Triton 82mm Planer

Triton 82mm Planer (TP720) Review By Dean Bielanowski

At time of writing, I am busily engaged in some renovations of my own home. In particular, replacing some water damaged walls and framing from a non-waterproofed shower that leaked! In addition, I have enclosed an open staircase with a new plaster wall and door frame, ready for a new door to go in any day now. Some of these tasks are ideal for the tool type we are reviewing today, the 82mm power planer. Triton have recently released their handheld power planer, and I have been using it for my renovation work and in the workshop. Let's see what it offers and how it performed for me... The Triton 82mm Planer Firstly, you will instantly recognize that familiar Triton color if you have seen or used Triton tools before. The Triton orange covers most of the body and handles of the planer. All orange components (as seen in the tool photos) are made from hardened plastic, which is fine as these incorporate the main body of the tool and the handles - pretty common material for most tool handles these days. All components affecting accuracy are metal construction for strength and durability. The bases of the planer are cast aluminum and are virtually flat according to my straight edge, which they should be of course! The design of the planer itself is somewhat unremarkable in the sense that it follows the traditional design and shape of most common handheld power planers, however, there are some subtle differences. The first being the front auxiliary handle, which instead of just having the depth adjustment knob as a grip handle, as on many planer designs, there is actually a separate auxiliary handle to provide a better grip on the tool, which also aids in controlling it better (in my opinion). The carry-style front handle design provides the user with a comfortable barrel-type hold on the tool. In fact, it is perhaps the most comfortable planer I have used to date. A rubber overmold on the front handle provides both additional comfort and grip too. The main handle is traditional in design with a carry-style barrel shape with your main power controls on the underside. It too features the rubber overmold on the top side of the handle for user convenience, and added safety. Power controls feature a standard push button trigger plus a trigger release switch to prevent accidental start-up. These are standard fare. The dust collection port is a dual direction port, meaning that it can deflect chips either to the left or right side of the tool, depending on which direction the user has selected via the deflection selector knob located under the front auxiliary handle. This can be handy at times, particularly if you are working in confined spaces. You can easily move the dust extraction to the side of the planer where more room for debris ejection can be provided, or where the debris can be deflected away from the user. However, of course, you really want to catch as much of the chips and dust as possible before it escapes into the immediate environment, particularly if you are working indoors. To do this, you need to attach either a vacuum extraction hose (and unit) - not supplied - or a dust collection bag, which is supplied. Dust and debris ejection from the unit is actually very good, but it is reduced markedly, as you would expect, when the dust bag starts filling up. This is fine, and emptying the bag quickly remedies that problem, however, when planing more than 1mm at a time, a lot of shavings are created which fills up the collection bag quite rapidly. This is not any different from any other planer I have seen, and certainly not a fault of the tool, but if you want consistently effective dust and shaving collection from the planer without frequent bag emptying, consider hook up to a vacuum extraction system with a large capacity collection container when working indoors. The planer is called an 82mm planer because that is the maximum width cut capacity it offers in a single pass. So if you have an 82mm wide or smaller board, door, or whatever else, you can make a planing pass and remove material across the entire surface in one stroke. Planing depth can bet set from 0mm up to a maximum of 2mm per pass. Planing depth is adjusted via the depth adjustment knob located on the front of the tool. When this knob is turned, the height of the front base of the tool is changed. It is lifted up to provide the depth offset to make a depth planing pass in relation to the rear base, which is fixed at the same height as the cutter blade tips. So, only the front section of the base before the blades moves when depth adjustment is changed. This is the standard method of depth control used on most power planers. The adjustment knob will adjust the depth by 0.2mm per indexed turn. Interestingly, the depth adjustment knob shows the adjustment increments in both metric and imperial measures. This is handy if you regularly work with both systems, or at least it will make the tool more attractive and suitable for a wider audience. Now, the depth settings are really only a guide. Don't take them as gospel, because with most handheld power planers, the settings are rarely very accurate. This is the same on the Triton model. On the "0" setting, the front and rear base sections should, in theory, be aligned with each other. This is not the case on the unit I have. The front base is too "low". So just take the settings as marked as a rough guide, and if you require precision planing, choose an alternative measuring method to ensure accuracy. Thankfully though, both front and rear bases do appear to be parallel to each other, and each base is, for all intensive purposes, as flat as they need to be for this type of tool. In terms of power, the Triton planer features a 720W motor. This is more than enough for most planing tasks. Sure, you can bog it down somewhat attempting a full 2mm depth cut in dense hardwood when planing at the maximum 82mm in one pass, but trying to cut that deep in hardwood with maximum width is not really advisable to begin with anyway, even if your planer had twice the power. In fact, I never take more than 1mm per pass in hardwood on my 3HP thicknesser! Plus, planning deep in a single pass, particularly in hardwood, doesn't produce a very clean finish. Smaller, successive passes of 0.5mm or less in hardwood saves the tool, saves the blades and gives you a better finish. I was testing 2mm passes in softwood at about 40mm width and it did the job, despite being showered in plenty of shavings and debris! So take smaller depth cuts per pass, and a few more of them to guarantee good results, and you wont be straining the motor either. A belt drive system transfers the motor power to the cutterhead. The cutterhead houses two 82mm, reversible TCT plane blades. These rotate at 17,000 RPM (no load), so there are potentially up to 32,000 blade passes on your material per minute. At this rate, a clean, smooth finish is attainable on the planed surface. Maintain sharp blades and you will have no problems at all. And of course, when the blades dull, simply reverse them to expose a new sharp edge again! The blades themselves appear to be very generic in design, so sourcing replacements shouldn't be a problem, even if Triton-branded blades are not available. There should be no problem with matching other branded 82mm TCT blades if you cannot source Triton ones, so you won't be left out in the cold at any stage in the future with dull blades and no replacements to be found on the planet! Blades are secured via three clamping screws/nuts which hold each blade in position. A wrench to tighten/release these screws is stored onboard the planer, just behind the belt drive cover. You wont lose it at least when it can be stored directly on the tool. The Triton planer not only planes flat surfaces, but it can also create rebates up to 8mm deep. To ensure consistent depth accuracy, a depth stop guide is included which is adjustable to a maximum depth of 8mm. Additionally, a parallel guide fence (included) can be added to the planer to ensure a parallel rebate to an edge. These two fence/stop additions allow the user to create rebates with the power planer with good accuracy. Certainly as accurate as they need to be for carpentry or even cabinetry purposes (with a little practice). The front base features a V-groove designed to cut chamfers on the edge of boards. The corner of a board or length of material sits in the groove with the planer tilted to a 45 degree angle. It quickly removes a sharp corner with ease. This is useful to either protect edges from chipping, or to remove a sharp edge for comfort or safety reasons, depending on the project in question. In Use Before using the Triton planer (or any other planer for that matter) on the material to be planed, check first that there are no hidden screws, nails, staples or the like embedded in the material. If the planer happens to hit one of these, not only will it likely damage or ruin the planer blades, but parts of a blade could be projected in any direction and the planer could kick out causing a safety hazard. So check for foreign objects in the material before you power up the planer. While the Triton planer is fairly similar in function and features to most planers on the market, I did notice that vibration on the Triton planer seemed much less than other similar spec'd planers I have used. This planer runs extremely smooth, and if it wasn't for the sound the planer makes as it revs up (which will require hearing protection) you might not even know it is turned on! Well, you would know of course, but the point is that the planer produces VERY little vibration, which helps add to the level of control the user can have over the tool in use. Plus the low vibration helps deliver excellent and smooth planing results. Planing a door edge to fit in door frame As mentioned above, the Triton features a 2-blade rotating cutterhead. Some planers now feature triple blades. So does only having two blades affect the final finish on material planed? Well my personal experience with power planers, and with the Triton planer reviewed here has told me that it is not really a factor in final finish quality, assuming you have sharp blades fitted. I successfully planed through softwoods, hardwoods, and even MDF on a hollow core door bottom edge (I had to extend the length of the door with an additional piece) with the planer and it produced a excellent, smooth and flat finish with no blade marks that I could easily see. In regards to snipe, particularly when finishing a cut, I had no problems with the Triton, although this issue basically comes down to technique. Even the best planer can dig in at the end of a cut unless the user takes diligent care to relocate the pressure on the tool to the backward base as the cut is finished. This can be tricky, and I often create a bit of snipe when not taking enough care regarding technique. Perhaps the best feature of this tool is the front handle. Many handheld planers don't even have a front handle, and you have to hold onto the depth adjustment knob to get a 2 handed grip. The Triton's front handle provides a comfortable and large grip zone for horizontal, vertical and chamfering planing tasks. The tool is really a pleasure to use comfort-wise. Blade changes are quite simple using the included wrench. The biggest issue is getting them set to the correct height, which should be level with the rear base surface. The included user manual explains the process if you need help. I use a special magnetic jig for setting my planer and jointer knives which works well for me, but after changing blades, check they are set correctly by running the planer over some scrap material. Both blades should be set to equal height so one blade is not doing all the work, cutting deeper than the other. This might also show up as a rough finish, or a finish with fine ridges if the planer is run over the material too rapidly. Surface planing at full 82mm width. Overall I am pretty impressed with the Triton planer. It doesn't really have any revolutionary/evolutionary features as found on some other Triton tools, but it does get the job done, and it runs really smooth... Perhaps the only thing missing is a drop-down foot at the rear of the planer that holds the base off the ground/table when the planer is set down. This is a feature on one of my Ryobi power planers and I really like it. But then again, that Ryobi planer doesn't have a front handle either, so give a little, take a little... But for the asking price - AUD$99 (retail) - the Triton 82mm planer offers excellent value for money and performance! I'd certainly rate it up against a Makita or a Bosch power planer in terms of performance, accuracy and final cutting results. Available to Order through these Companies... Click graphic to go to their direct product page for this item USA For more information, or to find dealers worldwide of Triton products, visit www.triton.com.au

