Replies

1. 
   WillGeorge | Feb 10, 2006 05:06pm | #1

   I use 'Several' Ryobi routers.. $100.00 US and work GREAT! (Waitin fer the 3 HP owners to get on my case)..

   Have speed 1/4 & 1/2 chucks but a little hard to find the attackmets.. COST more than the router... I still like them ALOT..

   I have two 'so called' GOOD routers that DO NOT work any better and more expensive.. NOT that they are bad,,,

1. 
   wdrite | Feb 10, 2006 11:43pm | #2

   I agree with you about Ryobi tools.  I have a 2 1/4 HP router that is getting some years on it and a 6" portable jointer, both of which I have been well pleased.  Ryobi tools, I believe, are  grossly underrated.  Ryobi was the first company to introduce the portable planer that all the other s have copied.  It was a 10".  There tools have no frills but are usually less costly.

2. 
   highfigh | Feb 11, 2006 10:36pm | #6

   If one of the attachments you're looking for is the one for using a collar and bushing, HD sells it, but only by special order. This annoys the he!! out of me since HD is about the only place where you can buy Ryobi (IIRC, they own the holding company that owns Ryobi and some others) and they can't sell many of what they don't stock. There are some bushing sets that are made of plastic, but they didn't impress me as being very durable in the long run. Another part that would be nice is a guide, which is once again, available by special order or in the kit, which I'm not going to buy since I already have their router.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

1. 
   WillGeorge | Feb 18, 2006 04:43pm | #14

   Old post but what the heck.. LEIGH (As in Dovetail fixtures) has bushing sets and inserts for many routers..NO I did not get one for my RYOBI routers (Hell, I'm a metal worker)
   But worth a look.

2. 
   forestgirl | Feb 11, 2006 08:07pm | #3

   I used an inexpensive router control on my PC690 back in the days when it was mounted in the router table.  I think it did as you say, simply reduce the power, thereby the speed.  I recently read somewhere that those might not be all that great for routers that have electronic speed control, the ones that compensate when you're pushing the router harder. 

   This may be an unecessary concern -- perhaps Pat (routerman) will come by and comment.  From a non-electronics-person's POV, though, it makes sense that the router might get kinda "confused" when it's receiving reduced power.

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

3. 
   forestgirl | Feb 11, 2006 08:12pm | #4

   I dropped Pat a note.  Don't know if he checks on Knots on the weekends though.

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

1. 
   adastra | Feb 11, 2006 10:08pm | #5

   FG,Thanks I'm interested in finding out if it might be a problem. I went ahead and ordered one from MLCS that claims to reduce speed and maintain torque. The HF only claimed to reduce speed.I'll post how it works out. Not a permanent solution but hopefully will get me by until I put one of the 3+ hp variable speed routers in there. I have a PC big brute but its fixed speed and didn't even want to see what it was like to spin a panel raiser at 20,000+ rpm.I was trying the PC 890 underneath there but found that the dust would clog the housing and make it a pain to release the motor. And then the recall...Now I'm leaning towards Milwaukee, its been out long enough that if there was a design issue I think it would have come up by now. But the PC is pretty time-tested.

1. 
   forestgirl | Feb 12, 2006 03:16am | #7

   Pat wrote directly back to me, so I'll post what he said:

   For the longest time, PC ...will not guarantee a motor if used with a speed controller.

   I've tested a few; they worked poorly.  I have not the knowledge to judge their electronics and if they do the job an integrated microprocessor can do.

    

   There are risks, especially if you accidentally hit the booger at 12KRPM with a big cutter in service, and it should jump to 25,000RPM.

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

4. 
   stantheman | Feb 12, 2006 05:45am | #8

   Thanks for posting.   I have a HF one, and I was never sure that it was doing anythign at all. 

1. 
   webby | Feb 13, 2006 05:31pm | #9

   I have the mlcs heavy duty router speeed control. I have not used it alot but here is what I found.

   The unit seems to be well made. As to the electronics I am not sure, but the instructions say that it does not compromise torque as it reduces speed. When I ran some peices with it it worked pretty well. However, the instructions say that at low rpms, the motor may run rough or jerky when idling. As soon as you put a load on it (ie. start to feed a workpeice) the instructions indicate that the unit will respond and smooth out. Mine did just that.

   I also found that some of the jerk could be eliminated by the way I set the speed. When set to variable speed mode if I  tried to set the control knob where I wanted it then start the unit, it would jerk more than if I started out fast and redeuced the speed to where I wanted it.

   I bought it for an older 690 in a small jobsite table. All in all its okay, it seems to work but I would definitely try to reduce the motor jerk just for the life of the router. My main problem with it is you are flying blind. there is no way to accurately tell what rpm you are running. EVS routers have a dial on them that indicates a range of speed ie. 8-10k 10-12k  etc. the router speed control just has numbers 1-to like 10 on the dial.

   When you get up into the upper speed ranges with the speed control my router gets really noisy and the thought crossed my mind perhaps this device would actually somehow run my router into an rpm range that it was not designed to go thereby causing bearing failure or other dangerous situations.

   Oh, and the instructions definitely say that they will not work with a router that already has electronic variable speed.

   Hope this helps,

    

   Webby

   Edited 2/13/2006 9:33 am ET by webby

   Edited 2/13/2006 9:38 am ET by webby

1. 
   webby | Feb 16, 2006 05:41pm | #10

   Hi,

   I posted to this thread again to see if any one saw my reply and if it helped.

   webby

   Edited 2/16/2006 9:41 am ET by webby

5. 
   Piccioni | Feb 16, 2006 09:41pm | #11

   I have the honkin big Porter Cable 7518 router on my table. It has a slide switch for speed control. I went to the autopart store and got a choke cable for $9.99 and connected that to the slider on the router.

   Works like a charm, cheap, and not as likely to cause overheating as the electronic boxes ...

1. 
   forestgirl | Feb 17, 2006 08:51pm | #12

   I'll bet that idea is worth a free tool from one of the magazines.  Ever think about sending it in as a Reader's Tip???forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   Piccioni | Feb 17, 2006 09:18pm | #13

   Gee. It never occured to me.

   Lets keep it a secret for now ...

    

6. 
   KeithNewton | Feb 18, 2006 06:45pm | #15

   I have an older speed control box, that I don't know the brand or even where I got it, but I don't like the power loss of slower speed either.

   Mine has ####3 position rocker switch above the knob with VAR -OFF - FULL. I set this up right over the infeed fence, so I can start the work into the cutter on variable speed, then immediately reach over and flip the rocker to full. At that point, I can control the speed with my feed rate. Just as the cutter is about to exit the cut, I reach over and flip it back. This is not a perfect situation because I don't like taking one hand off of the work.

1. 
   adastra | Feb 18, 2006 11:37pm | #16

   In case anyone is following this thread, I posted my results of a torque compensating speed control here.http://forums.taunton.com/fw-tools/messages?msg=7714.1Short version; it works.