Thread: Scheppach dedicated bench router - Part 2

Have been reading these posts with some interest as I purchased one last year. On the first trial cut with a finger joint bit, the machine began to rattle out the door. On opening up the rear I found the whole motor loose on its mount. This was apart from the obviously useless fences & pressed table extensions. I have kept the machine as I can make my own attachments and it was rather cheap.

Originally Posted by 520tis

Have been reading these posts with some interest as I purchased one last year. On the first trial cut with a finger joint bit, the machine began to rattle out the door. On opening up the rear I found the whole motor loose on its mount. This was apart from the obviously useless fences & pressed table extensions. I have kept the machine as I can make my own attachments and it was rather cheap.

Again I didn't receive a notification of a new post in this thread. I checked and I'm definitely still subscribed. ???

The loose mount was what caused the motor and therefore the bit to move forwards/backwards during height adjustment on mine. I tightened the two Allen head screws attaching the motor to the height adjustment bracket, which cured that problem.

I turned it on it's end and removed the bottom plastic panel, not the rear. Maybe your's is slightly different. I couldn't undo the screws on the rear panel with the bottom on - nuts on the inside. Once the bottom was off I didn't need to remove the back panel.
It only took 5 minutes to sort that out and now it behaves as it should. I had no vibration though.

I'm pretty happy with mine now. Will be even happier still when I get around to making the fence, or repairing the original as mentioned earlier.

Edit: I just unsubscribed then resubscribed to see if that cures the notification problem. Bloody annoying.

Originally Posted by Hermit

Edit: I just unsubscribed then resubscribed to see if that cures the notification problem. Bloody annoying.

Did that fix your problem Steve?

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Did that fix your problem Steve?

Yep, that notification arrived instantly.

For the members following this thread and with the permission of H&F I reproduce here a reply received to my e-mail expressing concern about the quality issues associated with the Scheppac bench top router.

Good Morning Bob,

Thankyou for your enquiry regarding the HF-50 bench top router and some issues that have been noted on the Woodwork Forum's website.

The issue of fence alignment I do believe it still requires some shimming to get it right. This, as the forum suggests, is largely due to the brackets and mounting of the fence to the unit, the design lends itself to requiring shimming during setup. To my knowledge there has been no change in design from Scheppach of the fence, mounting brackets are still plastic which can distort during the cooling process.

The issue of bowed table top - to my knowledge this has been corrected in the current shipment.
It is worth noting that at one stage we had to quarantine an entire shipment of around 150 units as the tables were bowed, and had to order more table tops from Scheppach to replace them all. The issue only came to light after feedback from customers, where we then checked the units, and found the problem.
The current shipment was immediately quarantined upon arrival and released only after checking for distortion of the table top. This was done in our Sydney warehouse. Current stock we hold is from this last shipment

Regarding spindle lock, the current shipment of machines has had a rework to add more spacers on the lower lock shaft, as the factory has not done this. This may have contributed to the issue as stated on the forum. Whilst carrying out this re work, checks are made to the motor mounting bracket for cracks and tightness of bolts that mount the motor to the bracket.

We have been working with the factory in an attempt to rectify problems as they become apparent with the machine. Generally, we only discover an issue with the machine from customer feedback.

However, these are still a lightweight machine, construction is light with plastic components and brackets used in several places on the machine, to keep cost of manufacture down and allow the machine to be sold for $319. These are by no means the most sturdy machine on the market. Unfortunately, with this Scheppach unit, there is still some work to be done out of the box to set it up and operate correctly.

Scheppach now has most of their smaller 240v range of equipment made in China under licence to Scheppach Germany, this was to allow Scheppach to remain competitive in the market against other Chinese manufactured goods, particularly in the Europe.

If I have missed anything or your require any additional information please do not hesitate to contact me

Thanks for posting that Bob. It's good to hear that the bowed table issue has been resolved with the new batch. That was the most serious problem with the previous ones in my opinion, since while there's an easy fix for the other problems, the bow isn't as easy to work around, even though it's only important for some processes. It hasn't interfered with anything I've done so far.

I've got to say that aside from the issues mentioned, mine has performed well. I haven't struck the spindle lock problem myself, but keep it in the back of my mind.

I stuck with this unit because when compared to the cost of a stand-alone 2HP router and a table/lift to mount it on, the price is pretty good. Sure beats my Dremel router table.

Well I decided to give the bench top router a chance and ordered one.
Unpacked it this morning and first job was to clean the grease off the table and check it for flatness.
Flat to within a few thou, can just slide a 2 thou feeler strip under the straight edge in one spot about 100mm long.

Not at all happy with the instruction book.
Badly produced, parts illustrations are not line drawings just black and white pics that have very poor definition.
The fingerboards and mounting of same do not even get a mention.
The table extension wings have provision for 2 mounting screws on each side and 3 on the end face.
Only 1 inhex screw is supplied for each end face.
Terminology is poor, looked everywhere for “clamping levers” only to work out that they mean knurled knobs with internal thread.
A “four-way socket wrench” is an allan key.

