Router gloat

[Mike Cruz]

I've been looking for a router to set up in a router lift for my TS extension table. Found this and picked it up today. Not the biggest, but I hope it is enough... Practically brand new. Picked it up for $50. :D

[Stephen Cherry]

As usual, Cruz is snatching all of the good deals within a 150 mile radius.

[Mike Cruz]

Were you in the market, Steve? Sorry, buddy, I didn't know...

[Stephen Cherry]

Were you in the market, Steve? Sorry, buddy, I didn't know...

No, not at all. Just joking (hardy har har.) You really do not need a router next to your saw, you need a shaper, freshly rebuilt out of the Maryland Correctional Institute.

Looks like a great deal though, super low miles.

[Mike Cruz]

Hmmmm, how do I get that shaper to fit in my extension table...:rolleyes:

[Stephen Cherry]

don't you have a unisaw? I think this thing could become an extension table, it seems like it would be the same size

[Mike Cruz]

I suppose I could somehow make it fit, but I have a right-hand-tilt saw, so the door is on the right side...where the extension is. It needs a certain amount of swing room. Check the measurement of the height from the floor to the table top of your shaper. I'd also need the the front to back and side to side measurements of the table top. If I were going to do it, I'd have to cut the extension table (melamine on particle board) shorter and make sure it would fit inside the Biesemeyer fence rails. I'd also have to make a custom mobile base for the whole contraption because I'm pretty certain that the Unisaw mobile base wouldn't support the weight of the shaper. UGH! What are you doin' to me, Steve?

[Kenneth Crisler]

Great grab! Waiting on the part of the story where you looked in the box one last time and found a dozen Porter Cable 310's hiding out... :cool:

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Mike,

Great grab! Just one word of caution on that model/year. Looks like it does not have the retro PC did for the switch to keep the dust out, which was causing some problems. Keep it free of debris often or you may want to look into getting the updated switch for it that prevents any future problems.

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, Randy. Didn't realize they had a problem with them. I'll check that out. Any thoughts about whether this will be good enough for a router table? It is 1.5 hp. The newer versions of the 690 are 1.75hp. And other models and brands boast 3hp and above...figure it is a lot of marketing hooplah, but not sure...

[Greg Portland]

Hmmmm, how do I get that shaper to fit in my extension table...:rolleyes:Delta made the shaper table height the same as the unisaw table height for exactly this purpose.

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Thanks, Randy. Didn't realize they had a problem with them. I'll check that out. Any thoughts about whether this will be good enough for a router table? It is 1.5 hp. The newer versions of the 690 are 1.75hp. And other models and brands boast 3hp and above...figure it is a lot of marketing hooplah, but not sure...
Mike,
It'll do a good job for simple router work, but don't expect it to hold up to large usage (ie: raised panels/cope and stick joinery). Not saying it won't work for that, but it is really underpowered for those types of applications and you take the chance of burning out the motor prematurely. I have that model - along with about 5 other routers I use interchangably. Great router, just need to know its limitations. You really want a 3HP motor for continuous router work - especially if you're doing large work. Hey, I use the bosch 1617 EVS in my router table. It's a 2.25hp and does whatever I need it to. But for raised panel and large work, I have a shaper for that. Just my .02 cents. Happy routing:)

[Mike Cruz]

That's pretty much what I was thinking, Randy. I really don't plan to use it often, but feel a little naked without it. I would imagine I could do raised panels with it, just not in a production sense...and I'd have to take a bunch of small cuts. Unfortunately, a 3 hp didn't fall into my lap...a 1.5 hp did.

[Don Wacker]

I would imagine I could do raised panels

I wouldnt even think about running a panel raising cutter on a PC690. By the time you slow it down to 12K you have almost no HP left, it doesnt have enough torque this is the drawback to any router.

Don

[Mike Cruz]

I was talking from "imagine", you are probably talking from experience. At my last job, we had a router table for running molding, and a shaper for making raised panels. I really have no intention of making raised panels with this router, rather that with small enough cuts, and not being constrained to "time being money", I "could" make them. Two things: I'm planning this so that I'll have a router table; and I just may need to make the room for a shaper... Thanks, Don, for your input.

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

That's pretty much what I was thinking, Randy. I really don't plan to use it often, but feel a little naked without it. I would imagine I could do raised panels with it, just not in a production sense...and I'd have to take a bunch of small cuts. Unfortunately, a 3 hp didn't fall into my lap...a 1.5 hp did.

Hey, for that price, it's a great snag! Believe me, if I didn't already own 2 of the Bosch 1617 EVS routers, then I probably would have used my PC for router table work until I could upgrade. You don't really realize just how much you've missed a router table until you've never had one available in the shop. I almost ended up kicking myself not doing it sooner! Another nice thing about that particular router is that its manufactured by PC before PC got bought out. It's a real workhorse. The new 690s (from what I hear) aren't as well constructed - but I can't confirm that one.