Bosch Router

[Basil135]

I had a Bosch GMR-1 router in my CNC machine. It was the one supplied, and over the weekend, it did the Lucas. All the smoke leaked out.

Took it back to the supplier who sent it to the service centre. Report is that the bearings are shot, but the armature is ok.

This router is:

a) 6 months old to the day. (warranty is 12 months)
b) supplied with the cnc, and is the only one that will fit without some serious modifications to the mount.
c) part of the "Professional" series


Now, there is some talk, and it is only that at the moment, that the bearings wont be covered by the warranty. I would expect that the whole machine would be covered for the duration of the warranty.

If, and it is still IF, they deny the warranty claim, I will get a written report, and head straight to consumer affairs.

So, my questions to the masses:

Has anyone ever had any drama's with the Bosch GMR-1 routers?

Should bearings be covered, or are they considered a consumable item, like bushes?

Any experience with Bosch power tool warranties?


Cheers

[crash]

I have a small Bosch 1/4" plunge router that is about 15years old and has never given any problems. You would expect that the bearings to last more than 6months, and should be covered under the warranty.

[Basil135]

Yep, have had, and still have, plenty of Bosch power tools, and none of them have given me any grief.

I suspect that I just got a dodgy one. Even the guys where I bought it from were a bit surprised. They said that if anything fails, it is usually the on / off switch.


This will teach me to wait until the last minute to make those Chrissy pressies... :(

Looks like I had better start writing out the IOU's.

[Ancient Mariner]

My brother has a Shark with that router on it.He was less than impressed. With a piece of ground tool in the collet and checking with a dial gauge there was .013"TIR .He turned up an adaptor ring and fitted a 30 year old Bosch Scintiller
die grinder (still on original bearings) he also straightened one off the ball screw shafts and fitted a 10mm aluminium plate to strengthen the table as it was not possible to do fine detail as it was set up. :mad: So in answer to your question alot of sealed bearings have insufficient grease and do fail early but should last a lot longer than yours have

AM

[Basil135]

My brother has a Shark with that router on it.He was less than impressed. With a piece of ground tool in the collet and checking with a dial gauge there was .013"TIR .He turned up an adaptor ring and fitted a 30 year old Bosch Scintiller
die grinder (still on original bearings) he also straightened one off the ball screw shafts and fitted a 10mm aluminium plate to strengthen the table as it was not possible to do fine detail as it was set up. :mad: So in answer to your question alot of sealed bearings have insufficient grease and do fail early but should last a lot longer than yours have

AM

Yep, mine is the Shark as well.

Eveything you have said makes sense to me, and fits in with what I have discovered. While the machine is OOS I have gone thru and pulled it apart, and retightened eveything. It was interesting to find so many loose bolts. Not :(

I have also found my table is about 1.5mm out from being flat. One corner dips away, which makes life interesting... Plus my "Y" screw was also chattering in one spot, I think due to being loose.

Personally, I dont think the router supplied is up for the task at hand. It is a trimming router, which in normal use, would run for maybe 2 minutes at a time. I have some jobs that require 8 - 10 hours of machine time... :eek:

But, this is what they supply... I will be looking aroud for another router to put in there, be it a Bosch or otherwise.

Probably the most annoying thing, is that the Christmas gifts I was going to make, are now on hold.

[Ancient Mariner]

Check the shaft as I think the same chatter was the reason he straightened the shaft COT:censored:

AM

[jazzaD1]

go for a water cooled spindle next time, controllable speed, built for side loading, quieter running, and a heap of cutting power

2 2KW Water Cooled Milling AND Grinding Spindle Motor With 2 2KW Inverter VFD R2 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-2KW-WATER-COOLED-MILLING-AND-GRINDING-SPINDLE-MOTOR-WITH-2-2KW-INVERTER-VFD-r2-/390375010406)

that is a cheap example, however you can get more expensive options that are probably better quality

[Ancient Mariner]

The trouble is the machine is not robust enough to handle the weight of a bigger router with the extra weight it bends the shafts which alters the depth off cut in the centre

AM

[uninformed]

I just google'd the "Shark CNC router". Unfortunately, anything made in and for the American market favours their tools of choice. Here 99.9% of routers are "plunge" routers. Over there it is very common to have non-plunge. In fact the range is huge and the range of router tables and lifts is just as big.

I wish we would catch up. If the brands started selling their fixed base type routers here guys would buy them.

Sorry cant help with the bearings. Sounds like they just failed. As far as the warranty, I would question them strongly, if Bosch Aus dont come to the party, give the shop selling a chance to back up what they sell. If they do not, go to the ACCC or what ever the people are that protect buyers.

good luck

[uninformed]

if you are set up in a dedicated shop, you may look at buying a router from the USA that will fit and be more heavy duty. You would of coarse also need to get a voltage converter/transformer that can handle the amp draw.

[Basil135]

Just thought I would update this thread.

In March of this year, I finally recieved a replacement router. This was brand new, still warranty sealed in the box.

In the meantime, I had bought another Bosch router the same to get me thru.

When the new one arrived, I swapped it out and kept the purchased one for it's intended purpose, and put the new one in the Shark.

Well, 6 months later, and it has seized. Of course, this was 90 mins into a 3 hour job... :mad: :censored:

So now, I am looking for a water cooled spindle. I have read some good feedback on them on various sites, and it seems to be the best way to go.

So now, just have to look at what size I get. The choice seems to be between the 1.5 kw, and the 2.2 kw.

Does anyone here have any first hand experience, especially with what will fit in the Shark, and weight considerations?

Why do these things happen when I have a long long list of jobs to be done, and am on a time frame to do them??? :(

[Ancient Mariner]

On any new sealed bearing I pick out the seal wash it out and repack with some decent grease Bit off a hassle but well worth it
Just for interest
Pic doesn't do it justice

[Basil135]

On any new sealed bearing I pick out the seal wash it out and repack with some decent grease Bit off a hassle but well worth it
Just for interest
Pic doesn't do it justice

Nice work. Can I ask what the finish is that you used?

I am guessing that is about a 8 hour cut time, on that one...

[Bigbjorn]

On any new sealed bearing I pick out the seal wash it out and repack with some decent grease Bit off a hassle but well worth it
Just for interest
Pic doesn't do it justice

You can buy a grease fitting for greasing sealed bearings. It is a normal grease nipple with a needle like a hypodermic syringe on the other end. You poke it under or through the seal and grease away until fresh clean grease oozes out.

[Ancient Mariner]

As Brian says you can get a fitting which is OK for bigger bearings but for small high speed bearings you don't want to mix greases and to much grease is as bad as to little. I asked the brother about the finish Mirotone Mirocat PC3242 sanding sealer and Mirocat PC3220/ 60 semi gloss top coat a lacquer very easy to spray and you can leave in the gun for days .Pic of Shark with 40 year old Bosch Scintilla die grinder.About 3 hours machine time for the stagecoach aprox 350x90mm

Noel