Mickguard Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 ***? Okay, it's not the most expensive router on the shelf, but I figured that buying a Black and Decker was a reasonable jump up from the cheapo router I started with. Except, it's only been 6 months and the router just died on me....it started losing power while I was using it, then just gave up. No sparks or anything, and I'd only been using it for a couple of minutes when it died. This thing has not really seen intensive use either. It's got a two-year guarantee, IF I can hunt down the sales receipt (not likely). Is everything crap these days? Hell, I might as well go back to the cheapo 20 euros routers--the one I had before lasted three times as long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz tradie Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 It may be a good thing for the sales rep. guy that you don't have your old receipt. How much force is required to jamb said router into a position which could best be described as 'where the sun don't shine'? Slightly less force than that required by a local hospital nurse to retrieve said item from the sales reps rather shaded orifice. A death of a tool before it's due time is never easy to come to terms with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 There's something come loose in there...if I turn the router to its side then right it, it'll spin again, with greater or lesser force depending on... whatever. Reminds me of those old race car sets, where the brush runs on the track, and when the brush starts to wear down, the car goes slower and slower... But I'm not willing to open the thing up, and it'd cost more than it's worth to repair. Haven't given up all hope on finding the receipt though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz tradie Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Interesting you mention the fact that it'll kick in when you turn it on an angle. Could be either the brushes or a dodgy lead/plug end. Pull her open. You've got nothing to lose, and anyway, the brushes are usually fairly easy to get to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 it does sound like the brushes have worn out or perhaps broken. that would explain the rattling sound. you can replace them for two or three dollars and it's easy to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 my el-cheapo came with replacement brushes.. isnt black and decker owned by the same people as porter cable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 You know what, the cheap router came with all the trimmings --including a case. The B&D came with not all that much and no case. I'll open the thing up eventually, but my time is worth more right now than the 20 euros it'll cost me to get a new cheapo router. Last time I ever buy B&D. Thing is, I haven't had much luck with any brand names --first my AEG drill died, then a Bosch drill, and I had a Skil jigsaw die on me too. I'm not that rough with my tools, but I just have no luck or I'm just doing things all wrong or manufacturers just don't give a crap at all about quality anymore. Or all of the above. It's just been a lousy week with too many things breaking on me --including my eyeglasses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 my dad bought me a DeWalt router for my birthday & I get a free service after the first year which I thought was cool....certainly make me consider them before anything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz tradie Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 It's just been a lousy week with too many things breaking on me --including my eyeglasses! Hmmm........... He writes, wears glasses. Seems to possess superhuman strength. Is it a bird ? is it a plane ? You're not packing a cape and tights under your clobber are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 It's just been a lousy week with too many things breaking on me --including my eyeglasses! Hmmm........... He writes, wears glasses. Seems to possess superhuman strength. Is it a bird ? is it a plane ? You're not packing a cape and tights under your clobber are you? Well, usually I'm packing my clobber under my tights.... Anyway, I had a couple of minutes to spare so I opened the top, tightened down anything that seemed loose, and it's working again --there's still a short in there, but it's a wire that needs resoldering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 All of those brands (with the exception of some Bosch) are cheap, consumer-oriented brands. They are light-duty for people who will use them once and put them on the shelf for 30 years. DeWalt is the professional division of B&D and makes some of the best tools out there (unlike the B&D brand stuff). And you pay for it. Porter-Cable (part of Delta) is a different company. It does sound like a brush problem ... if you want to experiment with fixing it. Bottom line is you get what you pay for. Stop buying cheap tools and you won't have them die all the time (and get better results too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 The best way to take care of your router, is to stop using it to mow the grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unklmickey Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 ...Porter-Cable (part of Delta) is a different company.... they used to be................ but, Black and Decker bought both of them, and DeVilbiss Air Power too. (the consumer line, spun off years ago from DeVilbiss) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 The best way to take care of your router, is to stop using it to mow the grass. works great as a hair clipper though. 