Triton TP720 Photos All photos copyright onlinetoolreviews.com. Use without prior written permission prohibited The TP720 82mm Planer Depth setting knob with measurements in both metric and imperial. Dust chute direction control switch. Rebate depth guide. Trigger and trigger release switch. On-board blade wrench. The dust chute. Cast aluminum front and rear bases, with V-groove notch on front base for chamfering tasks. Cutterhead and blade.

Triton (TBD1500) Belt and Disc Sander

The Triton company has always been known as a company which produces quality and innovative tools. When the company came under the grasp of emerging tool giant, Global Machinery Company, many woodworkers wondered whether the Triton name and quality would live on. Thankfully, it seems this is indeed the case. A new line of tools have recently emerged with many new features and quality construction, and although most products in the new range have yet to be released (as at Dec 2006) some are now available, including the TBD1500 belt and disc sander, the subject of this review. The Triton TBD1500 Belt and Disc Sander Belt and Disc sanding combination machines are a common site in many woodworker's shops. They provide the convenience of both belt and disc sanding operations in one unit, and often with a small footprint to save space. They are a handy and very useful piece of machinery for many sanding tasks, and makes particular sanding tasks easy and quick to accomplish. The Triton Belt and Disc Sander (model TBD1500) ships in a nicely decorated, bright box (which is almost a shame to throw away), but once you get inside it, the box art will become an afterthought. The first thing you will notice with this tool when you try to take it out of the box is its weight. At 35kg (77lbs) you have to be careful not to go straining yourself getting it out! It's definitely a good two-person lift, unless you are a regular gym junkie with a good back and leg muscles... But the weight is not a bad thing, in fact, heavy bench and machine tools are often easier to use, built better and run with less vibration. The weight of the tool is due largely in part to the cast iron construction of many components (basically all the grey sections you see in the photos - including the feet!). The orange-colored parts are made from high-strength plastic, but it is good to see that all the important sections that affect accuracy and overall build quality are comprised of cast iron material. The plastic sections actually save the user from an even heavier lift. Under the hood is a 250W induction motor. Like all these styles of combination sanding machines, the belt and disc actually rotate together when powered up, i.e. you cannot stop one from rotating while the other is in use. This usually presents no problem, although you do need to be wary as to not go near the unused sanding area, and be sure not to wear loose fitting clothing that could catch in the machine or on the sanding surfaces. The motor itself is very quiet and no hearing protection will be necessary during use. At 250W the motor is powerful enough to handle all the tasks this type of machine will handle - face, edge and end grain sanding. It is possible to bog the motor down a little by excessive sanding pressure, but if you are indeed making the motor struggle, it is likely that you are applying too much pressure on the sanding surface to begin with. Use the motor sound to accurately gauge how much pressure should be applied in use. And of course, both the belt and disc sanding surfaces can be quite aggressive with removing material, so you will generally only want to use a light touch. Heavy handedness can result in removing more material than you wanted to, and as we know, it's much harder to replace wooden material than it is to remove it. The motor not only powers both the disc and belt sanding components, but it also supplies an air flow for the inbuilt dust collection. A bag attached to the rear of the machine inflates when power is applied to the tool. Inflation is caused by airflow being directed into the bag, and both the disc sander and belt sanding sections have dust collection hoods (of sorts) to try and capture as much of the sanding dust and debris as possible and direct it into the internal tool's airflow leading to the collection bag. The collection works quite well, but if you try to remove too much material at once, it sometimes does not have enough pull to handle larger volumes of dust. It could be a bit more powerful in regards to airflow volume, but with proper sanding technique and a light touch, it seems to handle dust collection reasonably well. It is handy not to have to hook up a dedicated extraction unit. However, if you have extraction permanently in place, you can also replace the bag with your own dust collection tube, and this will work better due to the higher airflow and volume a dedicated extraction system can provide. The dust port is 50mm (2") in size, so you will need a reducer attachment if you have a standard 4" (100mm) collection hose. Power is applied via the simple on/off red power switch located adjacent to the disc sander. Pull the switch upwards to apply power, push it down to stop the sander. A removable yellow switch safety key is attached. Once removed from the switch, power cannot be applied to the sander, even if the switch is pulled up into the ON position. The safety key must be inserted into the switch for power to be applied. A handy device for those with young children around, or equally useful when servicing the machine or changing belts - you don't want any unexpected surprises when maintaining the unit! Belt Sanding The belt sander features a working platen area of 127mm x 230mm (5" x 9"). This is the size of the area that can be used to sand, or for sanding support. The actual size of the consumable belts is 100mm x 915mm (4" x 36"). So for all intensive purposes, the belt sander is classed as a 4" belt sander. The belt size is very common, so sourcing replacement belts shouldn't prove difficult at all. Most big box hardware stores will sell them, and if not, a specialty woodworking or trades shop will definitely have them on offer. The belt sander runs at 580m per minute, which is pretty much the same speed an Olympic 100m sprinter runs down the track (a somewhat interesting but useless piece of trivia!). The belt sander is very handy for many surface and edge sanding tasks. I use it most often to sand smooth box joins when I make finger-joined or dovetail-joined boxes, but it works equally well with butt-joint boxes too. It is handy for face sanding smaller project parts where the whole face is less than 4" wide, allowing you to sand the surface evenly. In the photos you can see me sanding the face and edge of a Silky Oak block that forms the body of a small mantle clock I was building at the time. It works equally well or face sanding or edge sanding. It can even be used to round over sharp edges to prevent chipping in smaller pieces too. And for curve sanding, you can use the rounded end of the sanding belt covering the tracking end roller of the machine. The orange "fence" you see sitting over the belt sander provides the stop for the workpiece. As the belt rotates and when you make contact with your workpiece on the belt, it will pull the workpiece toward the fence stop. It is important to rest your workpiece against this fence stop before you make contact with the sanding belt, otherwise the piece can be pulled from your grasp and sent flying! The fence stop has a series of holes molded into it. These, I am guessing, help aid in dust flow and help to pull dust down into the unit, and into the integrated dust collection system. The thing to master with the belt sander is to try and apply even pressure over the face/edge of the workpiece