Wood router

A router (pronounced rhowter) is a woodworking power tool used to rout - that is cut grooves, hollow out areas or create shaped trims along the edge of a piece of wood. The form of cuts created is determined by the size and shape of the bit held in the shank.

The tool usually consists of a vertically mounted motor that drives the shank, with the bit, held in a collet, projecting out through a flat base, control is derived from two handles on either side of the device. There are two standard types of router - plunge and fixed, in the plunge router the bit can be lowered into the wood while keeping the base flat; with a fixed router the cut depth is fixed.

Router bits are either high-speed steel (HSS) or carbide tipped and can be edge bits or non-edge bits. Edge bits have a small wheel bearing to aid a rout along the edge of a piece of wood without using a rip fence. To help guide the router a straight edge is often used, either a rip fence, a router table or simply a length of wood firmly clamped.