ELU ets 3001

Still using my Elu router (& planer & belt sander) I bought new in the early '90s, excellent tools... I'd like this saw, and I'm not too far from Switzerland here up in the Alps!

Aside from the Elu "Mulacker" gear from the 70s & 80s, a lot of their gear was actually contracted out. Router production was shifted to Switzerland, out of the Perles factory. My Elu planer was also made by Perles (MFF80), as were their later Belt sanders. I also had a Swiss made 1/3 sheet orbital & a big 9" Saw.

In many ways the period when the Ernst Lutz company had its tools manufactured by Perles was the company's high point. In particular their routers were (are) fondly remembered, if not outright revered. It was both company's particular forte. Just as Festo/ol claims to do nowadays, the Elu/Perles routers were part of an extensive "system", which included a whole range of clever, innovative accessories that extended their range in quite unprecedented ways. I had a couple of their original router tables, the largest of which was realistically pretty primitive by contemporary standards, but with key accessories offered dust extraction, sliding mitre grooves. Adding different tools & inserts to the table, it became either a table Saw or even an overhead snip saw! Elu, along with Electra Beckum pioneered the whole concept of the now ubiquitous Miter Saw.

The little table was even more clever. It fitted only the 1/4" MOF 96/02/E & 97/E routers (& their multitude of clones of course), so it was extremely limited in capacity. Nevertheless, it offered hold down clamps, bearing followers & lead-in guarding. It was also detachable to allow large & extremely stable flat & right angles baseplate extensions for critical small scale spindle moulding work. For small accurate work such as small straight & curved picture framing, architectural modelling, dolls house production etc. it was (& still is) unequalled in versatility.

Their planer moulding kit was truly amazing. The standard cutterblock & front soleplate could be exchanged for a range of smaller diameter complex moulding & customisable cutters to churn out whole house lots of custom architraves, wainscoting, skirting & even glazing mouldings from plain timber stock.  It was held stably in a big 10 foot long jig to ensure the resultant mouldings came out straight & true.  There was also a big heavily counter weighted accessory jig that could flush shave edge lippings with all but micrometer accuracy. 

This was only the tip of the iceberg.  There was almost no end to the expensive, clever jigs, tables, add-ons & accessories that were once available for those with particular needs & extremely deep pockets. Ernst Lutz's German contractors also made a small 3-phase bench grinder that could regrind HSS planer & thicknesses knives on an adjustable angled clamping jig up to over 600mm long!

In their day, Elu produced some of the best quality, cleverest & most expensive power tools available. I still consider the baby MOF96E router, much imitated but never bettered, to be the most ergonomically sound & comfortable handling router ever made. Remarkably, many of their 40 year old designs are still made (albeit in different factories since Perles shifted production to Slovenia), & parts are still readily available for most of them! Trend was obviously sufficiently impressed with Eli's range that their entire company was & still is based around producing jigs & accessories for these specific tools. I honestly wouldn't be too far off in guessing that there's probably still more Elu routers & their clones operating in the hands of hundreds of thousands of tradies & discerning hobbyists than all other brands & types of routers combined! Not bad for a 40 year old power tool!