Customer Reviews

Porter-Cable 892 2-1/4-Horsepower Router

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is the "perfect fit" for router table use. I can't comment on hand-held use because it immediately went into the router table. This machine is smooth cutting, powerful and quiet. The features for the table mount are perfect. PC put a lot of thought into this one! You can adjust the bit height using the 75301 height adjustment knob, lock/unlock the motor from the mount and lock the spindle all from above. The spindle/collet raises enough that you don't have to reach down inside the mount to get to the collet nut. My only gripe was that the height adjustment knob is an accessory costing an extra twenty to thirty bucks depending on where you find it. Amazon doesn't carry it yet but a web search will turn up a bunch of sites that do. I thought I'd save a few bucks and just use a 1/4 drive 3/16" socket and extension bar but none of the sockets I have found will fit through the hole in the base. The knob from PC has a second, located lower, plastic guide that helps to align the knob shaft with the height adjuster mounted on the base. I guess the best bet is to spend a few more bucks and get the PC version.
This unit comes with an interactive cd that is very well done. Even has plans and a short movie from the router workshop on building a table. Very well done I might add.
All in all I would give it six stars if I could.
This is an up-date to a reveiw I posted in 2003 the same week I got this router. Well the good news is after 3 years of regular use I would still give this router 6 stars if I could. I figure I saved major money over buying a "router lift" type of accessorie because this router does all of that and does it well. The not-so-good-news is the router was recalled. I called my service center and drove over to be presented with a brand new router motor. Yes I am well out of warranty but they gave me the brand new motor, no questions asked! I don't think I could ask for more. I have since purchased the vac. handle kit and can rave over the performance of that item too. Once again, six stars if they would let me! I've never had one moment of dissatsifaction. I have had to make a few minor adjustments over the years but performance has never really suffered. Give this one a good look. I know you won't be disappointed. I sure haven't been!

I have never been more impressed with a power tool. I can make bit adjustments or changes in seconds accurately with the adjustment knob through the base.There i splenty of power in this baby too. I cut 2 3/8" molding in a single pass. Perhaps the best feature is the heavy insulation around the motor. This router is quieter than a blender. If you own a table and are looking for a replacement router or a better router, I can't begin to tell you how satisfied you will be with this product.

This is a very nice design for mounting under a table because it's possible to make small height adjustments from above, without groping under the table. To do that you drill a hole in the router table that lines up with a hole in the router base, and to adjust the height you use a special wrench. (Devise your own using a hex wrench bit or buy the outrageously priced tool offered by Porter Cable. Porter-Cable ought to thrown in the adjusting wrench as part of the price.)

Three problems: (1) The printed manual doesn't say a word about mounting and adjusting it in this way, even though that's the main benefit of the 890 series design vs the cheaper, better-built workshorse 690 series. You have to figure it out for youself. (2) It uses a plastic rack-and-pinion gear to adjust the depth of cut, which feels less solid than rotating pin alignment of the 690 series. (3) When you release the lever that locks the depth of cut setting, the router wobbles a little, so you have to re-check the height carefully after the router is locked in place. We're used to rock-solid tools from P-C, not plastic gears and wobbly housings.

Plus side: It's quieter; the RPMs can be adjusted; it's safer, faster and much easier to change bits -- no more skinned knuckles! It comes with a CD that shows more about how to use it. Not really four stars, but better than 3.

I have several Porter Cable routers along with an ELU. When this router is mounted under a table, it is wonderful that it will lift to a height where changing bits is a breeze. Also, the router has plenty of power when using large raised panel bits. Now for the bad. Porter Cable used a plastic gear system on the side of the router for the raising and lowering mechanism. When using the height adjusting feature, the gears are too course which doesn't allow for accurate fine adjustment. Also the adjustment is sloppy at best, the router tilts in its base, especially when a little sawdust falls into the adjusting mechanism. I actually have to reach under the table and pull the router vertical to insure accurate height adjustment. While the router motor is fine, there are better systems for mounting a router beneath the table. This router makes me thankful for Ebay.

