Customer Reviews

Porter-Cable 893PK 2-1/4-Horsepower Fixed- and Plunge-Base Kit

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've been using PC products for 16 years and have loved every one of them until now. My last router was getting a little tired so I thought I would upgrade from a 690 to the new 893 and am appalled that PC put this unit on the market, it is a total waste of money. Here's what it comes down to: the motor itself is great, lots of power, smooth starting, and much quieter than the 690's, this is where the good review ends. The main problem I've found is that the bases are very poorly designed and constructed. It seems like PC was trying to add a bunch of new feautres to them and ended up sacrificing quality for nifty gadgetry. The new clear plastic base does not glide well over most of the woods that I use, instead it chatters causing rough choppy cuts. I tried waxing it, cleaning it with alcohol and even sanded it with 1200 grit paper and nothing seems to help with this problem. The bases are made from a very thin metal and do not seem like they will hold up well to the rigors of long term use. The plunge base has many problems including: depth adjustment/stop moves/comes out of adjustment when doing several of the same depth cuts in a row, the release lever seems to be desinged in a couter intuitive way and does not release in a consistent manner. The main guides that control up/down movement do not opperate smoothly and it's hard to tell if you've reached the stop or are just hung up in a sticky spot. I took this apart, cleaned it out and waxed everything and this did not solve the issue. The view on the measuring gauge is obscured by the tensioning knob for the gauge. All and all I thought these new features would work well
and was looking forward to the next generation of PC routers and what I found is that if this is it, Porter Cable has sunk to or below the level of Ryobi. I see there are several good reviews here and not much critisism, do yourself a favor and look at the reviews for the PC 895PK before buying this router, it is the same unit with an added feature or two. Alas do not be too discouraged by this, the 690 series are still great products, what I would consider to be the industy standard, buy one of these instead and you'll get many years of trouble free use from it. Oh I almost forgot, I contacted PC customer support to see if there was any way to exchange this for a 690, they were unwilling to do anything and were not even the least bit apologetic about the issues I am having.
Cheers!
J.

I needed a router with a bit more Horsepower - my old 1-1/2HP machine was just getting worked too hard. I should mention that I already owned 3 routers - 2 at 1-1/2 HP, and a small "trimmer" type that I use a lot - more as a router than as a trimmer.

I used one of the old routers in my router table, with an accessory variable speed control. I had already decided that a plunge base was in my future, because there were just times when nothing else was a better option. I decided to order the new Porter Cable 893PK, which, at 2-1/4 HP was a significant boost in horsepower. It included the plunge base at a better price than buying things separately. It has electronic variable speed, and a "soft start" feature that is wonderful - very little torque at start up. I was amazed at how much more quiet this machine is, than my old ones. Motors and mechanical things rotating at more than 20,000 rpm's tend to generate high frequency noise. Porter Cable has done a great job of minimizing the noise - the usual high pitched whine is gone.

I mounted the fixed base to my router table and keep the plunge base for other jobs. Of course, I still own all the other routers, so there are options aplenty.

I cannot say enough good things about the design of this tool. The depth adjustment in the fixed base is just fabulous - you just move the lever and make large or coarse adjustments. Fine adjustments are precise, quick and easy, and can be easily reached under my router table. Both the fixed and plunge bases lock or release instantly with the movement of a finger. The variable speed is smooth and maintains the power, even at the slower speeds. In fact, you need to carefully listen and look at the cut when using larger bits - the electronic control keeps a constant speed, so when you begin to really "work" this tool, it is not easy to tell - no telltale slowing down as in the past, just an instinctive feel that you are stressing the tool.

It has a spindle lock, so only one wrench is needed. The clever collet design eliminates the old "sticking" issues - you simply loosen the nut and the bit and collet comes away easily. I cannot think of a single thing that I would offer as an improvement to this design. Five stars might not be enough.
Ron Owens

I purchased this router to replace a 15 year old Black and Decker Quantum plunge base router. I thought I was purchasing a high quality router that would serve me well for another 15 years. But I find this product unusable as a plunge router. The plunge movement grabs and sticks so much that depth adjustments are impossible to predict. The worst issue is the excessive play between the router bit and the base - 0.024". Try routing with a 0.125" router bit with 0.024" side play.

The motor on this router is strong and very nice. It is a good router for using the fixed base, but right out of the box, the plunge base is horrible. First, one of the rings stops inside the slides was not installed correctly, it took me about an hour to take it apart, and reinstall it correctly. Next the plunge movement is very bad, sometimes I can't get it to plunge all the way to the correct depth. It sticks and binds all over the place...and this is new out of the box...what happens after a few years of use? Bottom line....this is not a plunge router, if that is what you are looking for...go to a dedicated setup.

I have two of these 890 series routers and wish I had more. I started off with just a fixed base thinking I didn't need the plunge base and didn't have the money for it at the time. Now I have this kit and the other with just the fixed base. As for what I think of this kit, I'll take the managers' approach to this review (good, bad, good).

