PC 7518 Low Speed Hunting

[Tom Veatch]

Somewhere in excess of 99.9% of the time my PC 7518 router speed control stays on #5. However, I'm getting into something that needs to run at a much slower speed. But, I find, at the low speed setting, the speed is anything but constant. It appears to be hunting for the set speed; speeding up to near max speed, slowing to a very slow speed and repeating the process for longer than I care to sit and watch. Disassembled and cleaned the area of the switch and circuit board, although they were fairly clean already. That didn't seem to have any significant effect. Not sure just how old the router is, but several years, anyway.

Found this (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=80438) old thread from a year and a half ago and the emphasis seems to be on replacing the speed control board. In particular, our illustrious moderator, Jim Becker, reports that he had the same or similar problem and replaced the board. But, Jim, if you're reading this, and I hope you are, you implied, but didn't explicitly state, that the replacement cured the problem. Did it?

If anyone else has had this problem with the PC 7518 and found a definitive and semi-permanent solution I'd sure like to hear about it before I throw US$100+ down a rathole.

The thread also had some references to possibly relocating the speed control switch to a more convenient place on the outside of the router table with promises to post pictures and results, if and when. Couldn't find any pictures or results, so I'm assuming that "when" hasn't arrived yet. I just may do that also if a new speed control board is the solution to the problem.

Seems that if the 5 position speed selection slide switch just connects 5 different resistances into the circuit, it could be replaced by a variable resistor to give near continuous speed variation. Don't know if that's what it does, or not, but will have to look into it when I've got the router's guts spread out on the workbench.

Anybody that's experienced these speed surges with the PC 7518 feel free to chime in, especially if you've found a solution.

[William OConnell]

I called my tool guy and he said replace the speed control board. Instead I took it apart, blew out all the ust that was in there put it back together and walla no more up and down. The whole operation took 20 inutes. Try it it worked for me and I was right in the middle of a full kitchen door project

[Jim Becker]

Yes, the replacement circuit board cured the issue and was somewhat easy to install. I did do the "blow out" procedure a few times with mine and that didn't cure it. My board was definitely bad. It took some doing, but the local repair center did agree to sell me the part without installation. This was a few years ago.

[Larry Fox]

Groan!!! Mine is doing the same thing and has been for a little while now. I need to get in there and do the same thing. Not looking forward to it. Seems like a design flaw to me.

[Tom Veatch]

Larry, as far a the cleaning goes, that's quite simple and only requires removing a couple or so screws. Opens up quite nicely. Cleaning worked for William, and maybe will for you. Didn't for me so it looks like check-writing time.

Thanks for the reply, Jim. Seems to now be simpler to get one of the boards than having to sweettalk the repair center. Found a bunch of places online that appear to either have the board in stock or will have it dropshipped from Porter Cable or DeWalt or whoever the heck they are now.

[Tom Veatch]

Larry, as far a the cleaning goes, that's quite simple and only requires removing a couple or so screws. Opens up quite nicely. Cleaning worked for William, and maybe will for you. Didn't for me so it looks like check-writing time.....

With a small shrug of embarrassment, I have to report that cleaning worked after all.

Ordered the new board, needed to use the router, decided to try one more time. Cranked the pressure regulator up to about 120psi, put a "non-OSHA" nozzle on, removed the circuit board, blasted away at every nook and cranny in the board and recess, reinstalled everything. For now, at least, the lower speed regimes are stable.

Think I'll leave the order for the new board in force, and take the opportunity to design/build an enclosure and mount it in a convenient place for exterior speed control. The speed control switch is soldered to the board. Resistance readings in-situ don't make sense to me so I can't really tell what the switch does in the circuit without tearing it apart. Don't want to do that with a serviceable board even though it looks like it might be a challenge to operate the switch in a remote mounting. Does look like the idea of a continuous speed control might not fly - at least not for me. Someone who knew what they were doing might be able to get it off the ground.

[Jim Becker]

I suspect that most of us forget that our routers in tables are "up-side down" and a lot of stuff potentially gets pulled into them during use. A good cleaning "should" be on our regular shop maintenance list, but often is not. I'm going to try and remember to hit mine with some air later today when I get into the shop.

[Tom Veatch]

I suspect that most of us forget that our routers in tables are "up-side down" and a lot of stuff potentially gets pulled into them during use. ...

I installed a horizontal baffle in the router enclosure in my table. An air inlet grill is below the baffle, dust collection port is above the baffle. Router motor extends through and below the baffle so the motor intake is in clean air. Shop air comes in the bottom of the enclosure past the router's air intake, up the front of the enclosure, back past the business end of the router and out the dust collection port. Not completely foolproof about keeping debris out of the router motor, but a least the router's cooling fan is drawing from "clean" air. Has made a considerable difference in the apparent amount of dust passing through the router motor.

Now I need to figure a convenient way to do "above the table" collection around an INCRA Ultra fence. Maybe replace it with a different fence system ("Wonder Fence"?) that has dust collection features built in.

[Jim Becker]

Tom, his site is now off line, but a guy named Dizzy basically built a box that projected back from the Incra fence to a hole in the table that went directly into the same area as the router. The box mated flat to the table top and created a channel for air flow from the bit opening in the fence to the cabinet. I used this same technique on my old router table (Now in another 'Creeker's shop) and it worked great. A 4" connection to the DC supplied more than enough CFM to handle both the cabinet and the fence connection...and there was no hose on top of the table. That's the one thing I miss with my Bench Dog cast iron setup...I have that darn hose to deal with again.

[Greg Narozniak]

Tom, his site is now off line, but a guy named Dizzy basically built a box that projected back from the Incra fence to a hole in the table that went directly into the same area as the router. The box mated flat to the table top and created a channel for air flow from the bit opening in the fence to the cabinet. I used this same technique on my old router table (Now in another 'Creeker's shop) and it worked great. A 4" connection to the DC supplied more than enough CFM to handle both the cabinet and the fence connection...and there was no hose on top of the table. That's the one thing I miss with my Bench Dog cast iron setup...I have that darn hose to deal with again.

Jim Funny you bring that up. No too long ago someone here asked about either the wagner gun or Custom Made moble bases and I looked for Dizzy's site and it was gone. Lots of good info on there too bad

[Leigh Betsch]

Don't know where I got this, but here is a link to Dizzy's site, or at least the info from it.

http://web.archive.org/web/20031225063818/home.pacbell.net/jdismuk/

[Tom Veatch]

Excellent!!!

Thanks, Leigh for the link, and Jim for the pointer to Dizzy's dust collection solution. And thanks to Dizzy for coming up with it. Ingenious, and a lot less expensive than replacing/updating the Incra Ultra. I know what my next shop-oriented project will be.