Headrest (517768) Repurposed

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 1:28 pm

What was once a 510 Headrest is not an adjustable base for my Router Table (555658).

An old Craftsman Router Base is now my shop pencil holder (along with a plastic drink cup).

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:19 pm

Dusty what did you use the Craftsman motor for or did it burn up?

I was in Sears over the weekend pricing router that might go into a overhead pin router. Sears seems to have a good price on a 2 1/4 horse router.

However I swore an oath 20 years ago never to buy another thing from Sears that had a motor or engine in it. So far I haven't regretted that oath.
I really want the Over Head Pin router but I will have to buy a router and even with the sale which includes the lift and all I'm still looking at a $500+ investment.
Ed

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:02 am

Hi Ed - What's wrong with mounting your Porter Cable 2 1/4 hp router on a OPR? I am assuming it is one of the 890 series. Mine is an 895 which I think means it came with two bases. It is easy to slip out of both bases, so I use it under my folding table, in the OPR or in the plunge base. My other router is a Sears (something) that I just don't use any longer, because of collet problems. Had to do a necessary minor modification, using a sanding drum, to the OPR dust shield, but now it fits beautifully in the OPR. I love the On/Off switch on the top of the router. When mounted in the OPR, I only have to slap the top of the router to turn it off. Also one wrench bit changes are easy in the OPR, by hand pushing the Shaft stop button.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:47 am

ed, I only tell this because you asked.

Actually, the router was about ten or twelve years old. For a long time it had been my only router. The bearings began to squeal bad, too bad to continue using it. I had earlier ordered bearings from Sears. Sears would no longer do repair here. I had to send it off to someone they contracted with.

I chose not to do that. I thought I could. End of story. I screwed it up so bad getting it apart that when I put it back together it wouldn't work.

I kept this as a constant reminder that some jobs are best left to the person who "knows how".

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:17 am

charlese wrote:Hi Ed - What's wrong with mounting your Porter Cable 2 1/4 hp router on a OPR? I am assuming it is one of the 890 series. Mine is an 895 which I think means it came with two bases. It is easy to slip out of both bases, so I use it under my folding table, in the OPR or in the plunge base. My other router is a Sears (something) that I just don't use any longer, because of collet problems. Had to do a necessary minor modification, using a sanding drum, to the OPR dust shield, but now it fits beautifully in the OPR. I love the On/Off switch on the top of the router. When mounted in the OPR, I only have to slap the top of the router to turn it off. Also one wrench bit changes are easy in the OPR, by hand pushing the Shaft stop button.

Chuck
My Porter Cable 2 1/4 is model 8529 which is a redo of 7925 which had the switch in the handle and was prone to failure because of the dust. The 8529 has a toggle switch on the body of the router. However the router motor is molded in case and it is almost like a Dewalt 621 or Hitachi M12. The body is almost an oval rather than round.

The OPR as you know requires a round body router. I just missed a clearance on Freud 2 1/4 round body router for $80. I looked at the Sears and it is around $100 but then there is my oath not to buy anything from Sears with a motor or engine. I'm keeping my eye on the classifieds but I would like to have a router in hand before I order the OPR. If I have to buy a new PC or something like that the price is around $200 and I simply can't justify spending $600+ for OPR setup.
Ed