It's been a month since I posted anything here, but don't think I've been sitting around eating bonbons.
I've managed to squeeze in a trip back east, organized a swap meet, and now that cooler weather has arrived, jumped back on the mountain bike for some great rides.
I picked up a Porter Cable router at the swap meet.
It was one of the old reliable 690 series, which is now officially out of production. If you can find one, snap it up! They were the best router ever made, in my opinion.
But the router I bought sounded a little rough. Did it need brushes? New bearings? Both are pretty cheap, and very easy to replace.
I ordered two sets of brushes on eBay, but the bearings were a little trickier. The place where I almost always buy my tool parts had the bearings. But at over $6 for each bearing, and $12 for shipping - I decided to pass on buying them.
I've purchased bearings quite a few times from PGN Bearings online, and their prices are ridiculously inexpensive. One company quoted me $12 for a bearing (I needed several) and I bought them at PGN for around a dollar. So I knew that's where I'd be buying them. I just needed to take them out, so I could find the part number on them.
I removed the base,
and then the two screws that hold the top cap in place.
Now's a good time to pull out the old brushes. They're behind that big plastic black cap.
I was surprised to find that they were in pretty good shape. I've already ordered replacements (shoulda checked them first!) but I'll probably re-use these. They look almost new.
After the brushes are out, two more screws are removed and I was ready to pull the case apart. It's best to use a marker and draw a registration line on the top and bottom, so things go back the correct way (and easy) way.
After the two screws came out, the case popped apart (with the whack of a rubber mallet)...
and the armature was revealed. That small bearing on the top was the first bearing to remove, and although I tried to do it carefully with two flat blade screwdrivers, it wouldn't budge.
My buddy Phil, from Bison Tools, taught me that "two screwdriver" trick. I just found out a few days ago that he passed away. He was a tool repair genius, and once changed the complete set of bearings in my jointer in under an hour. Talented guys like him are rare and disappearing - RIP Phil.
Since the bearing wasn't budging, and I knew I needed a gear puller, like the one shown below.
I stopped by my mechanic's shop and borrowed his - and the bearing popped off in 3 seconds!
I needed an impact wrench to remove the nut that holds the armature and collet in place, but once it was removed, the second bearing was revealed.
It's held in place with a snap ring, so snap ring pliers are needed to get that bad boy out.
And boom - here are the two old bearings. One seemed fine, but the other had a bit of a drag on it. That was probably the culprit!
So I went to PNG's website and typed in the numbers on the bearings. I ordered two of each - they were less than $1.50 a piece, and within two hours of ordering it, I got a shipping notice. They're on the way!
It shoud be easy to install the new bearings when they arrive later this week, and (fingers crossed) this router will be running like a top in no time!
Stay tuned for the re-assembly!
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