Quiet routers?

[bottleneck]

i will be using the shopbot for cutting 1/4 plywood. the porter cable sounds like a very loud router. i know the perske is quiet yet it costs $2k. anyone find a quiet router for a reasonable price? thanks from me and my neighbors! lol!

[djhazeleger@mindspring.com]

Bill Palumbo had a Bosch 2hp router and a Porter Cable set up on his machines at camp shopbot last year. the Bosch was considerably less noisy. Running at slower speeds also helped alot. I just picked up the new issue of "Fine Woodworking" magazine which compared and tested several 2Hp routers. Makita has a new 2 1/4 hp router(RF1100, and RF1101 var.speed) out that tested out 5db's lower than the Bosch. According to the article the noise level doubles with each 5db increase. The makita also aced the vibration test. Sounds like the router to get. Anyone using the new Makita?
Dirk

[bwclark@centurytel.net]

Dirk,

Yes, I have a new Makita. Very nice, BUT it seems to not hold my tools very well. They keep pulling out after "heating up". I have to retighten the collet after it has been running a while. Other than that, it is pretty good. Pretty quiet, though don't discount the actual noise of cutting. Sometimes that can be louder than the router!

I have had both the Bosch 1617EVS and the Makita RF1101, and I personally like the Bosch, but I hate the fact that it is Magnesium. It turns black almost overnight. Otherwise, they are about the same, in my opinion. Still, I like the big PC variable speed. Just wish it was quieter!

My $.02.

Bruce Clark
bwclark@centurytel.net (mailto:bwclark@centurytel.net)

[shuttle]

I have the Makita RF1100, it is nice and quiet and has power, and the variable speeds are a good feature. My vacuum makes more noise.

[Mayo]

Regardless which router you have, get hearing protection. I bought the AOSafety Band Style Hearing Protector at either Home Depot or Menard's. It offers a NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) of 25, which was more than the "headphone" or "earmuff" style hearing protectors offered.

It's a very light weight plastic band with foam ear "pods". It can be worn so that the plastic band part can be either on top of your head or below your chin - it's completely adjustable. When not using them I generally have them hanging around my neck until I get ready to turn on the router or shop vac.

[jay tomaka]

my problem is the closeness of neighbors not the damage to my ears, i dont plan on watching the machine run. the quiet router is nescessary to keeping problems from arising with others nearby.anyone have a quiet vacumm for dust removal? most shopvacs are quite noisy too!

[jkforney@yahoo.com]

Fein makes a vac that is very quiet. It is in the $250 to $300 price range, I think. One of the home supply chains sells a smaller version for $199, forget which one. I use one in the shop. It has the advantage of being able to plug the router into it and when you switch on the router the vac will start and run for 20 seconds after the router is switched off. You can actually hold a conversation with vac on and located at your feet. Suction is great. I bought mine from my solid surface supplier.

John Forney

[shuttle]

I put my vacuum under the 'Bot' and built a wood box around it with high quality furnace filters in the top and sides that face away, this could be improved more by putting wood deflectors on the outside to muffle the noise even more.

[donframbach@aol.com]

I just installed a Fein dust collector ($219 on Amazon) to go with my Bosch 1617EVS. Running a small (1/16 or 1/32 inch bit) the system makes 88 decibels measured with a RadioShack "Sound Level Meter." More importantly, the sound falls to less than 50 dB through the garage wall. (My office shares a wall with the garage.) The sound is 62 dB on the street (passing cars make more noise than that.) My wife is not bothered at all by the machine. My neighbors have not seemed to even notice it.

[skip painter]

the bosch and other units mentioned above, are you guys running them for long periods at a time???? say 2hrs???? i have long runs in my projects and would not want something that wont hold up under such a load for so long.. thanks

[Carroll Bradshaw]

Has anyone replaced the bearings in their porter cable router 7518. Is it pretty simple

[donframbach]

I have had no problems running my Bosch 1617EVS for several hours at a time. I think my "record" is 7 hrs. Typical runs are about an hour. I am very sad to report though that my bearings failed yesterday. The Bosch holds bits securely.

[skip painter]

donald how long did the router last before the bearing went??

[pjldesigns@hotmail.com]

Re Bosch router. I bought a Bosch rebuilt from a local tool shop for $75. I put about 100 hours on the router and then one day I set to cut about a 3 hour job. I came back to found my work 3/4 done and the bearings strewn all over the table and the plastic housing melted.

Now I don't know if it was the router's fault as I was cutting soapstone!. I think the fine dust from the soapstone is was killed the bearings.
I brought the router back and they replaced the bearings and housing, repair cost $75. I have since put another 100 plus hours on the router. Now when I cut soapstone I make a dam around the cutting area with clay and fill it with water to keep the dust down. I also use a shop vac to collect the dust that does escape and also run an airline to blow air out of the router bearings as its cutting. No problem yet, but anticipate that router will need new bearings again at some point.
Phil

[donframbach]

For a really quiet router, although one with very little power, try mounting a $50 Dremel tool. For my purposes, using bits 1/16" and smaller, this works real well. Since it spins at 30K rpm the Dremel tool is actually better than the larger, louder routers. When I want to use a larger bit, I just switch back to my Bosch 1617 EVS.

Don