being sanded. Because belt sanders can take a lot of material off quickly, it can be easy to round edges or sand unevenly if too much pressure on one section, or if uneven force is applied. As mentioned above, a light touch and good technique will produce the best results. Practice with some scraps prior to using your good lumber if you haven't used one of these tools before. The belt sander can be rotated from its horizontal position to the vertical position quite easily. A hex screw clamps the belt sander in your chosen position, and it holds very well. Depending on what type of sanding you wish to do will determine whether you use the belt sander in horizontal or vertical mode. In horizontal mode, the belt sander is best used for face or edge work, as gravity (and your hands) helps keep the piece against the sanding belt. When you want to sanding the end grain of a workpiece however, it is often easier to use the belt sander in vertical mode, and use the supplied cast iron support table to rest the workpiece on. The movement of the sanding belt in a downward direction helps keep the workpiece flat on the support table. It is much easier sanding end grain in vertical mode, because in horizontal mode you have far less support, only being able to use the stop fence as opposed to the larger and heavier cast iron support table in vertical mode (the support table cannot be used in horizontal belt sanding mode). Changing belts is accomplished through use of the belt tension lever on the side of the belt sanding assembly. Always make sure new belts are inserted in the right way. The sanding belt should have arrows on the inside surface showing intended direction of belt travel. Once a new belt is fitted, you may need to track the belt to ensure it runs true on the platen. A small tracking adjustment wheel at the far end of the belt sander accomplishes this. Start the sander up and adjust the tracking slowly so that the belt runs true in the center and does not start to move to either side. All instructions are found in the full-color manual supplied with the tool, so you shouldn't have any problems with replacing or tracking belts. Support Table with Miter Gauge Speaking of the support table, the one included with the TBD1500 is of excellent quality. Cast iron construction, including the adjustment and support arms provide a very solid reference surface for your workpiece. The support table can be angled from 0 degrees to 45 degrees, and any angle in between. The angle scale is etched in 1 degree increments. There is a miter slot milled into the table as well. A basic miter gauge is included too, and to be honest, I was expecting one of those light, flimsy plastic ones you often get with cheaper belt/disc sanders, or sometimes supplied with a smaller bandsaw. Not so with the TBD1500. While the miter gauge is very basic in design and function, the miter section itself is metal construction, being more rigid and holding its accuracy better. It is used in conjunction with either the belt or disc sander, most often to sand end grain where the cut is at an angle. i.e. a 45 degree miter cut. I was quite surprised with the support table and miter gauge. It is an essential part of the whole tool, and it plays a big role in sanding accuracy, so I was delighted to see Triton too had recognized this and built it to be strong, accurate and durable with little or no noticeable flex in use. Disc Sanding Of course, the other major feature of this tool is the 8" disc sander. It spins at 3000 rpm and uses adhesive-backed sandpaper disks. One is supplied to get you started, but again, these sanding disks are widely available, and quite inexpensive given how much work they can do before they need to be replaced. The disc sander must be used in conjunction with the support table. You cannot really hand-hold pieces when sanding on the disc. It's very dangerous, and extremely difficult to do. The disc sander is designed for end-grain work predominantly, so it can be used freehand to, say, round off an edge of a workpiece (as shown in photos to the right) or to smooth end grain on a cut joint using the miter gauge. Because the disc spins in an anti-clockwise direction, you can only really use the left side of the sanding disc, as this is the side where the sanding pad is spinning in a downward direction. This keeps the workpiece pushing down on the support table. If you try to sand on the right side, the upward moving disc will likely grab your workpiece and cause a safety risk issue. I prefer to use the disc sander primarily for edge rounding work. It is the ideal tool for this, particularly for smaller projects. You won't be able to round the edges on a large table top with a machine like this. The support table is just too small for a task like that, so go for a handheld belt sander instead. But for small project work and end ground rounding or edging, the disc sander can get the job done fast, and with a little practice, it will produce a clean and well-rounded edge for your project piece. With a user-made jig, it can also be used to perfect perfect circles after being cut on the bandsaw. It's not all about the wood! When you look at this tool, or even mention sanding, wood naturally comes to mind. And rightly so. This is a woodworking machine primarily, but it can be used equally effectively with some metal and plastics work. It is not uncommon to see a woodworker sharpening chisels or plane blades using a belt sander, or deburring a cut edge. The sander is quite a handy tool when it comes to tool sharpening. And it can be just as useful for plastics work. I don't do any plastics work myself, but I have seen others use similar sanders for shaping and cleaning up cut plastic edges and it seems to do the job reasonably well. Overall Triton have produced a great disc/belt sander with the TBD1500. While the only real "feature" of this tool that stands out from the rest is the powered dust collection, and perhaps the easier to use stop fence (some stop fences on other sanders are flimsy and can bend easily), the overall build quality and strength of the TBD1500 is something that you don't often find on similar sized machines from the competition. It appears that with the TBD1500, Triton has played a subtle trump card that the other manufacturers will again have to follow if they want a slice of the portable belt/disc sander market. I am sure I will be using this tool a lot in my workshop in the future. The TBD1500 has a recommended retail price of AUD$299, although it is possible you might find it a little cheaper in retail outlets. It can be ordered through Triton Preferred Dealers (see Triton website for dealers list) or in Australia via Bunnings special order desks. For more information, or to find dealers worldwide of Triton products, visit www.triton.com.au Sanding Machine Tip! Investing in an abrasive belt cleaner is a great way to make your sanding consumables last much longer. When the tool is running, simply hold a belt cleaning stick against the sandpaper surface and apply light pressure. The cleaning stick helps remove debris from the sanding surface and in between the grit, cleaning the sandpaper medium and restoring it to a newer condition. They are an inexpensive accessory that will help extend the life of your sanding medium. Commercial belt cleaning sticks are available for a small investment, although I have found that using the contents from a dried out tube of silicon that has solidified is equally useful. Others have even used rubber shoe soles to achieve a similar result! Abrasive Cleaning Stick Increases the abrasive life of sanding belts and discs up to 10 times as long. Fast and easy to use. Cleans while your sander is running. Saves time and money. Improves the finish quality. Prevents bu.. Abrasive Cleaning Stick

