: It is a 10 year old Black and Decker router that I had hoped to upgrade with
: a better model (Dewalt, Porter Cable) at some point but not right now. Is
: this B&D at all worth fixing? It was a $60 gift 10 years ago. I assume
: cheap routers are like VCRs, once they break, the labor and parts to fix
: them exceeds the cost of buying a new one.

As routers go, 10 years is a good lifetime, but a 10 year old router is still a young tool. You should be able to find parts fairly easily.

Black and Decker and DeWalt share a common repair service which will quote you a guaranteed amximum repair price. It might be less, but it won't be more than what they tell you. Here is what they say:
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Not sure about fixing your tools? Let DEWALT handle your power tool repairs at one of our 86 factory-owned repair locations.

Our factory-owned DEWALT service centers use the Guaranteed Repair Cost (GRC)TM program to take the guesswork out of the repair process, saving you money and downtime. We guarantee the price of a repair will not exceed the published price. And since DEWALT repairs most major brands of power tools, you can count on us to get your tools back on the job site, Guaranteed.

Contact your local factory-owned service center (in your user profile) for full details.

THE COST... NEVER MORE, OFTEN LESS.

GRC REPAIRS INCLUDE:
Complete teardown inspection
Thorough cleaning & lubrication
Replacement of worn & damaged parts
Full performance & safety test

For a complete list of factory-owned and factory-authorized (independent) repair centers, use our service center locator.

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You can find out about both parts and repairs at their website. They do ask you to register, but they just ask name and address kind of questions, and apparently their computer doesn't care that I told it that I live in a crater on the moon.

their website is:

http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/ServiceNet/logon.asp

You can also find instruction books and parts lists. If you gve them the right address you can order your parts, place them on a charge card, and have them shipped to you. (In my case I'll need to wait for the next NASA or Russian moon trip to get parts. Guess I shouldn't have screwed around on registering )

Repair may be futile, though. That would make the "Repair vs. Buy New" decision simple. I looked at a couple of router parts lists and could not find the motor armature even listed. Either my search was inadequate, or they may not sell that part online. A call to one of the service centers, phone numbers for these you can find on the website, should get you the information. Decide then whether it is more economical to buy new, or to repair, or to do both.

hope this helps

PGJ