am thinking of of giving the baffle a 3 to 5 degree negative angle so I need a 'straight' bit with an angle, does that exist or do I need to make some kind of jig?

Finally any suggestions on a quality brand for bits? I am more for buying a few quality bits than a cheaper 'kit'

Thanks to all,

Happy Holidays,

Alain

Hello, Alain
"I do not want to corner edges  rounded off but do not want to be 90' what would that bit be called?"
Not rounded and not 90 degrees sounds like a bevel or chamfer.
I do not know the names of router bits myself.
Merry Christmas,
Brian

As a novice, my first (strong) recommendation is to plan on practicing your cuts/techniques before moving on to the actual baffles. Are you planning to cut the bigger side arcs with the router as well? Is your circle jig long enough? (If not, you can do a diy jig.)

You could purchase the bits individually, or just go get a set of commonly used bits. Make certain that the bits for dressing edges have actual bearings. (It sounds like you need at least a straight and a “chamfer with bearing”.)

You can cut the holes and sides with a Straight bit. The size will impact how much material is removed, and also impacts the cutting of the back shelf/lip. You’ll need to plan the sequence of the cuts. For example - since you are wanting a recess for the driver’s front edge to fit in on the back, you’ll want to cut that before you cut the actual hole (unless you buy some other specialized bit with a bearing).

I’m confused as to what you want your edges to look like. If not round over and not a straight 90 degree, then are you wanting a cove, chamfer, ogee , etc? I’m guessing you want a small bevel, in which case get a 45 degree chamfer bit. This is also what you’ll use to bevel the front side of the hole.

Regarding the cuts so that the baffles have a small angle (or tilt), I’m not familiar with any way to easily do this with a router. I’d use a table saw or a circular saw for those cuts. (I suppose you could develop a sliding wedge jig for the router, although I’ve never seen this done.)

Plan for making multiple passes for your cuts, and again, practice using your jig(s) and router before working on the real baffles.

Chris

Well Thank you all,

I am learning all sorts of new words here !
Chamfer bit, straight bit, etc.
I google these and got plenty of ideas!

I think I want to do a straight cut on the edges that will be the 90 degree with the router then a second 'pass' with a 1/8" "chamfer" bit.

For the barrel shape I am thinking of making a template with 1/4" plywood and clamp that on the "butcher top" piece of wood that will become the baffle. And run the router against that template. I learned that it may be necessary to make multiple shallow passes or do a ruff cut with a skill saw or circular saw and just clean-up the cut with the router. Now I understand what you meant Chris!

Excellent point about making the recess before cutting the actual whole for the driver otherwise there would be no material to slide the router on, ...just a whole!

Then the angle around the front of the whole would be a bevel bit.
I am not sure how I do the bevel while leaving enough material to screw the driver from behind, so more research needed here.

I found this to cut the negative angle:
https://www.toolstoday.com/v-9445-47144.html?ne_ppc_id=15153909030

But I do not understand where that bearing 'sits' as I am cutting that angle unless I clamp a piece of sacrificial wood under the piece used for the baffle.
I do like the idea of using the circular saw, I do not know why I did not think of that, maybe because I am excited with my new router toy.

Yes, I think it is going to be a fun project.
And Yes, I definitely intend to make a first attempt with a piece of cheap ply.

Cheers,

a.

Archie,
2.4 years ago I forgot to thank you for that comment!
... I just found out how to see replies to my posts!

a.