Question about Triton in Router Table

[wcndave]

My cheapo router table died, so I need to replace, and fairly quickly.

I have looked at Jessem Excel, however requires specific routers, that seem to be hard to come by, and expensive.
I looked at the Rout-r-lift prestige for plunge routers, and then also at a standard table insert with a Triton TRA001.

I really want to have above table fine adjustment, plenty of power, easy bit change, so the Triton seems to tick all those boxes, whilst being half the price of some elaborate Excel set up.

However I have a few questions, so hope someone has this already and can clarify.

- can you use the above table adjustment for the full length, or do you have to plunge close and then use it?
- is the above table adjustment using the fine adjuster?
- if you mount with adjuster at front, it looks like the power is on the left, and the plunge lever and speed control would then be behind making them awkward to get to?

That last one seems critical, as if you have above table adjustment, but need to reach under and behind router to lock it each time you do a tiny fine adustment, that seems to defeat the purpose.

- power, it has some clever power off when changing bits feature, however i'd like to add a switch to the front of my cabinet, can this be done? perhaps I only need to reach in and slide / turn on after a bit change, which is ok.
- does the locking on full plunge feature actually reduce the stated plunge depth at all?

Lots of questions! I've only seen good reviews, so I'm pretty sure I will go for it anyway, as my next option is about €500 more with some sort of lift, (I don't like trend), but if it eliminates lots of annoyances...

Thanks folks!

 

[pcb1962]

- can you use the above table adjustment for the full length, or do you have to plunge close and then use it?
- is the above table adjustment using the fine adjuster?
- if you mount with adjuster at front, it looks like the power is on the left, and the plunge lever and speed control would then be behind making them awkward to get to?
- power, it has some clever power off when changing bits feature, however i'd like to add a switch to the front of my cabinet, can this be done? perhaps I only need to reach in and slide / turn on after a bit change, which is ok.
- does the locking on full plunge feature actually reduce the stated plunge depth at all?

- yes
- yes
- they are not awkward to get to, unless you have trouble bending/squatting down
- the power off is not clever, it's simply that the switch cover in the on position gets in the way of raising (plunging) the router to the point where the spindle locks. The router should ideally be plugged into an NVR switch at the front of the cabinet, this is what I have done.
- yes, but you would have to switch it off anyway to reach the full plunge depth.

See also using-triton-tra001-under-table-t88742.html

 

[wcndave]

Thanks.

By clever I guess I meant that you cannot change bit without power off, you cannot power on in bit change "mode" and you have to do two actions to power on.

I was just thinking that if I am creeping up on some measurement, which I often do, I have to:

reach under and power off.
reach under other side and release the plunge stop
raise / lower bit from top
reach under and engage the stop lever
reach under other side and power on

With the external wheel version I have now (cheap woodstar), and why I was looking at the Jessem Excel, is that you stop from the front, release from above, raise / lower from above, lock from above, and power on again.

I am aware I can fit an NVR switch for the power part, just seems the locking action is not ideal.

Then again for €700 less perhaps I can live with that

Just a shame as I'm used to having it on a £200 machine!

 

[pcb1962]

I was just thinking that if I am creeping up on some measurement, which I often do, I have to:

reach under and power off.
reach under other side and release the plunge stop
raise / lower bit from top
reach under and engage the stop lever
reach under other side and power on

Whilst you're under the table it's easier to make your height adjustment using the knob on the router rather than coming back up to the top to use the winder. I do that most of the time when making a small height adjustment, it's just lock off, twiddle knob, lock on.

 

[DiscoStu]

I have the triton and have it with the height adjustment at the back, then the speed dial is accessible and the power button is front right.

I have it in the triton table which makes accessing all of the elements easy. The power off switch safety is actually sensible and after a couple of uses becomes second nature.

I've been very impressed with it.

 

[pcb1962]

I have the triton and have it with the height adjustment at the back

Don't you find that the height adjuster hole is covered by the fence most of the time?

 

[wcndave]

Thanks everyone. I got an Incra table and insert plate, the extra set of inserts, and the Triton TRA001. The incra plate was pre-drilled for the router, although not for the top access hole for the winder.