One of the round head bolts required to mount the fence has only a few threads for the knob, needs to be 5mm longer.
The extension wings were fitted but had to be removed again as there is no way that the mitre fence will slide from the slot in the table through the fence.
Problem seems to be in the pressing of the fence slots, the sides of the slots are not at 90º to the face.
I can fix this later but should not have to.
I have checked all the other reported faults and so far have not found any.
I have only run the motor so far, yet to make sawdust with it.

The plastic fence may be a future problem, only time will tell but a metal fence in the first place would have been better.

The machine seems to be good value for money and if they get around to sorting out the few remaining problems then it will be very good buying.

Just a by-note on the H&F manuals, the poor quality of the manuals seems to be common with many of their machines.
I unpacked and assembled the table saw, (H&F ST12D with sliding table) earlier in the week and found that the quality of the saw far exceeded the quality of the manual.
This is something that H&F should take care of.
It is not a difficult task, prior to retirement I was an importer of auto service machinery.
I took each manual supplied, turned them into English from Janglish and Chinglish, sent the corrected versions back and had the factory supply corrected manuals for all deliveries.
H&F should try the same exercise.

Now to fight with the manuals for the sanders and bandsaw.

Regards
Bob
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f245/t...bugger-169232/

good to hear you reasonably happy.
Maybe I'll go have a look at one now (or next sale week).

Man am I glad I found this thread before I made the decision to buy one of these machines. I had been thinking of getting something better than my Triton router and bench combo and had only yesterday seen the Scheppach bench top dedicated router in a magazine and thought it would be a great alternative to using an inverted router in a table.
This lead me to searching Google for any reviews on the Scheppach Bench router which is where I found this story of woe from those gentlemen who have had to suffer the obvious failings of this machine. My heart goes out to those guys and I'm sorry they have been "duped" in buying something they thought was a good machine from a reputable vendor.
It's unfortunate that you guys have to suffer the inadequacies of this router so that others like myself are saved from going down the same road.

All the very best Gentlemen,
Bob

I bought one and after mucking about with the fence, and the intructions, I gave up and ordered an Incra Original Jig and the fence to suit. This solved the problem and with the the Incra you have the added advantage of being able to do dove tail and and box joints with a minimum of fuss.

Ross

Originally Posted by Ross

I bought one and after mucking about with the fence, and the intructions, I gave up and ordered an Incra Original Jig and the fence to suit. This solved the problem and with the the Incra you have the added advantage of being able to do dove tail and and box joints with a minimum of fuss.

Ross

Ross, with the Incra Original Jig and fence, is there provision for dust extraction?

Originally Posted by Hermit

Ross, with the Incra Original Jig and fence, is there provision for dust extraction?

No but on the Incra dvd they show a shop vac tucked behind the cut out in the fence. I don't think it would be difficult to rig something up.

I have my bench router mounted on a stand with a dc connected through the table underneath.

Ross

Hermit,

I've followed this thread on and off for a while now and have become slightly familiar with your machine (bandsaw and bench router) woes along with your own personal position. I know from my own personal experience just how difficult it can be for someone on a limited budget to get a decent set of tools and machinery for the hobby we all love and enjoy, let alone being on a pension at your age and time of life where things are supposed to be getting easier not harder.
Now I would be very pleased if you would take my offer and give it some very serious consideration. While I am myself (forceably) retired ill health, and I don't have a money tree growing just outside my back door where I can go and pluck a few quid off it anytime I please, I am neither struggling to make ends meet (yet) and I am able to purchase most things I need with a bit of judicial wrangling with my retirement funds.
And as such, if you would allow me to help you out in my own small way. I would like to offer you $500.00 towards getting yourself that new bandsaw a bit earlier than you might have planned.
So if you will please accept my meagre offer, you can PM me and I will make whatever arrangements that would suit you and we'll see about getting you up and making straight bits of wood a bit quicker.

Most Sincerely,
Bob

Originally Posted by Glenrob

Hermit,

I've followed this thread on and off for a while now and have become slightly familiar with your machine (bandsaw and bench router) woes along with your own personal position. I know from my own personal experience just how difficult it can be for someone on a limited budget to get a decent set of tools and machinery for the hobby we all love and enjoy, let alone being on a pension at your age and time of life where things are supposed to be getting easier not harder.
Now I would be very pleased if you would take my offer and give it some very serious consideration. While I am myself (forceably) retired ill health, and I don't have a money tree growing just outside my back door where I can go and pluck a few quid off it anytime I please, I am neither struggling to make ends meet (yet) and I am able to purchase most things I need with a bit of judicial wrangling with my retirement funds.
And as such, if you would allow me to help you out in my own small way. I would like to offer you $500.00 towards getting yourself that new bandsaw a bit earlier than you might have planned.
So if you will please accept my meagre offer, you can PM me and I will make whatever arrangements that would suit you and we'll see about getting you up and making straight bits of wood a bit quicker.

Most Sincerely,
Bob

A Very Generous offer.
May you be blessed with good health and happiness.