Im having a terrible time with the escape gear, even though the gear is faily large 10", the teeth are very sharp at the tips, have tried several different methods of cutting with the same results, tearing, chip out, fuzzing, using .25" baltic birch plywood, .90 upcut bit, running 18-20,000 rpm, have tried slower rpm, faster and slower feed to no avail, the thicker gears, .375 plywood is cutting only fair, no chip out, but still needs excessive sanding, its evident all of you who have built a wooden gear clock have overcome this problem. Please share your knowledge !!