I have seen variable speed controllers advertised on a router bit website, but I am not sure if they are any good. I have a Bosch 1617 router and plan to make some raised panel doors. The bits I plan to use recommend a lower speed than my router runs at. Does anyone have any input regarding afertmarket variable speed controllers?
recommendations welcome.
Mike
I have one like this
I have this one hooked up to an old Bosch 1611 router. This router is the larger 15 amp variety. While this setup works fine for me, the router does loose speed when using the speed control and the going gets tough. The best bet is a router with built in speed control that monitors loads and will adjust to keep the rpm's constant. I also have a 1617EVS which has a smidgen more hp than your router. It does have built in speed control with feed back to keep the speed constant. That said, I would not use this router for raised panels and especially with an after market speed control. I would not be surprised if your router would stall if it is running at half speed with a large bit unless you took very light passes. YMMV.
I agree with the last poster, get a router with built-in speed control. I have tried using one of those speed controllers on my PC 690 series router for making raised panel doors as you wish to do. Getting the router slowed down, and maintain a constant speed was next to impossible. And it did stall on me a couple of times. There is supposed to be an improved version of the speed controller that I have, but I would be very hesitant to use it. You can probably get the job done, but you must be extra careful, and take very light cuts with each pass.
I am not familiar with your model of router, but I assume that it is one of the 1 to 1.5 HP types like my PC. If you are going to be using a horizontal panel raising bit (I assume you are since they do indeed require a lower speed), I would also suggest a more powerful router. Those big wide bits like that will really gobble up power. You can do it with a smaller router, but you will have to take several light passes and that will take a lot of extra time. I don't know if the vertical bits take as much power, but you would still need to make a few light passes.
Wayne
I understand there are two types. One that maintains power at lower speeds, such as the one from Woodcraft and the cheaper ones that don't, such as found at Harbor Freight. These can be bad for a motor. The one from Woodcraft does not work with a soft start motor.
Preston
However somebody else posted that they had the one from Woodcraft and that it lost speed under load, and both of the models from HF say they won't work with a soft start motor. Todd
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