|
The steel in the base is a lot thicker than I was expecting. A week later, I received an undamaged replacement top. I saw no obvious damage to the box.Instead of contacting Amazon, I immediately called Kreg and the gentlemen told me to keep or dispose of the top and they would send out a new one. I recently ordered this router table and was pleased to find it's quite heavy duty. Unfortunately the top arrived damaged. Great customer service from Kreg. There was a large split down the miter slot and through the router insert hole.
These rings are held in place by screws which are threaded into very small, very fragile threaded holes in the phenolic insert. It is, however, one of the most fragile.The fence is billed as being similar to a table saw fence. In my view, that is a bit of marketing hyperbole. The stand is very sturdy as is the laminate coated table top and the actual aluminium fence. There is a tall twist knob at the opposite end of the fence that you tighten after aligning the fence properly. Exercise extreme care when installing the reducing rings. I stripped the threads in the aluminium parts tightening one of those screws, using a hand screwdriver gripped by my fingers only (i.e. I did not grab the screwdriver with a "fist grip").
There is no positive "stop" when the screws are in far enough. This is not the first tool I have had to assemble from a myriad of parts. Engaging the lever does not, however, lock the fence perpendicular to the side of the table. It is a reflection of the robustness of some key components.
There are 2 nylon screws which take the slop out of the levered glide. The phenolic insert accepts either of 2 reducing rings. The 3 star rating is not meant to reflect the usefulness of the product or the accuracy of the work one can perform with it. It is extremely easy to strip the threads in the phenolic insert by over-tightening. More disappointingly, the aluminium assembly which attaches the fence to the levered glide (and the glide itself) which attaches to the guide on the side of the table are extremely fragile. The fence does have a locking lever at one end like a table saw fence.
When I assembled my table one went in perfectly while the other cross-threaded as it entered the second piece of metal. There are some weak areas. The assembly is held to the levered glide by 4 machine screws with brass washers. It certainly isn't a bad system, just not as effective as a table saw fence. I'm a lawyer and I am not noted for my death grip.
Very accurate. The fence is a singe piece fence like a table saw. I cinched the hold down screws a little tighter and it hasn't done it again. I had a problem with the support screws vibrating out and allowing the insert to drop down. This is a very nice router table. Do yourself a favor and purchase the micro-adjuster for the fence. If it does, I'll apply some loctite to the screws. This really lets you dial the fence in.
I looked for a router table for quite a while, but made my decision right away when I saw this unit in a store. I also bought a Triton router to go with it, which eliminated the need for an expensive lift. The Kreg guys may also consider offering table extensions (an outfeed extension would be especially nice), but they are easy enough to build yourself.You can't build a table like this for the same money, and that was the deciding factor in my case. I was a bit worried about the rigidity of the fence while assembling all the sub-components, but ended up with a sturdy and perfectly aligned assembly that works almost flawlessly. And if you have already decided to buy a complete table, you won't find anything better at this price.
Some kind of rail or grommet would have made the screw slide much more smoothly, but I simply used some candle wax. Not much at all, but there are a few things that could have been done better for little or no money. Another thing that the nitpickers may not like is that the lock screw on the left side of the fence slides in a slot routed straight into the table. I didn't buy this table from Amazon (due to the reviews above) but the product itself is so outstanding that I want to review it anyway, just to help others who are looking for a good product. The micro adjuster is not really necessary, but for a measly $14 it's a very nice option as it eliminates the tedious "tap and check" routine. I lucked out, and got the casters included for the same price as Woodcraft happened to have a special on them, and also added a paddle switch to go on the front. I'm still not sure about how the phenolic router insert will hold up to the weight of the somewhat heavy 3 1/4 hp router, but an aluminum insert would have been nice, at least as an option. It's easy enough to fix by shortening the screw though.
For starters, the frame, table and fence are very substantial, and this table would probably be right at home in any professional woodworking shop. I have about $750 in the whole setup now, and it's worth every penny.So what's not to like. Add the Triton router, and you'll be ready to go. One annoying thing is that the set screw for the ruler in the fence assembly sticks up a hair above the surface of the table, so the work piece rides on this until it clears the screw.
Call #3 got them to actually tell UPS to pick it up. He said he'd be back this afternoon to pick it up. Fast forwarding to today, of the five times i have spoken to the Amazon customer service, on only two of those times have I been able to understand the person on the other end of the phone. I then called customer service. Finally, on call #5, I talked to a very delightful lady who seemed to understand what needed to be done. If they had designed their packaging better, the damage probably wouldn't have happened. First of all, they sent me a UPS paid return label.
I've started to build cabinets and drawers in the stand below the table top, but find there's not a lot of room for that. I sent an email and asked for them to fix that. The sawdust collection is pretty good above the table, but the floor quickly gets several inches deep in the stuff that falls through the opening in the top. Part of my cabinet plans below the table include a fix for that.It is now about two weeks after I wrote the above review. Grand total contacts with Amazon customer service are now in excess of ten, and the latest advice of the pickup says I may be charged for the return shipping costs.
So the product gets five starts, Kreg gets four stars, and Amazon gets zero stars for bad customer service.Update 5/7/08: I've used the router table quite a bit now. The padding in the box was a piece of styrofoam 1/4" thick and some corrugated cardboard. Call #4 got cut off after waiting for 15 minutes to get transferred to a supervisor. I gave this review four stars, because Kreg was partly at fault for the damage mine received. The rest of the time, it has been someone with a very heavy accent who mumbled.On the first call, they told me to put the whole thing into one box and send it in a single shipment. At the wrong address, and only one box. For one box, not three. All three had obviously been dropped, presumably by UPS, on a corner.
For a damaged item. Let me get the zero stars for Amazon out of the way first. It arrived right on time. There were three boxes in the shipment, one for the stand, one for the table top, and one for the fence. The fence works exactly like they say it does.
I can't wait that long, so I told them to give me a refund. MDF is not that sturdy. Except that they didn't tell UPS to do so. I reminded them that it was unlikely that UPS would pick up a box that weighed in excess of 200 pounds. Sure hope I get it. Square and easy to use. But a conversation with the UPS guy at my office may have broken the stalemate. It is still as great as I noted above.
This is a really great router table. It needs at least 2" of foam padding.But the table itself is wonderful. Five additional contacts with Amazon just resulted in UPS going to the wrong address again to pick it up. But this time, I had to deal with their customer service people.I ordered this item, using the Amazon Prime free shipping program. I've only had to return one other item, and that return was handled perfectly, since I just dealt with their computer system. They sent me another one, same deal. To be fair, I have bought a bunch of stuff from Amazon - my first stop for shopping.
So they said that they would have UPS pick it up at my office. It was scheduled to be shipped in June. During assembly, it came to light that the table top was smashed on the corner where it was dropped. The stand is built like an Abrams tank, and the table is a nice size. I contacted Amazon to return it, and the past 2-1/2 weeks has been a nightmare of really bad customer service. We'll see -- they are supposed to pick it up tomorrow.When the return process first began, they entered a new order for a replacement. Paid more, but I have the table in my shop now.Now about the Five stars rating for the product itself.
In the meantime, I bought this router table at the local Woodcraft store.
|
May be eligible for FREE Shipping offer