I guess I have two categories of thoughts about the kit I have, but in summary It's a really excellent upgrade to what I had before, and the Triton router is fantastic for its price.

Triton Router Hand Held
- Two action power switch, great safety feature
- Hollow turret system with measuring and spring loaded rod. Some routers like Festool and to a certain extent dewalt have good depth stop measuring systems, however this one has the ability to set two! Not seen one where you could set the depth of two turret parts each with readable markings (for those who've not seen it, it's really not the same as a standard 3 point turret)
- rack and pinion, not seen that on a router before, makes it so easy to adjust, instead of the up/down bobbing for apples you get with plunge setting
- fine (ish) adjust, good, but not unique
- auto lock and power off when changing bits, very very good
- Heavy for hand use though (the big model)

Triton Router in Table
- Very powerful etc
- two action switch, annoying, you are unlikely to reach under the table and hit the power switch which is at the back "by accident"
- Turrets, no use
- rack and pinion, no use
- fine adjustment - good from under the table, no point from above, as by the time you've released the plunge lever and put the handle through etc...
- auto lock and power off, again very good
- Top height adjustment. mm, could relate to the post above too, when you use the handle, you have to put through the hole in the top, and then look under to get it seated, so as pcb says, it's much faster to do it whilst under. I do use the handle for raising the bit for changing, and then for lowering it fully, ie any action that requires more than 5 turns.

I think therefore Stu having that at the back may not be an issue.

So, although the Triton has great features, most of them are not useful in a table. But it's cheap and powerful.

With my old table I could power on/off, fine adjust, fast raise/lower, change speed, and lock off, all from above the table. I spend a lot of time under the table now. However at this time I still feel better off, as the whole setup is much better overall in terms of quality.

One final thing I noticed when using the height adjustment, as you're going up, you need to adjust and then bump the router. Generally it goes up skewed, the leg the adjustment is on goes up, and the other side lags behind. A quick nudge is all it takes, and it becomes second nature quickly. This is another reason that above the table fine adjustment with the Triton isn't really optimal.

Overall, the Triton is certainly no worse than any other plunge router mounted under table, has a load of power, and is half the price of similar routers from most other decent makes.

Have a few thoughts about the table too, however next time ;-)

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

Have you removed the spring for table use. You shouldn't need to bump the router when adjusting, I never have on the 2 I own at least.

,Mike.

 

[wcndave]

I have removed the spring yes, I can understand with the weight of the router, that it will drag / lean on one side when going up. it's only a minor amount, however I was doing 8mm mortise in 19mm stock, to a depth of 50mm, so needed it to be very accurate right angle all the way.

 

[cagenuts]

I was just thinking that if I am creeping up on some measurement, which I often do, I have to:

reach under and power off.
reach under other side and release the plunge stop
raise / lower bit from top
reach under and engage the stop lever
reach under other side and power on

You would be doing this all wrong!

Firstly the plunge stop lever is not needed as you're not plunging. Leave it loosened permanently.

Secondly no need to power off unless you are changing bits.

Thirdly, if you mount the router (looking from above) with the left power switch handle skewed to the left back and the height adjustment handle skewed towards the front right, you will have easy access to make the major adjustments to height before needing the above table winding thingie.

I just reach under the table, pull the inner ring towards the main knob and turn them both to raise or lower the router.

In terms of power, the router, table saw and mitre saw are the three tools I want completely disconnected when changing bits or blades. To make this easy, fit something like this (or rip it out of a computer power supply) to your router table. It's then easy to pull out the cord close to the machine without having to fiddle around at the wall socket.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Hello,

Have you removed the spring for table use. You shouldn't need to bump the router when adjusting, I never have on the 2 I own at least.

,Mike.

Yep same here, sounds like you have an issue with yours.

I was just thinking that if I am creeping up on some measurement, which I often do, I have to:

reach under and power off.
reach under other side and release the plunge stop
raise / lower bit from top
reach under and engage the stop lever
reach under other side and power on

You would be doing this all wrong!

Firstly the plunge stop lever is not needed as you're not plunging. Leave it loosened permanently.

I don't think that's recommended unless you want to ruin your workpiece...

