Need assistance with my Milwaukee 5625. I need to control the router speed and power remotely.

As this router is soft start and variable speed, I cannot help. Other may have a suggestion.

jw2170 said:

As this router is soft start and variable speed, I cannot help. Other may have a suggestion.

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Thats ok James, thank you for responding. Hope ya'll are having a blessed day. I hear things have been extremely tuff there the past couple of years. Here as well, but not as bad.

Power is not a problem but why would you want to control the speed? Can you go into detail on what you are doing? The speed is set when the work is set up. If someone is there to start the process, then they can set the speed. If they are not there to set it up how does the wood get placed?

A foot switch for off and on is easy. Looked for a switch that would vary the voltage, like the old sewing machine foot swith which boost speed depending on how far you press it. But I think those don't work for soft start. So you might need to set speed on the router, then on off with a switch. On some older routers, you varied speed by lowering voltage. I wonder if there's a way to bypass the soft start and control speed with a rheosat?

You could try it and see what happens, but it could cause damage in the process.

You could try it and see what happens, but it could cause damage in the process.

...and void your warranty......

jw2170 said:

You could try it and see what happens, but it could cause damage in the process.

...and void your warranty......

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I use a foot switch quite often with a couple of my hand held routers and it has worked just fine without any problems. However the foot switch is only a on-off switch and not variable control also. I've been fortunate during my 60 years of woodworking to have never had a power tool go bad during the warranty period...they usually wait until after the expiration.

DesertRatTom said:

A foot switch for off and on is easy. Looked for a switch that would vary the voltage, like the old sewing machine foot swith which boost speed depending on how far you press it. But I think those don't work for soft start. So you might need to set speed on the router, then on off with a switch. On some older routers, you varied speed by lowering voltage. I wonder if there's a way to bypass the soft start and control speed with a rheosat?

You could try it and see what happens, but it could cause damage in the process.

Click to expand...

I have an older Porter Cable 3 1/4 hp router that had a soft start module that burned out. No replacement.part available. Upon others' suggestions, I cut out the module, capped off the blue wire, and tied the two black wires together. Works perfectly, just no soft start. A bit more start up kick, but with a separate speed control, would be no issue.

I thought about doing the same thing with a Dewalt 625, but decided against it..

I wanted remote variable speed for my table mounted Triton. It has a speed transducer as part of the variable speed module that monitors the armature. Very reliable design that load compensates. Not possible to remote mount. I have to open the access door to set the speed, but usually have to rough adjust the bit height anyway. I have one of those rheostats for adjusting voltage, but when you load the tool, it doesn't supply enough current and the motor boggs down. The best thing I've found is to live with it like it is.

In reality how often do you adjust speed? I typically use bits that are about the same size and since I can't tell for sure what RPM the router is running at its difficult to say what the right setting is. I listen to the bit and if it sounds wrong, I adjust it. There might be some routers out there that accurately measure speed, I'm not sure, but I don't have one and never felt I needed one.

mgmine said:

In reality how often do you adjust speed? I typically use bits that are about the same size and since I can't tell for sure what RPM the router is running at its difficult to say what the right setting is. I listen to the bit and if it sounds wrong, I adjust it. There might be some routers out there that accurately measure speed, I'm not sure, but I don't have one and never felt I needed one.

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I invested in a digital laser tachometer. If you have several machines that need accurate spindle speed reading, such as a lathe, milling machine or drill press, they're worth it, and setting router speed is a nice fringe. For those 3-1/2" panel raising bits, I usually turn it down all the way and don't worry.

My dinosaur digital strobe light is an excellent tool for quantification of rotational speed.

As would be expected the motion for a 1,000 rpm shaft is stopped when flashing at 1,000 and at 2,000, so always approach from low to determine correct speed.

I have been looking at trying to do this for the past 5 years. At this point, it's almost an obsession because, it's so difficult apparently, lol. I like design challenges but I am not an EE. I really don't understand why there isn't a single manufacturer in the world who offers a remote speed control option nor do understand why JessEm / Milwaukee discontinued the 5626 or at least offer a kit for the DIYers. Anyway, the parts have long gone out of availability so to do this right, someone with expertise would have to make a replacement for the speed controller with an external connection like the original Milwaukee part. I really want to find a way to make this work, practicality aside. I do not have a 5625-20 in hand, is it possible to open up the speed controller or is it buried in potting compound or whatever so that it would be destroyed to open?

G'day @SilverMiner67 , welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum @SilverMiner67

Thanks guys! Really just getting into woodworking in any serious way lately. Just a hobbyist with very limited experience. Hoping to get my small shop organized and ready to make sawdust! Still in the early stages.