Thread: Scheppach dedicated bench router - Part 2

I got it all set up and running. It's like a whole different machine, compared to the first one.
The table is flat, too, and it runs quieter and with less vibration, even with a wide bit in it.

On this one, the router bit is actually at 90 degees to the table out of the box. (I had to play with the other one a fair bit to achieve this.)

The table extensions aren't as nice - one has a fair dent in it, but I don't care about that. I still have the old ones, but never use them anyway.

Overall, I'm more than happy.
Here's hoping the bearings in this one last longer.

I haven't assembled the plastic fence and checked it for straightness though. I plan to continue using my home-made wooden one. It's much better, especially when it comes to setting up for edge-jointing. I can adjust the infeed half forwards/backwards for depth of cut, and the outfeed half is adjusted to align with the cutter. The dust collector connects to the back of the little box in the middle.

Router Table Fence - Top.jpg Router Table Fence - Side.JPG

All I have to do now is ask if H&F want me to send them the old one back. If not, it'll be great for spares, especially the collet lock, which according to others can fail pretty quickly, although I was lucky with the first one in that regard.

It looks like I can finally put an end to this thread.

I am damned sorry that I didnt find this post earlier! Might have saved you some stress and time. I bought the Shappech HF-50 a couple of years ago, and had nothing but problems from the work go. Appalling build quality, crappy materials. Put through numerous parts replacements with H&F, and at one stage they replaced it with a whole new unit. Both were bad to begin with and quickly turned to junk. I treated them well, serviced them, used soft woods and quality bits, but the still failed badly.
The guys at H&F were brilliant all the way through, and to be fair, in the beginning the sales guy advised I not buy it. Should have listened.
Anyway, now I'm building my own router table, with help from Kreg and Triton

Oh yeah, and if anyone wants some spares for an HF-50 (coz god knows you're gonna need them), shoot me a message

I'm glad all has worked out okay in the end. Like you, I hope it lasts much longer than the original. Great work by H&F and I hope that encourages more customers to deal with them.
That's a nice looking fence you've made up there. I'm sure it looks more the part than a plastic one anyway.
Good luck with it, and hope to see many items come off it (wooden bits not parts).

Originally Posted by heffa

I am damned sorry that I didnt find this post earlier! Might have saved you some stress and time. I bought the Shappech HF-50 a couple of years ago, and had nothing but problems from the work go. Appalling build quality, crappy materials. Put through numerous parts replacements with H&F, and at one stage they replaced it with a whole new unit. Both were bad to begin with and quickly turned to junk. I treated them well, serviced them, used soft woods and quality bits, but the still failed badly.
The guys at H&F were brilliant all the way through, and to be fair, in the beginning the sales guy advised I not buy it. Should have listened.
Anyway, now I'm building my own router table, with help from Kreg and Triton

Oh yeah, and if anyone wants some spares for an HF-50 (coz god knows you're gonna need them), shoot me a message

Yeah mate. Join the club. Actually, it sounds like you were a founding member.
This new one does seem better than the first, so I'll see how I go.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

I'm glad all has worked out okay in the end. Like you, I hope it lasts much longer than the original. Great work by H&F and I hope that encourages more customers to deal with them.
That's a nice looking fence you've made up there. I'm sure it looks more the part than a plastic one anyway.
Good luck with it, and hope to see many items come off it (wooden bits not parts).

The fence is the best part.

The way I see it, for the cost, if I get another year out of it I'll be happy. Meantime, I'd better start saving my bikkies for a real router & table or at least a bench-top jointer. I only use it occasionally, mainly for edge-jointing, so I might be lucky.
If nothing else, they'd make a fine small boat anchor.

And I agree, the H&F support has been great. I'll deal with them anytime.
(I wonder how many of these machines they're stuck with?)

All said and done, you do get what you pay for.

