Craftsman 17541 9.5-Amp 1-3/4-Horsepower Fixed Base Router With Soft Start and LED Worklights
Well after posting on kshipp’s review of this router (http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/223) I went out and bought one. At $10 off for mother’s day (ends tonight unfortunately) it was too good a deal to pass up.
The base was drilled with the same bolt circle as my old craftsman! so it fit right on my jig and I was able to finish my project du jour. Eventually I will need to rotate the holes a 12th of a turn so the handle lines up the way I want, but that’s another project.
The micro depth adjust is a welcome addition, my old 5/8 horse craftsman had a wing nut that loosened a clamp and then the motor was free to slide in the housing, what a pain to do fine adjustments! The new one is SLICK
The lights are another more than welcome addition. For some reason, there always seems to be a shadow under the router duh! I hope all the manufacturers pick up on this innovation, is LONG over due.
The only nit that I have with the unit is that the ring with the depth marks on the adjusting knob is so loose that it slips when lowering the motor. The way the forces work the knob presses down on the ring, and the ring drags on the top of the gearbox. I will have to contact sears to see if they have a fix. If not, I think a spacer to go around the shaft so the knob will have something to press on instead of the ring. on a closer look there is a grove for an e clip. bet soimeone decided to save a few cents by removing it
-- Fred, Springfield, Ma
8 comments so far
Todd A. Clippinger
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5639 posts in 993 days
posted 561 days ago
WAHOO! New tool!
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
GaryK
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9521 posts in 882 days
posted 561 days ago
Nothing like the electrical smell of a new tool!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Scott Bryan
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20627 posts in 715 days
posted 561 days ago
Way to go, Fred. It always generates an adrenaline rush whenever we add a tool to our shop. Sounds like you have got a good router here.
Thanks for the post.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
Mark Shymanski
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1555 posts in 606 days
posted 561 days ago
Great! New tools…what a great thing to read about first thing in the morning. Have fun making lots of sawdust!
-- ...it's rennovation time!!!
fredf
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320 posts in 604 days
posted 561 days ago
Well a 1/4” e-clip fits nicely in the groove under the adjusting knob, may need to clean the mold flash off the bottom of the scale to get a little clearance, but it will work for sure. I can’t believe I am modding a tool that I’ve had less than 24 hours, but it sure wasn’t working right out of the box, and it looks like a design problem not an omission on the part of the manufacturer, unless it was somebody’s way to save a few cents on an e-ring. (or someone left the clip out of the assembly drawings)
If this is the worst nit I can come up with, this tool is still a great deal
-- Fred, Springfield, Ma
brunob
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1469 posts in 1063 days
posted 561 days ago
I get excited just thinking about a new tool – any new tool.
-- Bruce from Central New York
Dusty56
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3460 posts in 582 days
posted 521 days ago
the only problem I’ve had with my Craftsman tools is with their cordless tool batteries NOT holding a charge and taking forever to recharge to be able to use them again for 5 minutes or less : (
Congrats on your new toy !! By the way , I’m in Westfield ,MA…...howdy neighbor …hahaha
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
fredf
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320 posts in 604 days
posted 521 days ago
Howdy to you also neighbor! I am always leary of being able to get parts for them down the road, but I figured that for the price I had to take a chance on it. seems well made
re batteries. do you leave them in charger for a log time? that will cook them depending on charger design
also nicads used to have problems with memory (probably still do to some extent). do you run them down pretty much all the way before recharging? you don’t want to go all the way or the weakest cell will get reverse charged and realy killed. maybe you need to get the batteries rebuilt with better cells
fred
-- Fred, Springfield, Ma