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First off let me say the imipression of quality, and overall impression were both based on ONE bone headed component choice from this item, everything else seems top notch. Without further adieu, here we go...
I purchased the last of these router edge guides at Sears by me because I needed to cut some straight lines, that I KNEW were going to be parallel to the edge of the board, and did not trust clamping up a 2x4 as a straight edge....
Assembly onto my Hitachi KM12VC fixed base was straight forward, the documentation left no doubt as to which holes I needed to use, or how to operate the device. Once the router was installed, throat plates and bushing adapers were aplenty, leaving me lacking for nothing, but I opted to keep the base wide open for visibility sake as I wanted to cut stopped slots. I set everything up, and set the cut depth at 1/4" for the first pass, smooth as butter. Setting up for the 1/2" pass, something did NOT feel right when I tightened things down, and when the router started walking, I KNEW what had happened... I stopped the cut, unplugged the router and started investingating....
It would appear that the threaded knobs that Milescraft uses on these are made ENTIRELY of soft plastic, including the threads, and tightening them down blew the threads out...
I fished through my spare nuts and bolts bins and found a couple of nuts that fit it, and set back up, and continued working. With nuts that hold, it works flawlessly. There is a little bit of flex, but nothing lateral, so unless you are running the router over an off road course there is nothing to worry about...
While I know Sears simply specs Milescraft to build these for them, and attach the Craftsman name plate to them, they should be embarassed to attach their name to a product with such a bone headed design mistake...
Don't get me wrong, I am happy with the purchase, mostly. I believe the nuts in question are 1/4" - 20 TPI, I will be heading into Houston to Rockler next Friday, and will be buying some 1/4" - 20 TPI star knobs to fix this, but the fact of the matter is, I shouldn't have to do this. From a wholesale manufacturing perspective, this is a mere pennies difference thing, and this is a part that will without a doubt fail on each and every single one of these within moments of the customer taking them out of the box...
If Sears has any hope to weather the current financial crisis, they need to pay FAR more attention to quality control, and customer satisfaction... And I hope they do... They used to be a GREAT American retailer....
I purchased the last of these router edge guides at Sears by me because I needed to cut some straight lines, that I KNEW were going to be parallel to the edge of the board, and did not trust clamping up a 2x4 as a straight edge....
Assembly onto my Hitachi KM12VC fixed base was straight forward, the documentation left no doubt as to which holes I needed to use, or how to operate the device. Once the router was installed, throat plates and bushing adapers were aplenty, leaving me lacking for nothing, but I opted to keep the base wide open for visibility sake as I wanted to cut stopped slots. I set everything up, and set the cut depth at 1/4" for the first pass, smooth as butter. Setting up for the 1/2" pass, something did NOT feel right when I tightened things down, and when the router started walking, I KNEW what had happened... I stopped the cut, unplugged the router and started investingating....
It would appear that the threaded knobs that Milescraft uses on these are made ENTIRELY of soft plastic, including the threads, and tightening them down blew the threads out...
I fished through my spare nuts and bolts bins and found a couple of nuts that fit it, and set back up, and continued working. With nuts that hold, it works flawlessly. There is a little bit of flex, but nothing lateral, so unless you are running the router over an off road course there is nothing to worry about...
While I know Sears simply specs Milescraft to build these for them, and attach the Craftsman name plate to them, they should be embarassed to attach their name to a product with such a bone headed design mistake...
Don't get me wrong, I am happy with the purchase, mostly. I believe the nuts in question are 1/4" - 20 TPI, I will be heading into Houston to Rockler next Friday, and will be buying some 1/4" - 20 TPI star knobs to fix this, but the fact of the matter is, I shouldn't have to do this. From a wholesale manufacturing perspective, this is a mere pennies difference thing, and this is a part that will without a doubt fail on each and every single one of these within moments of the customer taking them out of the box...
If Sears has any hope to weather the current financial crisis, they need to pay FAR more attention to quality control, and customer satisfaction... And I hope they do... They used to be a GREAT American retailer....