Another Fine Mess
Last night I got out my new router to trim the edges of my first flat. No problem except for the one screw which was too close to the edge. The bit didn't have any trouble though the sparks were a bit disturbing. Surprisingly the cutter wasn't damaged or terribly dulled, so I continued on. Worked like a champ. One more to go, then the other two flats this weekend.
I set the router up on a high shelf. Because of the limited space in the garage I had to open the garage door to make things easier. Once I swapped out the flats, I had the next one to trim up on my make do work benches, an old folding table and a rolling counter from a previous show. The rolling 'bench' is the greatest, and once I have room to build some real benches, they will all be on rollers.
Then I closed the garage door. The cord which I hadn't bother to roll up caught on the door, dumping the new router to the floor breaking the sturdy plastic plate on the base. After a little monologue, I saw it was just the three points where the screws attached the plate which broke, leaving the entire thing intact. I drilled three new holes, then re-drilled them part way allowing the screw heads to be recessed. Worked fine, though I'll still replace the plate.
Then I noticed the bit was bent. Damn. I tapped it with the hammer, afraid the tool steel would snap when trying to straighten it. Too cautious, nothing happened. Took a deep breath and gave it a solid whack. It didn't snap, and looked to be perfectly lined up again. Wow.
I started trimming the second flat, got a cut just long enough to tell everything was in order again. Almost. There was a tremendous spark from the router motor a startling bang, then nothing. Damn again. The cord felt floppy, and it slipped easily out of the protective sheath attached to the housing. I was glad for the sheath which kept the short from going through the housing and/or myself. The cord burned off clean and straight, nearly as neat as wire cutters. Looking at the lonely cord on the floor it occurred to me, had it been a messier burn one of the wires could have been sticking out ready to zap me. Given the previous chain of events I was rather surprised I got off without a nasty shock. In a gingerly rush I stepped over the cord and unplugged it from the extension cord.
This is a newer model, very similar to my bargain display model.
I set the router up on a high shelf. Because of the limited space in the garage I had to open the garage door to make things easier. Once I swapped out the flats, I had the next one to trim up on my make do work benches, an old folding table and a rolling counter from a previous show. The rolling 'bench' is the greatest, and once I have room to build some real benches, they will all be on rollers.
Then I closed the garage door. The cord which I hadn't bother to roll up caught on the door, dumping the new router to the floor breaking the sturdy plastic plate on the base. After a little monologue, I saw it was just the three points where the screws attached the plate which broke, leaving the entire thing intact. I drilled three new holes, then re-drilled them part way allowing the screw heads to be recessed. Worked fine, though I'll still replace the plate.
Then I noticed the bit was bent. Damn. I tapped it with the hammer, afraid the tool steel would snap when trying to straighten it. Too cautious, nothing happened. Took a deep breath and gave it a solid whack. It didn't snap, and looked to be perfectly lined up again. Wow.
I started trimming the second flat, got a cut just long enough to tell everything was in order again. Almost. There was a tremendous spark from the router motor a startling bang, then nothing. Damn again. The cord felt floppy, and it slipped easily out of the protective sheath attached to the housing. I was glad for the sheath which kept the short from going through the housing and/or myself. The cord burned off clean and straight, nearly as neat as wire cutters. Looking at the lonely cord on the floor it occurred to me, had it been a messier burn one of the wires could have been sticking out ready to zap me. Given the previous chain of events I was rather surprised I got off without a nasty shock. In a gingerly rush I stepped over the cord and unplugged it from the extension cord.
This is a newer model, very similar to my bargain display model.
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