Triton plunge in router table question

Hi to all of you brains,

I have a question. I have a 2 1/4 peak HP Triton plunge router in a router table. I purchased this unit for two main reasons: 1) the articles and forum members praised it 2) I should have absolutely no reason to have to look or reach under the table top to do anything I want with this unit.

Item #1 is great. Item #2 is great EXCEPT for safety reasons the router will not let me place or remove a router bit unless I turn off the switch on the router itself. Guess what? The switch is on the router, which is under the table top.

I am hoping that I am not the first person to have this problem and that one or more of you brains have solved it for me. The switch has a safety cover. When you turn the switch off it activates some sort of cam that allows the collet to come all of the way up and lock. I need to defeat this mechanism. I would prefer to do this without breaking anything in case I want to use the Triton as a plunge router in the future. Don't get me wrong---if I need to break something to make it work so I never have to go under the table---I will break something.

I am eagerly anticipating your brilliant ideas---or any other kind.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
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Jim,

I'm not all that familiar with your router, but what about if its unplugged?

Will it let you remove the bits then?

I guess you can't get much safer than it being unplugged.:huh:
 
Sean, as I understand it, there's a safety interlock on the switch itself. Unless it is in the off position, the collet won't come off.

Jim, I haven't seen the inside of that router, but is there perhaps a way you could bypass the switch with a little jumper and wire it so it's always on, even when the switch is off? Of course, you'd want another, table-mounted switch if you did that. You'd also need to be able to remove the jumper when you wanted to use it out of the table. A bit of hassle, but at least it wouldn't break anything.
 
I have that router on the table and find it trivial to reach under to turn off the switch when I want to change the bit. It takes no more than 5 seconds.

But, recently I discovered something that is not so trivial. :( The fine adjustment above the table should not be used to wind the router into it’s final locked position. If you use it much to do this, the fine adjust will eventually break. For more information about this, see this thread: http://www.canadianwoodworking.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19653 on the Canadian Woodworking forum. So now, whenever I want to change a bit, I need to reach under the table and use the handle to wind up the router to it’s locked position. This takes me at least 15 seconds and I find it not as easy to do. I only started doing this a couple of weeks ago so maybe, with time, I will get better at it.
 
Jim,

Simple solution, get one of these. I don't have one but have used one. They work well. I don't have a table for my router, I did but it was in my old table saw extension, and I sold it. I like that Triton router, but I have an old DeWalt 621 that keeps chuggin' along which is a great plunge router for hand work. A router is sure handy, but a bit noisy for the way I like to work. Still, it's a needed tool in today's shop, IMO. How is the noise level on those Tritons?

Did you get one on the Woodcraft sale recently? They had a great price...

EDIT: I see Vaughn's response, if that is the case you are SOL I suspect.
Alan, that won't work. The actual switch on the Triton must be used before the router can be wound into its final locked position.

About you noise question, the Triton has an adjustable speed control and at the low end, the noise is not bad. At the top end it is just as loud as my Festool router.
 
Sean,

Thanks for the input. However, the switch on the router has to be physically moved to clear something so that the collet can be raised into the locked position.

Yes, I do have a separate switch on the router table---one I can turn off with my knee. I'm a bit chicken---I still unplug the beast.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
Vaughn,

I would have no hesitation to wire around the switch. After reading all of these responses I think I will just take my screwdriver and remove the cover in that area and see what I can do.

When I was younger I said that I could put anything back together that I took apart. It didn't matter if it was electronics, a mechanical typewriter, a record changer (have you heard of those things), or the seat out of a car. Now I am older, wiser (and consequently not so smart), and I hesitate to just tear into something.

The Triton is dedicated to the table. I have other routers for hand use.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
Frank,

I get a chuckle every time I see your helper in the avatar.

Are you trying to pop my bubble? It took me over 6 months to get that particular router because of back orders. I purchased it specifically because I NEVER want to go under the table to do anything with the router. I already had routers I could have mounted, but they all required reaching under the table for some reason.

The link you posted for me was VERY disquieting. I guess I will be very gentle and use the fine tuning because the purchase of the Triton and the router table design were all predicated on the fact that I could do everything from the top.

My oldest son (Greg not Glenn) is always saying, "Nothing is ever simple dad." I guess this is a point to help prove it.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
Alan,

It sounds like SOL (and a few other WWII abbreviations) apply here. All of my tools, except the drill press, have a switch I can bump with my knee or the switch is in my hand (miter saw).

