Laminate trimmer

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A laminate trimmer is a small version of a wood router, nominally used to trim laminate. In the USA, it generally has a 1/4-inch collet. The motor runs in the 20-30,000 RPM range which is faster than most wood routers because the bits are smaller in diameter. A large bit has to run at slower RPMs because the farther the cutting edge is from center of the bit, the faster it moves. Therefore, to get the same cutting effectiveness, a smaller bit needs to spin at faster RPMs.

Veneers are typically cut oversize before being laminated to their wooden substrates. A laminate trimmer equipped with a bearing-guided flush trimming bit can be used to cut the veneer to final size. The bearing guides the bit around the outside edge of the wood substrate, making a clean cut exactly at the edge. Laminate trimmers excel at this task due to their light weight and one-handed operation.

Laminate trimmers can be used for other tasks, of course. Apart from trimming and flushing, they can be used for jointing, rounding edges, chamfering, routing grooves and dados, dovetails, even tenons and mortises. Just about any task that a larger handheld router can do, can also be done with a laminate trimmer, with the caveat that the smaller machine may be limited in the size of bit that can physically fit within its collet and the base plate. Larger bits, e.g. those that fit a 1/2-inch collet or those with larger diameters, cannot be used.

Some laminate trimmers are equipped with multiple bases for different types of routing work, and most support the use of an edge guide.

Some woodworkers keep a chamfer or roundover bit permanently installed in a small laminate trimmer, since these operations are so frequently done. This frees their main router (or router table) to do other types of work without having to constantly change between bits.