Dewalt 625 router owner question...

[David Rose]

I noticed tonight that my idle (boy I'll be glad when the arbor is done) Dewalt 625 is really tight on the armature bearings. I can't remember when I last tried to turn the armature by hand, but it is really snug. I can just turn it manually and when I shut it down it barely runs before it stops. I blew it out with air from both ends and it blew out a little more dust when I fired it up.

Are yours that tight? My 621 is really easy to turn by hand. Should I tear it down and give it a really thorough cleaning? I've not done that with a few (hundred?) board feet run through it on the table since new. My cabinet does have a pretty fair dust collection system but it doesn't get it all.

David

[Ian Barley]

David

Mine spends its life upside down in the table running 1/4" roundover on hardwood. I run thousnads of feet of this a year. So far I am on my third 625 with each one having failed because the atmature bearing has seized. They seem to last just over a year (Warranty clock???).

My dust collection is OK but I am sure that it is dust that kills them. When I get a minute I am gonna take the last corpse to the power tool hospital to see what they can do to revive it.

Sorry that this isn't a more helpful post with an answer to your problem - just thought you might like to know that you're not the only one.

Regards

Ian

[David Rose]

Ian, I'll wait to see if anyone has tried to salvage one before I get too excited. But this apparent seizing has happened rapidly so I'm sure something will have to be done soon. When the smoke gets out, it's dead isn't it? Just a question for the future. There's no smoke yet.

I like the router, but I think I see why so many folks go for the cheapies for a table router. This one is over three years old and has been heavily used for a weekend hobby tool, so the timing is probably about right from your experience. One reason I bought it is that the bearings are suppose to be really good. But everything has a life span so...

Our local tool hospital gets almost a new price for a major repair so I'll either tear into it myself, unless others have had bad results with that, or scrap it when it quits. I just wanted to be sure that there was not something to do before death.

I consider this a very helpful post even though it did not fully answer the question. I know now that things are going downhill for the old yeller screamer.

David

David

Mine spends its life upside down in the table running 1/4" roundover on hardwood. I run thousnads of feet of this a year. So far I am on my third 625 with each one having failed because the atmature bearing has seized. They seem to last just over a year (Warranty clock???).

My dust collection is OK but I am sure that it is dust that kills them. When I get a minute I am gonna take the last corpse to the power tool hospital to see what they can do to revive it.

Sorry that this isn't a more helpful post with an answer to your problem - just thought you might like to know that you're not the only one.

Regards

Ian

[Herb Blair]

David,
I have had a 625 for 7 or 8 years now. It hangs upside down in a homemade router cabinet. It gets quite a bit of use during the year and also gets sawdust inside as I don't protect it when not in use. I do blow it out with compressed air before I use it. (typically when I'm changing bits.)
It's be a good-un for sure.
I think be reading what you have said about your 625 that the bearings are starting to sieze up. I went out and tried mine and I can turn the armature fairly easy.
I have had good luck using the Dewalt Factory service here in Dallas. I've had drills repaired and also have bought parts for a Random Orbit sander from them. They seem to be reasonable on the repair rates it my memory serves me right.
Good luck with the 625.

Herb

[David Rose]

Thanks Herb, I may check out a little further for possible repairs. I hate to let it burn out the armature, if that is what happens when the bearings fail.

David

David,
I have had a 625 for 7 or 8 years now. It hangs upside down in a homemade router cabinet. It gets quite a bit of use during the year and also gets sawdust inside as I don't protect it when not in use. I do blow it out with compressed air before I use it. (typically when I'm changing bits.)
It's be a good-un for sure.
I think be reading what you have said about your 625 that the bearings are starting to sieze up. I went out and tried mine and I can turn the armature fairly easy.
I have had good luck using the Dewalt Factory service here in Dallas. I've had drills repaired and also have bought parts for a Random Orbit sander from them. They seem to be reasonable on the repair rates it my memory serves me right.
Good luck with the 625.

Herb

[Greg Heppeard]

Hey David,

Stop by the store when you're in town and I'll show you the Triton that I own...seems to me that the motor venting is placed better on the Triton than any other router that I've seen so far. Don't just come for the Triton tho...come by even if it's just to talk wood. hehe

[Ian Barley]

David

I get no smoke - the shaft just stops turning completely. I have kind of accepted that my heavy usage means that this is gonna be a tool that I need to replace about annually. I actually now use a DW624 (Same machine but with no variable speed) as this is a much cheaper option over here in UK.

I think you are probably right about the cost of repair vs replace. Hope it stretches on a bit longer for you anyway.

Regards

[David Rose]

Greg, you had already planted that little Triton seed in my head when I was there last time. So now you are watering it? Of course, major setups can change, but I'm a slow changer. I previously ruled out the Triton for the way my table works. Yep! We need to "talk about it".

Do you see a way that this will do what I want? I have a tilt table for bit changing as the DW will not go high enough to change from the top. That is already setup and no problem. But I do want a fine adjustment available from the top. I use a Router Raizer on the DW. And if the switch lock cannot be easily disabled (not getting you into a liability tight spot here) the "bit changing from the top" won't help much. I use an external switch and unplug when changing bits. I can't honestly remember why I ruled it out of the equation now, but think it had something to do with the above.

David

Hey David,

Stop by the store when you're in town and I'll show you the Triton that I own...seems to me that the motor venting is placed better on the Triton than any other router that I've seen so far. Don't just come for the Triton tho...come by even if it's just to talk wood. hehe