So, I wanted to bevel fins and ended up with all this

[Buckeye]

I have a LOC VII in the works and wanted to bevel the wooden fins. Thought I would try a router this time, which I don't have. That sent me down this journey like a snowball down a hill:

I bought a router and table combo.​

​

I bought a kit of bits, plus two more special shallow angle taper bits at 15 deg and 11.25 deg.​

​

Routering fins puts your fingers in harms way, so I bought a nice push block.​

​

I needed a place for the router, so I built a mobile workbench that also doubles as a miter table with folding infeed and outfeed extensions.​

​

As I was building the workbench, I told myself that I needed some new blades for my table saw and circular saw. Saber saw blades, too.​

​

As I was building the workbench, I told myself that I needed a few more clamps.​

​

The routering made a lot of dust in my shop , so I purchased the "Dustopper" and worked up a cyclone separator rig for my shop vac. Bought a longer hose.​

This all started before Thanksgiving and I finally finished the fin bevels today. I could have hand sanded the damn bevels, saved a lot of money, and finished months ago!!!

 

[Funkworks]

If it's any "consolation", I hand sanded 4 fins and it also took months. Mostly because I didn't have the patience to do more than 1 edge per week lol.

 

[Joshua Smith]

I have a LOC VII in the works and wanted to bevel the wooden fins. Thought I would try a router this time, which I don't have. That sent me down this journey like a snowball down a hill:

I bought a router and table combo.​

​

I bought a kit of bits, plus two more special shallow angle taper bits at 15 deg and 11.25 deg.​

​

Routering fins puts your fingers in harms way, so I bought a nice push block.​

​

I needed a place for the router, so I built a mobile workbench that also doubles as a miter table with folding infeed and outfeed extensions.​

​

As I was building the workbench, I told myself that I needed some new blades for my table saw and circular saw. Saber saw blades, too.​

​

As I was building the workbench, I told myself that I needed a few more clamps.​

​

The routering made a lot of dust in my shop , so I purchased the "Dustopper" and worked up a cyclone separator rig for my shop vac. Bought a longer hose.​

This all started before Thanksgiving and I finally finished the fin bevels today. I could have hand sanded the damn bevels, saved a lot of money, and finished months ago!!!

View attachment 447378View attachment 447379View attachment 447380View attachment 447381

But look at all you accomplished ultimately BTW, in my career field, we call this concept "yak shaving" https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yak shaving

 

[Buckeye]

Yeah, I enjoyed it all, and I now have some new toys. I just found the whole thing rather humorous. I also spent a lot of time internet searching for ideas and shopping (online and in person).

 

[Cape Byron]

That sounds like a story I'd tell my partner. 'Honey, tyres for the RAV 4 were $150 each but this Jeep Gladiator has four new ones on it and it won't need any more for a year!'

 

[ECayemberg]

I love it! This story brings back memories; we've traveled similar paths!

 

[MadRocketer]

Buckeye, your logic is solid.

 

[dhbarr]

But look at all you accomplished ultimately BTW, in my career field, we call this concept "yak shaving" https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yak shaving

You can't yakshave in here, this is the bikeshedding forum!

 

[Cape Byron]

But look at all you accomplished ultimately BTW, in my career field, we call this concept "yak shaving" https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yak shaving

Hopefully not definition #3 on that list, unless you're in a different industry to the one I thought.

 

[Marc_G]

Hah! The original post reads like "If you give a mouse a cookie..."

 

[Joshua Smith]

You can't yakshave in here, this is the bikeshedding forum!

Bike shedding is the *other* bane of my existence

 

[Joshua Smith]

Hopefully not definition #3 on that list, unless you're in a different industry to the one I thought.

LOL not going there. Urban dictionary is never lacking in...brutal honesty and crass

 

[Cape Byron]

LOL not going there. Urban dictionary is never lacking in...brutal honesty and crass

Yep. It's a rabbit hole of, 'What the?', followed by an increased understanding of what my teenagers are talking about. Both of these are scary things.

