As some of you may have seen in other threads, I am norrowing down my power
tool wish list.

Now to the router. For this item I think I can afford a decent one that'll
last a very long time, rather than buy a cheapo. I currently have a Bosch
constant speed 1/4" job. It's a something 500. It's done me until now, but
now I want to go up to 1/2" variable speed job.

It'll get used for everything, mortising, dovetailing, panels, mouldings and
facings etc. etc.

What do you guys reccomend in this category?

Somebody previously suggested a Freud, but I had a look at the pics of one
on Amazon and it looked like all the bits didn't fit together very well.
Maybe it runs like a dream? Comments?

CJH

"Chris Harris" wrote in message
...
As some of you may have seen in other threads, I am norrowing down my
power
tool wish list.

Now to the router. For this item I think I can afford a decent one that'll
last a very long time, rather than buy a cheapo. I currently have a Bosch
constant speed 1/4" job. It's a something 500. It's done me until now, but
now I want to go up to 1/2" variable speed job.

It'll get used for everything, mortising, dovetailing, panels, mouldings
and
facings etc. etc.

What do you guys reccomend in this category?

Somebody previously suggested a Freud, but I had a look at the pics of one
on Amazon and it looked like all the bits didn't fit together very well.
Maybe it runs like a dream? Comments?

CJH



I have a de Walt 621 - it's very well made (unlike a lot of other DW tools -
suspect it's still made in the old Elu factory), nice smooth plunge and the
dust collection through the pillar works like a dream (mine's generally
connected up to a Henry).

However, in Europe it's only 1/4" - 1/2" collets are available in the
States, but I've not yet found a service centre that ships to Europe.

My brother has the 625, and is similarly pleased.

Have heard very good things about the Hitachi M12V, especially if you plan
to use it in a table.

cheers
Richard


--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

On Tue, 8 Jul 2003 22:36:34 +0100, "RichardS" noaccess@invalid
wrote:



I have a de Walt 621 - it's very well made (unlike a lot of other DW tools -
suspect it's still made in the old Elu factory), nice smooth plunge and the
dust collection through the pillar works like a dream (mine's generally
connected up to a Henry).

However, in Europe it's only 1/4" - 1/2" collets are available in the
States, but I've not yet found a service centre that ships to Europe.


Try www.grainger.com

They will supply both complete DeWalt tools and spare parts to Europe.

Follow the link to the Repair Parts Center.

You can set up an account with them, order by credit card and
communicate by email.

They will ship by post, which takes some time, or UPS which costs more
depending on which service.

Usually I order several things to make shipping worthwhile and give
them my Fedex account number for shipping.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Tue, 8 Jul 2003 16:33:48 -0400, "Chris Harris"
wrote:

As some of you may have seen in other threads, I am norrowing down my power
tool wish list.

Now to the router. For this item I think I can afford a decent one that'll
last a very long time, rather than buy a cheapo. I currently have a Bosch
constant speed 1/4" job. It's a something 500. It's done me until now, but
now I want to go up to 1/2" variable speed job.

It'll get used for everything, mortising, dovetailing, panels, mouldings and
facings etc. etc.

What do you guys reccomend in this category?

Somebody previously suggested a Freud, but I had a look at the pics of one
on Amazon and it looked like all the bits didn't fit together very well.
Maybe it runs like a dream? Comments?

Not a suggestion as such, but I guess you need to know this happened;

Back in January, I ordered a DeWalt 615

It's here now and it's about to be returned for a refund; this is why.

Was advertised as having 6mm, 6.3mm and 8mm collets. I have since also
come to understand it should come with a parallel fence/giude, and a
30mm guide bush. Out of those it had the 6 or 6.3 (can't quite recall
which) and that was it!