I am a bit of a safety freak. In my position I have seen a bazillion injuries from machinery, chemicals, etc. Some from plain bad luck. Virtally all would have been prevented with proper safety equipment. So I wear my safety glasses, ear plugs, dust mask in addition to the DC, etc.

Each of my machines has safety "fit over" glasses and ear plugs hanging from it. That is in case I get to the machine wearing my regular glasses instead of my Rx safety glasses. I want NO excuse (this will only take a second) to not wear safety equipment.

I do not wish to add to the grizzley statistics. Jeepers I got off on a run there didn't I.

I might as well finish this. When I was in school we had a class in safety vision. It covered all of the gear, the statistics, films of injuries, etc. I worked my way thru school to save money to open an office...we lived on my GI Bill of Rights income.

I was building a bookcase for the Dean's office. The sawdust was bothering my eyes. I put on a 19 cent plastic bubble to cover my eyes so I could keep them open. I don't know why I didn't take off the bubble, however, later I was running the South Bend lathe and a piece of steel came up and penetrated the bubble right in front of my right eye...did not make it to the eye.

I reached up, turned off the South Bend, went over to the clinic, got some safety glasses, and have worn them ever since.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
Jim,

Please let all of us know Triton's response. I also have the same router which I purchased a couple of months ago. Curious whether the newer units have modifications to prevent the fine adjust problem. Good luck.
 
Jim,

If you do end up taking it apart to bypass the switch, get a digital camera and snap some pictures of the process. 2 reasons for this.... 1st, There are probably a good number of folks here that would like to see that. 2nd, In the event you can't remember how to get it back together / have extra pieces left over, you can see where they went.
 
Jim,

If you do end up taking it apart to bypass the switch, get a digital camera and snap some pictures of the process. 2 reasons for this.... 1st, There are probably a good number of folks here that would like to see that. 2nd, In the event you can't remember how to get it back together / have extra pieces left over, you can see where they went.

Boy I learned that one a while back with taking bike engines apart, turned out to be a real lifesaver a few times! :thumb:
 
Triton is NOT going to tell how to get around it.
I have one of the early ones, no above table adjustment.

I've had mine apart once to clean it. Sawdust accumulated enough that it would not wind up all the way. all the setup is designed to do is keep you from powering up the router with lock pin engaged.

The only way around it is disassemble it, jumper the power switch so it is always on and use an external power switch.
Keep in mind if you power it up with raised in the lock position bad things could happen.
 
Hi Robert and Frank,

It has been three workdays since I contacted Triton. From their excellent web site and their statement of a "quick reply" to questions, I assume that they are on the ball. Therefore 3 days and no reply probably means, "No response" coming because everyone is ducking possible liability. I do think they could write and just tell me that instead of no response at all.

I will disassemble it. I will fix an additional external switch that I will use in addition to the paddle switch on the table. When the unit goes up two switches will be off so I would have to be stupid twice at one time to get in trouble.

The above brought back an old memory. I don't think the following will be too off color---If it is the moderator can remove it with my blessing. When I joined the service in WWII I joined the Navy because I am a small guy (138 # at the time). At that time the non-officer Navy trousers were carefully designed so that you had to undo 13 (yes thirteen) buttons to go to the bathroom.

The guys said, "That gives a girl 13 chances to say, 'No!' and stay out of trouble." Well I will have 2 chances to prevent an accident when changing router bits...and stay out of trouble.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
Jim, you mentioned that you didn't have an off switch that you could bump with your knee on your DP, so I thought I'd mention that I (used to have) a foot operated switch that I plugged my DP into and with that setup, I could turn OFF the DP with either the DP's switch mounted on the front of the head, OR the foot switch. Both switches had to be "ON" for the DP to operate.

When I ever get this shop finished and set things back up, I intend to get another one of those switches for the DP again, (since the original seems to have taken wings in the big shuffle).:rolleyes: Since things "CAN" really go flying around or OFF of a DP, if something does go wrong, (like a clamp coming loose, or etc.)

I keep thinking that some Mfr will make a DP or DP's (in a reasonable price range) with a foot operated brake/off switch like some of the European Bandsaws, (like the one I have). I would consider this a real Safety feature for a DP.
 
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