Triton TBD1500 Photos All photos copyright onlinetoolreviews.com. Use without prior written permission prohibited! Triton TBD1500 Belt/Disc Sander Large cast iron feet with screw/bolt holes for greater stability. On/Off switch with yellow safety key. Support table bevel adjustment from 0 to 45 degrees in 1 degree increments. Support table and miter gauge set up with the disc sander Support table set up for use with the belt sander in vertical mode. Belt tensioning lever. Belt tracking adjustment wheel. Face sanding silky oak for a mantle clock project. Working the edge, keeping the piece up against the stop fence. The disc sander makes light work of edge rounding tasks!

Triton T8SH Wetstone Sharpener

Triton T8SH Wetstone Sharpener

Review

By Dean Bielanowski

Sharpening woodworking tools to a mirror finish, ultra-sharp cutting edge has always been a challenge for the majority of beginning and even intermediate woodworkers, and it generally is not until you see and use a mirror-finish, ultra sharp blade that you realize the difference between a tool that is simply termed "sharp", and one that actually IS sharp. Simply grinding a bevel on a tool using your regular dry bench mounted grinder will not give you a truly sharp edge. Likewise, using even a 400 or 800 grit sharpening stone will give you a cutting edge, but it could be so much sharper with further work. The problem is that, up until now, the arsenal of sharpening tools and devices you needed to get a truly sharp edge has cost a small fortune. Sure, there have been cheaper methods like the "scary sharp" method which uses sandpaper, some glass to mount it on and a fair bit of time, but for the beginning woodworker who may not be clued up on manual sharpening, even that method could seem daunting. There has been for many years a device that has offered woodworkers an easier way to sharpen tools - the wet grinder. Its ability to sharpen tools with virtually no chance of overheating an edge and drawing the temper (weakening the material making it almost useless) is appealing to many. The one particular wet grinding system that has been considered the top of the class for workshop tool sharpening is the Tormek system. Unfortunately, it is rather expensive and not affordable to many woodworkers, particularly those who undertake woodworking on a hobby basis. In more recent years, the Scheppach line of wet grinders has competed with theTormeks, and at reduced cost. But now a new line of wet grinder is available from Triton (and a similar one from Scheppach) that brings the setup costs down to just a few hundred dollars (as opposed to more than three times this with the Tormek). These low-priced Chinese-made wet grinders may not be European quality, but can they work just as well? We grabbed a Triton T8SH to see if a Chinese made wet grinder could deliver a truly sharp edge with a mirror finish, and most importantly, could slice wood like there was no tomorrow, and be able to be used by a beginner relatively easily with little learning curve. Let's see if the Triton can put some ticks to those issues. The Triton T8SH Wetstone Sharpener On first inspection of the tool, you can see it somewhat resembles that of a Tormek wet grinder. It has a similar large grinding wheel on one side, a leather honing wheel on the other, and a similar looking tool rest. But let's start by looking at the motor... The T8SH features a 120W induction motor. This sounds like quite a small powered motor, but the tool doesn't really require anything larger. The motor spins the wheel at the relatively slow speed of 120 RPM. When you think about a normal high speed dry grinder spinning at over 3000 RPM, 120 RPM seems turtle paced. But, just like the fairy tale, slow and steady wins the race, and this is the idea behind wet grinders. You won't be winning speed records for sharpening a tool on these units, but in the end, you will probably have a far superior cutting edge than one that has just come off a high speed grinder. Cooling fins on the motor casing will help dissipate heat and ensure the motor will not overheat, but there seems little chance of this as I was able to easily touch the motor after use and it didn't feel hot at all. Slightly warm, but that's about it. The controls are child's play with a simple standard green ON and red OFF button. I hope I don't need to explain what they do! However, note that because the aluminum oxide wheel and leather buffing wheel are mounted on the same shaft, both will spin when power is applied, so ensure both wheels are clear of obstacles and that you are not touching or holding either before you power on the grinder. The grinder casing is pressed metal and rather strong. You wont have any trouble with bending or denting it, unless it happens to fall off your worktable or stand you have it sitting on. But rubber feet on all four corners will ensure it won't slide around, even when in use under load. It will tilt or lift before it slides, and if you are tilting or lifting the tool by applying pressure to the wheel via the bevel grinding edge, you are putting too much force on it to start with. The jig guide bar allows you to use a variety of sharpening jigs and a basic straight-edge grinding jig is included in the kit which will allow you to sharpen straight edge tools like chisels and plane blades etc. At time of writing, no other jigs are available from Triton, however, because the guide bar is exactly the same diameter as both the Tormek and Scheppach machines, you can use any of the jigs made for those brands on the Triton unit. With additional jigs, you will be able to sharpen items like scissors, garden tools, woodturning tools (gouges etc), thicknesser blades and many more types of cutting tools. Some of these jigs are pricey however, so be prepared to invest some extra money in those jigs you require for your own needs. Hopefully Triton will bring out some more affordable jigs for this unit in the near future. One thing to check out of the box is how square the guide bar is to the guide posts that clamp to the grinder body. It has been reported that some are not truly square, however, on the unit I have, the guide bar was pretty much right on the money. The guide bar "legs" get clamped to the grinder in one of two positions. Depending on the tool being sharpened, it may be preferable to sharpen the edge with the wheel spinning into, or away from the cutting edge. You can move the guide bar to the rear of the tool to have the wheel turning away from the cutting edge. One more check to make is to ensure the guide bar is also square to the grinding wheel's surface. I found the wheel needed a little dressing to square it up out of the box. This can be done with a standard coarse sharpening stone (does take a while), or with either the dedicated diamond dressing tools offered by Scheppach or Tormek (although these are much more costly). Once you have the guide bar squared up to the wheel surface, you are pretty much ready to go. If you wanted to flatten the back of chisels or plane blades prior to grinding the bevel, this can be done using the side of the grinding wheel, but again, some dressing may be required first if the wheel is not running true out of the box. Now, before you do any grinding at all, you have to fill the small water well with, you guessed it, water! The grinding stone is somewhat porous so when you first add water, it will draw some of it up into the stone. This is normal, and be sure to just add a little more until you have reached the marked fill line. As the wheel turns, it draws up a steady stream of water over the wheel. It won't splash like crazy, so no need for raincoats, but don't go exposing live wires or electrical items to the water either (should be common sense!). The grinder's own motor/electric circuits are sealed and protected of course. Time to Sharpen! As you can see, the machine itself is relatively simple, and sharpening using it is also simple, but a little practice will give you better results. I took a rusty old, cheap chisel I was using for renovation work that was full of nicks and gouges. Now, these nicks and gouges can be removed easily enough on the Triton sharpener, but if they are large or deep you might want to try remove them a little more quickly on a high speed dry grinder to save a little time. But, they can be done on the Triton and I decided to use it to see how long it would take to remove them and sharpen the edge. To begin with, I ran the back of the chisel against the side of the wheel to flatten it as best I could. You could then flatten it further with a fine waterstone, diamond stone, or leather strop if you wish. With the back taken care of, you simply secure the chisel in the sharpening jig, ensuring it is set square to grind a square edge. A small "pin" piece (basically a punched and raised part of the jig) allows to to square the chisel up in the jig relatively quickly. Tighten both the locking knobs to ensure the chisel is held firmly in the jig. Now you have to set