Thread: Router explodes in service

hey China, does Rule #2 apply even with a plunge router ?

Originally Posted by Dengue

hey China, does Rule #2 apply even with a plunge router ?

Yes - in my case. Very often I do not release the plunge as I find that the next plunge is slightly deeper or shallower. By not releasing the plunge all passes are the same depth. There fore lay the router on its side to protect the bit (and work surface or bench top).

Dengue, I'll bet that gave you a hit of adrenalin you won't forget in a hurry.

Tell you what though, there's not a chance that I would ever repair something that had done that, just to give it another chance to do the job properly, and embed something in your guts, foot, whatever. There's even less chance that I would replace it with the same model. And it wouldn't matter to me what logic was argued, or whether it cost me $600-700. Just not going there.

Yes

Dengue,

I would contact the manufacturer and Fair Trading about your concerns with the safety & design of the plunge router mechanism. You may not have any recourse for a waranty replacement but at least a profile of incidents like this can alert them to what is going on in the market place. Your actions are fairly indicative of the typical user & in my opinion releasing the plunge mechanism without being in contact with a supporting surface should not cause this to happen, in any circumstances. If Fair Trading has that opinion as well they do have the powers to force a recall.

Product safety and recalls information for consumers : Department of Justice and Attorney-General

Mandatory standards

Reporting unsafe products

Dengy, rather than lay the router on it's side on the bench while plunged, I made a small base 2" tall with a 2" diameter hole in the centre to sit my router on (when turned off).

The same thing recently happened to me with my Makita 3612C.

The issue I had was that I did not have to fine adjusting knob set correctly and the force of the springs sheared the nylon nut.

My makita has bit the dust.... - Router Forums

Scary, isn't it James!! Strangely enough, there is no mention of this type of incident, and how to prevent it, in the User Manuals

Not sure if you want to go this way - but, it works for me.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f20/router-stand-68701/

I can only presume that when you released the lock lever that the base slammed down at a great rate of knots until it hit the stops - as it happens very quickly and with the plunge springs driving the base down I should imagine that it would do some damage over time - never thinking that it would be as dramatic as it obviously was.

Thanks for this one, Bob, that looks a good idea, but I don't think it would have prevented my silly mistake unless I put the router in your stand with the bit still through the plate and the plunge lever locked.

I have come to the conclusion with the help of the above comments that in future: 1) raise the router bit by unlocking the plunge lever with the router base on the workpiece, and then 2) switch the router off and remove from the workpiece

Had a good look at my router today - Not having done the lever release as you appear to have done, it was a bit of a shock. With mine, if the base was not supported and the lever released, the base would slam down very hard, pushed by the plunge springs. It was a bit of a jolt and quite loud - certainly not what I usually do. I only release the lever when I'm finished all of what I need to rout at a particular depth, then release the lever and support the base - obviously with the machine turned off.

Perhaps I interpreting your post incorrectly - do you release the lever after every pass and then have to reset the depth before you make the next? This is not something I have ever done - I leave it locked until I'm finished or require a new depth. This will avoid the hassle of different grooves being different depths. The only time I could see the lever being released is when using the 3 stage turret which gives you a set depth [3 of] e.g. Turn on, plunge to the turret stop, lock lever, rout, when finished cut, switch off, let run down until stopped, release lever and allow plunge springs to extend - all of this without letting go of the router. [did edit this bit as I left out a step]

Hope it helps you out.

Thanks Bob38S. It had been a long while since I used a router, and in this case after I set the depth on the depth gauge, I put the router on the workpiece, switch it on, then plunge the router and lock it in position.

Normally when I finish the cutting at the set depth, I switch it off, release the plunge lock and raise the router bit while the base is still in contact with the workpiece. I then make a new setting and start again.

In the above case, I didn't switch the router off, lifted it from the workpiece, then released the plunge lock. The result was the force of the springs blew the base off the router

Originally Posted by Dengue

Thanks for this one, Bob, that looks a good idea, but I don't think it would have prevented my silly mistake unless I put the router in your stand with the bit still through the plate and the plunge lever locked.

I have come to the conclusion with the help of the above comments that in future: 1) raise the router bit by unlocking the plunge lever with the router base on the workpiece, and then 2) switch the router off and remove from the workpiece

I can see your point here ,however I prefer to switch off first with the bit still depressed in the work .then when the motor has stopped unlock the plunge lever if need be otherwise I lay it on it's side on the bench.

So far I have not come across this problem,I have a lot of routers of all different makes even the older version of your Hitachi router.It's good to know that you were not hurt in this incident
Hint-
Some light machine oil on the posts help as well for a smooth plunge action.

Cheers