I second that. I thought since my craftsman router worked that they would be ok for beginner tools. Then I bought a real router and noticed how bad the craftsman was. Took the craftsman and routed a scrap piece of wood then took the same bit and put it in the PC and it made such a clean cut, I couldn't believe the difference. The craftsman just does such a bad job at routing that alone is enough to pass it by and mine was one of their higher end models.
I needed to do some template routing today for some chair parts. Four legs,
1" oak, pretty beefy stuff. I got the piece of craftsman router table set up, removed the fence, set the "safety" starting pin in the table (this one screws in, btw) and proceded to rout the first 3 legs, with no mishaps or issues to speak of.I start the fourth leg, and halfway through, while focusing on the spinning carbide (a practice I encourage), I notice that the steel, screw-in "safety" starting pin is RATTLING AROUND ON THE TABLE! HOLY JAYSUS! Picking it up isn't an option, I'm scared at this point, not stupid. I slam the off switch (the only good feature of this table) and the wind down vibration of the router (also a craftsman) is amplified by the wonderfully designed, vibration-amplifying sheet steel of the table and the pin goes skittering right into the bit.
Of all days to be wearing both my heavy leather apron and full face lathe-shield, this day was probably the best. The pin rocketed off the bit and, swear to god not making this up, plugs me smack dab in the middle of my chest.
Shakes are going away now, this rant helped a bunch.
Be safe out there kiddies,
Joe
time to build a router table.
a big one. heavy. no vibration. 2, mebbe 3 layers of MDF. laminate top.
maybe a new router while you're at it.
Bridger:
Ditto that. By the way, what has been the shortest amount of time you've (OK, anyone/everyone) spent making a "usable" router table (1)?
Me? About two hours with the GoToHellRouterTable. Most of that was preparing the opening for the plate.
Would one weighing a hunnert and eighty pounds be considered "over kill"?
A'yup. Candy ass routers, good for free hand routing signs but not much more.
(1) Clamping a 690 in a vise doesn't count. Had/has to have a top. Beyond that...
UA100, AURT maker...
I've had two occasions recently where the router bits started coming loose and rattling around in the router. One in the table and one in a trim router.
Both times someone else had put them in.
People scare me more than machines.
Rich
My Rousseau starting pin doesn't stay in either, in my (now, or soon to be) penultimate router table either.
ok aside from clamping the router inna vise (done plenty) probably 3 or 4 minutes for a one off setup. plenty of 15 minute ones. after that it kinda gets messy, 'cause some of the parts get reused.
Unisaw A100 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
About the same for my first one. Predrilled Woodpecker plate, $75 imported fence dragged home from the wood show, half a sheet of melamine, and some vertical grain doug fir tubasixes. Lotsa help from the neighbor who is mainly responsible for the disappearance of parking space on my property.
Well worth the time. That '3 1/4 hp' plunge router has no business running freehand....
Patriarch, who really ought to come up with names for the tools...
If'n it was me, I probably would have grabbed a nearby pushstick (you do those close at hand when using a router table, right?) and trapped the vibrating pin before it went anywhere and before doing something that might amplify the vibration. Depending upon the size of the workpiece I was routing, it might have served as a good blocker to stop the pin from contacting the bit.
And the most important safety rule is to wear this (tap-tap-tap) full body armor.
Thu, Jul 29, 2004, 3:09am (EDT+4) patriarch (patriarch= snipped-for-privacy@nospam.comcastDOTnet) says: About the same for my first one. Predrilled Woodpecker plate, $75 imported fence
Huh! Mine was probably in the same time range. But, I protably spent a grand total of about $3, max, on mine, for bolts, washers, and nuts. The rest is scrap 2X4, and scrap plywood. Works as supposed to. Bottom of the line Sears (Ryobi) router too. Hehe Been in there several years now, no prob. Don' got no fence, but if I need one, that's what clamps and a chunk of 2X4 are for.
JOAT The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe JERUSALEM RIDGE
I did have a push stick close at hand, despite doing large scale template routing at the time. Had it by my left hand which is good, since I'm a lefty, but I would have had to reach over the bit with my left hand and the stick to try to pin the thing which was on the (standard) right hand side of the bit.
Besides, it all happened much faster than it took to type this ;-)
When things go wrong, stop the steel (or carbide) first.
Hey Joe - I sure do not want to play resident expert-after-the-fact, but when I read your original post, a thought kept gnawing at me. Not to downplay any of the events or the scary nature of getting whacked in the chest by a flying projectile, but it seemed to me that the real issue was more of periodically checking your equipment - no matter who it's manufactured by, than it is a reflection of Craftsman quality. I could see this happening on any table with a screw mount pin like your table has. Maybe a lock washer under the pin in the future to make sure vibrations and the movements of the stock against it don't loosen it? Clearly this was a fortunate wakeup call, but I really have to wonder if Craftsman is taking a bit more of a hit on this than they deserve. OK - I agree, (to some extent...) it's always fair game to hit on Craftsman, but...
That's a fair post, Mike. Always easiest to blame something else. I mean, geez, it can't be MY fault, can it? ;-) The reason that I went off on Craftsman is that when I use a screwdriver to tighten something, I figure it ought to stay tightened for more than, oh, 20 minutes or so.
I like your idea of a lock washer. I'm going to try to find one that doesn't stand proud of the base of the pin.
Regards,
Joe
Waiting for TURT pix on ABPW. No pressure.
Thu, Jul 29, 2004, 3:07pm (EDT+4) snipped-for-privacy@peoplepc.com (Sweet=A0Sawdust) says: I have had the bearings on several high end brand of router bits come off, due to my not checking them between runs.
I have found tha putting a drop or two of Marvel Mystery Oil (I like the small - probably any oil would work - but NOT WD40) on the bearing befor routing seems to make the bearing last a whole lot longer. I have no hard "proof" of this, and I know the bearings are supposed to be sealed, but seems to work, so I'm gonna keep on doing it.
JOAT The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe JERUSALEM RIDGE
And when you pull the bit out of the drawer/case to use it next time, you wipe off any extra oil and check tightness at the same time. Works for me. :-) mahalo, jo4hn
Ain't got no TURT to post. AURT I have.
Not a problem. I'll back channel you a shot as it sits presently.
UA100
Stand in line Bubba, I been waitin' years to see this one.
Well, Ok, only one year so far...
And Keith - I thought this one was gonna be labelled a "desk" so the acronym worked?
Greg
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