My Z-axis seems to have a mind of it’s own and just buries itself constantly. The data cable is nowhere near the power cord for the router. Since it buries itself, it can’t catch the thread to retract itself. I am not a smart man. Please help me. I am desperate.
Myself and others have had issues with the Rigid router rocketing into the work piece. I originally ended up re-working, lubricating, adjusting tension, etc. Below are a few topics in the forums to check out.
I currently am using @TomD Z-Axis modification, and I am very pleased with results and increase in speed…
Be sure to check out the Community Garden for other Z-Axis options,
http://maslowcommunitygarden.org/index.html
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I implemented the “inexpensive z axis fixes” but recently added an additional inexpensive fix
A very serendipitously sized piece of plywood scrap that fits tightly enough to keep the tab in the router body so that the router doesn’t shoot into the wood. This was necessary since the little metal spring wears out and doesn’t keep the tab in the router, allowing the bungee to plunge the router into the work piece.Patiently waiting for @Metalmaslow ‘s upgrade kit to fix my z axis woes
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Thanks so much for the response. I now know that I had a few issues. First, my data cable for the z-axis and the power cable for the router were tied together which caused loads of noise, but once I had that sorted, I realized that the little orange button had been stripped of the thread that maintains it’s position. I saw a link on here for some frictionless tape sold by McMaster Carr but I’m having a hard time finding that link again today. Anybody know what I’m talking about? Thanks so much for your help.
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I feel like I’ve seen something like this too but am not finding anything.
Is this it?
Nice find! Your forum foo is good 
Yes! Thanks so much. While I’m on a hot streak, has anyone recently ordered one of those little orange buttons for the z-axis screw of the Ridgid router? I’ll stop bothering you after this I promise
I have - it took a while to find an online source that had them in stock, most wanted two weeks to order them and send them on. They’re cheap, I ordered a couple, for spare 
The Ridgid part number is 513396001
I bought them here, but that was a couple years ago… I called them to check stock, the nice guy checked sent them the next day.
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We have recently had the same issues with random plunges. The issue ended up being the z-axis bracket wasn’t completely perpendicular to the z-axis lead screw. This caused pressure, pushing out the bottom of the lead screw, widening the hole at the bottom of the base. This allowed the lead screw to move away from the base enough to allow the retaining clip to slip from the router when plunging. Temp fix was to remove the bungles and manually apply pressure when plunging
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