# new base plate



## Tazkb (Oct 14, 2011)

Hi guys, I have an Erbauer Router which although I am happy with it (for the money) one of it's let downs is the difficulty in aquiring guide bush's :cray:
so it looks like the best way forward is to make a new base plate that will accept other brands of guide bush's. I have 3 sheets of Acrylic (plastic) in 3mm, 5mm and another 5mm, my intention is to cut a 3mm and 5mm sheet together, plenty of others have mentioned making a square base plate rather than a round one, so i will try a square one, (i have designed a square adjustable one that works like the adjustable fence that came with the rounter) or even a triangular shape base (has anyone tried a triangular base ?) anyway my idea was to glue the 3mm and 5mm Acrylic together after first cutting the right size hole in the 5mm for the outside dia of the new guide bush's, then drilling holes in the 3mm for the guide bush's (or should i be doing it the other way ?)
so i was wondering due to the fact i will be adding a total of 8mm to the base of the router how do you make up for the loss of plunge ? do you guys fit a "collet extension" ,
thanks


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Keith

No need to reinvent the wheel. just pickup the kit below, you can find it all over eBay, for the right price..

10 Piece Router Template Guide Set


plus note the adapter made for that type of router.(it's a Makita copy cat router)



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Tazkb said:


> Hi guys, I have an Erbauer Router which although I am happy with it (for the money) one of it's let downs is the difficulty in aquiring guide bush's :cray:
> so it looks like the best way forward is to make a new base plate that will accept other brands of guide bush's. I have 3 sheets of Acrylic (plastic) in 3mm, 5mm and another 5mm, my intention is to cut a 3mm and 5mm sheet together, plenty of others have mentioned making a square base plate rather than a round one, so i will try a square one, (i have designed a square adjustable one that works like the adjustable fence that came with the rounter) or even a triangular shape base (has anyone tried a triangular base ?) anyway my idea was to glue the 3mm and 5mm Acrylic together after first cutting the right size hole in the 5mm for the outside dia of the new guide bush's, then drilling holes in the 3mm for the guide bush's (or should i be doing it the other way ?)
> so i was wondering due to the fact i will be adding a total of 8mm to the base of the router how do you make up for the loss of plunge ? do you guys fit a "collet extension" ,
> thanks


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## Tazkb (Oct 14, 2011)

Hi Bob,
I'm not sure you fully understand, my Erbauer Router is the large one, see here
Erbauer 2100w 1/2in Router | Screwfix.com
The problem being that although it comes with 1 guide bush sourcing other sizes is impossible :angry: whats more the guide bush outer diameter is over 3 1/2" or 90mm,
this creates a dilema, I intend to buy the set you mentioned anyway but they do not have a converter 90mm in diameter :sad: so I can make a new base plate designed to fit the universal set OR a friend suggested he could make me a 90mm plate with the screw holes drilled and countersunk and then either braze/solder/weld the converter plate into the center of this allowing me to use the full kit, this would be a one off conversion that should work without a problem. The 90mm diameter of the standard guide bush plate seem pointless to me, I mean why so large ? anyway thanks BOB
atb keith


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## Tazkb (Oct 14, 2011)

forgot to ask about the collet extension? does anyone use one ?
thanks


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Keith

That's not a big one that's a run of the mill one 

Now this is a big one 18 lbs. of router
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-...f=sr_1_16?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1320117312&sr=1-16

collet extension, yes I use all 3 types of them..they work great.

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Tazkb said:


> Hi Bob,
> I'm not sure you fully understand, my Erbauer Router is the large one, see here
> Erbauer 2100w 1/2in Router | Screwfix.com
> The problem being that although it comes with 1 guide bush sourcing other sizes is impossible :angry: whats more the guide bush outer diameter is over 3 1/2" or 90mm,
> ...


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Tazkb said:


> Hi Bob,
> I'm not sure you fully understand, my Erbauer Router is the large one, see here
> Erbauer 2100w 1/2in Router | Screwfix.com
> The problem being that although it comes with 1 guide bush sourcing other sizes is impossible :angry: whats more the guide bush outer diameter is over 3 1/2" or 90mm,
> ...


