Triton router TRB001 issues.

[Hudson Carpentry]

Ok. I recommended this router for under table use to a friend. They stuck a 20mm diameter cutter in it, raised it to cut 20mm in one pass and left it there. Now he puts 115mm square redwood through it to cut a mortise. So in one pass he cuts a slot 20mm deep, 20mm wide and 120mm long. Quite often the wood is forced through faster than it should.

In my mind this is abusive. Cutting with a 20mm cutter to a depth of 20mm should be done is a few passes. Am I being over paranoid?

On an other note he is on his 2nd triton now. The first went just before Xmas only about 5 months old. The speed kept fluctuating, sparks seen through the case & slight burning smell.

He brought a new one and now the same has happened but with the added symptom of that you have to knock the cutter to start it after you give it power.

My first thought was speed controller due to over current when over loaded which caused the speed fluctuations.

I thought about bypassing the speed controller as the unit will only ever do this one job and use the same size cutter. Couldn't find the starting capacitor.

He has been meaning to send the first on back under warranty but I doubt he will now. can I bypass the speed controller without a starting cap? Also is the reason for these units going bad due to overloading or should this unit be capable of cutting 20x20mm in one pass?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Ed Bray]

He needs to be told that he needs a higher powered spindle moulder than a router in a table if he wants something to continue to cut 20mm x 20mm rabbets/dados. Either that or factor in the £200 every six months for a new router. I am amazed it has lasted even that long.

Router abuse is an understatement and the only thing I cant understand is that he hasn't already realised this.

 

[9fingers]

Alan,

A little motor refresher for you

Single phase induction motors normally have starting capacitors and can never be speed controlled. They usually run below 3000 rpm and are relatively quiet

Brush motors are always single phase (or DC) and never need starting capacitors and can have their speed controlled. They typically run at 15000-30000rpm, need vast quantities of forced cooling and hence make a lot of noise.

It is difficult to confuse the two types on grounds of noise alone

Yes you can usually bypass simple speed controllers as they tend to be wired in series with a brush motor.

If your pal is going to run his business by abusing his router in this way and claiming under warranty then it would be best to leave the thing unmodified and just keep a spare in stock to swap out whilst sending back for repair/replacement.

hth

Bob

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Thank you all. I had been advising him since day one about how he used the router. I have even done the cut myself and timed it to how long I think each cut should take to relieve some pressure on the router, told him to count that in his head while using it.

However between my moaning and me reading what you guys said to him he is now convinced he needs to find another way. We talked about overhead routers.

In the mean time a DeWalt DW625 has arrived and he's asked me to get at least one of the tritons working as a handheld.

 

[stephen.wood125]

And if bypassing the S/C works and the thing runs smoothly, (albeit with a nice kick on due to lack of soft start)


http://www.tritontools.uk.com/routertra ... elist.html

S/C a lot cheaper than the one I bought for my Hitachi M12V (just before it fell out the back of my car and broke the stand!)

Thanks, as usual to Bob for the motor info. always interesting.