For starters, the wrench for table top adjustment - AMAZING. Even if you have another 890 series router, go spend the $30 on this tool. It seems rather expensive at the time, but in the end will save you a lot of time, anguish, and skin on your knuckles.

However, when this unit sits in the router table, as mentioned in other reviews, wood chips and sawdust get lodged inbetween the base and the motor, making it VERY difficult to remove to make the removal of the base from the table easier. This is no longer an issue for me though since one of my routers is essentially a permanent fixture in my router table while I use this kit for any out of table routing I might have.

Overall, the action is very smooth. I have not had an issue with the plunge base as others have reported, however the plastic piece w/ the red line for the depth guage has been broken since day one and I have not had a chance to make it to the Porter Cable store to attend to the matter.

I would definitely recommend this kit. Remember - if you think you don't need the plunge base now, once you get better and more crafty with your router, you'll be kicking yourself for not getting both, because it's foolish to buy the plunge base after the fact because you end up spending more than necessary.

I purchased this router for the intial job of routing a juice line on a maple cutting board. It worked like a champ. The dust collection was amazing, probably sucking away 95% of the chips. My only concern/gripe is with the rubber sleeve on the plunge base. While changing the plastic converter to connect my duct collection hose, the sleeve dropped down which if left in that position would allow dust to get into the mechanism. I do plan to contact PC and see what they recommend. I was able to slide it back in place but am not convinced that it won't be a continuous issue. The power is ample and it starts and stops very smoothly. The bit changing is easy with the spindle lock mechanism. I was not planning on purchasing a PC router b/c many of them do not have the spindle lock. I stumbled upon this particular PC model and ordered it right away. I don't spend hours everyday in my shop but I like to purchase top of the line tools, and this falls into that category, so when I am working on a project, I get good results. Overall I am very satisfied. If I can solve the sleeve problem this becomes a 5 star rating. I hope PC can help me fix it.

Well, I guess I'm kinda biased, see I've always owned crappy Craftsman routers. This router rocks!!! I have a 3HP O'Malley plunge router, that is built solidly, but I didn't want to do without one, if I dropped it, or it failed. I opted for the PC 893PK. It has the 2 1/4HP soft start motor, and the plunge, and the fixed base. I primarily bought this for a new router motor for my new router table, and of course a backup. I'm so happy I bought it!!! The first startup was very quiet, and smooth, with no vibration.
As you all know, those of you who've read my postings, I live in H-town (H=humidity/heat), well we had a cool front come through this week (only 90 degrees), and I was able to start a project that included the PC mounted in the router table. I installed a 1/2" roundover bit to dress an edge on 4 sides, and this exceptional router just simply breezed through it! I am looking forward to completing this project, which still includes routing stop dado's for drawer runners yet to be routed. More to come.
If you are interested in this router, don't hesitate to buy it. Get the 893PK it is the most versatile version for the money

The router has enough power for use in a table. With the variable speed feature, you don't have to worry too much about burning. The one and only thing I don't like is the squarish depth stop knob on the plunge base because it is so uncomfortable to use. Replace it with another one of your choosing. The height adjuster is superbly designed. Lastly, this kit costs only 50$ more than the 1 3/4 hp variable speed plunge kit.

I purchased the Porter-Cable 893PK package here on Amazon.Com and couldn't be happier. My main project that I purchased it for was a rather complicated loudspeaker design involving lots of templates, MDF, solid cherry, veneer, etc. I can say that my expectations have been greatly exceeded. Combined with good bits, the PC has produced wonderful results. I have used both bases and I'm impressed by how smoothly and quickly the bases can be switched out. The soft-start feature is really nice because there is really no kick back, despite such a powerful motor. The clear base makes template work go very smoothly. I also used the unit for trimmning veneer edges with excellent and precise results. Recently, I used the router to trim sheathing on a shed project and was amazed at how quickly this unit and a 1/2 x 3" straight cutting bit could trim the edges on 8' ply and OSB panels, giving perfect edges on the shed cladding. Another feature that I think is really cool is the built-in dust extraction system on the plunge base. While cutting down a bunch of MDF using a template, I noted a huge amount of fine dust produced by the router. Then, I read the manual and discovered how to use the dust extractor with my ShopVac. This was very effective in eliminating most of the dust, although it required frequent cleaning of the ShopVac filter. MDF dust is probably the worst for clogging ShopVac filters. A true dust collection system would help here. Overall, I think this is a very capable router package and one that will likely serve me for years of wooodworking projects. Yes, this is a bit more expensive than other offerings, but the feeling of quality was evident the first time I opened up the package. I think the extra expense is well worth it.

Porter Cable needs to go back to the drawing board on this model. where to start? On the plunge router, it works smooth sometimes, other times hangs up when trying to plunge. It also has some slop in it. I do like the positioning of the release lever, it is very easy to use. The fixed base is poorly designed. I have had parts actually fall off. I wouldn't buy this router again. The 693 series is a much better router. Better yet buy a makita or bosch