'specially those pesky nose hairs. All of those brands (with the exception of some Bosch) are cheap, consumer-oriented brands. I honestly wasn't aware of this...I just go by the prices of what's available in the stores. So the way I see it, either I shell out the huge price for pro tools (which I can't really justify since this is only supposed to be a lil' hobby) or I just stick with 10 euro tools and use 'em til' they're used up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 I just wanted to mention why my dad got me the DeWalt...apart from being a bloody nice bloke that is. I've got a cheapy router from a hardware store, it's an own brand thing (champion or something) & it works great but....I discovered after making an overhead table thing (like setch's carve top jig) that it needs the button pressed in to work...DOH! I told my dad this & mentioned that axminster had a cheap router with an on/off toggle switch so I'll try to get that or something similar. He then went on a quest to buy one for my birthday but the only ones with the on/off toggle's were professional ones, like the DeWalt...the hobby ones were all fitted with momentary switches. I've checked this in local stores & it certainly seems the case. I wonder whether this is because of a new law to stop weekend diy enthusiasts from leaving the router on & trying to change the bit or something, especially as they're so cheap now anyone can have one ...dunno but it's something to consider if you want to table mount the router. I didn't even think about it until it was too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJD Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 All of those brands (with the exception of some Bosch) are cheap, consumer-oriented brands. Just for reference sake - Bosch Consumer oriented products are dark green - the 'industrial' tools are a funny blue colour, and rock . but the best hand tools comercially availible in the UK are DeWalt, although you will need to remortgage to kit your workshop out with them. the palm sanders are wonderful - a friend of mine has a few, but again they're so damn pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 I'll throw in my vote for the Dewalt router as well. After going over a number of reviews and checking out the features on the different brands, I bought one of these. It was certainly more expensive than some of the low end routers. However, I decided it was best to spend some money on the one power tool I'll be making extensive use of during a guitar build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 so far my favorite was a porter cable. slow start, easy replacement, good plung action and lock, had a trigger lock, loose depth guage and tons of other features.. I regularly use a tool shop el cheapo, the depth guage is threaded, so its a pain in the ass.. not to mention it kinda sucks in the relm of correctness. the depth stops are little screws on a disc, that isnt flush, so when you hit them, it isnt the same every time.. but Ive learned to overcome and gotten it to work pretty well.. it has a locking trigger as well though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 I've got a Big Blue Bosch, but man, I'm totally in love with my PC 690 since I gave it a proper workout recently. Did a demo on 'router use in guitarbuilding' at a local amateur builders' day, very cursory thing, basically showed a couple of simple jigs, features, rules, and template routed a body with a nice big 1/2" shaft template bit. It's probably the 1/2" shaft thing that's the double-plus awesome, but the PC is just a lovely tool. Well worth the extra cost of a 220-110 stepdown transformer to run it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 I've got a cheapy router from a hardware store, it's an own brand thing (champion or something) & it works great but....I discovered after making an overhead table thing (like setch's carve top jig) that it needs the button pressed in to work...DOH! You can also use a velcro strap to keep that button pressed in permanently. That's what I use on my home made router table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 If it makes you feel any better my old harbor freight routers switch doesnt shut it down, and whenever i use it i have to hold it with a deathgrip while I plug it in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 Dude - don't use it like that!. In the event that something goes wrong you have no quick way of switching it off, and that's extremely important when it's gnawing a hole towards an apendage you want to remain attached to. If you get a bot of clothing trapped in the bit and can't reach the plug to disable it you could get seriously injured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted November 7, 2006 Report Share Posted November 7, 2006 I sometimes hook mine up to one of those foot switches. Maybe it's bad for it, I don't know. Been doing that off and on for years. I baby my cheap crapsman router. Help it out as much as I can by removing most of the material with a forstner bit (too lazy to check spelling on forstner bit . Wait, no I'm not. Ok, looks right.). Or sometimes use a regular drill bit (in a drill !!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted November 8, 2006 Report Share Posted November 8, 2006 i can only image scotty getting sucked into his router.. today I was dremeling a insert to size a neck pocket, and I was doing it in my living room over a plastic bag I had used to hold the scraps from destroying a ebony fretboard.. anyway, the dremel cought the edge of the bag. it was like a grenade went off. Ebony flying everywhere and the dremel snaking, trying to free itself from hand. my roommate happened to be walking by and took cover behind our couch... awesome... I could totaly see a router grabbing a long sleve shirt or somthing and yanking you to it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2006 No fooling. I like it that my router requires me to hold down two buttons to make it run (while it's willing to run of course). I'll leave the always-on models to the professionals, thank you very much. Here's a factoid: all three of the carpenters we hired to work on our house were missing fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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