the bevel edge to the correct angle. A small angle gauge is provided that rests against the wheel and the backside of the blade. By raising or lowering the jig bar, you can adjust the angle the bevel will sit in relation to the wheel surface. You may need to adjusting the position of the blade in the jig too so that you are grinding somewhere near the top of the wheel (this usually means moving the blade forward or backward in the jig). Now, assuming we have everything set up correctly, start up the grinder and wait until a steady stream of water is flowing over the wheel (this is almost instantaneous). There are numerous ways to hold the jig and blade, so I won't recommend any particular one, but the aim is to keep the bevel/cutting edge of the blade fully engaged against the wheel right across its edge. This will ensure an even grind. With the edge engaged against the cutting wheel and grinding away, move the jig and blade from side to side in smooth, even strokes, running the jig across the guide bar. This not only ensures an even grind on the cutting edge, but also helps the wheel remain true by using all of the wheel surface so it wears evenly. Because the process is water cooled, you can keep the edge engaged against the wheel pretty much continuously. On a dry grinder, doing this would build up heat rapidly, overheating the tool edge and drawing the temper. There is no such problems with the Triton sharpener. You could keep the edge engaged all day and not have a problem as it is being constantly cooled by the flow of water over the wheel. Once you have grinded the bevel to a consistent edge (there should be a small but even burr on the back side of the blade - use your finger to check - with care of course), you can go to the next step, which is honing. However, before we get to this step, let me note something. With theTormek or Scheppach units, you can buy an accessory stone grader. This is a secondary stone which is double sided with two grits which can be used against the grinding wheel to effectively change the grit pattern and turn your ordinary coarse grit stone, to a more refined fine grit stone for further grinding. No stone is available for the Triton as such, but if you purchase one from the other brands mentioned, you can use it on the Triton as an intermediate step before using the honing wheel. All accessories are interchangeable. But let's get back to the chisel. Now we need to hone the edge. Essentially, this further "grinds" the edge bringing the scratch pattern to such a fine level that it produces a mirror finish (i.e. removing visible scratches altogether!). It's more of a polishing step really but I guess technically you would call it a type of grinding. The process is relatively the same as with grinding, but the guide bar is now moved to the back of the tool and honing is performed with the honing wheel turning away from the beveled edge (to reduce risk of the edge digging into the honing wheel and ruining it. Using the angle setting gauge, set the guide bar and jig so that the tool rests on the honing wheel's leather surface at the correct angle. Now apply the honing paste (a tin of paste is supplied) to the wheel. A small amount only is required. Now proceed to hone the bevel in the same manner as grinding, with light-medium pressure on the bevel and moving the edge from side to side slightly. Honing will only take a minute or so to produce a mirror finish thanks to the very fine grit in the honing paste. Once you have a mirror finish on the bevel, you will likely now have a very small wire edge burr on the back side of the blade which must be removed. This can be done freehand on the honing wheel. Carefully hone the back of the blade taking care to not angle the blade up too much and risk rounding over the edge. A horizontal blade position on the honing wheel will help here. Once the back of the blade is honed you have a chisel that is ready to cut. Grab a piece of paper and slice into it with the freshly sharpened edge. If it cuts the paper cleanly and easily, the edge is ultra sharp and ready to go. Try it on some wood and you will be amazed. You will probably also soon realize that even chisels new out of the box from the store are rarely very sharp at all. Using a finely sharpened and honed blade is a true joy and it will certainly put a smile on your face! As with all sharp tools, exercise caution when using them. These sharpened blades will cut like razors! The process is the same for plane blades and other straight edge cutting blades. To sharpen rounded edge tools like gouges, scissors, planer machine blades or garden tools will require other specialized jigs to be purchased to hold the tool correctly for sharpeneing. As mentioned above, these are not available from Triton at the present time, however the Tormek or Scheppachjigs can be purchased and used with the Triton. I cannot comment on how well the Triton sharpens these other tools as you are only given the straight edge grinding jig, but should I acquire more jigs in the future (and there is a very good chance of that now I know the Triton can do the job) I will be sure to update the review. I know others with the Triton sharpener who claim good results using other jigs for turning tools. After you have finished using the Triton, be sure to empty the water well fully. If you leave the grinding wheel sitting in water, there is the chance the lower part of the wheel will continue to draw up moisture and unbalance the wheel next time you use it, so empty the water after each use, and use clean, fresh water next time you use the tool. FAQs Here are a few frequently asked questions I have seen on various forums relating to these types of sharpening machines. Here are my answers based on my use of the Triton. Q: Can you tilt or lift the machine if you excerpt too much pressure on the wheel when grinding? A: Yes this is possible, however, in my experience, if you are excerpting that much pressure, you are pushing harder than you need to and risk overloading the motor if this is done continuously. Q: What is the difference between the higher priced Tormek unit and the Tritonmachine? A: As far as I can tell, or have been told by others who own a Tormek, the grinding wheel and honing wheels on the Triton do not appear to be made to as high a quality. However, if you take the time to true up the grinding wheel correctly, the end results between both machines are quite similar. The motor may be higher quality as well, but at almost four times the price, you would hope so! Q: Does the water in the well need to be ice cool to prevent heat buildup when grinding? A: No, water straight from the cold tap seems to work fine. No heat problems have been evident yet. Q: Is the tool noisy or does it vibrate a lot? A: There will be a small amount of vibration if the grinding wheel is not properly secured or not properly trued. After truing the wheel I had no real vibration problems or noise issues, even with the unit just sitting on the workbench. The slow speed motor is very quiet. Q: Can the motor or grinding wheel be stalled? A: With excessive pressure yes, but see above. Also, ensure the grinding wheel is properly secured on the shaft, but do not over-tighten. Perhaps the addition of a locking nut or spring washer might be a good basic upgrade to ensure the wheel stays secured? I'll try this one day soon. Q: Is there a steep learning curve to using the sharpener? A: No. In fact, this is probably the easiest way to sharpen a tool to a mirror finish I have come across, and it's generally faster than most other manual sharpening methods. Conclusion Wet grinders such as the Triton T8SH are really a great way to sharpen woodworking tools. My plane blades and chisels are now all ultra sharp and are a pleasure to work with. Going by responses from others, it seems other cutting tools are also as easily sharpened given the user has the appropriate jigs to do so. Some of these jigs are quite expensive however, so even if you spend the AUD$199 for the Triton Sharpener, expect to spend up to double this much again for a collection of jigs to make the unit practical for the equipped woodworker's shop. A complete package could burn a hole in your budget quite easily, but the sharpness of your tools that result from that investment could easily cut the same hole much faster! Overall a well-priced version of a popular wet grinding machine design. It will require some tweaks and checks to make it a precise sharpening unit there is no doubt there, but once properly set up it can deliver results similar to the machines costing almost four times as much. Available to Order through these Companies... Click graphic to go to their direct product page for this item In Australia In most cases, the T8SH will need to be ordered in via the Special Orders departments of these retailers... In the USA These machines are identical or similar to the one reviewed... For more information, or to find dealers worldwide of Triton products, visit www.triton.com.au

