HF Router speed control?

[Jay Yoder]

Anyone have one of these? Any words of caution? They are on sale for $15 now and i have a router that I don't use often, but would like to add speed control to it as it is a single speed now...any input? Thanks alot!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43060

[Mike OMelia]

Jay, I dunno. I like their air tools and mechanical stuff like vices, and what have you. I buy their K clamps all day long. Electrical stuff? I am wary. This is one of those YMMV things. Lots of folks have them, so I guess they are OK. At that price, you can afford to be wrong.

Mike

[George Sanders]

I have one on my router table hooked up to a PC 690 and it works ok. I only use it with larger bits, and it does slow things down to a safer speed. It would be better is to buy a 3hp router with a built in speed control but I can't afford it right now.

[John McClanahan]

Be careful with those. When you slow down the motor, you are slowing the cooling fan too. Its easy to overheat the motor, especially if the motor is in a table where you are not holding it. I have read that variable speed routers have a larger fan, and limit how slow the motor runs.

John

[Bill White]

Its your router, but I ain't puttin' anything from HF on mine. $15.00 to trash a much more expensive tool is NOT in my plan.
Bill ;)

[Julian Wong]

Stay away from this one. I bured out 2 of these with minimal use with my PC690. Probably plugged them in and used for a day or two before it quit working. Got my $ back from them.

[Dave Cav]

I'm running what ever the old version of the PC 7519 is, the big 1/2"
single speed model. I got it years ago at a pawn shop. I don't run it daily through the HF speed control but I did use it yesterday to bevel the edges of two table legs and a stretcher. I have had it on the router table with intermittent use for several years with no problems and have another one on the shelf waiting for another job. I haven't had the best luck with HF electrical stuff, either, but this one seems to be holding up OK.

[Chuck Isaacson]

Check out MLCS. I know that they have something like this cause I have one. It came free with a router bit set that I bought. I would like to think that they make a little better product than HF. Here is the link (http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/speed_control.html) for them.

Chuck

[Tom Esh]

Both Rockler and Woodcraft sell better versions of it. However if you need the reduced speed to run large dia bits, note the router will bog down more easily. The add-on speed controls simpy reduce the voltage and power, so the slower you run it the less available torque it will have. (By contrast most VS routers employ feedback to maintain the speed under varying load conditions.) The add-ons have other uses though - for example they work great with a shop vac to reduce suction for certain tasks.

[Myk Rian]

Be aware that these should not be used with soft start routers.

[Jay Yoder]

Thanks for the responses guys! I only wanted the variable speed option for an old single speed craftsman 1/4" shaft router I have. The only place i will even considering using it is with my craftsman dovetail jig which has a proprietary collet for their routers. Go figure... I have a PC 7518 and Woodpecker lift sitting and waiting for the router table to be build around them! :D