Neal said:

There is a safety feature on the router that prevents the lock
from working with the switch in the on position. Could yours have broken
already?

I'd bet a donut that his plastic slide is broken on the end. Probably
happened without him even noticing.

I think the main point Greg was making was the sloppiness of the plunge base.

One of my more critical complaints.
The lack of real bushings bothers me...

One of Greg's concerns was that the majority of the router may have been made
in China. I emailed Porter Cable and their response was that there is only one
part of the router made in Taiwan and that is part number 75301 which is the
adjustment shaft that you put through the base to adjust the height.

Now THAT is a flat-out lie. I took the thing apart, and the bearings
are clearly stamped MADE IN CHINA, the soft-start/speed controller is
made in Holland.

What he SHOULD have said is that sub-assemblies are assembled in USA.
The component parts are imported.

The motor unit appears to be very well made and runs
very smooth and quiet and has a lot of power. I guess time will tell if this was
a good router choice.

I haven't made up my mind on the return factor. Returning items to
Amazon can be a real PITA.

The motor DOES run smoothly at speed, although the start-up is
irregular - a side effect of the digital stepper in the controller.
No big deal.

But I REALLY wish they had put better bushings in the plunge base.
The numerous little quirks eventually add up, giving a generally weak
feel to the product. It needs a little tweaking to become a superior
Porter Cable caliber tool, imported parts not withstanding.


Greg G.