Hi Keith - Maybe you can use something like this:
Milescraft 1261 Base Plate Metal-Nose Bushing Set for Routers: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

I've got a collet extension and wouldn't recommend one for hand held use. I'm not sure one would even clear the guide bushing if you were to want to use them together.


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## Tazkb (Oct 14, 2011)

Thanks chaps, the Milescraft kit is the kind of thing i was thinking of making, I am not a fan of base plates that look like they have been a clay pigeon in a past life  
i have used one before and it would foul on rough timber quite a bit.
I have now purchased a smaller B&D Router for £20 brand new, iv'e had one before and while not very powerfull they certainly punch above their weight and I managed some good work with the last one, it's also considerably lighter and for much of what i need will surfice, using the heavy one for the bigger jobs.
However I will still need to fabricate something to hold the guide bushings for the big router, where as i suspect the black and decker will be easier to fit out with bushings.
I will be ordering the bushing kit on payday, when it arrives I will better be able to understand just what is required
thanks


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi John

" I'm not sure one would even clear the guide bushing if you were to want to use them together. "

Yes, they will if you use the Milescraft plate with the bigger guides ( 1 1/2", OP and Lee Valley type) and yes they will fit the Milescraft if you make your own turn lock insert and they are safe to use in the hand router.. 

They are great for bowl work and template jobs.,.

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/router_collet.html


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jschaben said:


> Hi Keith - Maybe you can use something like this:
> Milescraft 1261 Base Plate Metal-Nose Bushing Set for Routers: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
> 
> I've got a collet extension and wouldn't recommend one for hand held use. I'm not sure one would even clear the guide bushing if you were to want to use them together.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi John
> 
> " I'm not sure one would even clear the guide bushing if you were to want to use them together. "
> 
> ...


I've had that extension about a year.. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've used it at all. I tried once, with my old table, I couldn't get the bit high enough without it nor low enough with it. I likely took the stupid route and pulled the bit up some more. It was only lacking about a 1/16" and I'm usually pretty conservative about the shank-in-the-collar.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi JOhn

" low enough " yep that can be a PITA with of them but a easy work around is by just adding one more base plate to the router, it a easy quick thing to do but you need to have longer screws on hand to button it up right to the mounting plate..2 or 3 screws and about 5 mins.and you are up and running in the safe mode. 

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jschaben said:


> I've had that extension about a year.. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've used it at all. I tried once, with my old table, I couldn't get the bit high enough without it nor low enough with it. I likely took the stupid route and pulled the bit up some more. It was only lacking about a 1/16" and I'm usually pretty conservative about the shank-in-the-collar.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi JOhn
> 
> " low enough " yep that can be a PITA with of them but a easy work around is by just adding one more base plate to the router, it a easy quick thing to do but you need to have longer screws on hand to button it up right to the mounting plate..2 or 3 screws and about 5 mins.and you are up and running in the safe mode.
> 
> ====


This was in a table. I probably could have piggybacked on to a piece of 3/4 stock and been golden. I was still pretty early in using a table so hadn't learned to think that way yet.... still learnin

Keith, Can't say as I disagree with your assesment of the Milescraft plate:lol: They are handy though, I just adapted a Triton JOF001 to accept bushings using one of them and there sure isn't much visibility through all those holes. Works great though and probably saved me several hours of sussing out how to do it and fabricating one. I wanted to do it such that I could keep the dust collection and below base bit change features intact. Milescraft had 90% of the issues handled for me, just needed some slight modification to handle the edge guide mounting.


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## Tazkb (Oct 14, 2011)

Thanks chaps, I will order one of the bushing kits, once it arrives and I have it to hand I will better know what to do, i'm that kind of guy, once i have the problem to hand I can usually work out the best solution. I have a friend who can fabricate just about anything so if that's the route I choose I will let you know how well it works, another chap I know reckons Hitachi guide bush's will fit the big Erbauer router ? so I will check that as well
thanks


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