Scheer Router

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12th June 2020, 02:26 PM
Siggykc

Scheer Router

Hi folks,

Just the other day i acquired a Scheer router from a deceased estate. The owner's son mentioned that it perhaps only had 6 months of use on it then sat sedentary for a decade and a half. It is 1800 watts.

I completely dis-assembled it, cleaned it out completely, replaced one of the 3 shaft bearings and the bushes as it had some very fine dust that seemed to be from machining mdf. The torque is similar to that of a big block chevvy.

I am totally blown away by its sturdy construction. I already had a Bosch GOF1300 (which i think is 1300 watts), and it, when coupled with a carbide cutter works very well on hardwood. But the Scheer is literally twice the size and weight....upon inspection there is a huge amount of copper in the coils. It is almost agricultural in simplicity....and i've realized that perhaps it was built for production line work where you set the thing up once, and forget about it forever because it is nowhere near as adjustable/shop friendly as an ELU or Festool.

No soft start on it made me soil my pants when i put a 70mm carbide cutter in to test on some 65mm thick hard maple scrap that i had laminated from a prior project.
This is my first experience, and i feel like I'm John Glenn strapped into the Mercury Capsule every time i pull the trigger on this thing.....just holding on for dear life.

I will fabricate a fence for it and weld up a sheet metal dust shroud, which will definitely fit in with the Soyuz kind of vibe it gives off.

Has anyone else used one of these heavy beasts?
12th June 2020, 02:38 PM
Bohdan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Siggykc

Has anyone else used one of these heavy beasts?

Had one in the 60's. One of my workers, whose job was to route speaker cutouts in 3/4" chipboard using a template, didn't like taking three cuts of 1/4" as he said it was too slow. He liked to do it in one go. Put a power meter on the tool and it read 71/2 HP. Luckily between cutouts there was enough time for the router to cool down and it kept going for years.
12th June 2020, 02:52 PM
Siggykc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bohdan

Had one in the 60's. One of my workers, whose job was to route speaker cutouts in 3/4" chipboard using a template, didn't like taking three cuts of 1/4" as he said it was too slow. He liked to do it in one go. Put a power meter on the tool and it read 71/2 HP. Luckily between cutouts there was enough time for the router to cool down and it kept going for years.

Holy moly mate,

I fully believe that. When i first pulled the trigger with a big cutter, the sheer torque and its ability to accelerate a heavy cutter to the state 18,000rpm, kicked the handles so hard that it almost put a dado in my thigh and removed my family jewels.

I tried it in comparison to a 2200W Triton, and the Scheer most definitely has more in reserve, despite the stated power of the Triton. The Scheer's motor did not hesitate at all or drop as many rpm.

Scary business!
12th June 2020, 03:49 PM
chambezio

The Scheer Routers were favoured by blokes making stair cases in Joinery Shop situations. They were/are considered the "Rolls Royce" of routers. Like wise with panel saws the Martin (German) was the best.
12th June 2020, 04:05 PM
elanjacobs

Had one at my old work that was permanently set up in a table for cutting the groove in cane seats. Weighed a ton and could have served double duty as an air raid siren.
12th June 2020, 04:31 PM
Siggykc

1 Attachment(s)

Attachment 475454

Quote:

Originally Posted by chambezio

The Scheer Routers were favoured by blokes making stair cases in Joinery Shop situations. They were/are considered the "Rolls Royce" of routers. Like wise with panel saws the Martin (German) was the best.

It has more cast metal in it than any other similar sized piece of machinery. Interesting how the "best" design is really the simplest. Everything on it looks repairable.
12th June 2020, 04:33 PM
Siggykc

Quote:

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Had one at my old work that was permanently set up in a table for cutting the groove in cane seats. Weighed a ton and could have served double duty as an air raid siren.

Without any electric brake/safety measures, after i cleaned it and rectified that one bearing, it really does sound like an air raid siren even after you turn the motor off and just let it spin to a stop. It's scary!
18th June 2020, 04:45 PM
John Saxton

From what I remember they were an exxy router to buy ,but highly regarded think they are still available .
18th June 2020, 05:38 PM
riverbuilder

The old man had one, but it didn’t get used much it was just too big and powerful, he thought it was unsafe, he preferred the 2 hp Black and Decker ones, they got flogged for many many years. It would be good mounted under a bench if you could keep the dust out of the armature.
19th June 2020, 01:40 PM
AndyJ

Scheer is famous for making brilliant machines; I had one when I was making stairs. A great machine and lots of accessories. See: Handoberfrasen - SCHEER|KOCH Shop
19th June 2020, 02:48 PM
Siggykc

Yeah, I actually contacted them about getting some spare parts.
They responded within 12 hours (talk about German punctuality) and provided various updated pricelists and explanations of the accessories. They even have a newly designed shroud for dust extraction to complement their 1970s looking routers.

Only catch is that the DHL postage for a few small items totalling under 300g was in the region of 110 Euros.....I have a friend visiting from Germany in a few months so ill try get him to bring the bits over.

Their service and politeness was absolutely beyond anything I've received from a toolshop in Melbourne.
(Mind you that prior statement may have been influenced by me having a bad experience with the Fein distributor here earlier in the week regarding my receiving the lemon out of the bunch of good products that was clearly a QC issue....cost of the item is $650, they wanted $250 to repair it after it had been utilized for only a few hours of extremely light duty work that was evident in the condition of the tool.)

Cheers,
Siggy

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyJ

Scheer is famous for making brilliant machines; I had one when I was making stairs. A great machine and lots of accessories. See: Handoberfrasen - SCHEER|KOCH Shop
13th July 2020, 05:42 PM
stevenjd

I have an 1800 Watt variable speed unit machine as well. They are not as nice to use as modern machines...but! You will never stop a Scheer router. 
 
A good test is to put a very large diameter out of balance cutter in other branded machines and watch it vibrate like mad. Then put the same cutter in the Scheer and it will hardly even notice it. 
Mine spends most of its time mounted upside down in a very rough router table. They still make Scheer routers as you know and honestly they are worth it if you are doing very heavy routing. 
 
About 100 yrs ago when I did my apprenticeship they were all metal and weighed heaps. But seriously at the time of purchase the general talk was more about how long they last rather than ergonomics of any description. 
 
Many years later I attended a machinery show in Melbourne and saw the Scheer stand and rep and I lamented how high quality machines are falling to the side as less solid wood is being used. 
So call it what may i bought one and routed wood for the hell of it. 
 
Anyway make no mistake if you are doing seriously heavy work they have no equal. Lighter more fiddly work i'm sure there are better choices to be had. 
Steven. 
 
PS On closer look at your pic I have the variable speed version ( HM E-18) of the one you have....So its at least 30years old.