Pin routing: Lee Valley v. MLCS
I’ve been interested in getting a pin routing arm for my router table, have had the one from Lee Valley lurking in consciousness for awhile. Just got an email from MLCS featuring a sale on their pin routing arm. Anyone out there know these gizmos well enough to venture a guess as to whether the MLCS option might be an OK choice? The price difference is considerable. Normally, I’d just opt for Lee Valley, but would welcome a lower price as it’s not something I’d use much.
Hopefully minor challenge with the MLCS would be attaching it to the Lee Valley solid steel, thin, router table top.
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
No experience with the one's you mentioned but I can recommend not to buy the Shop Fox pin router. Sloppy out of the box and took a lot of time and work to make it accurate. Bloody thing was not cheap either.
I'd better add that once done monkeying with it it does work well now and is a lot cheaper than even a used industrial model. I think it should be sold for less and advertised as a kit though.
................................................
Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.
~ Denis Diderot
Edited 10/29/2008 11:10 pm by dgreen
Thanks for the warning, Don. I didn't even know Shop Fox made a pin-routing attachment, but it's good to know it has shortcomings.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Here's an ad for it on Amazon.
................................................
Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
Oh, my, that's much more elaborate than anything I need for Christmas ornaments and such. LOL! Actually, a few years ago I bought a Sears version of that (overhead pin router) at an estate auction. It was probably several years old, but the guy hadn't used it much. Paid maybe $35 for it, I think I got a couple hundred when I sold it. Never had a desire to set it up in my small shop.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 10/30/2008 11:50 pm by forestgirl
Check out Woodline.com. They sell a pin router accessory that looks exactly like the MLCS one for only $49. It mounts the same way, with 4 bolts in enlarged holes for alignment. Here's the website:
http://www.woodline.com/p-2047-pin-router-accessory.aspx
You can view a picture of it in the instructions they post for setting it up:
http://www.woodline.com/instructions/Pin%20Router%20Instructions.pdf
I recently purchased one with the wooden clock kit Woodline sells and it is a very solid router accessory.
Thanks, Tom, sounds like the Woodline version has worked well for you. Part of the price difference is the 4 straight bits that are included in the MLCS kit, bits I already have. Does your clock have wooden gears?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yes, the clock kit from Woodline has all wooden gears that you make using the suppplied gear templates with the pin router accessory (they even include the laminated wood for the gears). I recently purchased the kit, but have not started to cut the gears. Here's a link to the kit...
http://www.woodline.com/p-2045-deluxe-package-with-cherry-wood.aspx
Tom
I bought the Daisy 2 years ago to dish some jewerly box pockets. Did the job.
But don't confuse this attachment with a 'real' overarm pin router. It is what it is: a pattern following bit guide. Looks like you can change the cutter height on the fly with the LV unit and that would be handy only if you can step the bit to a pre-set depth. Otherwise, you have to stop the router, raise the bit, go again.
Joe
Nope, I'd not confuse the accessory with a many-hundred-dollars pin router. Lee Valley has this bit jack that they suggest using with the pin-routing arm. I haven't really looked at it. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled