# I think my old router nearly killed me!



## peacefrog (Sep 10, 2007)

OK, this is going to be a long story.

My wife and I are in the process of adopting twin girls, and as part of our preparation, we're turning our dining room into a play room. So I decided to build a toy box that we wouldn't mind having in that room.

Also while we're waiting for the adoption to finalize, I decided to have some electrical upgrades done to the house because our house was built in 1929 and still has some original wiring along with a lot of scary amateurish looking work, especially in the basement. So we had an electrician come in and redo the basement. He fixed me up with three circuits in my workshop area...two 20 amp circuits, each with GFCI plugs, and a lighting circuit. I didn't really understand why he put in a separate circuit for the lights and why he put GFCIs in down there, but I trust the guy (he's a neighbor), so we went with it.

The toy box plans called for cut out areas along the bottom of each side, which the plans suggested doing by jig saw. I tried on some scrap, but I wasn't able to cut a good enough 2" radius using the jig saw, and it certainly wouldn't be repeatable. So I decided to make a template out of MDF, rough cut the radius with the jig saw, and finish it with a flush trim bit on the router table.

My mother-in-law, who is kind of a handy-woman, has given me lots of tools, and a while back she gave me an old Stanley H39B router and a router table that had been owned and used by a carpenter in her boyfriend's family who died a few years ago.

So I finished my template, did my rough cuts with the jig saw, and plugged in the router. Sparks! Yikes! Not only did the GFCI trip, but the circuit breaker also tripped. That's a 20 amp circuit tripped by a tool that's supposed to draw 4 amps! I suspected that the router was turned on (not obvious on that router which direction is on), so I flipped the switch, reset the GFCI, and flipped the breaker. I plugged the router in, and this time the GFCI tripped, but not the breaker. Wondering what was going on, I decided I'd better examine the power cord. Sure enough, it was in bad, bad shape.

So by now, I was really appreciating the way my electrician set things up. Without the GFCI, I may have received a nasty shock. And without a separate lighting circuit, I would have been standing in the dark when that breaker tripped. You sure wouldn't want to be standing in the dark near a spinning router bit or a table saw blade.

But my story has a few more chapters, none dealing with bad electricity though. I took the Stanley out of the router table and tried to mount the Ryobi RE180PL plunge router that my mother-in-law gave me. The sub base was too big to fit between the support beams under the table top. So, I decided to build a new top. I bought some plywood, laid out the holes and slots for the fence, mounted it on the table legs, and attached the router. Then I discovered that the router wouldn't plunge enough to get a bit through the table top! In fact, I couldn't even get the collet to reach the bottom of the sub base. By now, I had almost forgotten about the toy box that started me on this whole ordeal.

Well, this sounded like a good idea to buy a new router. I was almost settled on the Porter-Cable 690 when I read all sorts of good things about a particular inexpensive Craftsman router. The combo kit with the fixed and plunge bases was on sale, so I picked it up.

Finally, I got the router table up and running and finished the toy box.

See the attached pictures for shots of the old router, its nasty power cord, and the finished toy box.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

With a problem like that you nearly had to jump like a frog! The box looks very nice, are the panels just glued into rebates in the corner posts?


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## challagan (Feb 7, 2006)

Hi Bob, you did a great job on that toy box. Looks like you are doing some nice work. That is a cool old router! The craftsman is a nice router, I think you will love it! 

Corey


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## peacefrog (Sep 10, 2007)

harrysin said:


> The box looks very nice, are the panels just glued into rebates in the corner posts?


Not even that. It's just butt joints, wood screws, and glue. It's all covered up by the corner molding.


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## Drugstore Cowboy (May 17, 2007)

Excellent job on the toy box.
And yes -- Ground fault plugs are LIFESAVERS -- 
Your electrician friend knew what he was doing --

Looks like you were long overdue for a new router too.
Although -- I suspect it was the frayed cord and not the router itself that created your problem. Those old tools like older cars were built to take abuse.


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## Joe Lyddon (Sep 11, 2004)

Drugstore Cowboy said:


> Excellent job on the toy box.
> And yes -- Ground fault plugs are LIFESAVERS --
> Your electrician friend knew what he was doing --
> 
> ...


Hi Druggy!

Good to see you back... we missed you...
Hope to see you more...


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## bdaniel (Oct 13, 2009)

I have the same problem with those cords getting in the way. I installed a safety switch on my table. Kind of like an emergency shutoff. I got it from rockler store.


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Remember, You can replace a standard wall plug with a GFCI outlet, Available at most hardware stores, Check the fuse size of that circuit. Then replace the same size of GFCI circuit NEVER PUT A 20 AMP GFCI WHERE THERE WAS A 15 AMP..Then you will have a protected plug-in.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

A couple more little good-to-know's about GFCI's..

A GFCI breakers are also available however they are much more expensive than GFCI outlets. This occurs because of volume: different breaker manufacturers create incompatible 20A 120VAC breakers but in America at least, a 120VAC 20A outlet is a standard design. You can save $$$ here.

Also, if you are certain of the wire routing when there are several outlets daisy-chained off of a single breaker, it is possible to install 1 GFCI outlet on the *first* outlet in the chain and everything downstream is also protected.

