Ron Altier Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 (edited) I have been working on a cross for my grandson's confirmation. I've cut and glued up some Yellow Hart and Purple Hart. Did some sanding and then to the table router, small table top from Sears. Set it up and started to adjust the height. Something fell out of the adjustment and it all came apart. It is old, but i liked it. I found a spring and during reassemble, I lost the spring, e ring and a gear. I know not where. I give up. I am thinking about a Porter Cable replacement, I don't want any more Sears tools. And so it goes. Edited December 6, 2017 by Ron Dudelston tags added HARO50 1 Quote
Chips N Dust Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 Sorry to hear about that! Nothing worse than a breakdown when trying to finish a project John Moody 1 Quote
Ron Altier Posted April 5, 2017 Author Report Posted April 5, 2017 I just about had it back together too. I'm past the age of getting angry. Just move on. HARO50, Chips N Dust and John Moody 3 Quote
Grandpadave52 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 Hate it when that happens...Sounds like you've got a legitimate excuse to buy a new one Ron. Too bad Norm doesn't live close by...he could loan you one of his 2 dozen routers. HARO50, Ron Altier and John Moody 3 Quote
Stick486 Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 55 minutes ago, Ron Altier said: I am thinking about a Porter Cable replacement, I don't want any more Sears tools. OUCH!!! can I suggest a Bosch... WHY I LIKE BOSCH...2nd to none CS and support that's absolutely painless... They respect us, the consumer... they make tools that are real work horses... they make tools that last a very long time... decades of hard heavy use.. they make tools that protect my bottom line... I think/believe Bosch to be an outstanding company that offers outstanding products... do yourself a huge favor down road and get a Bosch 1617EVSPK...Factory Reconditioned Bosch 1617EVSPK-RT 12 Amp 2.25 HP Combination Plunge and Fixed-Base Router Kit Saving some money now just may cost you more down the road. CAUTION... PC was bought out by the group that owns B & D (Black & Decker) and their quality has slipped – I feel, quite a bit.. Bosch is the only one that scores high on all categories and is as close as a phone and your mail box... Have a look at CPO outlets for reconditioned. I have never heard a true negative word about them. Their service or Bosch a little goings on w/ PC that I went through.... What I have to say is about the new 7518's and not the older American made ones...bought 6 PC routers for heavy production use.... (over $2,000 worth).... 1st failure in the 1st month.. none lasted longer than 2½ months two speed controllers went down and 4 bearing failures W/ 3 of them catastrophic... Fields and armatures damaged.. I installed 30K ceramic bearings (sustained) in the two remaining routers and bypassed controllers... their bearings had became quite noisy and hadn't failed yet... 1st issueput a centering point in the router... set the router up against a clamped on edge guide you are not using a router mounted edge guide for this test... spin/rotate entire the router around 360º while it's up against the edge guide... the router doesn't even need to be plugged in.... observe where the CP indicates the center of the router is... you'll find that it moves elliptically... it's not because the base isn't round it's because the CL of the motor isn't centered in the base to it's self... The CL of the motor and CL of the base are offset ever so slightly... the router that was flagrant about this and that got my full attention was offset 5/64"... have you ever wondered why you need to center the guide bushings to the CL of the motor??? PC told me I must have dropped the router and were happy to sell me another base for 85$$$... plus shipping... since I still have the two bases from the catastrophically failed routers I swapped out the bases/motor... same issues only not as bad but, the measures were different on each swap but the offset is still there... hmmmmmmm... that tells me a lot... like that huge hole in the base that receives the motor is offset for starters... so that motor got new ceramic bearings and lives in the JessEm lift...2nd issue...install a 1/2" drill rod into the router... longer is better.. measure/test the motor to the base for perpendicular squareness... it isn't..... so not only is that hole for the motor offset it's at a slight angle...3rd issueinstall a 1/2x6" drill blank... turn the router on... what you see is run out because of the bearings... so much for QC... the motor having inadequate bearings and the base being poorly done just doesn't make/cut it... the defects in the base aren't even consistent for crying out loud.. swapping bases and motors all show the same issues but measure differently... My four American made 690's haven't got these issues.. nor do the two American made R2D2 looking ones... The PR department for PC says these are commercial production routers... Right.. can you just feel/touch the sarcasm... The CS/TS departments said they wouldn't warranty them because they used for production in a commercial setting... What they were suppose to do... 1¾'' rail and stile... 2'' thumbnail.. glass door bead... 1½''(?)... assorted ogee.. edge and groove... 1''±... *picture molding.... *chair rail... *base... *casing.. *crown... *built up... *hand rail.. *these sizes were all over the map... mid plus 5 figures in LF all totaled... never kept track of actual machine in operation hours.. some days.. all day... other days an hour or two... or not at all... did use up around 190 bits total for the project... the idea was to use the PC commercial motors for the heavy work in the tables and 1617's and 19's for hand held.. finished the job w/ 1617 motors in the tables... job lasted 7 months... 