If you broke the casing on the Makita, then you will do the same thing on the Router11 (same design). Note that you really don’t need to tighten the collet down that much. I’ve been using mine with the pin engagement, with never an issue. But again, go easy on tightening the collet nut, it really doesn’t require that much torque to secure the bit.
Other than that, the Router11 seems slightly noisier than the Makita, and I noticed that the spindle runs much hotter than the Makita. Most likely related to the noisier bearings. The unit itself seems good quality. If I had it to do over again, I would have just kept my spare Makita instead of selling it & getting the Router11. I used it for awhile, but switched back to the Makita, mostly because I don’t get the impression that the Router11 will last as long as the Makita.
I’m not a huge fan of the VFD spindles & their independent control systems, etc. but I know that most people seem pretty happy with them.
[quote=“Machinist, post:21, topic:3022”]
I’m not a huge fan of the VFD spindles & their independent control systems, etc. but I know that most people seem pretty happy with them.
[/quote]I am sad to hear you moved back to the Makita from the Router11. I am waiting for my infinity to arrive to put my Router11 through the paces.
Honestly, it doesn’t make that much difference to me since I basically only use 1/8" or 1/4" bits. I’ve got a ton of ER11 collets, but only use the 2 sizes. Thinking maybe I should contact Openbuilds regarding the heat issue with the Router11.
The heat issue you describe I think worries me the most. What I saw happening with my Makita was the bit becoming loose in the collet during use on hardwood. Upon inspection, the nut of the router was quite warm but the bit was not as hot. I predominantly use the Amana spektra bits and I think they were shedding the heat well but the collet was growing under use. I could delay the growth by slowing down but after months of use I needed to start tightening even more thus the break. I hoped the cooling and er11 collet on the router11 would have changed a bit of that but I am weary of your experience.
Just after my last post, I emailed Openbuilds about the issue, so we’ll see what they have to say. The description claims that it has NSK bearings, so the quality is good, but it doesn’t mean there wasn’t a bad one, or an issue with alignment.
Update: I contacted Openbuilds regarding the Router11 and they immediately issued me a full refund & sent a return shipping label. They couldn’t replace it for me because apparently they are months behind on production on these. Great customer service!
I know this was months ago but was a refund the only communication?
Any explanation as to what might be wrong. Those who are looking now would be interested to know if this was a one-off issue or a manufacturing problem that has been corrected, or worse that they are still cranking out the same product.
Anyone else who has a RoutER11 and is experiencing elevated temperatures?
If yes what have you been able to do to resolve the problem.
I bought a Makita, and was considering getting a second one as a spare. But then I saw this thread and grew curious about a RoutER11 as a replacement for the Makita or maybe just start out with the RoutER11 and keep the Makita as the spare.
@Bob_D, they offered to send me a DeWalt router (which of course wouldn’t have done me any good). They gave no indication that this was any sort of common issue. Back when this happened, they were very low on stock and had switched to a policy of only offering it to people who had purchased machine kits or components. Not sure what their current level of stock is on this, as I haven’t looked in quite awhile.
I did end up buying a second “back-up” Makita router just to have on the shelf.