Porter Cable is in the process of recalling about 100,000 heavy duty woodworking routers in the USA, and another 7,800 routers in Canada. The affected routers have fixed bases with uninsulated handles that could pose an electric shock hazard.
No injuries have been reported. If you own one of the affected routers or router bases, unplug them and contact Porter Cable for a free replacement router base that has insulated handles.
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Model Numbers
- 7518 (5-speed router)
- 7519 (single-speed)
- 7519EC (single-speed)
- 22-7519-60 (single-speed, 220V)
- 75361 router base
The recalled routers were manufactured between 1990 and April 2014.
If you own one of these routers or bases, you can contact Porter Cable at 888-344-7973 or [email protected]
More Info(via US CPSC)
More Info(via Porter Cable)
Thanks to Robert for the tip!
Here’s a copy of the recall notice flyer from Porter Cable:
Josh
Wow, just bought one of those (a 7518) off Craigslist too. Thanks for the heads up!
fred
My 7539 has plastic handles ( with a built-in switch ) – so I guess I’m safe – but I also guess that some of these older (old design ) tools do have their shortcomings. I still use a number of older Porter Cable sanders and routers that have fully metallic bodies and handles and sport grounded plugs. I recall a transition point when manufacturers like PC (Then Rockwell) advertised their transition to “double insulated” tools as a selling point. These recalled routers may have fallen into a “design gap” of neither being double insulated (e.g. plastic handles) nor having their metallic surfaces grounded.
Hang Fire
My recollection is that metal bodied tools need to have 3-prong plugs or be “double insulated”. A recall at this point is kind of shocking; these routers were the standard for serious woodworking hobbyists for years.
GT
If in any situation there is a risk of the frame having electrical voltage the plastic handles do not help much. There still isn’t anything to stop the user from touching the uninsulated metal. Maybe a sign … “Do not touch the frame. It may kill you.”
My guess is that we are talking about the Y-capacitor middle voltage here, about 60 V but no real current delivering capability. Maybe unpleasant but not dangerous.