Triton T8SH Photos All photos copyright onlinetoolreviews.com. Use without prior written permission prohibited The Triton Wetstone Sharpener Simple ON/OFF control buttons The main toolrest and jig guide bar clamps in two spots Aluminum Oxide Grinding Wheel The leather strop wheel on the opposite end The toolrest can be moved to the backside for grinding away from the edge of a tool, or for better accuracy on the honing wheel The standard sharpening jig will handle your plane blades, chisels and square edge tools Here the motor is spinning. Note the glaze on the wheel, which is the water running over it from the water well below Sharpening a chisel with side-to-side movement across the wheel. Note the water collecting at the front edge of the chisel, helping to keep the blade cool Here I have deliberately chosen an old, abused, rusty chisel and sharpened the cutting edge. It now has a mirror finish on the bevel (in contrast to the rusty shabby surfaces surrounding it), and reflects the light shining on it brilliantly. This edge was able to slice through sheets of paper without any problem, and wood just as easily too!

3-1/4HP 1/2" Precision Router

3-1/4HP 1/2" Precision Router Review By Bill Esposito By Dean Bielanowski

"A powerful 1/2” router with revolutionary features. Use hand-held or fitted to a router table - it’s perfect either way!" Photo & Quote Source: Triton Website - http://www.triton.net.au

