# Router Speed Control



## Barreller (Jun 1, 2009)

Hi everybody! First post so please forgive any naivety! I live in the UK and have a DeWalt 624 fixed speed router which I use both freehand and table mounted. My problem is one of speed. I need to get down to 12,000 rpm to use a mitre lock cutter and firstly cannot find any after market speed controller, nor any design for one (I am a fairly competent electronics constructor). The other problem is how to measure the speed once I have it under control. Guesswork is fine (as i do on my variable speed Elu 1/4 inch router) but I would rather be more accurate.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Steve


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Greetings Steve and welcome to the router forums. I don't know if they ship to UK but here are two sites.

Harbor Freight Tools

MLCS router speed control and Foot Switches

How to tell how fast it is going, well I have no answer there but others here might so keep looking back to check.


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the forum!

I would be careful about adding an after market speed control to a single speed motor as they are not designed to use under those circumstances and will most likely burn the motor up. Check with the manufacturer before doing this.


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## Andiamo (Mar 7, 2009)

The whole point of using a router speed control is to vary the speed of a single speed router, despite what Bob says. DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT add a speed control to a variable speed router -- then you are asking for trouble, including the burn-up scenario.


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

MLCS states:

"Reduces speed without reducing torque! Electronic feedback maintains speed by *increasing voltage to motor *as load increases."

Dewalt states:

"A voltage
decrease of more than 10% will cause a loss of power and overheating."

The after market devices causes voltage fluxuations and I still say verify usage with the manufacturer to protect your warranty.

I am not an electrician nor expert in this matter and only passing along what I have read in discussions over the years on this subject. If I am incorrect, I make my apology in advance, but better to be safe than sorry. 

Check with the maker of your tool.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Bob

I think this true for most power tools,,,

"Dewalt states:

"A voltage
decrease of more than 10% will cause a loss of power and overheating."

I think Dewalt is saying a small drop cord (wire size) or a 100 ft small drop cord will do the that..

I recall seeing that in many manuals 

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Bob said:


> MLCS states:
> 
> "Reduces speed without reducing torque! Electronic feedback maintains speed by *increasing voltage to motor *as load increases."
> 
> ...


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

Bob said:


> MLCS states:
> 
> "Reduces speed without reducing torque! Electronic feedback maintains speed by *increasing voltage to motor *as load increases."
> 
> ...


There are two different issues here, regarding voltage. 

DeWalt states the usual warning. For a given power output of the motor, if the voltage drops (e.g. voltage drop on undersized extension cord, per Bobj3), then the motor will draw more CURRENT (Amperes) in an attempt to compensate. The power losses in the motor are roughly equal to the square of the current. Increase the current by 10 percent and the power losses go up 21 percent.

The electronic feedback circuit is compensating for additional power requirement in the motor. Sensing the motor is trying to supply more power to the load, it increases the voltage, which then offsets the natural increase in current. An increase in power losses in the motor due excess demand on the motor is offset by the electronics feedback circuit increasing the voltage.

Remember, electrical power is voltage times current. Drop the voltage, the current goes up if one keeps the power the same. 

Cassandra


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## Lemuzz (Jul 25, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> HI Bob
> 
> I think this true for most power tools,,,
> 
> ...


I had 2 machines driven by DeSouter 230volt 2 speed portable drills. The drill motor was working quite hard driving a centrifuge. To change speed of the machine the voltage started at 90v for about 5 minutes which gave us an output speed speed of around 150 RPM then increased to 230 v over 4 stages for another 10 minutes before reaching full motor speed. In 20 or so years each of these drills performed thousands of hours work working all day long with only an occasional brush replacement and an annual lube. I don't agree that a drop in voltage in a *Brush Type *motor will cause any problem as long as the motor doesn't overheat. I don't know the effect it would have on a variable speed motor:moil::moil:


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

I live in England and can recommend MLCS, having dealt with them on many occasions. I used to have an Hitachi M12 single speed router. I sold it and bought an Elu mof177, similar to a Dewalt DW625ek, for speed control on large bits and the increased diameter of the hole cutout in the base.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

The issue is not that the motor necessarily *will* fail. As you slow the motor, you slow the cooling fan, reducing air flow. Depending upon the motor, the environment and other things, dissipating this heat may or not be a problem.


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Welcome to the RouterForums Steve.


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## Barreller (Jun 1, 2009)

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions and advice guys. I decided that an after market solution was unwise (and unavailable in the UK!) so bought a DW625EL on a certain well known auction site. It fits directly into my table where I guess it will probably live until the DW624 dies.

This has led to another probvlem with the work I am trying to complete so I will pose another question in the table routing forum.

Steve


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

I too have been following the sales of Dw625ek's on a certain site. Did you get a good deal, can you recommend/name the company you dealt with.


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## Barreller (Jun 1, 2009)

I paid £135 with £18 carriage. 2008 model in a case with all original parts and accessories. All works fine, possibly a private seller (there were no other items on offer) I was the only biodder and got in with 18 mins to spare.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Steve

Just so we in the states know what you paid for it 

UK£ 135 = 215.6895 U.S. dollars
UK£ 18 = 28.7586 U.S. dollars
total $247.45 in green backs

http://cgi.ebay.com/DEWALT-DW625-EL...66:2|39:1|72:1205|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

http://cgi.ebay.com/DEWALT-ELECTRIC...s?hash=item45ebec463a&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

====


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

Well done, you dont need fancy parts for a table mounted system, just the power, and ability to change the bits.


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