Harbor Fright Trim router

[ken cierp]

A couple of bulletins if you will – though we have been using Harbor Freight trim routers for about seven years now, I am compelled to rescind my prior endorsement of this product. The last two batches of routers purchased from two different distributors all had run-out so bad it could be observed with the naked eye – with 1.5” bit exposure and aligned on a guide line the tip varied at least 1/8” side to side – horrible!! And frankly those tools were useless.

And I have read and even (stupidly) made the statement myself that I thought the green Grizzly was the same tool in a different color – not so. The Grizzly with the rack and pinion adjuster has far more refined machined finishes, its beefier, quieter and most importantly dead on accurate.

[Dave Bagwill]

That is valuable info, thanks.

[Robert Hosmer]

Thanks for the head up, Ken.

Was really hopin' to get out of the stone age process of hand cuttin' my binding channels without spending a fortune on a router. Oh, well...

Just kiddin', of course.
I only have two routers- a Festool OF1400 and a Bosch Colt. Obviously the OF1400 is way overkill for a job like bindings.
The Colt works great with that jig I purchased from you a while back, but the router has lots of miles on it; just about time to retire it. Plus, I'd like to get an additional dedicated trimmer just for use with that jig.

Any ideas?
You think the Grizzly model might be the best bang for the buck?

[ken cierp]

Yes I would recommend the Grizzly high impact plastic trim router. The one with the metal housing is a little less expesive but does not have the rack and pinion adjuster.

We have several Grizzly tools used daily for production operations. Our 2 HP Grizzly dust collector is 20 years old and still works fine.

[Robert Hosmer]

Ken,

Thanks for the recommendation and clarification.
I just went to Grizzly's website and checked out the differences between the two. Even downloaded the manual.
The metal-cased trimmer is H7790, while the plastic-cased trimmer is H7791.
They appear to use the same base, which has a pinion gear, but you are correct in that the plastic model has the grooves formed into the body to accept height adjustment via the pinion, while the metal case does not.

H7791 is definitely the one we want for binding/purfling channels.

Thanks again,
Rob

[peter havriluk]

Ken,

I have one of these HF routers new-in-box. I'd like to test it for runout and return it to HF if it fails. Is the test as simple as running the router with the bit exposed an inch and a half past the base down a pine board and measuring the width of the channel it cut? Failure being defined as a channel that's wider than the bit?

Thanks very much.

[ken cierp]

No need to run it -- chuck up the long bit, draw a straight line on the bench, align the edge of the bit with the line, hold the motor so it does not move, rotate the collet with your finger. The tip of the bit should remain parallel with the line. If the tip of the bit crosses over the line you have run-out.

Let us know the results