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  • Router Speed Controller Options

    From DerbyDad03@21:1/5 to All on Tue Aug 29 04:32:22 2023
    Equipment:
    - Porter Cable 690 mounted in a table saw extension router table
    on a Woodpeckers insert
    - Freud FRE-99-036 T & G bit
    - Rockler coping sled

    The 690 has no speed control and full speed seems too fast for
    the Freud T & G tongue bit. ~2” diameter.

    I’m looking for recommendations for a speed controller. Are the
    $20-ish models good enough or should I be spending more?

    Thanks

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  • From DJ Delorie@21:1/5 to teamarrows@eznet.net on Tue Aug 29 12:17:55 2023
    DerbyDad03 <teamarrows@eznet.net> writes:
    I’m looking for recommendations for a speed controller. Are the
    $20-ish models good enough or should I be spending more?

    The cheap model has worked for me for ages, but they're not very good at regulating speed once you've turned it down. The 690 is a universal
    motor; you can feed it pretty much anything and it will turn as fast as
    power allows. The $20 models just reduce power, so reduce speed. They
    do *not* increase torque so you'll have to use multiple passes to
    compensate.

    I don't know of any speed controllers that can regulate the speed of a universal motor, but I haven't looked for any either. IMHO the design
    of universal motors limits (or removes) any speed feedback, like BLDC or
    AC motors provide. Perhaps monitoring average current can do something.

    A better choice, of course, is a shaper that is designed to be geared
    down for larger bits - then you get slower speed with *more* torque, not
    less.

    Heck, for $20 this shouldn't be a question. It's a cheap tool, buy it
    for entertainment purposes, and if it happens to work, bonus! :-)

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    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Leon@21:1/5 to All on Sat Sep 2 11:29:32 2023
    On 8/29/2023 6:32 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
    Equipment:
    - Porter Cable 690 mounted in a table saw extension router table
    on a Woodpeckers insert
    - Freud FRE-99-036 T & G bit
    - Rockler coping sled

    The 690 has no speed control and full speed seems too fast for
    the Freud T & G tongue bit. ~2” diameter.

    I’m looking for recommendations for a speed controller. Are the
    $20-ish models good enough or should I be spending more?

    Thanks


    In a pinch those small speed controllers that you plug your router into.
    But they suck compared to a built in speed controller with electronic
    load feed back. And the add on units are any ones guess as to what
    speed the router is actually spinning at with out a load, and under a
    load quite a bit slower with larger bits.

    Built in speed controllers typically will maintain the speed under a
    load. The cheap add-on units do not.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Leon@21:1/5 to DJ Delorie on Sat Sep 2 11:31:44 2023
    On 8/29/2023 11:17 AM, DJ Delorie wrote:
    DerbyDad03 <teamarrows@eznet.net> writes:
    I’m looking for recommendations for a speed controller. Are the
    $20-ish models good enough or should I be spending more?

    The cheap model has worked for me for ages, but they're not very good at regulating speed once you've turned it down. The 690 is a universal
    motor; you can feed it pretty much anything and it will turn as fast as
    power allows. The $20 models just reduce power, so reduce speed. They
    do *not* increase torque so you'll have to use multiple passes to
    compensate.

    I don't know of any speed controllers that can regulate the speed of a universal motor, but I haven't looked for any either. IMHO the design
    of universal motors limits (or removes) any speed feedback, like BLDC or
    AC motors provide. Perhaps monitoring average current can do something.

    Most any router with a universal motor and a speed control will
    compensate for added load. My Makita and Milwaukee both do this. All
    bets are off with separate speed controllers.



    A better choice, of course, is a shaper that is designed to be geared
    down for larger bits - then you get slower speed with *more* torque, not less.

    Heck, for $20 this shouldn't be a question. It's a cheap tool, buy it
    for entertainment purposes, and if it happens to work, bonus! :-)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)