past & present
In the first issue of INProfile , Jim Phillips explained the origin of today ’ s routers , but what of the cutters and how did the current range originate . by Jim Phillips
A ‘ tooth ’, forerunner of todays router cutter .
In the beginning !
The router cutter of today has a strange origin as it evolved from a primitive tool called a “ tooth ”. It derived its name from the limitation of dentistry at the time when a single projecting tooth was a common sight . The tooth took the form of a ground tapered steel chisel , wedged into a wooden stock and was used for cutting square and radiused grooves . Skilled hands produced clean cut grooves by a series of gouging movements . A metal version was made by Stanley some years later , with built-in adjustments and some craftsman use versions of this up to quite recently . A picture of an early metal version is shown below .
1870 ’ s
In the 1870 ’ s however , someone thought that by making the blade rotate simultaneously with the forward motion , something useful would happen . What an understatement ! Even before the electric motor entered the equation , cutters were being rotated by the means of a foot pedal . The Barnes Former for instance , ran at 2500 rpm , with the operator having to exert himself to achieve a reasonable degree of cutting ability . This type of routing machine , first produced in the USA in 1872 , was reported still to have been in use in the 1930 ’ s . This was the fore runner of the spindle moulder and later the router of the post war period . But cutting geometry was in it ’ s infancy and cutting edges blunted quickly , especially when used on abrasive timbers .
1920 ’ s and onwards
In the UK , it was William Day of North London Saw Works who produced the first high quality tooling in 1926 . But in 1938 a carbide tip brazed onto a HSS cutter was released with astounding results , the TCT cutter had arrived .
Twin bladed Cutter Block
A product used in the 1930 ’ s mainly in conjunction with belt driven stationery routers at speeds from 6000 to 8000 RPM . Blades were first cast , then produced in HSS and finally in solid tungsten and known as Widia and Wimet steel . The original steel blades were ground by hand to the required profile but the range of styles were very limited .
12 INProfile