My first router

[Paul F Mills]

I recently purchased a Makita RF 1101 with the fixed and plunge bases. I was going to practice some bow ties tonight but have questions about setting it up and the manual is useless.

I put the motor in the plunge base and it is all the way into the stop. After installing the Whiteside bushing in the base, I inserted the bit and tightened it. When I tried to plunge it, it did not even come out of the bushing. I then adjusted the depth of the bit in the collect so it was not all the way in and it would then come out of the base, but I am wondering if this is correct. I guess I just expected it to be all the way in the collect.

There are two depth adjusters on it, one that bottoms on the three set screws and one that seems to adjust how high it will go. Is that all it does? Am I making this more difficult than it really is?

And I just tried using it, and apparently the power switch is dead. Nothing happens when I flip the switch.

[Zac wingert]

This sounds way too complicated if it’s your first router. My first experience with a router was a fixed base with only a roundover bit. Even that was difficult for me because I had never used a router before and was new to woodworking. Just trying to roundover with a fixed base took some trial and error. Maybe not a whole lot, but I think it’s part of a process. Bow ties with I assume, some sort of guide and collet system you have is probably not that hard but just doing some trim work fisrt should give you a feel for the tool. Thanks

[Paul F Mills]

While i do not necessarily disagree with you, I figured if I was going to buy a router I should buy one that will serve me well for years and do what I need it to do now. I doubt I will fully utilize it for a while, but it will give me room to grow.

I finally found additional instructions on the plunge base late last night, I will be reading up on them today.

[Curt Harms]

Have you tried the fixed base? The no start condition says it might be going back unless there's some sort of safety switch built into the plunge base. I've never heard of such a thing but maybe. How far did you insert the bit into the collet? About an inch should be enough. The part that grips the bit shank is usually about that long.

[Paul F Mills]

I took it back to the shop today and it turned out it had a bad switch. They swapped it out and I am ready to go.

[Ben Zara]

One more quick note, sometimes router bushings are way longer than they need to be. A hack saw can trim them.