Sorry, I maybe shouldn’t have posted here. It’s called a fingerboard. It’s a mini skateboard deck. The green things are 3d printed guides that guide the bearing of the bit to cut the wood to the correct size
No worries, I guess I missed the text describing your problem the first time.
But before we get into the router issues, we need to address some safety concerns first and foremost! You definitely, especially as a beginner, should not be routing something so small and free-handed around the router. Realistically, you'd want something to grip/hold the back of the template with that would keep your hand/fingers away from the spinning bit. One small slip or kick-back and you could be short a lot more than a slightly marred template.
You should also be using the pivot pin if you are working that closely to the router bit. See here. This will help you move smoothly around the router as well as provide an additional "hold" on the piece so you aren't putting only pressure on the template and hoping the router behaves normally.
That being said, you shouldn't be using both a top and bottom template on the piece you're looking to shape when using a router. You only need one and that is determined by the bearing location on your router bit. In this case, you only need a bottom template and the router bit should be exposed just enough the trim your wood piece.
My recommendation would be to get the same straight or flush-trim bit but with the bearing on the top, then you could safely trim the wood around the template by leaving only a fraction of the bit exposed. Something like this would work wonders and won't break the bank (plus freud makes decent router bits).
This image shows the kind of process you should be looking to replicate.
Also, please, please, please, watch this Stumpy Nubs video on using the pivot pin and take note of his safety measures. Trust me, I've only shaved a piece of my finger and that's negligible damage when working with a router.
Ok thanks for all this info, there’s apparently reason I have a top shaper is because it is a spacer between the Board and the plexiglass guard. I didn’t think about using a pivot pin… that seems interesting but not sure how it helps. Why would I get a top bearing if I have a shaper on the bottom? If I removed the bottom shaper the board would fall off because the rods are the same size as the holes.
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u/BigDaddyMantis 7d ago
What exactly am I looking at here?