The Market Survey... I wanted a big router. I wanted it bad. I had ruled out the Freud and Hitachi for various reasons and set my sights a bit higher into the $300-$350 range. What I found there was the Bosch 1619evs, the new Milwaukee 5625-20, and the Australian Triton TRC-001. I had been waiting for the Milwaukee figuring I'd get the big brother to my 5615-20 Body Grip, but it was November 10th and the Milwaukee was nowhere in sight. I knew the Bosch was a proven performer and couldn't go wrong with it. But ever since I'd seen the Triton last summer in a magazine, I had a secret yearning for it. The Decision...After going back and forth in my mind, searching the newsgroups and message boards, I finally decided on the Triton. It does after all, have the coolest depth mechanism this side of the equator...and the other side as well! It allows one handed bit changes from above the table, and its chock full of safety features. It was a no brainer, I got out my credit card and clicked the Amazon.com URL. Cold Feet... Ok, as soon as I clicked the order button I started having doubts. First, I had actually never seen or felt this router...suppose it was a piece of junk? I had also read some newsgroup messages which discouraged its use as a hand held router because of its balance. It also has feature which had escaped me before, a 1/4" reducer for the smaller bits. And lastly, service. I just spent $300 on a router whose parent company was on the other side of the world, and whose US operation was only a few months old as far as I could tell. Communications with Oz... It was Sunday afternoon on November 10th and I decided to email Triton and pose my questions and concerns. Within a couple of hours I received an email from Triton stating that they had forwarded my technical questions to the engineer responsible for the router, and my service and warranty questions to Triton USA. By 5:15 that same day I received my first email from Graham, the engineer, answering my questions. I wrote back and we exchanged a few emails and I was satisfied with all his answers. To my surprise on monday morning at 11:40am I received an email from Mark, General Manager of Triton Workshop Systems USA, and we began our own exchange of emails. I was still having cold feet, not because of service or anything else, but because I still had never seen the router and Amazon's return policy states that unless the returns are defective, they must be in new condition. I had to leave on a business trip so I canceled the router from Amazon and got on my airplane. Mark and I continued our email exchange and then finally spoke on the phone. Mark assured me that I would like the router and offered to take it back if I didn't. I ordered the router from him and it was on my doorstep two days later when I returned home. I tell you all of this because both you and I know that just as important as a tool's performance, is the performance of the manufacturer's customer support, and in my book Triton Workshop Systems has exhibited first rate customer support. Now on with the review! Features and Specs: 15 amp, 3-1/4 hp motor with soft start and variable speed control (8,000-21,000 rpm) Through-base collet access with automatic spindle lock and power switch lock-out Winder handle rack-and-pinion plunge with micro-adjuster for superfine depth settings Conversion switch for conventional free plunge Removable plunge spring plus fully enclosed, built-in dust extraction Lighted power switch Throat opening just over 3" Edge Guide/Circle Cutter Weight 13 lbs First Impression. This is a really cool router. It kinda looks like Robby the Robot from Lost in Space. The winding plunge (I like to call it ratcheting) mechanism is really cool and believe it or not, so is the lighted power switch. I get a feeling of security knowing at a glance whether or not the router is plugged in. While it looks top heavy, it isnt and the soft start makes it easier to handle than my Body Grip. The fit and finish is better than the Bosch and for icing on the cake, the colors fit right in with the New England Thanksgiving season. Lets start with what's in the box You get the router, edge guide, wrench, 1/4" reducer, a 1/2" straight bit, and the instruction manual. Everything was packed fine and arrived safely. Starting from the top, speed is controlled by this wheel. It is marked 1 through 5 and there are no positive detents so the numbers are to be used as a guide only. Triton Speed Control Settings 1 = 8,000rpm 2 = 10,000rpm 3 = 14,000rpm 4 = 18,000rpm 5 = 21,000rpm Right below the speed control is one of the brush access covers. Both brushes are easily replaced. The lever to the right and below the brush cover is the plunge locking lever. Once you've set your depth make sure to lock the router. The position of this lever can be changed to suit the user. The next picture shows the fine adjustment knob. Once you've used the winder on the right handle to adjust your gross depth, you can fine tune it by twisting this knob. Speaking of the winder, this next series of pictures illustrates the operations needed to adjust the depth. First, while grabbing the handle, you squeeze the ring to unlock the handle and allow it to turn. Turning clockwise plunges the router while counterclockwise raises it. Once you've set your depth, release the ring and the handle will lock. You can then use the fine adjustment knob for that last little tweak and then lock everything up by setting the locking lever. While not a killer feature, it's clear the engineers at Triton were thinking of ergonomics when they designed the router because they've designed the locking lever so that you can adjust its position to your liking. So far I've left it in its default position. While we're talking about setting the depth, lets look at the free plunge mode. In this mode, the Triton works like a conventional plunge router. What we have to do now, is disengage the rack and pinion assembly. To do that all you have to do is twist the winder lock. In this case, locking means that we will lock the winder handle so it can't rotate. To do that, you simply twist the yellow plunge mode selector clockwise, then push it in, and twist clockwise again till it stops. Once it's locked, neither the winding handle or the fine adjustment knob have any effect on the router. You simply plunge the router to the desired depth and then set the locking lever. HELPFUL TIP! I had some initial problem with this mechanism. While I could get it to lock very easily, I was having a difficult time unlocking it. I sent an email off to Triton and within a couple of hours received the reply. The reply instructed me to apply slight pressure on the top of the router while unlocking the winder. This is because two sides of the dog clutch are not in perfect alignment and thus the clutch will not engage immediately. The slight pressure solves the problem. This information was clearly provided in the instruction manual...but who reads those right? While using the router in the free plunge mode, you will want to take advantage of the Triton's depth stop turret. This clever device allows you to dial in the depth of your cut (you can set two different depths). The operation is actually pretty simple. 1. With your bit installed, zero the router by plunging it until the bit just touches the work piece (or tabletop) and lock it with the lever. 2. Next, adjust the depth nut to the desired depth, in this case, 1/2" 3. Rotate the turret so that the fixed turret post lines up under the depth stop rod, and release the rod until it springs down and contacts the post. Then re-tighten the depth stop rod. 4. Next rotate the turret again until the depth stop rod is aligned over the adjustable post. The rod is actually a piece of tube so it will fit over the threaded rod of the adjustable post and stop the plunge when it contacts the adjustment nut. The Triton has two adjustable posts. You can just rotate the turret until you line up the the post set for your current cut. If you prefer to use a gauge block you can just rotate the turret to the fixed post, and use your gauge block off that reference. As long as we're talking about hand use let's not forget the included edge guide. This guide is like nothing you've seen before. It's really an offset router base plate which doubles as an edge guide and circle cutter. Attaching the Guide is a snap. You simply loosen the two spring loaded thumbscrew bolts and slide the guide onto the router base. The actual position of the edge guide is adjusted by thumbscrew action also as seen below. I added a knob to the guide to provide more stability and turn it into an offset base. ** CAUTION ** The edge guide has a design flaw which can affect you when edging. By its design, the guide has a channel running down the center of it. When you are putting a profile on the edge of a tabletop for instance, as you reach the end or corner, if you are not careful the router will drop into that channel and ruin your profile. I solved this flaw by double-stick taping a piece of 3/16th shim into the channel. This fix does not affect any other mode of operation of the guide, but prevents the problem described above. Hand Held Use: Although I purchased this router for table use, I have run some hand held test passes. The first thing I noticed was the soft start. I've never owned a router with soft start before and the Triton's is a pleasure to use. I swear that I feel less torque during operation while using the Triton than I do my Milwaukee Body Grip, and because of the soft start, I feel more comfortable using the big Triton than the Milwaukee. The built in dust collection is great and made cleanup after the tests a cinch. The dust collector picked up better than 80% (very unscientific measurement) of the sawdust produced although routing with a dust hose attached takes some getting used to. While I was very concerned about the router being top heavy, that is not the case. The router feels just fine and is not top heavy at all. You may experience some instability if you don't use the guide just because the handles are located about 2 inches higher than most other routers and you simply have better control with a router whose handles are attached to the base and closer to the work. The Collet: The Triton comes with a single piece collet and a 1/4" reducer. Here's a shot of the collet and the included 1/2" straight bit. For 1/4" bits, you must use a reducer. The old style reducer required you to line up the slots in the reducer and collet for ease of bit release... that is no longer required. Here's a 1/4" bit inserted utilizing the reducer. So far I have not experienced any problem with releasing either size bit and Triton prides itself on that fact. Additionally the bits have stayed right where I put them even after overloading the bit to try to force it to change position. Shaft Lock Tightening and loosening the collect is a one wrench operation. The Triton's shaft will lock to allow one wrench bit changing. One of the many safety features of the Triton is that the shaft