[Hankstains]

Hi guys and gals.
new to this site and it looks great. This will really annoy the wife.
Anyhow, looking for a bit of advice. I have a Makita 3612BR plunge fitted to a table that i use mainly for Kitchen making. So use the glue jointer, drawer lock, rail and stile and panel raiser. machining mostly oak.
Question is, I read everywhere that full speed with a wide bit is really dangerous. The 3612BR doesn't have speed control. Does anyone else use this router and what do they do to slow it down, or does it not matter too much. Any advice please.

 

[Mike]

Welcome Hank. You can purchase a router speed controler for about $30 from Rockler. I'm sure there are other sources as well but I know of this one from other members and it works well.

 

[Hankstains]

voltage

Thanks for trhat niceone, i have seen these and they look great. There is a lot of good stuff at rockler, a bit like toys'r'us for grown ups. trouble is, it is all 120V for the US of A and I am here in the UK so need 240V equipment.
Thinking now that the best thing is to buy a new router with speed control for the table and keep the makita for the big plunging like on worktops etc.

What do you reckon??

he price of a decent router is much less than a shaper, which is what I was gonna get!

cheers

Pete

 

[mantelmaker]

I have a legacy mill with a 3.25hp makita. No variable speed or soft start,and I love it. I frequently use a 2" core bit with no problem. When rounding the square stock I use a 1.25" flat bit, and it really takes some abuse as the oak bounces in and out of the cutter. I briefly replaced the makita with a 1.5hp dewalt, but it definetly lacked the power to make deep cuts. When I put the makita back on I did incorporate a variable speed control, one from grizzily. It worked fair for about 10 hours before shorting. As for raised panels, I do use a different router and slow the speed down. Because of the larger diameter, the blade travels faster, so I try to think of it more a shaper. I hope I didn't contradict myself too much. Bob

 

[jerrymayfield]

Buy the router with speed control built in. the after market speed controllers are merely rheostats that lower the voltage to the tool, also lowering torque.

regards
jerry