Motor for router lift

[John Coloccia]

I was actually thinking you move the over arm pin outof the way, throw a fence on there, treat it like a regular router table.

Actually, you know where some of this is leading. Maybe I want a shaper. I hesitate here because it doesn't remove the need for a router table. I still need to be able to route with small, 1/4" bits for some operations. The shaper, however, allows me to do things that are impossible on a router table, like stacking a bunch of cutters on a rub collar, and profiling the entire back of the neck in one shot. No way I'd ever be able to profile 3" of wood on a router, if for no other reason than the vibration alone would be terrible, but even a small 1.5HP shaper would have no problem with that.

[Peter Quinn]

Felder shaper, high speed router spindle......big quarter round cutter for blanking necks.....nice spiral pattern head and bearing for shaping basic body curves, maybe not into tight bouts but close....sounds ideal. I got a freeborn cutter that the previous owner used for making bar rail moldings as part of a package deal....I had considered trying to make a tele, held that cutter up to my present tele neck....very very close! Two 10 second passes and the neck shape on the back is 85% there. Go shaper!






this message brought to you by the shaper lovers council of Connecticut.

[Guy Belleman]

I now have two router tables, both with Triton routers in them, which have a built in lift. I really like the Triton's in that mode. They are so quiet and smooth, that I have to remind myself to turn it off. I still use my DeWalt out of the table.

[Jamie Buxton]

Actually, you know where some of this is leading. Maybe I want a shaper. I hesitate here because it doesn't remove the need for a router table. I still need to be able to route with small, 1/4" bits for some operations. The shaper, however, allows me to do things that are impossible on a router table, like stacking a bunch of cutters on a rub collar, and profiling the entire back of the neck in one shot. No way I'd ever be able to profile 3" of wood on a router, if for no other reason than the vibration alone would be terrible, but even a small 1.5HP shaper would have no problem with that.

A guitar neck looks pretty complicated to me -- lots of shapes and curves. Trying to get a shaper to do the whole thing in one pass seems challenging. However, a small CNC machine should be able to do it. Maybe that's what you want.

[John Coloccia]

A guitar neck looks pretty complicated to me -- lots of shapes and curves. Trying to get a shaper to do the whole thing in one pass seems challenging. However, a small CNC machine should be able to do it. Maybe that's what you want.

Ha ha. I just sold my cnc machine. The idea of the "profile" is to establish the thickness and angles of the headstock, neck shaft and heel. No curves. Just a straight cut along a profile. I traditionally do this in several steps with a SafT planer. There are other neat things I can do with a shaper that is typically not easy to do. Having a tall spindle is convenient.

Lots to think about. Looks like the 7518 is still the best available for a lift, so there it is.

[Greg R Bradley]

According to the local authorized service center, the HUGE problem with the 7518 is the bearings. Secondary is the speed control circuit. They said not to buy one. Look at a PC 7518 and the Milwaukee 5625 taken apart in the service department and you will buy the Milwaukee. Just look at the collets of each. It is shocking.

I bought another Milwaukee 5625. However, the 5625 can have another issue based upon your usage. It has a better fan design than the 7518, which pulls more dust through the motor than the 7518 when mounted upside down in a router table. If you have dust collection, this is no problem. If you just hang it under an open table, it will need to be cleaned internally more often than the 7518.

Milwaukee is owned by a Chinese company and I HATE that. However, for years after being bought by the Chinese, they continued to buy components made by one of my companies because they couldn't duplicate the quality in China. Components made in California, shipped to China, to be made into tools, to be shipped back to the US. I have to give that some respect.

I have bought Milwaukee, made in China, 5243 Grinders, 0300-20, 0100-20, and 0101-20 drills. I almost hate to say it but they are fantastic. These are the high end commercial products but Milwaukee's Chinese $250 corded drills and $400 Grinders seems to be every bit as good as they were. I'm not totally sure how I feel about that...............

[John Coloccia]

[Robert LaPlaca]

Ironically the best feature of the 7518 was the large bearings, especially the one very large one close to the collet.. I know the speed control was the Achilles heel of the 7518, a very expensive part I think $120, makes me wonder if the new 7518 speed control has been improved..

[Dave Zellers]

... makes me wonder if the new 7518 speed control has been improved..

I have an old 7518 (15-20 years) and just bought a new one (motor only) for my new lift. The only differences I see are the soft start is much slower and the 1/2" collet is cheaper but I have other PC routers so I just don't use that one. It's disturbing to read about the bearings but that's out of my hands now.

Amazon has the motor only for $308.