The Basics of Power Tool Maintenance
By David Fielhaber

At first I thought this was going to be a long article or maybe even a series, then I spoke to my service technician. He was quite adamant about only one main thing, keeping your power tools clean. This is true for all equipment whether woodworking or metal working tools, like angle grinders, welders, etc. Clean them and they will work better and last longer. He said that the hardest thing on tools is fine dust, which can truly get everywhere. It gets into every moving part, clogging and wearing them. The motors are cooled via fans and vents and they need to be cleaned out regularly. This will reduce wear and possibly prevent major and expensive repairs over time.

As an example, I went to use my thickness planer and it was dead. Thinking the electrics were shot I brought it in for servicing. You can imagine my embarrassment when my service technician calmly popped out the carbon brushes and sawdust literally poured out. He blew the planer clean with a compressor, put the brushes back in and gave it back all without saying a word. If your power tool has carbon brushes and suddenly will not start, pull out the brushes and clean out the dust. If you have a plunge router, which doesn't want to plunge any more or will not plunge to it's full capacity, chances are the plunge shafts and springs are full of sawdust.

All motorized tools. Clean out the sawdust & debris from the motor and all moving parts regularly. Once clean, put some light oil on cranks, shafts, open gears, etc. Check the owner's manual for each tool for any special maintenance needed. Some tools need lubrication at specific points to stay in good working order.

Tools with carbon brushes. After cleaning, take out the brushes and inspect them. They all have indicator lines or notches to show when they have reached the end of their useful life. If you let them go to far the metal or plastic holder will start to rub against the armature and ruin it. This can be very expensive, some times 2/3 the original cost of the tool to replace. Brushes are relatively cheap so replace them when they need it.

Routers in a router table. 90% of routers built before 2000 were not designed to be used upside down. Designers, believing the tool would be used right side up left cooling vents underneath the motor completely open. When put upside down the dust would naturally settle straight into the motor as soon as it was shut off and the cooling fan stopped. Use dust collection to prevent as much dust as possible from getting into the router and then regularly clean it out.

Air tools. Use air tool oil regularly. A good habit is just before you put it away, put two or three drops in and run the tool slightly to get the oil into the piston. If it's a brad gun or stapler, fire it without brads or staples three or four times, if it's an automotive tool run it for a few seconds. By doing this before you put them away the tools will be ready when you need them again, but more importantly, they will be stored with oil in them and not dry. The O-rings, seals and gaskets will last much longer.