# Plunge router held horizontally: Plunge for travel?



## TanOak (May 31, 2010)

Hello All:
I have a shop built slot mortising machine that uses an X-Y sliding table. This table has much more travel (>12") in both directions than it needs for mortising and therefore takes up more space than necessary. I was thinking that if I could use the plunge action of a router for one of the directions I could use only one part of the mechanism, making it smaller and easier to move around. 
Any of you guys/gals use a plunge router in a horizontal position and actually use the plunge during operation? How's it work? Any issues? Maybe add a plunge bar (or home built equivalent) for easy plunge action? 
Thanks,
Jim


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## TanOak (May 31, 2010)

Just to add to the post above, I would be using a DeWalt DW625 as the plunge router. Obviously that will require some modification in the form of a different router support than the one shown in the picture. 
sound of crickets chirping....
Anybody?


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Hi Jim

The DW625 plunge springs will probably work against you. I used a DW625/MOF177e for horizontally plunging into doors in conjunction with a Trend lock jig, but found the spring made the action rather fraught, not to mention awkward. These days I have a manual depth adjuster installed on the router instead. The springs have been left as is because I can switch from lock mortising to edge routing and back again quite regularly in the course of a working day

Regards

Phil


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Check this out, Jim. There is even a video showing it in operation... CLICK HERE


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## TanOak (May 31, 2010)

Thanks Phil. Yes, I was imagining that I would remove the springs and use a plunge bar or some sort of shop made joy stick for the travel. 
Aside from the spring issues did it work okay? Any issues with play on the shafts?
Thanks,
Jim



Phil P said:


> The DW625 plunge springs will probably work against you. I used a DW625/MOF177e for horizontally plunging into doors in conjunction with a Trend lock jig, but found the spring made the action rather fraught, not to mention awkward.


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## TanOak (May 31, 2010)

Hi George:
I'm lost as to how this address my question about using a plunge router held horizontally. Please clarify. 
Thanks,
Jim



curiousgeorge said:


> Check this out, Jim. There is even a video showing it in operation... CLICK HERE


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

TanOak said:


> I was imagining that I would remove the springs and use a plunge bar or some sort of shop made joy stick for the travel.
> Aside from the spring issues did it work okay? Any issues with play on the shafts?


Hi Jim

I still regularly mortise lock recesses this way after the door is hung, more than a hundred each year, so my technique works _for me_. I've retained the springs as I generally need to be able to switch between lock mortising, hinge recessing and edge profiling quite quickly, but I use it in conjunction with a manual depth adjuster like the deWalt DW6966. This is fitted after removing the domed and sprung/split nuts from the threaded depth rod (to the right when viewing the router from the operation side). For my purposes I need to work a mortise up to 70mm deep x 16 to 19mm wide so I have to creep up to the final depth in multiple steps - the turret is no help here because I'm using deep pocket cutters, like these (my current cutter is 12mm diameter x 120mm overall length, I'm waiting to try out a special-made guide bush with a new 16mm diameter x 150mm overall length cutter). I'm not sure that I'd be able to withdraw the cutter without the spring action as I'm actually holding the router onto the jig - it can't be attached. The other limitation is that the router is restricted to about 70mm depth of plunge.

How does this compare to what you are doing?

Regards

Phil


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## Neil Tsubota (Mar 20, 2010)

Can you remove the "spring" by just taking the bottom plate off, inverting the router and mount the router "upside-down" ?

Sorry for the long question. Remember I am a cricket, chirp, chirp. It's a bird !


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## Quillman (Aug 16, 2010)

"Any of you guys/gals use a plunge router in a horizontal position and actually use the plunge during operation? How's it work? Any issues? Maybe add a plunge bar (or home built equivalent) for easy plunge action? 
Thanks,
Jim"
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An exercise in jig making? Or indeed the primary M.O. to create mortices?

Your question about plunge travel:

I see no reason, the various screws to press the plunge heads of plungers, would not apply to your second generation. They are relatively slow screws but if power driven you could easily plunge 3/16"+/pass and do it quickly. Even driving the screws x hand would be relatively quick.

These drivers (75300 for Porter Cable), I believe, are still the standard accessory for plunging an upside down plunger. Will work in a horizontal plane or any axis.

Notwithstanding, I don't understand the reason(s) for the complexity of your machine.
You can dig no deeper than the cutter, 2-3" max, so why such a huge platform with so much travel? In my case, I just put a stop to the router's travel to define its pathway and exploited the quick plunge action of the router in its normal config. 
The jig weighs 7 pounds and is stored on a rafter, called up on demand, and sets up in <1'.
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