It's taken until last week to discover that despite countless phone
calls to the retailer, they (who I shall not name as it's not
entirely or even that much their fault in my view, but they are a
household name!) and DeWalt between them have failed to do anything
about that situation, beyond coming up with an 8mm collet so I could
at least use the set of cutters I bought with it from the same
supplier - and all this for the princely sum of £239.99 for the
router alone thank you very much! I bought this one based on DW's
reputation as much as anything much else, but I have to say it's not
what I'd describe as a smooth action plunge either, since it locks
solid before going nowhere at all, instead of sliding downward
sometimes! That reputation can not have been built on doing business
this way, surely? I have made sure it wasn't locked too, but the truth
is actually as grizzly as it sticking on the plunge or even instead of
the plunge!

Since I'd tried out my 8mm cutters in the course of having this
learning curve thrust into my life, I felt I needed something to get
the use out of the cutters and make some cuts that still needed doing
for the house refurb which is ongoing, so I took a real gamble(!) and
spent £23.99 with Screwfix for the Ferm 550watt model, and opted for
that one while I took time to make a better purchase of a "Quality
Router!" ;O) I also felt that I might table this one later to, as it
seems easy to remove from it's base should I decide to go that route
apparently, and there's a few other nice things about it I'd seen
mention of in various newsgroup searches.

OK, it's not quite as nice as the DW of course, but it does plunge
smoothly, and it did come with the 3 sizes of collets as advertised by
both retailers, It also came with a parallel guide, but it did not
come with the bush either, however in all fairness Screwfix mention
that on the their site and in their paper catalogue. It also came with
a router bit which the DW did not, not the worlds finest router bit,
I'll grant you, but at least it was there!

One thing is for sure, one may be ten times the other in price, but
it's not ten times the value.

For my "proper" router I am currently looking at Ferm or Erbauer half
inchers as they are currently looking like an interesting couple of
items to me at least. (anyone here tried either of them?) I'll follow
what other replies you get with much interest as it's pretty relevant
to me too right now - you just beat me to it posting the question!!
;O)

The cheapie will sure get me by while I figure out what the best way
to go with this is! I'd try to keep the weight down from my experience
with the DW615, it's manageable enough, but it is undeniably a bit of
a lump and I'm sure a half incher may be even more so. I find I have
much greater control with the Ferm 550 watt, and don't miss the
softstart as much as I thought I might, however the electronic speed
controller is clearly not as sophisticated as that in the DW (no
surprise either at this price!)

Given what's happened to me this year with routers, I am half tempted
to look at Ferm's dearer model at £35 to be honest! ;O) I could get 6
of those and still be quids in! It "looks" and "specs" quite like the
DW 615 too! ;O)


Take Care,
Gnube

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 00:55:04 +0100, Gnube
wrote:

For my "proper" router I am currently looking at Ferm or Erbauer half
inchers as they are currently looking like an interesting couple of
items to me at least. (anyone here tried either of them?) I'll follow
what other replies you get with much interest as it's pretty relevant
to me too right now - you just beat me to it posting the question!!
;O)

OOPS! I meant the Freud or Erbauer! Seems Ferm have made quite an
impression on me here! ;O)

FREUD FT2000E
Looks OK, but might be a tad heavy, I reckon it'd be solid though
based on their circular saw I just got. Finish might not be quite so
pretty as some can be but it's pretty tidy design from what I can
tell.

ERBAUER 1/2"
Screwfix' own brand. This company have gone the extra mile in so many
ways to get a good reputation, I can't see how the wisdom which got
them where they are now could be abandoned all that easily, but who
knows, maybe this is their moment to wobble!? Anyone tried any other
Erbauer brand products yet?

My DW experience has left me quite disillusioned with the bigger makes
and labels - seems they are not all that keen to be careful with their
reputations either. The old "1000 pound gorilla" syndrome perhaps?

