I think it was Rick (way back in the dim past) who warned about turning off the trigger switch on the router before trying to loosen the bit by using the ratchet method. I had read that, but of course, the first time i used the CMS, i was so excited I completely forgot about that little (but very important) point. I could not figure out how to make the ratchet work and thought there was something wrong with my router (1400). i proceeded to remove the mounting plate and prepare to remove the router to figure out the problem.
My second mistook was to try to remove the plate by inserting my thumbs into the two corner holes. Everybody knows that thumbs are what makes mankind different than monkeys and supposedly the fact that thumbs can work in opposition to the rest of ones fingers makes man smarter or more efficient or something like that. Any how, i lifted that plate with no problem. About the time i reallized that i was making a mistook, I also had slid the back side of the plate beyond that ridge that the backside drops into for stability. i suppose somebody must have thought along the way that ridge and indent was a great way to sort of raise the plate up to clear the router from the hole and thus get the whole rig into a position to start working directly on the router. Well now, i suppose that somebody might well have been somewhat smarter than I, or he may have made the same mistook along the line and decided to put that ridge and channel there in hopes nobody else would fall into the same trap. As for me, about the same time i realized my error, the back end of that plate cleared the lip and dropped down below the table. the router was now caught under the near side of the table opening and the near sides of both of those finger holes were digging fiercely into the bony sides of my thumbs. A very uncomfortable situation, i kid you not. As I tried to lift the entire rig up high enough to clear the opening, i realized i was in a situation I was also trying to lift the table, router and worst of all, i was forcing my thumbs into a much increased discomfort. I felt like i was either going to break both thumbs, or maybe i could make nice clean cuts right thru the bone and forget about the whole thing. After all, monkeys have survived for more than a few years without having much use for thumbs.
Oh well, i began to think about how many uses i had for two thumbs and started to analyze what was happening. I finally decided i could twist the plate so it was catty cornered in the opening. From there, i could put transfer the weight from my thumbs to the sides of the table. Within a few more seconds, I was finally free. A few very obvious indentations on the backs of my thumbs, but no blood. As a result, i now know to hit that trigger switch on the router before trying to remove the bit.
Oh, yeah, i remember also, DO NOT USE YOUR THUMBS TO REMOVE THE MOUNTING PLATE. That can get to be quite exciting.
Tinker
