Warning: that 'light sanding' trick for curved edges wrecked my template

A guy at a local shop near Austin told me to use a light sanding pass on the router template edge to get a smoother curve. I tried it on a mahogany piece and the bit grabbed, burning the wood and ruining the template in 20 minutes. Has anyone else had a supposedly simple tip go completely sideways on them?

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3 Comments

carr.gavin5mo ago

200 bucks worth of cherry and a brand new Whiteside bit is what I lost on that exact same trick. Honestly, I was all for those little sanding passes too until I watched the bit just chew a divot right out of the MDF template in one bad spot. The whole thing got me to finally just buy a proper flush trim bit with a bearing, it is a pain to set up but at least I can walk away from the router without holding my breath. That burned mahogany smell is something else, man.

4

xena_brown505mo ago

Isn't it funny how one bad burn teaches you more than a hundred smooth passes?

8

evan_campbell4mo ago

Makes you wonder how many projects got wrecked before bearings became standard...

8