# Centering router base. Help!



## LarryN (May 16, 2005)

Hi, I'm new here, but was delighted to find some fellow woodworkers willing to share knowledge. I've built guitars very off and on, since 1976. I used a Sears router for many years, which worked great for neck tenons, since it was easy to manage and measure from. The biggest drawback was that it didn't hold the bit well in deep routing situations. So I went and bought a big Makita 3612 plunge router, thinking it was time to get something good. After having it for a year or so, I bought some collars to use for some pickup routing jigs, and when I started it up, the bit was eating the aluminum of the collar. I could then see that it wasn't centered. Has this happened to anyone and can the base be centered? Thank you much.


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

Welcome to the Forum!

I don't have a Makita router but I am sure they have a provision for centering the bit in the sub base. 

I know of two systems one is a round disk with 1/4" hole in the center. The disk is the same size as the guide bushing and fits in place of a guide bushing. A alignment shaft is mounted in the router and you loosen the sub base screws and with the shaft in the disk you retighten them. 

The second type is a cone type where a shaft with a cone shape is put in the router and a guide bushing is put in the sub base, again the sub base screws are loosened and the cone is used to center sub base.

Some routers come with these but for others you will need to purchase the parts.

A less then perfect way is to eyeball it.... In my early days I did this but it was a lot less perfect then I liked but then again maybe it was just me..... Anyway you can give it a try and at least get to the point of not taking off part of the guide bushings.

Hope this helps

Ed


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## LarryN (May 16, 2005)

Thanks Ed. That sounds very do-able and hopeful! I'll see if I can locate the parts to do just that.


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## LarryN (May 16, 2005)

After taking my base apart, I was disappointed to find that the bushing plate mounting screw holes were machined off center from the base. Grrrrrrr. More modern junk! It has been pretty disheartening to buy tools in the last ten years. I'll see what the store says.


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## template tom (Sep 18, 2004)

LarryN said:


> Hi, I'm new here, but was delighted to find some fellow woodworkers willing to share knowledge. I've built guitars very off and on, since 1976. I used a Sears router for many years, which worked great for neck tenons, since it was easy to manage and measure from. The biggest drawback was that it didn't hold the bit well in deep routing situations. So I went and bought a big Makita 3612 plunge router, thinking it was time to get something good. After having it for a year or so, I bought some collars to use for some pickup routing jigs, and when I started it up, the bit was eating the aluminum of the collar. I could then see that it wasn't centered. Has this happened to anyone and can the base be centered? Thank you much.


Seems to me the base plate has not been centred properly
I have been using Makita for years and this is my preferred router and never had this problem so it is not the router also I have never added a base plate as Makita have a great range of guides. Where does the aluminim collar come in I have never fitted an aluminium collar to my Makita
Tom


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