Thread: Router Motor Only

G'Day Scott..whats the story on the motor prior to the hernia? did it just die or was there grinding and screaming noises and smoke?.....maybe brushes?.....bearing?...Regards....AL

G'day AL.

Nothing as drastic as that (although the smoke has happened before!). All I'm after is a router without the plate and trimmings, so to speak. My students and I are designing and building our own x-y table and mounting the router upon it with our own router lift. Make sense?

The students are super keen and like the idea of the Porter-Cable router (motor only).

Originally Posted by sjt

Hi all,

Firstly, thanks for a great forum and valuable contributions I find this place an amazing source when I come unstuck or just need to know. Saying this, I haven't had much luck with the following question.

So my first post to the forums is this. Is there any local distributors for router motors only? For example:

Porter-Cable 7518-2 Router Motor Only

Around Melbourne would be preferable however willing to source further.

Thanks Much.
-Scott

Hi Scott

What you're talking about is a Fixed Base Router, which is more or less peculiar to the US. Makita have one FB model, here but it's fixed speed. The tool companies tell me the cost of approvals to Aussie standards for these routers would be too high for our (relatively) small market.

I hope that this helps.

Regards

Grahame

Thanks Grahame, I suspected this was a US only thing, thanks for the reply.

-Scott.

Hi SJT,

Porter Cable tools fit for 230/240 Volts are indeed rare items, but as an alternative you could consider the DeWalt DW627 router motor. It has a 65 mm collar and an arbour with male M12x1 thread. Nominal load input power is 2000 Watts and the no-load rpm is 18,000. The weight is 7,3 kgs. Router bits with inside M12x1 thread still have good availability. Adapter spanners for smooth 6, 8, 10 or 12 mm shaft router bits are also available for use with the DW627.

The DW627 as a loose motor is often used as a power source for a range of applications, combined with attachment solutions from other manufacturers. It is indeed used in controlled stationary routing systems and is also seen in disc sanders for parquet flooring (wheel based, with belt drive). It is a typical production motor, laid out for continuous use and matching reserves and precision. There is no electronic version, you would need to design that for yourself. A peculiarity of this motor is a piece of axle sticking out at the carbon brush side. It is enclosed by a bush to protect fingers rom getting stuck in it. There is a hole drilled straight trough this piece of axle, meant to take a steel pin with which the arbour can be arrested while unscrewing bits.
The piece of axle sticking out could be handy for mounting a tacho magnet.


This router motor was originally a design from the German Elu works. DeWalt is a Black & Decker brand, as was Elu up to 1999. B&D purchased Elu in 1984, when Elu director Eugen Lutz decided to halt its activities in the hand held tool niche, since the market in the 80's was oversaturated, especially with German quality comptetitors. B&D, on the other hand, suffered from the low credibility of its European professional tool range, and needed a good trade brand under its umbrella to fortify its EU sales figures. So Eugen Lutz concentrated on making large stationary production machines as "Elumatec" and B&D bought the Elu hand held power tool brand and its total inventory lock, stock and barrel (all designs, all parts stock, all production machines and all patents).

The DW627 was known as the MOF11 in the Elu days. (Motor Oberfräse = Router with its own motor, model 11). The basic design was from 1954 and it came in two power levels; 600 and 800 Watts. Through 1000 and 1200 Watts it was eventually cranked up to 2000 in the 70's. The 11-design was a loose motor from the beginning, coming with an assortiment of bases and attachments (e.g. for the routing slatted louvre blind frames). The left pic shows a 2000 Watts Elu MOF11 with the simplest base type, the right pic shows the DW627.

You could consider buying a second-hand Elu MOF11 with a base, and take the base apart to get hold of the necessary mounting ring, needed for your own-designed controlled routing layout.

success and greetings

gerhard