Is it alright to use a 12.0mm dia router cutter if I dont have a 12.7mm. Is it not only the offset dim that will be effected. I will then only have to adjust the offset distance when I move the worktop jig. Thanks for your help as this is the first time that I will be using a work top jig. I do have a 30mm guide bush and a trend jig. This has been posted in the carpenters forum before I noted this forum section. Regards Jacobite
you could use a 12mm cutter as long as you set the jig to the cut line and dont use the pegs, but the radius part of the curve will be a different size on the male/female and you will end up with a gap. i personaly woulndnt risk * up some worktops for the price of a cutter! russ [Edited by: admin]
Russ, Thank you for your response. I think I will purchase a 12.7mm router bit.Do you have any personal advice on which manufacturer to use for router bits as I am only doing a one worktop instalation. (My own kitchen) Regards Jacobite
if its only for 1 joint i would go for something like 69368, make sure you dont try and go too deep with each pass, 5mm is ideal, you can go more but you will blunt the cutter quicker. russ
using a 12 mm cutter as opposed to a 12.7 mm cutter won't make any difference whatsoever ...if u stop and thing about it , the difference in diameter is .7 of a mm ....the difference in cut is therefore .35 of a mm ...not worth worrying about ....the only reason you can buy 12 mm cutters in the uk is because trend have manufactured a range of jigs requiring a 12 mm cutter ...this is because the bigger market ....the european one allready use 12 mm ..and this goes back to europe using a metric system whereas we decided to use the same old imperial system but put a metric label on it.....hence instead of using 12 mm cutters ..we use 12.7 mm cutters or 1/2 inch in old money .......however industry manufacturing for the whole of the eu ..have a problem and you ll find that there is no difference between the trend kitchen jig sold in the uk and one sold in the eu ..i often use 12 mm cutters for mason mitres ........no problems at all.
mmmm...... as i stated it wouldnt make a diff on the straight parts but what will be different is the curve, the female part will have a 0.7mm different radius to the male. same result as not having your cutter concentric to the guide bush. russ
It will make no difference to the cut, including radius, as long as you use the same cutter for both the male and female cuts. The only (very slight) issue will be if you use the locating pegs set to say 600mm depth, the cut will be 0.35mm shorter than the 600 stated. I think that is a tolerance we can all cope with!
i aint going to get into a spat on a web forum but i am pretty sure trend, unika and all the other jig manufacturers state 30mm bush and a 12.7mm cutter for a reason, probably because the jig has been designed to work exactly with them sizes. personaly i have never tried a 12mm cutter, so i cant comment on the outcome, but i fail to see why i would when the correct sized cutters are readily available? let say the radius of the cut is 30mm. female jig radius will be 38.65mm male jig radius will be 21.35mm if you use a 12mm cutter the finished radius on the female cut will be 29.65mm the finished radius on the male cut will be 30.35mm what that would look like once its cut, i dont know and probabaly will never find out. if you have problems with the curve on a joint not matching, (believe me i had many problems a few years ago, sometimes i had to sand the male slightly to get a good fit), its because your cutter inst concentric to the bush which alters the radius of the 2 cuts. using a 12mm cutter will give you the same results. russ