Elu MOF177E Router

[tangman]

Hello all, new here and looking for some advice please.

I just inherited the above mentioned router and complete novice on this skill, moreover my head is hurting at all the table options out there !

I've been looking at the Trend options, would either of these two fit the bill ?

https://trenddirectuk.com/trend-wrt-workshop-router-table-240v-free-3-pack-masks.html

https://trenddirectuk.com/trend-crt...niture-shaping-and-moulding-applications.html

Thanks.

 

[Sideways]

Why do you want a table ?
What tasks are you going to do that are better done with a router in a table than learning how to use one of the very best routers ever made properly, the right way up ?

You're about to make a novice mistake of thinking routers are best used in tables. They aren't.
You should learn the router first and when you encounter a task where turning it upside down will really help, improvise on from some scrapwood for a fiver and learn that this is cheap, easy and effective.

However much money you are thinking of spending on a table, spend it on cutters and /or the baby brother of your new router a good used MOF96E and start using these two guys handheld.

Tables are (lights a bonfire) only really needed for making long narrow strips of decorative moulding and fancy jewellery boxes.

 

[tangman]

Why do you want a table ?
What tasks are you going to do that are better done with a router in a table than learning how to use one of the very best routers ever made properly, the right way up ?

You're about to make a novice mistake of thinking routers are best used in tables. They aren't.
You should learn the router first and when you encounter a task where turning it upside down will really help, improvise on from some scrapwood for a fiver and learn that this is cheap, easy and effective.

However much money you are thinking of spending on a table, spend it on cutters and /or the baby brother of your new router a good used MOF96E and start using these two guys handheld.

Tables are (lights a bonfire) only really needed for making long narrow strips of decorative moulding and fancy jewellery boxes.

Ha, thanks Sideways (genuinely). And cheers for the heads up on the MOF96E. Further, trust me...fancy jewellery boxes are not on the list. Worst accident I ever had was getting a ring caught on my finger

 

[Sideways]

Good man
Two tips that I think you will find helpful as you get used to routers :

1. Take the small thing to the big thing. Ie, as long as the piece of wood you want to cut is at least half as wide as the base of your router and a few times longer, you can safely balance the router on the wood and cut it the correct way up. If the wood is small enough that you can't balance the router on it, it's time to consider turning the job upside down and improvising a table.

2. Handheld routers are nearly always best used by making multiple passes increasing the depth of cut as you go. How much in one bite ? I'll suggest increasing the depth in steps equal to half the diameter of the cutter, and never more than a full diameter. As long as you use the router in normal plunge position, increasing the depth of cut only takes a couple of seconds so multiple passes is very easy and shallow cuts allow you to keep good control of the tool. Adjusting a side fence to sneak up on the edge of some wood isn't much slower, but when the router is hanging upside down, it's MUCH slower to alter the depth of cut so people end up taking fewer, much deeper cuts and this causes lots of problems. This is one of the biggest reasons to avoid tables wherever possible. Only the £1000++ router+table combinations have really good, easy, depth of cut adjustments that facilitate lots of shallow passes.

 

[deema]

Or…..buy a secondhand (say Sedgwick) spindle moulder with a powerfeed for about the same price as a really nice router table and lift….far more capable, accurate and the right tool for producing any mouldings. Just saying

 

[Spectric]

hey @deema when is your new showroom opening ? I am still sorting out and moving things around to see if a spindle would fit and that Sedwick for a grand is way less than a fancy table.

 

[Peter Sefton]

Or…..buy a secondhand (say Sedgwick) spindle moulder with a powerfeed for about the same price as a really nice router table and lift….far more capable, accurate and the right tool for producing any mouldings. Just saying
View attachment 195260

That's a jump, novice is given an old router and advised to by a spindle moulder, also worth getting three phase installed....

 

[deema]

That's a jump, novice is given an old router and advised to by a spindle moulder, also worth getting three phase installed....

A novice with routers is questioning the wisdom of which router table to buy……which turns the router into a ‘flimsy’ spindle moulder. Instead he would be obtaining a dedicated spindle capable of making anything he is likely to ever want, that is PUWR compliant and with the massive added safety feature of having a powerfeed. Of the two, which would you suggest?

 

[deema]

hey @deema when is your new showroom opening ? I am still sorting out and moving things around to see if a spindle would fit and that Sedwick for a grand is way less than a fancy table.

Well, my hobby workshop is almost open, I’ve just the dust extraction to fit and a few things still to move in. My back gave out before XMad otherwise I had expected to have it finished by now.

