Plunge router on router table

[venkatbo]

All,

Can a plunge router like the Hitachi M12V 3-1/4 HP Electronic Variable Speed 1/2" router be attached to a router table and used ?

Thanks,
/venkat

[Pappy]

Most table mounts are plunge roters and many, myself included, buy the M12V just for their router tables.

[THyman]

Do a search on this site as there are some modifications that you will have to do on the M12V to get it set up properly for a router table.

[LarryG]

Most router experts argue that a fixed-base base router is better for table use, and I agree. But as Pappy says, the majority of table-mounted routers are plungers, so it's hard to argue with success.

The real truth is that there are pros and cons with both. Plungers are viewed as being easier to adjust the cutting height, especially if they are fitted with an above-table device like the RouterRaizer. This amounts to a poor man's lift. But to me it's just as easy to reach under the table, release the lock on a fixed-base, adjust the height, and lock it back down.

The kicker, for me, is the ease of bit changes. It can be difficult to change bits in a plunge router when its bolted under a table, unless the collet will raise up high enough that it can be changed from above. But even then you will often have to use offset wrenches and possibly reach down though the bit opening in order to depress the spindle lock. To me, all this fumbling more than offsets the height changing issues. Bit changes are where a fixed base shines: you just release the motor from the base, drop it out completely, lay it on your workbench, change bits, put it back in the table.

(BTW spindle locks are another thing I dislike, but that's another story for another day.)

I have a lift, and I absolutely love the convenience of precise height adjustments plus easy above-table bit changes (on mine, the collet comes fully up through the opening). Before I got the lift, though, I experimented with my two-base Makita kit and found the fixed base to be much less hassle than the plunger.

YMMV.

[vaking]

Larry,
On my Craftsman fixed base router dropping the router out of a base is something I try to avoid at all costs. I only do it if the height adjustment gets sticky and I have to clean it. As for M12V - this router was made for a table. It comes with height adjustment knob and at over 12 pounds weight I don't know how many people would enjoy pushing it by hand.

[lrogers]

Hop over to www.woodshopdemos.com/menu2.htm the fellow there has some really good write ups on putting a big Hitachi in a table. For what it's worth, I have mine M12V in/out of my table and it works fine with out the mods mentioned at the wood shop demo site. If I were going to keep it in the table full time, I'd do the mods.

[txruby98]

i just mounted this Hitachi router to a table last week. i recommend using the Router Raizer with it as well. Took a couple of hours to set-up, but it works well now. Of course the Hitachi drill press from HD makes mounting this all the easier.

louis

[WEG]

Hi All;

I have to chime in on this one. I have the Hitachi M12V mounted in a Rousseau plate, with a Router Raizer, in a homemade table, never comes out, didn't do the mods, have an offset wrench, all bit changes are above the table, didn't cut the "ears" off, (wait, I have to take a breath now...).. It works like a champ and I love it. I would however, really really like a woodpecker, but only because they are really really nice, not because the set up I have doesn't work well. It's tool envy I suffer from [V] Some one of these days, Larry, I'm getting the Woodpecker...you just wait[8D]

WEG

[venkatbo]

quote:Originally posted by WEG
... didn't cut the "ears" off, ...

Hi WEG,

Could you pl. point to a write up somewhere of this simplified approach. I read those articles involving steps such as those above... was intending to avoid taking a complex path and voiding the warranty...

Thanks much,
/venkat

[L. D. Jeffries]

I've had my MV12V hooked up to my home-made router table (sort of a copy of Normie's). It works so well that I leave it hooked up and use my P-C plunge for other work. Took the springs out so it would plunge more easily, mounted in a Woodhaven plate and with a W/H split fence. I built a "raiser" from plans in a WoodShop mag that is a bit "Rube Goldberyish" but works great. I take the router, plate and all up out of the table to change bits. Just like the two guys on "Router Workshop" TV program. Also took the handles (black plastic ones) off to be a better fit in the table. All-in-all it works!

[WEG]

quote:Originally posted by jxyoung

Craftsman micro torque wrench $26 off. Now $48. 9/16 to 9/18

I would consider something else.
These do not have lifetime warranty, Husky@HD,and HF ones do. I have both and the Husky is better in 1/2" drive size due to 250

[JimD]

Sure - you can use a big plunge router in a router table. My first "good" router was a Ryobi R-500. It is a bit like the Hitachi but the motor draws 1.7 less amps. About as heavy. I got tired of it for hand-held use and the plunge mechanism started sticking. At this point I took the motor out of the base and mounted it on a home-made lift using plans in American Woodworker. A nice thing about this setup is the router is mounted to the back of the base. That allows tilting the top up for bit changing. Takes a lot less time than cranking the router up to where the collet is above the table top.

Anyway, the advantage of a big plunge router is high power at low cost. You can also use a handle on some of them to make fine adjustments easily but slowly. The disadvantage, as has been mentioned, is more difficult bit changes.

I also like a fixed base router in a router table unless you can do what I did and mount the motor in a lift. It is a good option, however, to get a powerfull router table at low cost since comparable fixed base routers are much more expensive.

Jim

[ahbanks]

M12V + Router Raizer

For those using the Hitachi M12V with a router raizer, do you like this setup both in and out of a table mounting?

Also, have any of you run into the same depth problem mentioned in the WoodShopDemos.com writeup?

Thanks!

[just4funsies]

Found some great stuff at Woodpeckers for using the M12V in a table. They've got a great lift setup (Plunge-Lift) that has a model for the M12V. looks much sturdier than a Router-Raizer, and comes with a custom aluminum plate. They've also got a bit extender that will allow the bit to be raised above the table for blade change. They used to carry a 21mm offset wrench, but no more (I'm looking for one, and will post here if I find a source). The M12V is a beast of a router, with power aplenty to turn the biggest bits in the toughest woods. The soft-start feature will keep the startup torque from wrenching the table or the lift mechanism, and the VS feature allows speed to be matched to the bit rating (they're not all the same). Be sure to use quality bits in this monster.

[boblon]

When I ordered my Plunge lift from Woopeckers I also wanted an extra starting pin and ordered an offset wrench. When it arrived somehow I got an extra wrench but not an extra starting pin.

Anyhow, called them up and talked to them, they said they would send me the pin. I said I would send them the wrench back. Then I mentioned that I wish I had ordered the template for cutting the insert opening. He said no problem and sent me one for no charge.

Great folks to deal with and I really like my M12V in that lift. And I did do the mods.

BobL.