Take Care,
Gnube

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 01:25:38 +0100, Gnube
wrote:

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 00:55:04 +0100, Gnube
wrote:

For my "proper" router I am currently looking at Ferm or Erbauer half
inchers as they are currently looking like an interesting couple of
items to me at least. (anyone here tried either of them?) I'll follow
what other replies you get with much interest as it's pretty relevant
to me too right now - you just beat me to it posting the question!!
;O)

OOPS! I meant the Freud or Erbauer! Seems Ferm have made quite an
impression on me here! ;O)

Phew! Ferm! I was going to say, I hope you ordered the fire
extinguisher and the industrial gloves for when it catches fire and
falls apart.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

I went for a Makita 3621C. axminster.co.uk do them for around £220.
It is a decent sized powerful router.
You can get various collet sleeves and template guides etc. The
brushes are also changeable.
It has soft start, variable speed (which is really useful) and
electric brake.
The height has a fine adjuster.



"Chris Harris" wrote in message ...
As some of you may have seen in other threads, I am norrowing down my power
tool wish list.

Now to the router. For this item I think I can afford a decent one that'll
last a very long time, rather than buy a cheapo. I currently have a Bosch
constant speed 1/4" job. It's a something 500. It's done me until now, but
now I want to go up to 1/2" variable speed job.

It'll get used for everything, mortising, dovetailing, panels, mouldings and
facings etc. etc.

What do you guys reccomend in this category?

Somebody previously suggested a Freud, but I had a look at the pics of one
on Amazon and it looked like all the bits didn't fit together very well.
Maybe it runs like a dream? Comments?

CJH

In article ,
Gnube wrote:

so I took a real gamble(!) and
spent £23.99 with Screwfix for the Ferm 550watt model, and opted for
that one while I took time to make a better purchase of a "Quality
Router!" ;O) I also felt that I might table this one later to, as it
seems easy to remove from it's base should I decide to go that route
apparently, and there's a few other nice things about it I'd seen
mention of in various newsgroup searches.

You don't need to remove the base to set it up in a table, at most you
might need to drill some new holes in the base to connect it up. Unless
you mean the plastic sliding plate on the bottom.

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 11:46:51 +0100, Peter Ashby
wrote:

You don't need to remove the base to set it up in a table, at most you
might need to drill some new holes in the base to connect it up. Unless
you mean the plastic sliding plate on the bottom.

Yup, you're absolutely right, I was also pondering a horizontal table
mount and the plan I was dreaming up for that would have been easier
with just the router body. Another concept I'd like to explore with
this cheapy is a limited subset of what I have seen described as a
radial arm router, again making my own plunger for that might be
easier than recycling the existing one. This is where the cheaper
tools like this score, they are cheap enough to allow a tinkerer some
room for some fun and careful experiment!

Take Care,
Gnube

On 9 Jul 2003 00:09:22 -0700, (Rich) wrote:

I went for a Makita 3621C. axminster.co.uk do them for around £220.
It is a decent sized powerful router.
You can get various collet sleeves and template guides etc. The
brushes are also changeable.
It has soft start, variable speed (which is really useful) and
electric brake.
The height has a fine adjuster.

That sounds rather nice. Thanks for mentioning it.


Take Care,
Gnube

What do you guys reccomend in this category?

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

I'd been looking at the Makita 3612C, and a few people have mentioned it.

One question.Axminster are doing a range or CMT machines that look a bit
good, if rather pricey. Thing is that all their accesories have ELU part
numbers; therefore are CMT ELU?

I've been using a borrowed ELU flip saw recently and it is a very nice bit
of kit.

CJH

On Wed, 9 Jul 2003 09:41:57 -0400, "Chris Harris"
wrote:

One question.Axminster are doing a range or CMT machines that look a bit
good, if rather pricey. Thing is that all their accesories have ELU part
numbers; therefore are CMT ELU?

I've been lusting after one of their shank bearing bottom cutting and
cleaning cutters for a tennon jig I want to make, they look like
really nice product to me.

Didn't notice they had a router in their products list too - shall
have to go check that out, got a horrid little feeling you may have
just made me poorer than before I knew this, as I am bound to like the
darned thing! ;O)


Take Care,
Gnube

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 19:08:54 -0400, CJ
wrote:



Didn't notice they had a router in their products list too - shall
have to go check that out, got a horrid little feeling you may have
just made me poorer than before I knew this, as I am bound to like the
darned thing! ;O)

Well if you buy one tomorrow let me know how it goes.. I like the look of
them myself.. Do you know the pedigree though?

