It appears that Bosch may be having a problem with the fixed base shipped with the 1617. Originally I thought it was just me. I have done a little research and am now noticing similar problems being noted on other forums.

I purchased the 1617 and after the second use the router was extremely difficult to remove from the fixed base. The fit was fine in the plunge base. I thought it was just me or the way the fixed base was mounted in the router table. The base appears to have scored and scratched the motor housing.

I called Bosch Customer Support and was handed off to a "Senior Tech". He told me that they weren't aware of any problems with that base but I should drop it off at a "Quick Service Drop Off Point". I did a little over three weeks ago and it still isn't back yet. So much for the promised 5 day turn around.

Bad customer service ... I thought I was buying a quality tool.

Regards,
Bill

Bill, you did buy a quality tool. The 1617 is what many "new" products from other manufacturers are designed after. The scoring and scratching you mention is something new to me. I have a pair of 1617's and they have been trouble free for many years. There is nothing in either the housing or motor case that will cause this other than the alignment pin which must be installed in the slot. All manufacturers have problems with quality control and an occasional bad apple slips through. To date Bosch has stood behind their products better than any other manufacturer. I am not surprised at the delay since the 3 week period mentioned includes Christmas and New Years. Give them a chance, they will make things right. If you have any problems contact me by way of a private message and I will help you deal with them. Be sure to save any emails to document the delay.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the offer to help. I'll keep you posted as we proceed.

I explained to the counter person, at the drop off point, that there were two problems with the base. One was that it was machined improperly, it was an ellipse as well as tapered from small at the top to larger at the bottom.

Problem 2 was the mounting bolt which holds one of the handles protrudes well into the area where the router resides. That probably caused the scoring of the motor housing.

The only part that was sent back for repair/replacement was the fixed base. I got the
impression that I'll just have to live with the galled case.

I spoke with the folks at the drop off point yesterday. They are now telling me that Bosch is doesn't know if it can be repaired and they are not sure of any replacement policy.

Here is an excerpt from a conversation on another forum. It appears that there is a serious problem with a batch of the aluminum bases.

Regards,
Bill


http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthr...b=5&o=&fpart=2


"I told them it was two yrs. old and it is real hard to get it in and out of the plunge base.He said wait a few mins. and left. About 20 mins later he returned my router with a new alum. houseing and a new plunge base. He told me the older models with alum. houseings had been machined wrong and alot of them had to be replaced.I asked if mine had anything to do with a magnisium houseing and he said no. He said mine was an alum. housing to begin with."

Bill, I would take some ScotchBrite and polish the motor case and base a bit, then give it a coat of automotive wax. This is a good practice for most brands of routers. Since the damage to the case was apparently done by handle bolts that were too long you can grind off a thread to prevent any future damage. If you follow the path most commonly used you will remove the handles for table mounting the fixed base. Write down the dates you contacted Bosch and any details you remember. Specifics help in problem resolution.

I've got the 1617 with magnesium housing and the bases both have "MAGNESIUM" stamped into them. I have learned that the alignment arrows have to be aligned on the motor housing and the base when you put them together. There's a pressed in pin inside teh base that mates with a groove. If you misalign the 2 parts when installing the motor into the housing, you can actually press that pin out. When that happens, your locking detents don't lock.

Also... at the latch that locks the housing into the base (NOT the detent latch) there is an adjustment for how tight the motor housing will be squeezed by the base when you lock it. If that's a little too lose (real easy to open and close the latch) then it's also real easy to misalign the housing and base as you put them together. The housing lock latch should snap in TIGHT when you lock the housing into the base. When the latch is open there should be definite resistance to rotating the housing within the base. It shouldn't be HARD to move... but it shouldn't be real easy either. If it's a little snug when the latch is open, then you'll have far fewer issues with alignment when you simply use the fine adjustment knob to raise or lower the router in the base.

I'd have to take a look at the handles on mine when I get home to see how far that stud protrudes into the base. I could see where... if it's not screwed into the wooden handle far enough, there would be too much exposed and it would screw too far into the base. In that case I'd probably just add a washer to the stud between the handle and base.

Just stuff I've learned from using my router. Hope some it might be helpful.

Bosch routers were manufactured with both magnesium (early) and aluminum (later) motor housings. The aluminum housings are slightly larger in diameter and do not slide easily in magnesium bases. magnesium bases can be easily identified because they have the word "MAGNESIUM" cast on the side of the base. The magnesium motor housings will fit the 690 Porter Cable plunge base, but the aluminum ones will not.

Leroy, most 3.5" motors will interchange between brands as far as fitting into the base; this does not mean they will function the same way. It could be useful in an emergency on a job site.

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I used my Bosch 1617 magnesium cased router in a PC 690 Series plung base for several years and it worked great. (That was prior to Bosch's marketing their own plunge base.) When Bosch exchanged my router motor due to the magnesium corrosion problem, the replacement motor was aluminum and would fit neither the 690 plunge base nor my original magnesuim bases. Again Bosch exchanged both of my magnesium fixed bases for ones of aluminum. (I had purchased a second one for my router table) I bought a new Bosch 1617 kit that included a plunge base and gave the 690 plunge base to my son who needed a plunge base for his old PC 690.

I just bought a new Bosch 1617evspk and after 3 times removing the base from my homemade router table to change bits the moter housing is scratched beyond belief. I loosened the base clamp screw and used a screwdriver to pry open the base while pulling out the moter but it still was difficult to remove and still scratches the moter housing. should I just return the whole thing back to Lowes and buy a new one somewhere else?

Hi Mike

You should not need to use a screw drive I think I would take it back also.

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