 

[wcndave]

Firstly the plunge stop lever is not needed as you're not plunging. Leave it loosened permanently.

I think to avoid vibration, the bit moving, and general safety and accuracy, it's always recommended to tighten. perhaps for a light edge treatment I might not, however 5cm deep 8mm wide mortises in 19mm oak boards? I am tightening it.

Secondly no need to power off unless you are changing bits.

when changing height, I might use a gauge on my workpiece to check progress, line up all my boards again, and want to measure the height of the bit. I don't really want to leave it running for all of that, and certainly not when measuring the bit height... I have left it running for very rough cut height changes.

Thirdly, if you mount the router (looking from above) with the left power switch handle skewed to the left back and the height adjustment handle skewed towards the front right, you will have easy access to make the major adjustments to height before needing the above table winding thingie.


I just reach under the table, pull the inner ring towards the main knob and turn them both to raise or lower the router.

I actually do the opposite, I use the above for large lower /raise, however for creeping up, or multiple passes, it is much easier to reach under and do one or two turns.

The faffing to engage the above table mechanism is not worth it for a turn or two.

I'm used to going under table to do this now, everything above table was nice, but first world problems and all that...

In terms of power, the router, table saw and mitre saw are the three tools I want completely disconnected when changing bits or blades. To make this easy, fit something like this (or rip it out of a computer power supply) to your router table. It's then easy to pull out the cord close to the machine without having to fiddle around at the wall socket.

Yes, it was more around turning the router on / off that i was thinking of. I may put a NVR switch in some day.

Thanks!

 

[cagenuts]

I don't use the above table winder either as I find I can micro adjust just perfectly directly from the router.

I have a Triton Router Table so it has that NVR switch built in which is handy to quickly switch off to check the height. I'm still going to install those C13/14 connectors to completely eliminate a potential problem.

 

[wcndave]

I don't use the above table winder either as I find I can micro adjust just perfectly directly from the router.

I have a Triton Router Table so it has that NVR switch built in which is handy to quickly switch off to check the height. I'm still going to install those C13/14 connectors to completely eliminate a potential problem.

So in fact you do agree with my list of actions, although we in fact both do adjustment under the table

As I said, it was very convenient to have speed / lock / power / height all above the table, however it's not really a big deal. If they'd had a router to fit the Jessem Exel, I might have gone for it, however all done now =D>

 

[cagenuts]

Seems so

 

[Spectric]

Hi there

Have fitted my Triton into a Kreg table with the top adjuster to the front left, they now sell an insert that takes this router with fittings provided and twist reducers. I removed the springs and because I have no intention of ever using it out of the table I also removed the internal bits that turn off the switch when in bit change position so the switch is always on and use a separate two button NVR on / off . I also adjust from above, often using the Trend digital depth gauge and overall no issues to worry about apart from the router being bright orange, looks a bit ?

 

[pcb1962]

I also removed the internal bits that turn off the switch when in bit change position so the switch is always on and use a separate two button NVR on / off

And what happens if you forget it is in the fully raised (spindle locked) position and hit the On button :tongue9:

 

[Spectric]

Hi

It is only in this position for bit changing, once lowered so the collet is below the insert no issues. I think this safety device is there when hand plunge routing and you have set the depth stop wrong so rather than a big horrible noise it kills the power. I am of the school that believes that you can have so much safety that it becomes dangerous !

 

[DiscoStu]

You can't turn the power on when the spindle lock is on as you have to turn the power off and this allows a cover to slide that allows you to raise it to the spindle lock position and you cannot slide the cover back until you've lowered the router and the spindle lock has disengaged. So you shouldn't be able to turn the router on with the spindle lock in place. It's a soft start as well so I suspect even if you could start it the spindle wouldn't turn although it won't do the motor any favours!

 

[pcb1962]

You can't turn the power on when the spindle lock is on as you have to turn the power off and this allows a cover to slide that allows you to raise it to the spindle lock position and you cannot slide the cover back until you've lowered the router and the spindle lock has disengaged.

Correct, but Spectric said "I also removed the internal bits that turn off the switch when in bit change position so the switch is always on"