How Hot Does Your Router Get?

[William Batdorf]

Hello Creekers,

I was working tonight on making some drawers with my dovetail template and Porter Cable router. I routed only 16 pins and 16 tails when I noticed my router was uncomfortably hot to the touch. Router seems to be working fine (no unusual noises etc.). My infrared thermometer aimed at the motor housing indicated 147 degrees F. Has anyone else had problems with a PC router getting that hot? Thoughts and comments are appreciated.

[Jamie Buxton]

I had one router, a DW621, which got too hot like that. It was like that right out the box. I had other DW621s which didn't do this, so I was quite sure it was that specific router. The rotor spun freely by hand, so it wasn't a bad bearing. I sent it back.

[Bill Dufour]

How hot is it in your shop? It has been over 110 everyday this week so all the tools in the shop are at skin temperature before they get turned on.
I believe the current death toll is 6 just in California for this heat wave. Make sure you drink plenty of water and remember soda and coffee do not count as water.
Bill D.
Modesto, ca

[steve morris6]

my general rule is , if you cant hold on to it, its too hot

[Rich Engelhardt]

My Freud 1700 used to get red hot .
One day it got so hot it seized up .

I loved that router, but, it was a horrible piece of junk.

I replaced it with a Milwaukee 5625-20 that runs nice and cool!

My PC 690 runs pretty cool also, but, I don't tax it.
You don't mention which PC you have & what wood you're using.
16 pins and 16 tails might tax a 690 with some woods.

[Cary Falk]

I had a older Ridgid trim router that would get too hot to hold. I don't notice my other routers getting too hot. The handles aren't on the motor though. I don't notice anything when I turn them off. It doesn't sound like you were doing anything too taxing.

[Bill Orbine]

You could have electrical resistance in your router.... check to be sure your plug, switch and other electrical connections are in good working order.

[John Piwaron]

My Freud 1700 used to get red hot .
One day it got so hot it seized up .

Wow! Impressive. Well, not really. That had to be a surprise.

[Steve Kohn]

Years ago I had a PC690 that suddenly started getting very hot in operation. It turned out something had dropped into the router and broke off all of the little fins that provide a fan for the motor. I bought a replacement part, installed it myself and still use that router on a regular basis.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Wow! Impressive. Well, not really. That had to be a surprise.

Yeah - it really was a dismal surprise.
I only used that thing about a dozen times.
I double/triple/quadruple checked - and - even checked with the guy from Freud that used to post here if the 1700 could spin a 3" panel raiser.

I'd only done one door - taking off 1/16" at a time @ best, when I noticed how hot the body of the router was.
I let it cool down for an hour, then midway through the next cut it slowed down, then stopped. Frozen solid. I let it cool down & after, I tried to spin the bit & it was stuck tight.

I put a wrench on it & managed to free it up & It made it through the second door, but, it froze right up again after I shut it down.

I sold it -as is - on CL for $25 with both bases & a router table plate that fit it. The guy that bought it was tickled pink.

I loved that router though. The above table adjustments were great!
The irony of it was, I passed up buying a Triton and bought the Freud instead - because of the Freud name & at the time, Triton looked like they were going to go under.

[Mike Cutler]

I have a PC 890 that gets hot. Hot enough that you can "smell" the heat. I've taken it apart a bunch of times to try and figure out why, but never have. I used to have a Milwaukee that got pretty warm. but not so hot you couldn't hold onto it

The two PC 8529's, I primarily use in a table, don't get hot, and neither do my Festools, OF1010 and OF2200.

[Art Mann]

I use a Porter Cable model 892 motor as a spindle for my CNC router machine. I will sometimes run it continuously for 2 hours or more. It gets hot to the touch but continues to function 3 years after went in service. I probably already have more run time hours on it than most routers accumulate in a lifetime.

[Mike Henderson]

I have a number of routers, Porter Cable, Bosch, and DeWalt. None get so hot that I can't hold them.

Mike

[Phillip Gregory]

I have a PC 890 that will get pretty warm but not too hot to touch, but that happens only with being used for 20-30 minutes or more at a time. It doesn't get that much run time anymore as I got a shaper for longer runs and much prefer it to a table mounted router for anything that can be reasonably run on the shaper.