 

[nelie61]

A straight edge, Pencil, The edge of a table, a clamp and a file. Finished up with sandpaper. Draw the line on the fin and file at desired angle till you get a nice straight chamfered edge. Very easy to get the results you want with minimal effort and expense. You can get coarse and fine files at Harbor Freight for cheap. Your Rabbit hole or rolling Snowball looks great though.

 

[caveduck]

Hah! I've been into the yak-infested rabbit warren often enough to publish a Michelin guide. But oddly enough, I bevel fins with a Dremel Multi-Maxx with no fixturing at all.

 

[afadeev]

Yeah, I enjoyed it all, and I now have some new toys. I just found the whole thing rather humorous. I also spent a lot of time internet searching for ideas and shopping (online and in person).

Isn't that the TRUE reason why we are in this hobby?

 

[Joshua Smith]

Isn't that the TRUE reason why we are in this hobby?

Of course, but don't say it out loud as it were. LOL

 

[pbahorich]

I bevel my plywood fins with a cheap belt sander like this one for $34:
WEN HB3185 5-Amp 3-by-18-Inch Variable Speed Combination Handheld and Benchtop Belt Sander - - Amazon.com
Takes about 5 minutes per fin, if that. I clamp the sander to the bench and hold the fin with my gloved hand.

 

[tsmith1315]

I bought a router and table combo.

I bought a kit of bits, plus two more special shallow angle taper bits at 15 deg and 11.25 deg.​

I bought a nice push block.​

I built a mobile workbench that also doubles as a miter table with folding infeed and outfeed extensions.​

new blades for my table saw and circular saw.​

Saber saw blades, too.​

I needed a few more clamps.​

I purchased the "Dustopper"​

Bought a longer hose.​

Surely there's an economical reason in there somewhere, let us know when you find it. Good excuses can be hard to come by!

 

[afadeev]

Isn't that the TRUE reason why we are in this hobby?

Of course, but don't say it out loud as it were. LOL

 

[Buckeye]

For any router newbies like myself, here are a couple things I learned about beveling fins:

Bits: Very small angle chamfer (or bevel) bit are required for fins, like 11.25 deg or 15 deg. You usually won't find these bits on the shelf in big box stores. I bought a pricey wood bit from Rockler, and this bit recommended by @rfjustin.

As an alternative, you can use a straight router bit and then fashion an angled fence to achieve the desired bevel angle.

Safety: Small, thin fins run vertically across the fence means your fingers can be close to the business end of the router. Too close for my comfort. Use a push block. MicroJig makes really awesome accessories. This push block is designed for router tables and band saws:



The throat plates that came with my cheapo Kobalt router table are poor. The smallest one still has too big of a hole, and the leading/trailing ends of thin stock like a fin can "fall" into the hole and knock the work piece from square. Even worse, the crappy plastic snap- in plates do not sit flush with the rest of the table, creating an edge that can stop dead the workpiece as you feed it through the bit.



To fix this problem, I bought a 3/32" sheet of pseudo G10 fiberglass stuff from Grainger. I carefully cut a circle that fit perfectly flush in the recess of the table. To this new throat plate I drilled a much smaller diameter hole for the bit to pass through. More like a zero-clearance set up.



Lastly, measure and practice. I got a nice piece of 5/8" baltic birch plywood that matched the fins in my kit. I ran this scrap piece through the router many times before I was ready to do the fins.

HTH.

 

[Joshua Smith]

View attachment 447589

Love that show

 

[David Schwantz]

Stationary belt sander, 30 seconds per fin, and that is all 6 bevels per fin. And to h$ll with safety.

 

[David Schwantz]

Just kiddin, safety is first and foremost!!!!!!

 

[Woody's Workshop]

Stationary belt sander, 30 seconds per fin, and that is all 6 bevels per fin. And to h$ll with safety.

That's waaaaaay to clean a cut to by a belt sander!
That looks more like an oopsy with an Xacto or kitchen knife.

 

[David Schwantz]

It was exacto. Just sayin that belt sander can have the fins beveled in 30 seconds.