Hugh MacDonald
06-20-2013, 11:49 AM
I have a Porter-Cable 7518 Speedmatic router, bought new about 15 years ago, in the Made-in-USA days, which is part of the reason I've been spending some time trying to diagnose and cure some of the problems its been lately suffering. When purchased, the PC7518/19 was (and more or less still is, unless I'm unaware of another router that's come along in the last few minutes) the gold standard for fixed-base ~3hp routers, especially for use in a router table, which is how it's spent most of its life. This router doesn't see daily use, but when its services are required it may work large parts of the day a few days in a row.
It's always done what I've asked of it, with aplomb, until its performance began to deteriorate about a year ago. I have other routers, table-mounted and otherwise, so I could transfer duty to those, to avoid using the 7518. I'm now working on a job that has required its use, and so addressing the problem has become unavoidable. As mentioned, about a year or so ago I noticed while using it that the router speed would fluctuate randomly, that it was beginning to vibrate more than it had, that the collet became quite hot during use, and that after shutting off the motor the spindle didn't spin smoothly to a stop, the way my other routers did (my Festool 2200 actually doesn't spin down smoothly, but I think that's down to an electronic brake). Similar issues with this model router have been mentioned in another thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?167832-PC-7518-router-question). Because it's mounted under a table, and gets a lot of dust thrown down its throat, I made a point of opening it up and blowing out the dust which would accumulate inside, which seemed to help, but only minimally and temporarily.
Most recently, because I knew I would be needing to use the 7518, I decided to replace its bearings. After 15 years of good use, and with the collet heat and vibration, and detecting what appeared to be intolerable spindle runout, I thought it couldn't hurt to have new bearings. So I replaced the bearings with quality, name-brand, non-Chinese-made bearings, which was a pretty straightforward process, and I looked forward to having a rejuvenated 7518. Being what it is, I was hopeful that I could more years of use out of this high-quality tool. However, with new bearings, the 7518's performance has not improved. The speed continues to fluctuate during use, the collet becomes very, very hot, and it still seems to vibrate more than it used to it is prime Using a dial indicator there appears to be several thousandths more spindle runout than is acceptable.
Does anyone have a similar experience with this router or other models, who has been able to determine and fix the problem? I suppose I could have fouled something during the bearing replacement, but that process was basic and went very smoothly--and the problems I'm having now began before I replaced the bearings. If it's not the bearings, what else could be causing the problem? A bent spindle, or something as simple as a problematic collet? Any help would be greatly appreciated, as this router has given me many years of good service, and I'd prefer to prolong the life of this American-made tool, rather than junk it and replace it.
It's always done what I've asked of it, with aplomb, until its performance began to deteriorate about a year ago. I have other routers, table-mounted and otherwise, so I could transfer duty to those, to avoid using the 7518. I'm now working on a job that has required its use, and so addressing the problem has become unavoidable. As mentioned, about a year or so ago I noticed while using it that the router speed would fluctuate randomly, that it was beginning to vibrate more than it had, that the collet became quite hot during use, and that after shutting off the motor the spindle didn't spin smoothly to a stop, the way my other routers did (my Festool 2200 actually doesn't spin down smoothly, but I think that's down to an electronic brake). Similar issues with this model router have been mentioned in another thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?167832-PC-7518-router-question). Because it's mounted under a table, and gets a lot of dust thrown down its throat, I made a point of opening it up and blowing out the dust which would accumulate inside, which seemed to help, but only minimally and temporarily.
Most recently, because I knew I would be needing to use the 7518, I decided to replace its bearings. After 15 years of good use, and with the collet heat and vibration, and detecting what appeared to be intolerable spindle runout, I thought it couldn't hurt to have new bearings. So I replaced the bearings with quality, name-brand, non-Chinese-made bearings, which was a pretty straightforward process, and I looked forward to having a rejuvenated 7518. Being what it is, I was hopeful that I could more years of use out of this high-quality tool. However, with new bearings, the 7518's performance has not improved. The speed continues to fluctuate during use, the collet becomes very, very hot, and it still seems to vibrate more than it used to it is prime Using a dial indicator there appears to be several thousandths more spindle runout than is acceptable.
Does anyone have a similar experience with this router or other models, who has been able to determine and fix the problem? I suppose I could have fouled something during the bearing replacement, but that process was basic and went very smoothly--and the problems I'm having now began before I replaced the bearings. If it's not the bearings, what else could be causing the problem? A bent spindle, or something as simple as a problematic collet? Any help would be greatly appreciated, as this router has given me many years of good service, and I'd prefer to prolong the life of this American-made tool, rather than junk it and replace it.