# Useless with Triton TRA-001



## Paul66 (Jan 26, 2017)

While I understand the frustration, it is mentioned on their website in the Q&A section…

I Have This Question Too (12)
do you have to drill a hole for the Triton lifter handle ?
charles B on Sep 29, 2015

*BEST ANSWER:* yes, this will not be drilled for the lift handle

REF: http://www.rockler.com/rockler-aluminum-pro-router-plates


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## JohnMcClure (Aug 24, 2016)

FWIW I just bought the Woodpeckers plate for the same router. It should arrive Friday and I can update on the hole being there. I didn't notice anything about there not being a height-winder hole, so I'm pretty confident Woodpeckers have done their homework. We shall see!


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## eldercop (Apr 9, 2014)

Hey John, best of luck with the 'Pecker plate. I hope it works for you. I sendt an detailed email inquiry to them about their plate and got a totally clueless answer from a C/S person. Dunno if I would have paid an additional $40 for one more hole- or less aluminum- but would have liked to know the choices ahead of time.

Paul, I finally found the reference to the winder hole in the Q&A section, well out of the way of the hype above it. 
And the question had to be asked, not the answer offered. Yeah, its frustrating, especially since part of my working life I directed worldwide customer service for a Fortune 100 company. Put people on airplanes same day to hand deliver and install a chip and all. Different world then. Oh well, down to the drill press. 
Thanks guys


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## cjg (Oct 16, 2009)

I have the same plate and it works great. As to issue of needing to drill a hole for the handle to adjust the height I knew that before I purchase by reading other reviews and the sales person also told me about it before I purchased it.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I went with the Kreg plate because it does have a hole predrilled for the crank handle. And I bought one for the Bosch 1617 that also has the hole drilled.


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## ArtMann (Mar 1, 2016)

Triton routers aren't all that common. It would be impossible to drill a hole pattern for every possible model available so they probably drill for Porter Cable, Dewalt, Bosch and other popular brands. I have built many router tables over the years and to my recollection, all but one had to be drilled for the router I was using.


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

The rockler plate i have is drilled for the mounting holes of the triton, but not for the winder. Unless specifically mentioned, when they say it's drilled for the triton, they only mean the mounting holes. I drilled the hole with great success.


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## woodenwarrior (May 23, 2012)

JohnMcClure, I have the Woodpecker plate for my table mounted with a Porter Cable and I can confirm that the height- winder hole is present on mine as I use it all the time. I can't promise that it will be there for a Triton but if its there for a Porter Cable I would safely assume the same for you.


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## playingwithmywood (Jan 10, 2014)

do yourself a favor and get this incra Solid Aluminum MagnaLOCK™ RT Plates

I have the same router in this plate and it is bullet proof….. you do not have to do this next step but after you bolt it on then take another router and router out the little bit of you triton router bottom to fit the bigger whole in the incra plate…. since it is aluminum I did it with a flush trim top bearing bit…. great to changing bits without changing router height when using matched bits like sommerfeld and others sell

http://www.incra.com/router_system_accessories-mlp.html

and the lock ring set

http://www.incrementaltools.com/INCRA_MagnaLOCK_Ring_Set_p/mlringset-3.5.htm

once you pay for the parts you will not look back other than with happiness


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## Bill_Steele (Aug 29, 2013)

Sorry to hear about your router plate not fitting. If it were me I would get another plate or modify this plate to enable me to adjust the router height from above the table.

+1 for the Pecker's plate. I have the 2 1/4 hp Triton router and the plate I have is from Pinnacle (I bought it a long time ago).

The one I have looks almost exactly like this (except it has an adjustment hole for the Triton winder):









Here's the Woodpecker's plate:









The inserts I have are solid aluminium, it looks like they have changed them to heavy plastic now. This plate from Woodpecker's looks almost exactly the same as mine. It has a hole for a winder. I like the scales on the side of the plate-they are useful for initial fence setup. The plate also has levelers and spring loaded buttons to help the fitment if you have any gaps in the table recess/cutout/opening.

This is a pricey option, but I'll bet it's a good plate.


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## edapp (Jun 27, 2014)

I am wondering what the expectation was for the manager that told you that you could either modify it yourself or get a refund. What other solution could you possibly expect? What would you have done in his shoes?


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## eldercop (Apr 9, 2014)

What would I have done? Well lets see, in ascending order:

Express some empathy for frustration for a product not ready to do what it was promoted for. Apologies for the company not making it clearer.

