Customer Reviews

Porter-Cable 691RS The Ultimate Router Workshop

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

On assembling the table I was impressed by the solid feel ofall the parts. No wiggle, no wobble (and very easy to put together, too). The 1 1/2 HP motor (more than powerful enough for hobbyist/do-it-yourself work) pops in and out of the three mounting brackets (D-handle, plunge, and table) with ease, but feels as solid in each as if it were permanently affixed. The guard attaches to a dust collector with a standard 2 1/2" opening for the hose on your shop vac/dust collection system, so it does a pretty good job of keeping itself clean. Even the tolerances of the miter gage are above what you might expect in this price range.

... (By the way, this model can accomodate bits up to 2 1/4 inches, which for me is more than enough. If you are going to need/want to use bigger bits this product won't suit you. For non-professional needs, though, I can't imagine what more you could ask for.)

Of course, if you had to sacrifice quality to get that kind of a deal, it wouldn't be worth it. But Porter Cable's routers are as good or better than anything else on the market, so there is no sacrifice. I am usually more reserved in my praise of a product, but I really don't see a downside.

I love the Porter-Cable 690 series routers. They are powerful, easy to handle, and the accessories make them flexible enough to be used about anywhere. So I thought that PC would probably have a decent router table to match the fine router. Wrong. The table itself is sturdy, but the fence is useless, the miter guide and slot are sloppy, and the router plate screws are cheap and poorly aligned. With the fantastic quality of table, fence, and miter system designs that are available in any woodworker magazine, consider spending on some plywood before you waste your money on this table.

Thought I was getting a deal when I purchased the 1-1/2 hp P-C plunge router set with table. You get what you pay for. No problem with router but the table is VERY sub-standard. The fence adjustment is LOUSY. One wing nut holds each sliding fence and is almost impossible to get it square to the working surface due to the slop in the design. Too much wasted time is spent both aligning the fences to the table and to each other. The lightweight construction (cheap) allows the table to move around quite a bit when running material thru...be sure to clamp/bolt it down before use. The miter slot is rough and the slide is sticky. The table top is rough and left some deep scratches on my pieces. Be sure to sand it with emory cloth before running any pieces on it. The only minor positive is the dust chute works semi-adequately when connected to the shop vac.

In hindsight, I should have bought the PC router alone (4-star) and looked elsewhere for a quality built table. Now I'm forced to use it until I can build one that is suitable or afford to buy a better one.

I got this kit at Home Depot during their Christmas Eve sale. The router is everything I had heard it would be, and the combination of bases is perfect.

The D-handle base solves the problems people have with the top-mount switch; the plunge base is perhaps not the ultimate plunge router, but not many will use the plunge feature enough to care. You also aren't paying for the ultimate plunge router here, and the 690 is relatively light and easy to handle compared to the 3-1/4 HP models. (Curious, isn't it, how the jump from a 10 amp to 15 amp motor results in a 216% increase in horsepower? You learn that trick in Marketing, not in Physics class.) It is easy to set depth stops, the action is smooth and the depth lock is positive and easy to use. I like the third base, to leave installed in the table; it makes moving the motor in and out of the table a snap.

I agree with other reviewers that a spindle lock would be handy, but I can live with needing two wrenches. After all, you are still going to need to pick up one anyway, so it's no big deal to pick up two. The releasing collets are a nice feature; whoever said that he had trouble getting the bits out didn't read the instructions. Just turn the collet nut out till it hits the C-clip, and turn a little more; the bit comes loose.

The router has plenty of power, and is rated to use up to a 2-1/4" diameter bit. So if you want to use this as a shaper and push 3-1/2" raised panel bits, you should look elsewhere.

I have two main complaints with this set; first, since there is more than one base included, there should be one of each size of baseplate furnished; it is silly to put the small-hole baseplate, for use with template guides, on both of the non-table bases. This means that when you want to run a cutter larger than 1" diameter you must go to a tool store (the hardware store probably won't have it) and buy the 2-1/2" hole baseplate for extra.

Second, the table leaves a lot to be desired. Of course you aren't paying very much for it; there are plenty of router tables that sell for more than the price of this whole set. I figure I actually paid maybe for the table over the price of the motor and bases in the set; it is certainly worth that. My sample had a tight-fitting miter gauge, and it interchanges with the clamping gauge and the tenon jig from my table saw, should I need the additional functionality. I was able to improve the function of the fence considerably by replacing the two boards on the split fence with a single 6" wide piece of birch plywood, appropriately cut to clear various bits. I removed the guard, as it made it impossible to run stock thicker than 1-1/2", or most boards on edge. Watch your fingers if you do this!