15 routers... replaced the 6PC's w/ Bosch.. 1 Bosch stopped working due to brushes... 1 pulled from service due to noisy bearing(s)... in both cases Bosch was all over it w/10 star CS... when PC CS found out their motors were used commercially they wouldn't warranty them... I did notice all of the bearings in the PC's had leaked but not till after they were torn down..... according to my bearing wholesaler the PC bearings are only good for around 16~18K RPM sustained no load... and they cost less than a buck new... 26$ from PC... shapers were the right tool for the job but there was no way to move and set up 3 ea 2 spindle 3Ø shapers..... (Whitney 90'' tilting spindles) I couldn't find smaller machines other than delta (and lots of those were needing some extinct part) so I gambled on the routers... and lost.. also I didn't use big cutters (large dia)... not for a 3+ HP motors anyways... if you go w/ the new offshore made PC 7518 w/ a lift... change the bearings to ceramics (easy to do) and plan on replacing the caps in the speed control at some point or do it now (about 5~6$) and you should be good to go for a long time... they may even out live you... also .. W/ ceramic bearings the router runs cooler/quieter/smoother/ and run-out about disappears... HARO50 1 Quote
lew Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 I have 2 old PC routers. I dread the day they die because, from what I have read, the quality is no longer there. Thanks for the Bosch info, Stick Quote
kmealy Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 8 hours ago, lew said: I have 2 old PC routers. I dread the day they die because, from what I have read, the quality is no longer there. Thanks for the Bosch info, Stick I've had the PC 690 for 35 years and for most of that time, it was the only router I had. I'd agree the new versions are nowhere near the old ones. Most recent one was the Bosch 1617. Besides being a fine router, it's much more feature rich - soft start, better fine depth adjustment, nice collets, etc. Quote
Gene Howe Posted April 5, 2017 Report Posted April 5, 2017 Most of my routers are PC with a Bosch Colt and a Freud thrown in the mix. All, with the exception of the Colt are 10+ years old. The 7518 VS in the table is a real workhorse and has never faltered. The 3 hp Freud is also a great machine. Wish they still made it. Like Lew, I dread the day when any of them fail. When/if, they do, I'll definitely go with Bosch. Quote
Ron Altier Posted April 5, 2017 Author Report Posted April 5, 2017 I do have a large Sears with all the goodies. I got it at a garage sale for $5, a ladies dad died and she wanted rid of it. When I opened the case it also had an assortment of bits & acc. I offered her $20, she said no, she just wanted rid of it and was glad a woodworker got it. I don't use it much because it is too large for my type of woodworking. I need a small table type that I can control safely. Quote
John Moody Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 I have a Bosch in my Router Table and love it. Does a great job. It has a topside adjustment but it is hard to keep the dust out of it. Quote
Stick486 Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 2 hours ago, John Moody said: but it is hard to keep the dust out of it. improve your through the table air flow... is your DC inadequate... Quote
Ron Altier Posted April 6, 2017 Author Report Posted April 6, 2017 Believe it or not...........I found the missing parts, spring and e ring. NOW the trick is to use these big clumsy hands (in a bucket to catch parts) and put it back together. I like that kind of challenge. I used to be an instrument tech on mechanical control systems and I think I can do this. If not I will get a sledge and beat it down till the bucket is full HARO50, Grandpadave52 and Gene Howe 3 Quote
Texaswally Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 Like the body shops say: "Beat it to fit, paint it to match." HARO50, Gene Howe and Grandpadave52 3 Quote
Joeb41 Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 Go Stick! I have the 1617EVS and I kept the PC 690 for a backup in case the Bosch quits. So far the PC is just collecting dust. Quote
John Moody Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 3 hours ago, Stick486 said: improve your through the table air flow... is your DC inadequate... yeah the DC is good but it has a little allen wrench hole in the base to do above table adjustments and it seems to get "stuff" in it and you have to clean it out to get the wrench to go down and grab the jaws. Quote
Grandpadave52 Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 3 hours ago, Ron Altier said: If not I will get a sledge and beat it down till the bucket is full "Just remember to read and follow all of the safety directions that come with your tools and always wear hearing and eye protection" HARO50 1 Quote
Cliff Posted April 6, 2017 Report Posted April 6, 2017 I have a Rigid with the combo base kit, a PC 690 a PC 7538 and a Triton TRA001. The Rigid may be the best of them. I'd donate to this guy if he'd do a tear down of the Festertool routers. Quote
Gerald Posted April 7, 2017 Report Posted April 7, 2017 7 hours ago, John Moody said: yeah the DC is good but it has a little allen wrench hole in the base to do above table adjustments and it seems to get "stuff" in it and you have to clean it out to get the wrench to go down and grab the jaws. Compressed air is your best friend John Moody 1 Quote
Stick486 Posted April 7, 2017 Report Posted April 7, 2017 8 minutes ago, Gerald said: Compressed air is your best friend no it's not... vacuum is.... you don't want fines injected into places they don't need to be... HARO50 and John Moody 2 Quote
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