Eugene said:

Michael Daly wrote:
And if you decide to go that route, I'd say that you might want something
else for a plunge router. The 890 plunge base sucks IMHO.

Mike
what exactly is bad about it, I haven't gotten the plunge base for mine yet.

Well, as for mine, the plunge posts are bushed on one side with a
bronze sintered bushing, but the other side has a plastic guide. I
get a fair amount of diagonal bit deflection when pressing down on the
plunge base handles even slightly. The plunge lock has been
readjusted 5 times since purchased. You'll know it need adjusting
again when the base suddenly pops all the way out when lifting it from
a work piece. The depth limiter rod does not want to stay in position
unless you REALLY crank down on the lock knob - which I hesitate to do
because of the rod's soft aluminum construction.

I use the fixed base in a router table, and the "above the table"
height adjustment (worm) on the fixed base is made of plastic and is
wearing as we speak. The rack on the router is plastic as well. It
is difficult to make height adjustments because the bit shifts when
tightening the base after adjustment - trial and error procedures are
necessary to get the bit set to the final depth.

You also have to physically turn the router switch off before changing
bits, because it has a lockout tang that prevents you from engaging
the spindle lock when the switch is on. The is fine (and safe) for
handheld use, but for use in a router table with an external switch,
this bites. The collet spindle will not extend above a 1/4" thick
router plate sufficiently to use two wrenches. The spindle hole and
lock pin are already showing signs of metal deformation from using the
spindle lock.

The ball bearings and housings are Chinese - as is the armature. The
speed controller is made in Holland. The unit is bolted together from
it's foreign component parts in the USA.

It has a nice long cord that has held up OK in the shop. the unit
runs a little warm, and the armature (and collet) get quite hot with
use. The depth indicator is frosted so bad you can't even see through
to the scale underneath.

It has had fairly light usage for the past 8 months. I was not really
impressed with my purchase. If I had it to do over again, I would opt
for a better, more powerful router and a Mast-R-Lift.

FWIW,


Greg G.