Suggest to Rockler galactic HQ to include paper drilling template in the plate box for the various models of router alleged to be compatible with. The individual store could do it as well. At the very least sticker the boxes with need to drill a winder hole

Instruct sales people to make customer aware of the requirement to finish the product to make it workable

Send the plate home with one of their crafty guys to drill and finish the hole after purchase; pick up next day or deliver.

Note the money/expense involved here isn't the issue. Making a customer for life is. Customer service is the most difficult aspect of a generic product for a competitor to copy, yet without engineering or production modifications often the least expensive. Everyone in business knows its much cheaper to make a repeat customer than a new one.

But enough blather. I drilled the hole, the Triton works great and collects its own dust below the table. Can't beat that.


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## JohnMcClure (Aug 24, 2016)

I just got my Woodpecker's plate in, and YES, it is indeed pre-drilled for the winder. It's a beautiful, solid, flat, heavy aluminum plate and I can't wait to finish the cabinet and put it to use!


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## builtinbkyn (Oct 29, 2015)

I ordered an Incra plate for my Triton. No hole for the winder. Had to drill it myself. Seems silly they wouldn't make an extra hole that is clearly needed for below table adjustment and the plate is specific for that router.


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## playingwithmywood (Jan 10, 2014)

> I ordered an Incra plate for my Triton. No hole for the winder. Had to drill it myself. Seems silly they wouldn t make an extra hole that is clearly needed for below table adjustment and the plate is specific for that router.
> 
> - builtinbkyn


actually you are wrong the hole is not required for below the table adjustments you still have the knob on the side of the router to make adjustments with….. this is how all of use with the earlier model without the handle have done it all the time…. it someone cannot drill a hole woodworking is probably the wrong hobby… also that same place fits other routers that do not come with handles so it make sense to not drill the hole in it from the factory…. Just enjoy you plate it is great and will last a lifetime is you take care of it…. I recommend buying the extra insert set if you did not get them when buying your plate


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## builtinbkyn (Oct 29, 2015)

I didn't complain and I can drill a hole, which I did. I was just informing the OP that his situation wasn't unique. As for reaching under the table, that isn't why I purchased the Triton. I wanted the ease of use of the crank for making adjustments.

Yes the Incra plat is nice coupled with the newer plate inserts that provide better dust collection. I have had an Incra table and fence for 10 years and they are well made.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

I would think all woodworkers would be able to drill a hole properly and easily.

In the time it took to write up this review/complaint, a hole could have been drilled and sawdust being made. It might be nice to know if the plate was good except for the hole.

It is interesting that some people write reviews to help people learn about a tool and others are venting their concerns. Yes, I guess it is a valid complaint that it did not have a specific hole but to me not a big deal.


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## rbrjr1 (Nov 2, 2017)

> I would think all woodworkers would be able to drill a hole properly and easily.
> 
> In the time it took to write up this review/complaint, a hole could have been drilled and sawdust being made. It might be nice to know if the plate was good except for the hole.
> 
> ...


+1, I have the Kreg insert and a TRA-001 on BIG BROWN somewhere in VA right now. 
I put this review in with the guys that rate a big screen TV ONE STAR because it "doesn't fit in my entertainment center"..

I also noticed the Q&A on that rockler plate that called for the user having to drill the lifter hole, which is the main reason I went with KREG..

I'd love to have OP follow up and tell us what happened next.. (return for a different plate? ended up throwing the router away because it didn't match his Rockler plate? just curious)


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## Jeff28078 (Aug 27, 2009)

Post #12. He said he drilled the hole. Some don't read all the comments before commenting themselves. I felt it was a valid review. One of the purposes of a review is to tell us when something is not right, not just to compliment things. If the description said it was for a certain router and a fundamental part of the router can't be used then the description should say it. Triton's are not that uncommon as one commenter said.


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## Chameleon (Mar 12, 2018)

Update 2021: bought the same router plate from Rockler because I have their router table. Box for the "Group C" router plate has a picture of the Triton TRA001 router, which I just bought. Still no hole for the depth/height winder. I can drill the hole and hopefully line it up correctly, but it's kind of ridiculous that they don't provide it.


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

I drilled my own hole and it lined up just fine. Used a larger bit to then chamfer the edge of the hole a bit. Works great.


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