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I'm using this one in a table mount. Fit and tollerance in Porter Cable stuff is always wonderful. A nice solid tool that does what it's supposed to do.
A previous reviewer suggested purchasing the clear base plate - I agree. Yup. This thing has fully met my expectations.
Also, it is much quieter than the old dewalts and milwakees that I used for years. Have used this model in my furniture business daily now for over three years and still going strong. Great router and the variable speed is a must for using larger bits which can burn the wood if used at too high a speed. Top notch Product.
Now I know that people are referring to PC routers when they review other routers by other manufacturers and like that they don't have to rotate the motor in the other brand. The ring just has marks denoting the height adjustment corresponding to the amount of rotation of the motor, and the ring turns so you can zero it on a mark on the motor. 2.8° isn't much, and in a router I think of 1/64th of an inch as a course adjustment. The motor has four small round pins that ride in two spiral grooves in the base, so turning the motor adjusts the height.
Maybe I'm just weird, but I like having the switch on a power tool located in the same place every time I use it.- The weight of the motor is enough to cause it to rotate down in the base when the locking clamp is off. I expect to be able to use something like this right out of the box without fixing it.The reviewer who said he could hardly tell it had a soft start must have had a defective one because it's very noticeable to me. No jerking at all and much nicer in that regard than the old 1hp 1/4" router I'm replacing.I'm sure it's very powerful, the soft start is great, and the variable speed seems nice as well, but several brands offer power, soft start, and variable speed. The height adjustment on this is just crude IMO, and that makes me think I'd get frustrated with it in actual use. I just got one of these, and it's my first PC router. When I saw how you adjust the depth of cut I thought, "You've got to be kidding." In all the pictures it looks like you turn an adjustment ring to adjust the height of the motor in the base, but that ring doesn't actually adjust anything. This is partly because, IMO, the pitch of the groove is too steep.- When I turn the motor in the base it makes kind of a grinding sound because the grooves in the base aren't machined very smoothly. That's 2.8° for 1/64".
Rotating the motor 180° lowers it 1". I just don't know why no one has mentioned it here.In a separate issue, I wouldn't use it without first sanding the base smooth to remove flash from when it was molded. So I'm going to try to find something I like better and there's a good chance this one is going to be returned. Also not impressive. Definitely not impressed.- There is no "fine" adjustment mechanism. If I didn't, it would scratch my wood as I slid the router over it.
All adjustment is accomplished by rotating the motor in the base. When the locking clamp is off, the motor is fairly loose in the base, so this thing really doesn't give me a feeling of tight control over the height setting.I'm kind of mystified as to why no one has commented about this adjustment mechanism. Another consequence of the steep pitch in the adjustment groove is that fine adjustments are tricky. Here are the problems I find with this approach:- The switch and cord change location based on the depth of the cut. All adjustment is done by turning the motor.
This is my first 'soft start' router and I like this feature. I wanted a non-plunge router for my router table and this fit the bill. It has all the power I need and is easy to adjust from under the table.
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