I have a Freud FT2000E plunge router with the Router Raizer RZ100 kit... that I hardly ever use. The RZ100 tries to turn this plunge router into a "through the table height adjustment" capable router while preserving the basic plunge router capability. Well... when hanging from a table, the RZ100 did not quite work right: the FT2000E has beefy springs in each of the two plunge shafts. With the RZ100 cranking inside just one shaft, the router had a tendency to tilt and bind during adjustments. Reaching below the table and giving a helping push upwards made the RZ100 work. But the whole point of "through the table height adjustment" is that you shouldn't have to reach below the table while adjusting bit height! The Router Raizer folks suggested removing one of the springs to cure this issue. That somewhat worked when the router was table mounted (it would still cock/jam at times but now in the other direction) but made the router useless as a hand-held plunge router: with only one spring it won't un-plunge (whatever you call it) by itself. Removing/re-installing a spring is not an easy task. I tried cutting one spring by 1/3rd... that didn't help the table operation much and made the hand-held operation borderline. Un-plunging was iffy.
I have the smaller Dewalt DWP611PK kit (an awesome router by the way!) for smaller hand-held jobs. Since I now have another router in a router lift (Bosch 1617 in the Incra lift - a sweet combo) the Freud was more or less redundant. Given its problems, it was not worth dealing with the Freud... ergo it sits in the cabinet unused until some desperate situation requires this router.
Well, today I decided to futz with the Freud a bit to see if I could make it work better. It's been a long time since I messed with it so I didn't remember all the details on how the RZ100 installed and the steps necessary to remove the motor part from the base - i.e. to get at the plunge springs and the plunge shafts. After fighting with it for nearly two hours, I was able to give it a good cleaning plus new lubrication on the shafts. The plunge action is better than it's ever been. And this router won't ever be table mounted again so that issue is a non-issue. Although the RZ100 operation, at least on my bench, seemed better too. ?? The springs are back to factory by the way. The Boeshield T-9 lubricant + rust preventative spray is a far better lubricant than gold ol' Johnson's paste wax it turns out. I had been using JPW on the BT3's shims and elevation mechanism for many years; for the last 2 years or so I've use the Boeshield T-9 spray instead. It's easier/quicker to apply (just spray it through the throat opening - no need to remove the saw's side panels); plus it seems to work better and last longer than JPW.
I got the FT2000E as part of a package deal at Lowes: the router, a laminate table, a plastic/phenolic insert plate with a few different insert rings, and Freud's SH-5 fence gizmo. It seemed like an "instant router table package" long ago, at a clearance price no less. Besides the router being a nuisance to adjust when table mounted (hence the addition of the RZ100 that almost fixed things), there was an even more annoying/stupid issue: the size of Freud's router plate is a) non-standard, and b) TOO SMALL FOR THE FT2000E that it came with! To fit the router through the table, one has to remove the router's handles first. Stupid. I still have this table and insert plate and dug them out once in a great while when I needed a second router table - when my Bosch router was already setup for something and I didn't want to loose that setup. You can see the Freud table, the stupid insert plate, and the FT2000E in the following picture... there's no way to fit the router, with the handles attached, through the tabletop hole.
One of these days I'll "edit" that table to accept Rockler sized router plates. The Incra lift that I use is the version built for/sold by Rockler that matches their table inserts; I have Rockler plates for the Freud and my other routers. The stupid undersized insert plate in the picture will be trash. This way the old Freud table will serve as a second/backup router table for those occasions when the Bosch is set for something else. While I'm at it, I'll "edit" the table to accept the router table fences I use on my primary table... they use T-tracks. Should be a simple edit.
mpc
I have the smaller Dewalt DWP611PK kit (an awesome router by the way!) for smaller hand-held jobs. Since I now have another router in a router lift (Bosch 1617 in the Incra lift - a sweet combo) the Freud was more or less redundant. Given its problems, it was not worth dealing with the Freud... ergo it sits in the cabinet unused until some desperate situation requires this router.
Well, today I decided to futz with the Freud a bit to see if I could make it work better. It's been a long time since I messed with it so I didn't remember all the details on how the RZ100 installed and the steps necessary to remove the motor part from the base - i.e. to get at the plunge springs and the plunge shafts. After fighting with it for nearly two hours, I was able to give it a good cleaning plus new lubrication on the shafts. The plunge action is better than it's ever been. And this router won't ever be table mounted again so that issue is a non-issue. Although the RZ100 operation, at least on my bench, seemed better too. ?? The springs are back to factory by the way. The Boeshield T-9 lubricant + rust preventative spray is a far better lubricant than gold ol' Johnson's paste wax it turns out. I had been using JPW on the BT3's shims and elevation mechanism for many years; for the last 2 years or so I've use the Boeshield T-9 spray instead. It's easier/quicker to apply (just spray it through the throat opening - no need to remove the saw's side panels); plus it seems to work better and last longer than JPW.
I got the FT2000E as part of a package deal at Lowes: the router, a laminate table, a plastic/phenolic insert plate with a few different insert rings, and Freud's SH-5 fence gizmo. It seemed like an "instant router table package" long ago, at a clearance price no less. Besides the router being a nuisance to adjust when table mounted (hence the addition of the RZ100 that almost fixed things), there was an even more annoying/stupid issue: the size of Freud's router plate is a) non-standard, and b) TOO SMALL FOR THE FT2000E that it came with! To fit the router through the table, one has to remove the router's handles first. Stupid. I still have this table and insert plate and dug them out once in a great while when I needed a second router table - when my Bosch router was already setup for something and I didn't want to loose that setup. You can see the Freud table, the stupid insert plate, and the FT2000E in the following picture... there's no way to fit the router, with the handles attached, through the tabletop hole.
One of these days I'll "edit" that table to accept Rockler sized router plates. The Incra lift that I use is the version built for/sold by Rockler that matches their table inserts; I have Rockler plates for the Freud and my other routers. The stupid undersized insert plate in the picture will be trash. This way the old Freud table will serve as a second/backup router table for those occasions when the Bosch is set for something else. While I'm at it, I'll "edit" the table to accept the router table fences I use on my primary table... they use T-tracks. Should be a simple edit.
mpc
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