I'm damned sorry I didn't see this thread earlier too, Heffa. I've got one of these things on order.
Steve, mate, you must be a saint. I think I would have dragged the thing to Sydney on the train & thrown it at someone from H&F before now. Glad to hear they have come through for you in the (long, drawn-out) end.
I now wait with bated breath to see what comes out of the box when I pick mine up in a week or so. First job will be to examine the photo of your fence very closely, I think.
I'm about to embark on my comically under-funded retirement, so it's good to know that it's possible, with time & effort, to overcome the budget tools that I can afford.
Good luck,
Dick

Originally Posted by Dicky Knee

I'm damned sorry I didn't see this thread earlier too, Heffa. I've got one of these things on order.
Steve, mate, you must be a saint. I think I would have dragged the thing to Sydney on the train & thrown it at someone from H&F before now. Glad to hear they have come through for you in the (long, drawn-out) end.
I now wait with bated breath to see what comes out of the box when I pick mine up in a week or so. First job will be to examine the photo of your fence very closely, I think.
I'm about to embark on my comically under-funded retirement, so it's good to know that it's possible, with time & effort, to overcome the budget tools that I can afford.
Good luck,
Dick

G'day Dick. My fingers are crossed that you get one of the better ones. It takes all of the fun out of getting a new toy when it doesn't perform as expected.
The replacement is still working well, although I haven't used it for much except edge-jointing.

Anyway, good luck.

Originally Posted by Hermit

And I agree, the H&F support has been great. I'll deal with them anytime.

Just an aside comment on this thread. I had the pleasure of needing to order online from H&F a couple of weeks ago, and the service was first rate. I ordered on the Sunday night and the parcel arrived on Wednesday. I received emails daily updating me on the status of my order.
No affiliation with them, just a happy customer.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Just an aside comment on this thread. I had the pleasure of needing to order online from H&F a couple of weeks ago, and the service was first rate. I ordered on the Sunday night and the parcel arrived on Wednesday. I received emails daily updating me on the status of my order.
No affiliation with them, just a happy customer.

Thanks Treecycle. Can't beat an unsolicited recommendation. This is my first dealing with H&F, and apart form being told "That's your problem," when I asked about getting my 120kg table saw off the delivery truck, they have been good so far. Maybe that was just whoever works in the Dandenong warehouse on Saturdays wishing he was somewhere else? Anyway, I'm picking it up myself, so it really is my problem now.
Picking my new toys (SB-12 table saw and the dreaded Scheppach router) up on Saturday so I'll see how I go. Might even post a review when I get everything set up!
Cheers,
Dick

Hopefully you might just get away with making a neat fence system like Steve, and the rest will be okay.
I too had the same problem of unloading my saw out of the ute at home. Fortunately I have a manhole in the ceiling of the garage and was able to hook a block & tackle on to one of the trusses in the roof cavity, lift it up and then drive out from under it.

So glad I found this review. I was thinking of buying one of these router tables and decided against it after what I have read.

I would be asking for a refund if anyone has purchased one of these and are having problems.

I think H&F are really starting to sell some cheap rubbish. I got one if their $600 thicknessers and had nothing but problems with it. After 3 months I returned it and got my money back. They couldn't repair it so just refunded it. They must have sooooo many broken machines lol.

Have only just come across this thread.

Good to see H&F have stood behind what they sell. However, they are an importer, the machine/brand is German - has anyone contacted the parent company in Germany?

From my limited experience with German engineering and the German mindset for precision I can't believe that the obviously inferior product being supplied and sold under their name would be acceptable. The company will only know if they are told - it should not be necessary but many today seem to be of the opinion that if there are no complaints the all must be OK.

Just a thought.

Errrr....German design, Chinese manufacture?? No thanks.

I think you'll find Scheppach these days is towards the low end of the junk coming out of China.

The company obviously thinks that "Scheppach" (with European connotations...) sounds more appealing than "Ping Pong Machinery Co.", but most of the woodworking community has learned their lesson the hard way.

"Scheppach - I Mean, How Bad Can It Be?"

To be honest, Aldi probably has better QA than Scheppach (i.e. some, as opposed to none).

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Errrr....German design, Chinese manufacture?? No thanks.

I think you'll find Scheppach these days is towards the low end of the junk coming out of China.

The company obviously thinks that "Scheppach" (with European connotations...) sounds more appealing than "Ping Pong Machinery Co.", but most of the woodworking community has learned their lesson the hard way.

"Scheppach - I Mean, How Bad Can It Be?"

To be honest, Aldi probably has better QA than Scheppach (i.e. some, as opposed to none).

Aldi sell exactly the same machines these days well the machine brand of Taurus anyway.