lock mechanism and the power switch are interrelated. The shaft will not move into the lock position unless the power switch is off, and the power switch cannot be turned on again until the shaft is unlocked. As long as we're on the subject of power switches, the Triton has a unique power switch feature or two. First, the power switch is lighted when power is applied. This provides a visual indication of power. Next, the power switch is located behind a sliding door. This prevents power from being accidentally applied and also forms part of the shaft lock mechanism. In this picture you can see that the power is applied, but the power switch is off and behind that closed door. Here the door has been slid open and the power switch is on. Guide Bushings: Triton Workshop Systems offers a guide bushing set for use with this router. The bushings are very different than what you are used to for other routers. Since the Triton router's dust collection system is optimized to work with an open bottomed router table, using the normal PC style bushings would defeat the system. So Triton Workshop Systems has designed a set of bushings which will allow the built in dust collection to function normally. The bushings have slots which allow the dust collector to draw the sawdust through the base. The kit includes O.D.'s of 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 5/8, 51/64, and 21/32" with the I.D.'s running from 1/4" through 3/4". Also included is an adapter to allow you to use the standard PC bushings (just below the black ring in the picture) and a spacer for use when the router is mounted in a table. While I haven't tried the bushing set yet, It appears to be of high quality and should work just fine. Preparation for use in a table: The first thing you will want to do to prepare your Triton for table mounting is to remove the plunge spring. If you leave the spring in, it and the weight of the router will make it impossible to use the fine adjustment knob. Removing the spring is easy. 1. With the router sitting on its base plate, use the handle to raise the router to its fullest position. Doing this will relieve most of the tension on the spring. 2. Using a phillips screwdriver, loosen the screw which locks the spring cover in place as shown below. 3. Maintaining a firm grip on the spring cover, twist the cover and remove it. The spring and its plastic guide rod can then also be removed. 4. Replace the spring cap and re-tighten the retaining screw. 4. Store the spring and plastic guide rod in a place where you will be able to find it again The router is now ready to be mounted in your table. HANDY TIP! If you plan on using some large bits and your technique for taking small bites out of the work involves raising the bit through the base opening than you may wish to remove the dust collection shroud. The Triton allows for 2-1/4 inch bits to fit through the base plate opening with vacuum shroud in place and a 3 inch bit with vacuum shroud removed. I mounted the Triton in my table utilizing a phenolic insert. The 1/4" insert I used was not strong enough to handle the router without sagging. I still need to make a new 3/8" insert. The screws provided with the router are not long enough for even a 1/4" thick insert so you'll have to procure new ones. Luckily they are standard 1/4" screws and not metric. I removed the plastic base and mounted the router to the insert. If you want to use the guide bushings, you mount the bushing plate to the router and then the router to the insert. You may also have to use the guide spacer provided with the kit. In this picture you can see how much of the collet is exposed above the table for bit changing. Bit changing is a breeze with the Triton. Table operation: I used the above Freud panel raising bit to make a test raised panel out of hard white birch. I made the profiles in three passes utilizing the fence to control the size of each pass. I ran the router speed at the slowest setting of 8000rpm. While I could hear the motor change pitch a bit when I pushed the work through, the Triton and Freud bit performed flawlessly. I also used the Triton in my miter station project to make 56 drawer lock joints (length varied from 4" to 12"). I ran the bit at high speed and had to vary the bit height about a dozen times because of the sequence in which I was working. The fine height adjustment and lock worked great every time. I am very satisfied with the height adjusting mechanism on the Triton. Dust extraction. My table has great dust extraction capabilities so I did not test the Triton's built in DC in the table mode. I did attach my shop vac to the router when making test passes in hand held operation and the dust collector worked exceptionally well. I presume that when the router is mounted on a Table Saw Wing that you should see very little sawdust escape the Triton's dust shroud if you connect it to a shop vac. Below is a picture of the Triton's 1.5" dust hose port. You just screw the hose onto the port. Conclusion I am quite happy with my Triton purchase. I am very impressed with the level of technical and pre-sales support I received from both the parent company in Australia and by Triton Workshop Systems USA. The router is loaded with safety features, has an excellent and unique height adjustment mechanism, easily removed plunge spring, great built in dust collection, very smooth soft start, and enough power to swing the big bits. The only negative I can see is the edge guide's design which I had to get around with a shim. Would I buy it again? You bet! One Year Later Triton TRC-001 3.25HP Plunge Router By Bill Esposito So here we are one year later and I'm constantly responding to inquiries about the Triton router. Do I still like it? Have I found any more problems with it? Would I buy it again? My answers to those questions have been, yes, yes and yes. In this redux I'll go over what I've experienced over the past year, and what Triton has done to correct those issues, and some I didn't encounter, with this latest update. The problems, workarounds, and improvements: First off, have no fears, the Triton is still orange and still resembles Robbie the Robot. As a matter of fact you wont notice any visual difference in the updated router with the exception of the power switch. I encountered several problems with the router, most were easy to work around with one requiring a warranty repair. The first problem I encountered was with the fine adjustment operation when the router was mounted in a table. What was happening was that when the router base was screwed to my router insert, the fine height adjustment mechanism would no longer operate smoothly. I tried three different routers and four different insert plates and found the problem was repeatable. After some experimentation I discovered that the router base was distorting when it was screwed down to the insert and was causing the bushings to bind on the posts. The work around for this was to shim the base plate so that it wouldn't distort, which is what I did. A few months ago while reviewing a router table from Woodpecker, my discovery was confirmed and apparently was not unique to the Triton because the instructions for installing a router to the insert explained how to shim the base plate to avoid this condition. In the updated router Triton has opened up the bushings a bit which has both fixed the above problem along with making the "Winder" operation smoother. I took the new router to my table and removed the old one and its shims. I then installed the updated Triton and sure enough it works as smooth as can be. In hand held use the winder operation feels much better as well. In addition to the redesigned bushings the Triton now sports a metal worm gear in the adjustment handle. Both engagement of the winder lock and winding is smoother and just plain feels better. The second problem I had was with the depth stop. On a couple of occasions it came lose after I had tightened it. The fix for this is not new to this version of the router but happened sometime last year with Triton redesigning the depth stop lock. The old version (photo right) had a nut inside the case which would come loose or fall out. The new design is simply a knob and a brass post which cinches against the depth stop tube locking it in place (photo at left). It feels secure and this is a common method of locking a rod but I haven't used the new router enough to certify this as "fixed". The last problem that I had encountered and the most serious was one which required a warranty repair. After about 4 months of use I went to the shop to use the router and flipped on the power switch. The router started, stopped and then started again and worked fine for the remainder of the session. I thought it was odd but the shop was cold and I hadn't warmed it up before starting the router so I thought nothing more of it. The next day I went to use the router and it would not start. A call to the folks at Triton and I and a new router was on its way while I returned the dead one. We discussed an old issue of dust in the power switch which they thought had been corrected...apparently not. The correction for this problem was to design a dust boot to cover the switch. In switch in the photo at left is the old one, the booted switch is the photo at right. The good news for owners of the original router is that this switch boot is retrofitable so "Any customer with a service/warranty issue should call us direct at 888 874-8661 for hassle free, direct support. (that's not a slogan)" . That is a direct quote from Adam at Triton and it has been my experience as well. The next few things are welcome improvements. The Triton supports 1/4" bits by way of a reducer. You place the reducer into the 1/2" collet and insert the bit. This was a bit tedious because the reducer would often slide too far into the collet. The improvement is a simple captive clip as seen on the reducer on the right hand side of the photo at left. This allows you to just drop the reducer into the collet and it stops at the correct position. then insert the bit and tighten and away you go. While the Triton collet works just fine, I would still much prefer a self releasing collet. This next improvement I noticed when I was installing the router into the table. In my previous version, the plunge spring alignment post was a separate piece and had to be stored along with the spring when not installed. Now it is part of the cap and remains with the router. One less thing to lose. All in all the fixes and improvements make the Triton even better than when I first reviewed it and have assured that it will remain my primary table router. I also want to reiterate my original assertion that the Triton's dust collection was excellent. As I mentioned earlier in this article I had the opportunity to review a Woodpecker Table Saw Wing router table and I used the Triton for the test. Between the Incra Wonder Fence and the Triton hardly a bit of dust escaped. Now if we could just convince Triton to upgrade to a self releasing collet!