Replies

1. 
   sschefer | Jul 12, 2002 02:33am | #1

   I have one for my PC plunge. There are two sizes so make sure you get the right one for your router. The ease of making adjustments is what makes it a good investment.

   Check with Forest Girl, I think she has a spare she's trying to get rid of.

   Steve - in Northern California

   
   

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   Edited 7/11/2002 7:36:16 PM ET by Steve Schefer

1. 
   forestgirl | Jul 12, 2002 04:24am | #2

   "...trying to get rid of."  Steve, if you're going to become a salesman, rule one: never say "trying to get rid of"  LOL!!

   Well, when I wrote you about that "extra" edge guide it was before I realized I need a different one for the 690 than for the plunge.  Won't decide until the 690-one comes in the mail whether to sell it or not.  Dowd'll probably want one sooner than that.

   DOWD:  For what it's worth, the gentleman I bought my "new" PC Plunge router and micro-fine edge guide from really spoke well of the guide.  He was a maker of fine boxes and other smaller items (excellent work too).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   sschefer | Jul 12, 2002 07:16am | #4

   Sorry, didn't proof read the final copy before the add went to print.Steve - in Northern California

2. 
   SgianDubh | Jul 12, 2002 06:48am | #3

   Never understood what problem people have with side fences, or micro edge guides and other nonsense terminology. They come with the machine, have done for thirty or more years and have always been fairly easy to set. Just a wee whack here, and wee whack there, or on later models, slacken the locking device, make the adjustment and lock it again. No big deal. Same with depth adjustment. What's the problem? Zero the bit to the timber, and shove a drill bit in between the stops to set the depth.  And I thought we were woodworkers too, not engineers? Slainte, RJ.

   RJFurniture
1. 
   forestgirl | Jul 12, 2002 08:22am | #5

   Hi Sgian, sounds like Dowd's router didn't come with an edge guide.  I'm getting a "free" one with a rebate card from Porter Cable for a fixed base router I bought last month, and then I bought a used PC Plunge router this week, and he had an edge guide to include with it.  I'm floating in edge guides!!  'course they don't swap out for each other because they're different sizes.  Oh well, one should never complain about having too many tools.

   Engineer?  Not me for sure!  Never got past college-level algebra.  Calculus gave me nightmares.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   SgianDubh | Jul 13, 2002 03:48am | #9

   All routers come with side fences fg, and if they don't come as a standard item, they are available as accesories from the manufacturer. They are very simple devices that have never needed, and don't need any fancy technology. Analogously, who would buy a table saw without a rip fence? Side fences are so completely essential and standard items with routers I can't believe anyone would buy a router without one, and I find it hard to believe that people have developed a niche market selling such a primary item to apparently credulous buyers. Slainte, RJ.   

   RJFurniture

   Edited 7/12/2002 8:58:05 PM ET by Sgian Dubh

1. 
   forestgirl | Jul 13, 2002 04:09am | #10

   Well, I hope you aren't including me in your obviously disdained group of "credulous buyers."  Each of my new(ish) routers came with a guide.  And, please remember, I've never said anything about them being complicated or high-tech.

   The marketers who are making money off the guides are the very same companies who make the routers and sell them without a guide.  Obviously, they don't consider them essential, and they hype them as a "freebie" on the occasions when they throw them in with the router.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   SgianDubh | Jul 13, 2002 04:21am | #11

   I can't tell if you're credulous or not fg, but side fences are a basic tool that fits rather like hand and glove. As before, all router manufacturers can supply a side fence, but some offer them as accessories, and others supply them with the tool. It just depends on the maker. Mind you, I admit I was surprised when I moved to the US just how crude basic woodworking machinery was, and in some ways still is. I recall US woodworkers standing around me in amazement when I pulled out my Elu/DeWalt plunge router in 1993 at my first US based job.  These machines were old hat then to me. I'd been using them for nearly twenty years, but none of these guys had ever seen anything more sophisticated than an Ark developed, knock kneed old 50's technology Porter Cable 690. Slainte, RJ. RJFurniture

2. 
   forestgirl | Jul 13, 2002 04:33am | #12

   Sometimes thinking about all the posts you've written about how archaic we are here in the US (vis a vis tools), I'm mystified as to why you stay.  forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

3. 
   SgianDubh | Jul 13, 2002 04:46am | #13

   I'll let you ponder on that fg. Provocation is a very useful tool. It gets people all riled up and thinking up answers to rebut me. Sometimes I act daft, but I'm not entirely stupid. Slainte, RJ

   PS. I did see your question on the router bit that broke up on you, which was a bit more than unfortunate, but a lesson from which you can learn from.  RJFurniture

   Edited 7/12/2002 10:02:49 PM ET by Sgian Dubh

   Edited 7/12/2002 10:06:15 PM ET by Sgian Dubh

2. 
   sschefer | Jul 16, 2002 12:58am | #17

   Richard, these are actually pretty sweet. I agree, a guide is a guide but when I bought my PC plunge it was a demo model and sold as is. The edge guide wasn't with it and when I was looking at the guides that the place had for sale, I just couldn't pass up the fancy looking one with the brass knobs. Turns out it works really nice. Sure you just slop it up and tap it a couple of times to bring it in just like the simple ones but then you can micro adjust it without loosing the original settings. Most importantly, it really impresses my neighbor when I wield the router around with that massive calibrated edge guide. Brass and black.. what a beauty.Steve - in Northern California

3. 
   AlanTurner | Jul 12, 2002 04:13pm | #6

   I have had one for about a year now, and it is great.  The adjustment mechanism is quite accurate.  Each model is set for one particular router, but because of the design, you can buy one, and then just additional adaptors for other models (at about $40 @, if I recall correctly).  I say the owner of the company demo it at a woodworking show in Phila.  Use it with a micormeter and it sets quite easliy.  Wasting the stock between 1/2 blind dovetail pins is a snap with it.  I use a 1/4" spiral solid carbide bit for this.  On cherry, a full depth cut of 5/8" is accomplished in one pass, without kick.

1. 
   GC1325 | Jul 12, 2002 06:49pm | #7

   Thanks for all your help. I went to their website and found what I needed. Thanks again, my first time posting here, will be back for more.

4. 
   Elcoholic | Jul 12, 2002 08:17pm | #8

   Very impressive.  How about emailing me a quote for models for a DW614 and a DW625?

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

5. 
   dhpascoe | Jul 13, 2002 02:34pm | #14

   I'm with you up to the 9.05 mm hole. How did you manage that feat?

   Dave

6. 
   troopermat | Jul 14, 2002 04:58am | #15

   Hi Dowd,

   I have the Microfence combination edge guide and circle cutting set-up for both my Bosch 1617evs and my PC7529. I also bought the Tru-clamp adaptor to fit my set of three Tru-clamps for trim carpentry. I bought the whole shooting match from http://www.microfence.com ,and I am very satisfied with the quality of the product.  Although, I must admit that when I opened the box from Microfence ...I was very puzzled at what appeared to be the lack of product in my order. I soon realized that the product is what it states in the add...micro-precision...dead-on-balls-accurate, and easy to use.  You can't go wrong with it. You will save in lumber and headaches, many times what you'll spend on the Microfence. 

7. 
   Elcoholic | Jul 15, 2002 07:28pm | #16

   Your clamping method sounds like the way to go.  Dimpling the drill rod makes fine adjustments tough which is why I don't like the basic (no micro adj'r) one I made for my DW614.  I'll probably stick to inches though.  I'll  just get close and use the old emery cloth rapped around a dowel in the drill press method to fine tune the fit.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne