Bosch router question

[Frank Dominski]

I have a Bosch model 1613EVS that has been in storage for about five years. I just took it out the other day and tried the plunge operation and the router would barely move up and down. I have used every lube I have on the two shafts and have been working it up and down for the last two days. It has freed up pretty good except for right at the bottom, there it will seize up and you have to pull on the base to get it to spring out. There was no way the shafts could have gotten bent as it was packed very well. I would appreciate any ideas on how to free up the router. Thanks:confused::confused:

[Hank Knight]

Call or e-mail Bosch customer service. I've found them to be very helpful in the past. I don't have an address handy, but you should be able to get it from the Bosch site or from your owners manual.

[Matt Day]

Sounds like you might have the zinc base, which Bosch will replace I think. Do a search on here (though I think it was for the 1617).

[Tom Esh]

I don't have that router, but many of the plunge mechanisms use a soft alloy (like bronze) as the bushing material and it is possible for a stray piece of grit to become embedded and cause binding. I'd first try flushing it with WD40 and compressed air before resorting to disassembly. Once I had to take a brass brush from a gun cleaning kit to the bushing to dislodge the culprit. Probably grit shed from sanding - a known menace to machinery.