I have and use the MLCS extender. It extends the bit a little too far
for my liking, but until I picked up a Jacobs Power Collet, it was one
of the 1 or 2 solutions for a plunge router out there (the Jacobs Power
Collet was on closeout). The Power Collet appears to extend the bit a
perfect distance for my DW625, but I don't have any long term
experience. I say long term because the collet is a quick change
concept where you put the bit into the collet and push the outer ring
down and it "snaps" on the bit tightly. It is great for above the
table bit changes in seconds.

I did a search on the web and never found any real problem with the
design, but since it went out of production about 3 years or so ago, I
have not seen any recent posts either positive or negative. If anyone
has some knowledge about its long term performance, please let me know.
I can understand why it went out of favor for handheld use. It
demanded extenders for the baseplate of the router and I am sure that
was not acceptable to the majority of router owners.

[slightly OT] If anyone knows of a source for one of these I'd be very
interested to know! Or has one they'd like to sell.

They are shown in the WoodRat video, and I haven't found anything half
as good for my Rat yet .... some quick change mechanism would make life
a lot nicer!

In article .com,
"Nigel" wrote:

some quick change mechanism would make life
a lot nicer!

It sounds like a smart-ass answer, but the quickest quick change is
buying another router... or two. They don't have to be Festools, Feins
Tritons either. Many regularly used bit operations don't require
ultra-high precision.

YMMV

You may be right. For the WoodRat that means I'd be buying some extra
base plates too ... not sure I can justify this to my piggy bank!

I can see your answer for hand held use and I do indeed have another
router I use for that, where the regular bit changing actually doesn't
bother me that much anyway.

"Nigel" wrote:
some quick change mechanism would make life
a lot nicer! I've got one for a DW625 that I don't use anymore, as my table houses a PC now. You can email me if you like. Tom

I have one (brand new in the bubble pack) for PC 690 series....

Bob S.


"Nigel" wrote in message
oups.com...
[slightly OT] If anyone knows of a source for one of these I'd be very
interested to know! Or has one they'd like to sell.

They are shown in the WoodRat video, and I haven't found anything half
as good for my Rat yet .... some quick change mechanism would make life
a lot nicer!

Go to chipsfly.com to buy the Jacobs. That's the website for Craftsman
Gallery. I bought one for my WoodRat using the DeWalt 625 router.

Lewis Stepp at the Craftsman Gallery is a woodworking expert and he
would advise you. I know he advised me that large diameter panel
cutting bits are above the limit (safety) for my equipment.

Gary Curtis
California

Gary Curtis wrote: Go to chipsfly.com to buy the Jacobs. That's the
website for Craftsman
Gallery. I bought one for my WoodRat using the DeWalt 625 router.

How long
ago did you buy that collet? I can't locate a "Jacobs" collet on that
site. Tom