Can you throw a running router?

[Chris Tsutsui]

My good friend was hand routing with a big router and a bit became damaged and the router started to wobble very uncontrollable worse and worse and he just held on to it for dear life.

He ended up wrestling with the router until his hands arms were about to fall off until a fellow contractor pulled the plug on it.

His boss told him that whenever that happens, throw the router away from your body.

That lead me to think if that will be easy to throw it away from you with it spinning and is that the best way to prevent any bodily harm?

So throwing the router away from you and then going for the plug is the best option?

This ever happen to anyone?

[george wilson]

You should throw it exactly straight up into the air.

When I was young I had a Stanley twist out of my hands when I turned it on. It went straight down in front of me without touching me. The router landed on the floor,and before I could pull the plug,about half of the 1/2" bit in it had been ground off on the concrete. Didn't seem to hurt the router,but I've never carelessly started one without a good grip since then.

When I was in highschool,the chuck came off a router I was routing some hardwood with. Fortunately,it stopped turning very quickly. The chuck was just held onto the shaft with a short taper about 1/2" long,if I recall.

I think I'd not want to throw a router,but would retreat from the wallsocket asap,and pull the cord loose. If it was on an extension cord,that might make it necessary to toss it. I suppose the router might act like the one I dropped,and sit on its bit like a gyroscope.

[Tom Veatch]

...
His boss told him that whenever that happens, throw the router away from your body.

That lead me to think if that will be easy to throw it away from you with it spinning and is that the best way to prevent any bodily harm?...

Certainly. Holding the router with both hands in front of you, rapidly and vigorously extend both arms. As your arms reach their full extension, release your grip on the router and step backward.

Ok, I'm being a wisea.., but other than the risk of damage to the router and/or whatever the router encounters in its flight, what do you see as the danger - assuming you don't throw it at someone else. They might take offense.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Gentlemen, am I the only one thinking....MYTHBUSTERS?!!

[Ben Martin]

Are you asking if the router would somehow spin back towards you if you dropped it?

The router would simply start spinning because of the lack of a reaction to stop it, and fall to the ground. Sounds to me like this would be a "safe" alternative to injuring yourself.

Hate to drop it onto plywood subflooring, might cut a hole right down to the next floor, I guess you could put a jacuzzi tub in and call it a day!!

[David DeCristoforo]

Isn't the router toss an olympic event?

It is never "safe" to have a running power tool on the loose. But if the option is bodily harm, I would rather take my chances with a "fling".

[glenn bradley]

Gentlemen, am I the only one thinking....MYTHBUSTERS?!!

Mythbusters, Mythbusters, Mythbusters, Mythbusters, Mythbusters. Let them test it out on their router.

[Gary Click]

Sounds like an event in the Woodworker's Olympics.

[Charlie Schultz]

Why not just let go of the switch?

[Harlan Coverdale]

Why not just let go of the switch?

Not all of them have trigger switches. The P-C 690 series comes to mind.

[lowell holmes]

That's why I plug my routers into a foot switch.

[Jerome Hanby]

Not all of them have trigger switches. The P-C 690 series comes to mind.

My Hitachi either. Not sure I'd want to try to hang onto the thing one handed while I tried to hit the switch.

[Chris Tsutsui]

This would be funny to see on a mythbusters... heh

But the problem here is it's not a perfect gyroscope, it's off balance gyroscope that is wobbling severly.

Would you be able to throw something like that?

I think I would, but if it's off balance I would just be afraid of the router tearing into my arm as i apply force to push it away since there would be some funky physics going on.

Applying even force on each arm of the router as it wobbles... Well one hand would feel resitance while the other would push forward, then the router could rotate as it leaves your hands or twist.

Maybe letting go of it and moving your hands out of the way would be best and let gravity pull the router to the floor...

[Mike Henderson]

For hand held operation I bought a D handle router just so I can control it better (note that D handle routers have trigger switches). I also made sure it had soft start to reduce the startup torque. I had one none-soft start/none-D handle twist out of my hands at startup once. Maybe I wasn't holding it right, but I never had a softstart do that.

Mike

[harry strasil]

+1 for DEADMAN foot switch, even when using the one in my tablesaw table.