Official Luthiers Forum!

I was complaining recently about my router & binding jig. Could not predict cut depths. My router was a pre-2011 Bosch Colt. Well, after much inspecting, I finally figured it out. Bad bearing. No bigee, I will rebuild it. I still love the Colt. But, after much consulting with folks at Precise Bits, they have convinced me it is a great 1/8" shank router. Not so much for 1/4" shanks. The reasons are varied, but collet length is the biggest concern. It is short. Go to Lowes, for example and pull the collets on a Dewalt 611 aand a Bosch Colt. So. I bought a 611 and redrilled the base to accept the 611.

Advantages? Its about 30-40% quieter (IMHO), deeper collet (gonna replace with a Precise Bits collet however), and I love the LED work light. Not to mention the super simple and sensitive height adjustment! Hoping this is a good, long term solution. First cuts are very encouraging.

Mike

Nice! I have the ridgid from Home Depot with the work light and really appreciate it, especially for rosettes.

I've got two of the De Walt 611 (Aus equiv.) with Precise Bits collets. Nice machines. But the one I mentioned with zero runout is a stock Makita (RT0700C is the model number here), but I maybe just got lucky with that. The collet machining on the Makita looks a bit rough compared to the Precise Bits collets, but it runs true!

_________________
Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

I really like the 611. I think you will be really happy with it.

_________________
Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Well, maybe one reason it is quieter is that the 611 does not spin as fast as the colt? Would the 611 27k speed be a disadvantage to the colts 35k?