I purchased this router in July of 07 and have never been able to use it. I have sent it in for repair three times and have received three seperate new motors. All of them have un acceptable runout. .060-.090 or more. The runout is so bad that the router actually shut off when I tried to turn a panel bit. You can visably see the wobble if you put a large 1/2" flush trim bit in it. I even went through the trouble to video tape my tests using a dial indicator, i clamped the motor to my cabinet saw and placed a 1/2 straight bit using the shaft as a referance and received almost a 3/4 swing on the indicator, I then moved the same collet and bit into and old PC router (rockwell) with results of .001 in runout, very acceptable in a 10 year old well used router. I sent them the videos and they still say they are finding no problems..... Basically if you bought a PC tool 10 years ago you will love it, if you buy a current model good luck, it is imported garbage, I have also burned up about three PC sanders over the past two years. I now buy Festool, the stuff is exspensive but perfectly engineered and you will not have to replace it. I have a friend who has a 10 year old Festool sander that failed and they rebuilt it for under 100 bucks and had it back within a week. That is customer service

Do Not Buy This Router............. Porter-Cable is not worth the aggrivation.

PS I own a high end Cabinet shop in Colorado, I know tools........

When everything is working, this is a great router system. Too bad, it seldom works. I've owned the router for over a year and for 6 months of that time it has been in and out of the shop. Problems include broken motor lock mechanism, broken worm gear to raise motor and broken shaft lock. Last time, I bought extra gears and shaft lock pins just to keep it out of the shop. Any sawdust clogs the mechanism so raising and lowering are tough. I've had several other PC routers and have been extremely pleased with all of them, but this one has just about made me lose the faith.

Using the router under the table has been impossible, since I keep snapping the cheap spun aluminum levers PC has used. This especially happens when using a socket to manipulate the lever. Loosening the lever screw so that the lever won't break does not adequately secure the router. The router design is brilliant in terms of the mechanism, but the parts need to be rock solid and they are not. I am extremely dissapointed.

The router itself is an ingenius piece of work and sets up very nicely. The first time I used it however, the rack and the attaching screws sheared in pieces. Finding parts has been difficult and even to this point I need to wait a day to see if I can obtain them. Porter Cable needs to make parts more accessable. And now it is December 5th and I am not able to even secure parts for this router. While I have been a fan of Porter Cable tools for over thirty yeas I guess all good things come to an end. I may as well have set a couple hundred dollars on fire.

I have used this router only under the table (inside a dust collection enclosure) for about a year now and I really like it. The router is solid as expected from PC. It is much more quiet/less obnoxious than the 690 series and has noticably more power. I don't have a need for the speed control that much. I love the height adjustment features, and even though I would like it even better if they made it out of aluminum, it has held up just fine so far. The only thing I dislike given that all the other features make it so convenient for under-table-use is the safety feature that requires you turn the router switch to the Off position in order to use the spindle lock feature: I use the tool with a table mounted switch in a dust collection enclosure and so I had to cut the plastic safety tab to circumvent this issue. Still like it a lot.

Two years ago I purchased a kit with the same router and two bases. It ended up in my router table on an exacta-lift. I really needed another for benchtop work. This is it. Maybe other people would get two different type or kinds of routers in this situation but after using the 892 in my router table I am completely satisfied and opted for another 892. I like the on/off switch arrangement as well as being able to turn the machine off by setting it on it's top.

99% of my work is with hardwoods and lots of exotics. I have found that the 892 handles all the hard woods with ease. I have never had a problem with it. As long as the bits are sharp it does a great job. I have several other routers in the shop but the 892 is rapidly becoming my favorite bench top unit. For my purposes I would not hesitate to recommend this router. A word about the storage case. Porter-Cable does a great job with the cases for these units. You don't have to be a magician to put the unit in the case which also holds a number of other items for storage if you wish.