Milwaulkee 5625 or PC 7518 with Pro Lift?

[Dev Emch]

Sometimes, it is the router's responsibility to cool things. I once saw a massive CNC vertical router made by ekstrom carlson which actually had a liquid cooled head. Shortly thereafter, everyone went to using gantry routers and these dinosaurs now sit in the back of used dealers buildings and will be there 20 years from now.

What your talking about is cooling and chip load. You see this in both metalworking and woodworking and routers are nortorious for violating this rule. In short, as the chip leaves the item being worked on, it also removes heat from both the cutter and the item. The heat actually can sacrafice the chip. When I work on my metal lathe, I have metal chips comming off so hot that they are turning blue and I have to wear long sleaves as the chips landing on my forarms leave tiny burn marks. The same applies for woodworking. By maintaining your chip load, you prevent burning of both your wood and your cutters. What happens when you slow down or stop when routing maple and cheery? You get burns and smoke.

What is more important is that you are killing your expensive cutters while doing this. This is one reason router cutters wear out faster than shaper cutters. Most router applications are not run nearly fast enough to maintain the correct chip load and prolong the cutter's life. I dont mean RPM here... rather, the feed rate.

But if this is the source of your collet warming up excessively, what is happening to your cutter's tip? That tip should be smokin' hot and begin to turn blue and carbarize some sawdust. Do you have wood burning as well?

What does your CNC manual tell you about feeds and speeds for the various bits and materials and depth of cut?

[Steve Cox]

Allen, based on what I've looked at so far on mine, it will have to be removed from the table to change the bit. There is not enough range for the collet to be raised above the table. However, (and this is an improvement over the PC) all it takes to remove the router is to push one button and it drops straight out. No twisting to remove and no twisting to raise and lower also. BTW the collet wrenches with the Milwaukee are nice sized cast ones, not the uncomfortable stamped ones that come with the PC.

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

Allen,

I purchased my PC7518 last November. I'm afraid I will also be suffering a short bearing life as the collet and bit do get extremely hot in just a couple of minutes of free-running time.

Time to order the higher quality bearings I guess

I bought two 7518s (and lifts) last summer, and also noticed they got very hot almost immediately. Never really thought too much about that. What I DIDN'T notice until several months later was that NEITHER one of them will spin a horizontal panel raiser without slowing down to a STOP several times before finally staying on. They'll spin right back up after cycling the power switch...but I fear something is phlooey with the speed control. Never had an issue with the rail/stile cutters (used the Hitachi for raising the panels). These 7518s are acting very similar to the THREE bad 7529s I had before I swore off PC the first time. THIS time I mean it. I have spent my last dollar on PC tools.

KC

[Allen Bookout]

Well - That does it for me. I will go for the Milwaukee instead of the Porter Cable. I cannot believe that PC is not all over this and taking care of the problem itself and also the customers of these problem units. If they do not it is going to cost them considerably in lost sales, of routers anyway.

[Terre Hooks]

Keith, have you contacted Porter-Cable about this?

BTW, I'm not in any manner defending Porter-Cable on this. It is funny to see how well this 'Globalization' thing is defended when it is NOT affecting that person defending it. When minor problems show up (such as a $250 router not living up to it's prior 15+ year track record) from something that has recently seen manufacturing site changes, it is all of the sudden a major internet Forum headline.

What I do know is that when the PC tools were soley manufactuered in Jackson, TN, you didn't hear very much about them regarding trouble. Certainly not about the 690, 7518, 333, etc. Now that there is some uncertaintity about the whereabouts the tools are manufactured, when the bearings go out on something "in a manner of minutes", it is because they are using "cheap" parts. Isn't that what everybody is screaming for? The CEO's say we are.

I have a theory about all of this "Globalization" of things, atleast in the small power tool market-

It is going to take a few years for the tool manufacturers that have rushed to a Country where inexpensive labor is available, and along with this, less expensive parts. Those of us that are not niave know you get what you pay for. Companies like Festool and other high-quality European tool manufacturers and what's left in the US will prosper, IMO. People are going to tire of the "throw-away" tools quickly. They will bite the bullet, buy a tool from a high-quality manufacturer, and be done. Thus, leaving the company that "wanted to compete in the Global market" with shelves full of tools that many folks do not want, nor do not need (because they have something that is lasting).




Whew...I'm done. I think I'm gonna go get my German made chainsaw, put some US refined fuel in it, and cut down that US grown Cherry tree the farmer down the road wants gone. It has 4 decent sized US grown burls on it, about the size of the average passenger car tire.

[Dev Emch]

I dont think PC cares. It is still unclear what the buy out by black and decker means to both delta and porter cable. I find it hard to swallow that one central company will allow two competing product lines to canibilize each other on the show room floor. Either Dewalt or Porter Cable will need to cut back and eliminate market overlap. In seeing one of the newer 2+ HP routers that PC recently released, I noticed that the base was niether polished nor powder coated. It was a rough aluminium gray finish. Now I dont know if this was an anomoly or if this is how PC plans to finish new tools. It was however troublesome. It will be interesting to see what management finally decides to do with the Porter Cable namesake.

A similar argument can be made for Delta as they are in the same pickle.

Milwaukee was bought out by a german firm or the other way around. I forget which. But you can tell which tools are made in milwaukee and which are made in germany. For example on the hammer drill, you will notice either a red and black or red-gray-black paint job. Those are german. If its only red-gray, those are milwaukee. In either case, I found the quality outstanding and often check big red first these days. Its just that they have never been huge players in the hand held router business until recently.

[Keith Outten]

Dev,

Visit the ShopBot Forum and read the thread concerninig PC 7518 routers. The problem has been reported to Porter Cable and it definately involves a change in the bearings that have been used for years in this model. Part of the concern involves the bearings seals as well.

[Allen Bookout]

Thanks to all of the people on the forums I did not make a major mistake and buy from a previously good company that dicided to go cheap for more profit. This will also hurt excellent companies with top notch products such as Benchdog.

I do not mind paying more for good products, mostly USA, Canada and Europe, as it will be cheaper in the long run. Plus they deserve the profit for their decision to stay with quality.

Thanks to all!!! Allen