Roger -- Did you have to cut the fine adjust screw off of your 5625 to get it to fit your router lift? I have one, too.
Originally Posted by roger wiegand
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Roger -- Did you have to cut the fine adjust screw off of your 5625 to get it to fit your router lift? I have one, too.
It's OK. I didn't believe it at the time I was told but . . . you will own more than one router. Buy the one for your main purpose now and buy the more appropriate one for your other purpose later.
My lift came made for the motor diameter and adjustment screw for the 5625. Curses, you can't see the screw as it is opposite the power switch. I couldn't find a pic showing it but, trust me, it goes through a hole machined into the billet on the opposite side of this picture angel ;-)
PRL-under.jpg
The beefy lifts (used to) seem to assume a PC 7518 or a Mil 5625. With the demise of the 7518 I don't know what their focus is anymore.
P.s. Removing the adjustment screw is pretty easy. I would not want to do it if I were switching back and forth from lift to hand held though.
Last edited by glenn bradley; 05-25-2021 at 4:26 PM.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
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No, there was an orientation where it fit without surgery. This is in the Incra version of the Mast-r-lift II.
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I put the Triton 3-1/4 hp in my router table. I really like it and it is set up so you don’t need a router lift. The plunge adjustment can be made with a supplied wrench through the table insert plate just like a router lift. You just have to make sure you lock the plunge after you adjust it.
I have the Milwaukee 5616-24 kit. I love it. It is my table free router.
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The Excalibur/SawStop lifts fit the 5625 without any mutilation. But it is slightly smaller in diameter than the big PC motor & requires a shim. I couldn't find one locally, so I got a piece of .032"x2"x12" brass shim stock off Amazon that worked perfectly. I think it was about $6 or $8.
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FYI, if you decide on the Milwaukee 5625, Incremental Tools has them in stock. I just ordered one and it will be here Saturday.
Cliff
The problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.
Charles Bukowski
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You can get 3rd party router motors with the same dimensions as the 7518. Just the motor, no base so clearly intended for lifts. How durable are the 3rd party motors? I have no idea but they're out there.
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I have the Milwaukee 5615, 5625, and two DeWalt DW618B3 kits, and a few more routers. I used the 5615 in a table until I inherited the 5625. I bought it with the intention of using it both hand held and in the table, but I almost never removed it from the table. It worked adequately, if not ideally, as a table mounted router. Not much longer after I got the 5615, I bought the 3 base DeWalt kit, specifically for the D handle base, which I prefer for hand held use (I never took a liking to the body grip router style). After I got the DeWalt, the 5615 never left the table until I got the 5625.
If I was to be in the market for my good first router, I would definitely go with the DW618B3 kit, and definitely over either Milwaukee. You could mount the two ear base for table use, and still have the option of the D handle and punge base without removing the base from the table, just removing the motor. It will work well enough in a table for small mouldings and non-huge diameter bits. Plus, since it is almost guaranteed that you will buy a 3HP router for table work at some point, you will still end up with a very useful router set for hand held work.
The 5615 Milwaukee is kind of an odd beast. It is adequate but still a little small for table work, yet a little too big for hand held work. It does both, but not well. I haven't used mine once since I swapped it with the 5625. It probably will sit unused until I eventually make a second router table or mount it in my table saw wing.
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I have a DW618 in my table and a DW625 on my WoodRat. The 618 is comfortable for handheld use as well. The 625 is a bit heavier than I like for handheld. I also run a Bosch Colt for lots of the little handheld jobs like roundovers, laminate trimming etc. Yep....somehow my routers have become a collection.
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I am to routers as my wife is to dogs...Yep....somehow my routers have become a collection.
The more the merrier.
But, yes- they do turn into an ever growing collection - real quick.
I would suggest trying to find as many different routers and configurations of them and see how they feel.
Routers are one thing in the shop that it's very difficult to go by what someone else uses.
I love my small Makita cordless trim router - but - after I went out an got a corded one that also has a plunge base, I discovered I like the plunge base on my DeWalt 611pk more - go figure.
Last edited by Rich Engelhardt; 12-21-2021 at 6:25 AM. Reason: I forgot to sput in my suggestion!
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
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I bought a Hitachi 3 hp a dozen years ago and put it in a table. It goes up & down and can spin a really heavy 4 cutter Freud Raised panel bit. But it doesn't need bells & whistles, as it just sits in the table.
I have about a dozen other routers for above table use. I like the Bosch 1617s with all 3 bases, the Makita cordless & Milwaukee cordless for most edge work & a Festool 1400 in use with the track for precise cuts. I've had lots of others that I've given away or sold.
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I feel completely inadequate with only three routers. Since I again have a shaper I hardly use my router table, but I do, and wouldn’t get rid of it. As far as handhelds go surely 5 or 6 would be enough?
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As far as handhelds go surely 5 or 6 would be enough
nope
6 trim routers
1 1/2" plunge router
3 PC 100
5 PC 690
2 Hitachi 1/2"
no router tables
have given some routers away thru the years
Ron
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I have the 7518 in my table. Free-hand that thing was intimidating, so it stays in the table. An older D-handle PC fixed base and the Bosch Colt. I needed a good plunge unit so I recently picked up the Festool 1400 with the edge and rail guides. Pricey, but man it is slick. I am on my first project with my new MFT and the 1400 has been excellent.
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You would think, but once you get used to leaving certain bits already set up in particular routers, it is hard to go back. I'm looking at adding a couple trim routers to leave a chamfer in one, round over in another, and a flush cutting bit in yet another. That would put me at 7 or 8 (or 9?) I'm not really sure.
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