 

[Spectric]

My back gave out before XMad

Don't mention backs, they should be part of education whilst still in school to give you the heads up that if you abuse your body when you believe you are invincible in the younger years that it will incurr a penalty in later life !

I can still remember when I first experienced back pain, on my knee's puting a Kango back into it's box with the chisels and almost done, picked up the last bit and crunch, thought I would never stand up again.

 

[Rhossydd]

You're lucky to have inherited such a great bit of kit. Although such a heavy, powerful beast will be quite a handful to learn routing with. Beware they can be bloody dangerous.
As others say, if you can buy it's little brother the 96E it will be a better starter router to learn with. Elu also made their own small table set for the 96 series which is really useful for small work, but finding one may take a long while on the auction sites.

FWIW when I found I needed a table to mount my 177E on for fielding panels with a scary big 1/2" bit, I built my own;
Big sheet of 6mm aluminium with a large hole for the cutter and the necessary holes to bolt the router onto it. A couple of channels on each edge keep it straight. Then added a simple right angle plate pivoted at one end, with a slot at the other to bolt it down.
All very crude looking and slow to set up, but works a treat and cost next to nothing sourcing the parts out of offcut bins. Really needing a table is such a rare event that the effort in setup is no problem when it's cost nothing.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Hello all, new here and looking for some advice please.

I just inherited the above mentioned router and complete novice on this skill, moreover my head is hurting at all the table options out there !

I've been looking at the Trend options, would either of these two fit the bill ?

https://trenddirectuk.com/trend-wrt-workshop-router-table-240v-free-3-pack-masks.html

https://trenddirectuk.com/trend-crt...niture-shaping-and-moulding-applications.html

Thanks.

The Elu 177e is a superb router. I have two, one in a router table. Bellow is how this was set up ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Powered Tools and Machinery/RouterTableAdventure.html

Also, information about adding a Muscle Chuck and Router Raiser.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[XTiffy]

The 177E is a powerful and quite heavy router, I have the 110V version. I do have the 96 as well which is a much more controlable in hand held mode. As others have said take it easy!

 

[Brian Charles]

Hello all, new here and looking for some advice please.

I just inherited the above mentioned router and complete novice on this skill, moreover my head is hurting at all the table options out there !

I've been looking at the Trend options, would either of these two fit the bill ?

https://trenddirectuk.com/trend-wrt-workshop-router-table-240v-free-3-pack-masks.html

https://trenddirectuk.com/trend-crt...niture-shaping-and-moulding-applications.html

Thanks.

I have a ELU 177E mounted in a jessems router lift and fitted in a incra table purchased from woodworkers workshop and it is a brilliant bit of kit I’m not a novice and it perfect for all my projects

 

[Harry Hare]

The Elu 177e is a superb router. I have two, one in a router table. Bellow is how this was set up ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Powered Tools and Machinery/RouterTableAdventure.html

Also, information about adding a Muscle Chuck and Router Raiser.

Regards from Perth

Derek

What a brilliant set up Derek, really impressed. I am sure a magazine would buy your article off you. Personally I used to sell articles to a UK mag.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I used to be the dealer for the Router Raizer, last time I spoke to Bob the inventor was before Covid and he was looking to retire, I think this has now happened as they seem in very short supply. The xtreme xtension has also gone but Muscle Chuck have an improved design.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/musclechuck-universal-extension/

I had have/had a 177 with Router Raizer in an Incra plate, Incra make one for us pre drilled for the Elu and Router Raizer.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/incra-magnalock-router-plate-621625-al/

The best extension for the 177 is the Muscle Chuck 2E, sadley John the inventor has passed away but his som has taken over the business.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/musclechuck-quick-change-chuck-type-2e/



@tangman if you need any assistance please give my guys a call, 01684 594683, sorry we cant match the price of the Trend set up but they can't match our quality.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Spectric]

I am using a Muscle chuck on my Triton router fitted in a router table and another in my Dewalt 625 router in a Woodrat and both make things easier because you no longer need two spanners or a spindle lock button that needs holding in.

 

[TRITON]

Elu = 40 years old(at least)

 

[Sideways]

And that 40 yr old elu, in good nick, is better than a brand new dewalt dw625.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

What a brilliant set up Derek, really impressed. I am sure a magazine would buy your article off you. Personally I used to sell articles to a UK mag.

Thanks for the compliment Harry. As it happens, I have had articles on both tools and furniture published over many years in just about all the magazines in the UK, USA and Australia. There is quite a bit on my website: https://www.inthewoodshop.com/index.html

I see you trained with David Savage. I am very envious. What were your articles on?

Regards from Perth

Derek