The new grind

After mounting the router upside-down under the fold-up table, I needed to make a plate to cover the screw-heads holding the router to the table. A piece of 1/4" masonite scavenged from a "workmate" foldup workbench served, it was only a dust collecting shelf as part of the "workmate" anyway. That provided a decently smooth flat surface to move the block around on.

I found that the cutter I had hopes for was too fine for use at 27000 rpm, it preferred to burn rather than cut. I tried a cheap chinese rotary rasp and found it barely usable, though a little scarey; I kept thinking about the thing flexing microscopically every time I pushed the block against it, wondering if would fatigue and snap off at that speed -- they're not the best steel. It took forever to get anything done, but I did learn something from the exercise. I think that my Foredom using my most agressive cutter would have been faster. Tomorrow maybe I'll try that instead. To use the inverted router to good effect, I'll need to find an appropriate cutter. Something longer, with at least 2-1/2" of cutting edge, and with probably 4 flutes. Until I find a better bit, I'll probably disassemble the booby-trap since it tends to be in the way.

Sometimes I wonder why it is that I do this -- carve pipes. It seems to be somewhere between a compulsion and an act of desperation. Maybe someday I'll understand it.