P-C says that the table must be firmly bolted down for use; if not bolted it is certainly flimsy. To maintain the portablilty, I attached two 30" 2x4's crosswise front and back with carriage bolts, and fasten them to a couple of sawhorses with deck screws when I want to use the table. I find 42" to be a perfect height.

As someone else mentioned, the table is intended only for use with P-C routers.

but it *can* be made useful...I bought my PC router and table kit new (including the floor stand that is not included here) and materials to make the table top and fence useful. I threw the aluminum top and the dippy "fence" away and salvaged the remaining pieces for reuse with a shop-made top and fence. TIP: Buy the PC 69x router combo kit (fixed & plunge) but build your own table and fence.

On the positive side the table is easy to assemble and sturdy, but its downhill from here. This table is not safe to use, its too small, the miter gauge falls out, and the gaurd is very cumbersome.

The markings on the miter bear no relevence to the fence, the fence is really hokey, there is no way to reproduce settings except by eye, and the table top mars the wood.

I spent more time trying to make this safe to use than I spent on my project. Spend a little more money and get a real table like a Big Dog. I wish I could get my money back and do that. This table is awful.

Porter Cable should be ashamed that thier name is on it

For the advanced hobbyist this package is a great value and great quality. I doubt Norm Abram would have much use for the table but I'm sure he has all the other items that come in this package. Not that there is anything wrong with the table it is just a litte small to be taking on larger projects but the size and portability is what made it very attractive to me. When I need it, I pull it off the shelf. WHen I don't, it's out of my way. And the quality is excellent compared to ANY other portable table on the marked. I am very pleased with the purchase and timliness of delivery ...

I ordered this package (and a set of Freud bits) four days ago and it came today. I now have a complete router, plunge router and table, with nothing more to buy in the foreseeable future (this is my first router). The motor is very smooth. The instructions are clear, concise and very helpful. The table is rock-solid after I screwed it to my bench (my 'workshop' consists of an 18-foot bench running along a corner of my basement). A couple of coats of TopCote helped the surface of the table. I have been very impressed with my other Porter-Cable tools (random orbit sander and brad nailer/compressor), and this set is no exception. Now it's time to save for that plate joiner.....

The instant I turned on this router for the first time the round metal insert that is inset into the table top vibrated out of place and into a brand new carbide bit. Ouch! How about a couple of screws to hold this thing in place? After inserting another new bit and about 15 min of use, I noticed the bit height changing. After readjusting the height and tightening the wing nut as tight as I could by hand, it did the same thing again. I figured the thing must be vibrating lose. I tried to get in the habit of re-tightening the thing with every use...but forgot one time and the router fell completely out of the base wrecking yet another brand new bit (glad it wasn't my new (...) panel raising bit!) and tearing up the base that attaches to the router to the table (it sounded like a train wrecking in my garage). Since then, I've mounted the plunge base to the router table. It is a pain in the rear to adjust the depth and change bits now, but at least it holds the router in place. If I could do it again, I would not buy this set. I would build my own table and buy the big 3.5 PC router to put in it. Then buy the 690 router for freehand use.

I've had this router work station for about 8 months now. I've probably only logged about an hour of run time on it and have encountered several problems. Shortly after I started to use it, the power switch fell out of the cover. I looked by this thinking that porter cable is known for good quality. The switch still won't stay in. After about the 3rd time of using it, it got stuck in one of the bases and I spent several hours trying to remove it. It's only done that once, but it was so frustrating to deal with at a time I needed to use it. The plunge base has moved on me a couple of times while running, like it doesn't stay locked into place. Most recently, It started to make some noise while running it. I began to notice small pieces of plastic falling out of the cover. I removed the cover and found that the 'Plastic' fan on the motor arbor had completely sheered all of it's fins off. I also noticed a piece of wood in with them. Obviously, a small sliver of wood had fallen in the motor(because there's no protection from this while in the table) and removed all of the cooling fins on the fan. Now, I need it again, and I must send off to be repaired. I know that industry is moving to a lighter and cheaper way to make things, but plastic in some things is just not durable and reliable. It may just be me having all of these problems, but I just simply haven't had much luck with this setup. The table is extremely shakey, it works, but I would rather use a home made one rather than this. The table is definitly not worth the money. I like the ergonimics of porter cable, but I'm honestly not completely sold yet on quality of their new products.