A successful modification.

John Pollman

Member
Messages
1,332
Location
Rochester Hills, MI
Hi folks!

A couple months ago I bought a guide bushing set for my router. I'm familiar with what they're used for but have never owned or used one. I have a Freud router and ended up buying a Ridgid universal guide bushing set.

I read through the installation instructions and got to work. It was fairly easy but you have to be VERY precise in drilling the holes in the new base or it won't be centered properly. It MUST be precisely centered or it won't work correctly. I thought I was good to go but when I went to give it a try, I found that the base was just a hair off. I was really bummed and figured that I'd have to just order a new base and start over again. A little while ago I started thinking about it and came up with a solution. Here's what I did.

The kit comes with a countersink bit to drill the three mounting holes in the base. The screws are flat head screws with a taper on them so that they are self aligning when you tighten them. Unfortunately, one of the holes was just a hair off. So I took the base off and grabbed three washers. I selected a forstner bit that was just a little larger than the O.D. of the washer. I then went to the drill press and used the bit to drill out over top of the existing countersunk holes. When they were deep enough, I used another bit to make each of the smaller through holes just slightly larger.

To reinstall it, I just placed the base back on the router and loosely installed the screws (with washers now) into the base. I then installed the centering jig and aligned the base. Once it was perfectly aligned, I just tightened the screws and was good to go. It's now perfectly aligned and should work fine. I'm glad I saved the $$ it would have cost to buy a new base. All I did was make it so the base has a small bit of adjustment when installing and it made my life a lot easier.

I just thought I'd share in case any of you are in the same situation. This is a cheap and easy fix that worked great for me.

Take care!

John
 
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