Ryobi Punge Router Question

[egustke]

I picked up a Ryobi Plunge router last night do to the need for a soft start (I have a PC 690 which is a bit too torquey during start up for the template I am using)... I had one minor problem which was the plung mechanism seems to hang up a little when I press down on it. I was wondering if this is a common problem on plunge routers, a common problem on ryobi plunge routers, or just a bad router that should be returned.

I can easily work around it it does however require a little wiggle to get it going some times which might affect accuracy.

Any help appreciated.

[Thom2]

If this is the RE180PL like I have, if you have the stop nuts set too high the plunge lock will catch at the top of the tubes. You'll find that if you move the lever, while fully unplunged, you'll be able to feel it catch/uncatch. I simply set my stop nuts a little lower and the problem was resolved.

HTH

[mpc]

My Freud FT2000E was like that when new - it didn't plunge easily if/when it was near the top of its travel. Limiting the travel helped a ton... but the real fix for my router was to disassemble the machined guide rods, grease them, and re-assemble them making sure they were perfectly aligned with each other and perfectly perpendicular to the base. As delivered something was cockeyed leading to excess friction. After the disassembly it worked MUCH better. It was a bit of a pain to disassemble though - the guide rods are held to the base by those pressed-in pins. I have the tools to remove those - that wasn't the problem... putting it back together - fighting the plunge springs, keeping a spacer collar lined up, etc. - was the tough part. Then two weeks later I did the whole thing again to install a Router Raizer...

mpc

[jhart]

I bought the Ryobi 180 a few month back and returned it as I didn't like the action on the plunge. Had the same kind of action you described (not smooth, and seemed somewhat jerky).

Ended up buying the dewalt 618 and love it.

[scorrpio]

Finicky plunge action seems to plague many routers, especially low end. Sometimes fiddling with the router helps, sometimes doesn't. On the other end, Bosch seems to be the standard for smoothness of plunge. And yeah, my Dewalt 618 plunge is also very smooth, was that way right out of the box.

[Jim Frye]

New Plunger

I picked up a Ryobi Plunge router last night do to the need for a soft start (I have a PC 690 which is a bit too torquey during start up for the template I am using)... I had one minor problem which was the plung mechanism seems to hang up a little when I press down on it. I was wondering if this is a common problem on plunge routers, a common problem on ryobi plunge routers, or just a bad router that should be returned.

I can easily work around it it does however require a little wiggle to get it going some times which might affect accuracy.

Any help appreciated.

My Ryobi RE600 (15 amp.) and my Ryobi 1803 (12 amp.) had sticky plunge action when new. I lubed both with graphite lube (Lockese, or somthing like that) and they smoothed up with some usage. The problem was more pronounced with the motor off than when on. The small amount of vibration from the motor running seemed to reduce the stickiness. Anyway, after some use, the problem went away.

[drumpriest]

I have 2 of the ryobi multi-base kits, and a Bosch 1617 kit. The Bosch is by FAR the smoothest of them. It's smoother than the PC 890s that I've used as well. I havn't tried the dewalt. The difference between the Bosch and the PC isn't huge, but it is perceivable.

I fully support the recommendations here to lube the rods, that can make a big difference. Sometimes a router will be slightly off in machining and you can have irregular wear, I've seen it in PCs. Take your router apart enough to bare the plunge bars and ensure that they arn't being milled. (scratched). If not then I bet some wear and lube will help a ton.