This can work for you or against you. If someone before you daisy-chained off a GFCI outlet in a bathroom for an outlet in an adjacent garage and if a child presses the "test button" on the bathroom outlet and walks away without resetting it, the outlet in the garage can be dead while the breaker is hot. You have to know to go into the bathroom and reset that outlet to get the garage outlet running again... or figure it out. Don't ask how I know this!


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## Old_Chipper (Mar 30, 2009)

Hi Bob!
Glad you were able to find the answers to your questions without getting hurt. Also glad to hear you up dated your wiring. Lot of homes built back then used single wires with no shielding; mice like to chew the cloth coating. No ground wire either, real fire traps.
Nice old router, I agree, was most likely the cord. If you decide not to fix it let me know, I would like it for my collection!
Looks like your chest turned out nice in spite of all the excitement. Should serve the kids for a long time.


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## jimcrockett (Jan 18, 2006)

Nice job on the tools box and good luck (or congratulations, whichever is appropriate) on your adoption. I have twin grandsons and know that twins are just extra special or, in the case of my grandsons, double trouble!

Nice old router! I also suspect the cord, especially with the damage shown in the image you provided. As a retired electronics technician, though, I almost automatically mistrust tools that have toggle switches as does your router! But I guess I need to remember that this was the way all power tools were made back then and most worked for years and years. Bet if you took that router apart you wouldn't find any plastic in there!!!

Nice story. Glad you didn't fry yourself and now you understand why your neighbor designed your electrical circuitry as he did. Yes, GFCI's are lifesavers, especially in a basement that might get damp - in fact, they are required in basements and garages by the electrical code.

JimC


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Gentlemen,
Although there is some good info concerning GFCI's, etc., I do hope you realize that this thread is two (2) years old.


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## 01stairguy (Apr 18, 2010)

Thats a nice router


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## 01stairguy (Apr 18, 2010)

peacefrog said:


> OK, this is going to be a long story.
> 
> My wife and I are in the process of adopting twin girls, and as part of our preparation, we're turning our dining room into a play room. So I decided to build a toy box that we wouldn't mind having in that room.
> 
> ...


by the way is that the router that nearly killed you, are interested in selling it it is a nice router any way:thank_you2:


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## dougop (Jul 2, 2010)

about GFCI's IMPORTANT ! a ground fault is the only type of shock you are protected from by a GFCI, whether in the receptacle, or in the main panel. YOU CAN STILL BE ELECTROCUTED by current passing through the proper circuit if you are not grounded. A GFCI helps to protect you, but don't count on it to prevent all shocks !


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

dougop said:


> about GFCI's IMPORTANT ! a ground fault is the only type of shock you are protected from by a GFCI, whether in the receptacle, or in the main panel. YOU CAN STILL BE ELECTROCUTED by current passing through the proper circuit if you are not grounded. A GFCI helps to protect you, but don't count on it to prevent all shocks !


Right on the point!

A GFCI protects against _ground faults_ only. A _ground fault_ is where the current flows from the live wire to ground through a route other than through the neutral. This is called a _ground fault_ because the fault current flows to ground.

If one connects a load, including oneself, between the live and the neutral, there is no ground fault. Thus, the GFCI is not likely to operate. 

The greatest risk of current passing through the body is when the current passes through either the heart or through the spinal cord. A current passing through the heart may stop the heart or send it into fibrillation. A current through the spinal cord may stop the heart, the lungs or anything else that is controlled through the spinal cord.

Cassandra


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## stuartwatson (Jun 13, 2011)

lucky lucky !!!! bud 
stuart 
england


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## JKV (May 21, 2011)

They are right about the GFCI's you need to be careful with them.


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## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

Glad everything turned out alright. And the box looks great. 

Whan I wired my shop in, I also ran outlets on one circuit and lights on another. Like you, it came in handy!! ;o)


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## chopnhack (Nov 11, 2009)

I know that this is an old post, but wow, you were lucky, that old router would have fried you if it wasn't for the GFCI!


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## The Warthog (Nov 29, 2010)

It can't cost that much to have a tool re-corded, can it? I have a Makita circular saw that badly needs a new cord, and I keep forgetting to take it down to the repair shop.


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## DozerDad (Jan 24, 2014)

Hi Guy,

I recently purchased the Craftsman #37595 router and table combo and also the Craftsman Pro #28212 palm router, and after using them for a while now I love the both ! I think you will like your new toys also! I have always had good luck with Craftsman power tools and you will too. I still have and use two drills from Sears and they are at least 25 years old !

Good luck,

Dan

P.S. The toy box looks great, but no fair storing your new toys in it !


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## John Bradshaw (Sep 12, 2010)

*Box*

Good looking Box, bad looking cord.


peacefrog said:


> OK, this is going to be a long story.
> 
> My wife and I are in the process of adopting twin girls, and as part of our preparation, we're turning our dining room into a play room. So I decided to build a toy box that we wouldn't mind having in that room.
> 
> ...


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

Be truthful, this would be a gift for an inlaw, wouldn't it?

"by the way is that the router that nearly killed you, are interested in selling it it is a nice router any way"


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