Andy Hall wrote:


It's a waste of money. All that is learned by using the cheap ones
is the experience of everybody - that they are crap and don't produce
decent results.


I've followed a number of threads on tool selection and have learnt
that Andy Hall is very much an advocate of spending money on what he
would describe as 'quality' tools. The concept of 'Quality' does
include 'value for money' and I have yet to be convinced that the even
for a reasonable level of DIY that it is necessary to buy
'professional' grade tools. My brother is a cabinet maker and he needs
the spend money on buying tools that will last, are reliable 24/7 and
don't have any foibles - time is money to him. His tools are
wonderful to use but I do not believe that that grade of tooling is
**necessary** for the DIY'er

It is I agree everyone's own choice and very much depends on how deep
your pocket is and your attitude towards having something with a 'Name'
on it.. I have 30 years of extended DIY experience (major
refurbishment of an old cottage, furniture building, etc) and have
always used the philosophy of buying a cheap power tool first - the
irony is that despite the reasonable level of use of 3 routers from B &
Q, chop saw and SDS drill from Aldi/Lidl, etc, etc, the only thing
that hasn't been too good was a cheap (~£15) battery drill from
Aldi/Lidl, but you get what you expect at that price.

And the point is that I do now know that if I was going to go into a
major furniture building project in hardwood, I might well look at
whether the better quality routers do in fact have a smoother plunge
action and stiffer guide - but there would have to be a definite step
function in those features to justify my replacing the cheap ones I
have.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is a Router Table - I find that
suprising as I use mine regularly, hence having 2 1/2inch machines. I
don't know what the commercial ones are like but I have a basic home
built one and it's one of the best things I made myself and gets used
regularly.

Rob