Well, no, not exactly, but the source for the design of the tennon jig
was the UK DeWalt tips pages, and they suggested the style of router
bit, I did a search for them and found the CMT ones and knew they were
going to be the one to get, and now you mention them in an Elu context
and then there's the Elu and DW connection and it's all looking a bit
interesting! Maybe that's where "the real" DeWalts went? It's
intriguing to say the least is that! The CMT at Axminster looks rather
like the newer DeWalt design (624?) Even down to using a very near
match for the "Electronic" logo symbol DW use.

I don't know, but just maybe there's something afoot here.

Interesting!

Take Care,
Gnube

Well, no, not exactly, but the source for the design of the tennon jig
was the UK DeWalt tips pages, and they suggested the style of router
bit, I did a search for them and found the CMT ones and knew they were
going to be the one to get, and now you mention them in an Elu context
and then there's the Elu and DW connection and it's all looking a bit
interesting! Maybe that's where "the real" DeWalts went? It's
intriguing to say the least is that! The CMT at Axminster looks rather
like the newer DeWalt design (624?) Even down to using a very near
match for the "Electronic" logo symbol DW use.

I don't know, but just maybe there's something afoot here.

Interesting!

Yes. I looking through the catalogues tonight and noticed that Electronic
logo thing as well, and the striking similarity to the DeWalt 625 that
Axminster no longer carry. Even the write-up on the website is almost word
for word identical to the write-up for the DeWalt in the 2002 paper
catalogue.

Me thinks it the same machine, and the price has gone down a bit too :-)

CJH

--
remove ".nospam" from my reply address

I'm still drawn by that erbauer half incher - it's only £99 and the
spec does not seem too bad at all. However I know returning it might
be a problem for you if it wasn't up to par. Then again any tool can
play up on it first outing if you got a duff one, and it does happen.
The Erbauer looks suspiciously like the dearer of the two Axminsters I
saw last night.

Where's that router expert when you need him? I'd be interested to
hear his thoughts on this even if he tells me I'm barking mad and
these first two are nothing like each other because........ ;O)

I'm drawn to the Makita 3612. I know it's not the cheapest 1/2 incher
around. But from what I can tell from looking at specs and pictures etc.. it
seems a well put together machine. Heaver than the DW, ELU,CMT, Hitachi,
Bsoch, Trend T9 at 6kg. The DW and clones look a bit tinny. For example take
a look at three stop turret; the Makita one looks like it was designed as
part of the tool, the others look like they were added later. I'll probably
use it most in a table anyway so weight isn't a big deal.

The Trend T9 seems good. I notice that it has the "Electronic" logo too,
maybe several manufacturers are using the same bit of electronics, probably
even the same motors. It's lighter than the Makita, and has a greater plunge
depth. Second choice if I can't get the Makita I think.

The D&M site, that Richard mentioned, is good it has comparison tables and
good pics. http://www.dm-tools.co.uk

CJH

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 14:42:04 +0100, "RichardS" noaccess@invalid
wrote:

DW620/DW621 - same machine essentially, but the 621 has speed control
whereas 620 does not
DW624/DW625 - same story as above.

That explains it being absent on the screwfix one then!

Thought that the two smaller machines were the DW614 and DW615, the 615
having speed control, but obviously not.

615 has e-speed control for sure, and a very good one at that in my
view.

DW620s and 624s are rarely seen for sale and IMHO should be avoided - speed
control should be seen as essential on a router, and especially for 1/2"
routers because using a large diameter bit at full speed is, quite frankly,
downright dangerous.

I'd have thought so too.

Incidentally, you will also see the suffix "K" appended to the model
numbers - this indicates that it comes with a case. There are other
suffixes that are only sold in various markets.

Ah, maybe we should set up a registry for all this as we try them -
would make for an interesting and useful reference for the whole
group. Not sure exactly how you could implement it, but I have a
feeling they call it a "wiki" style web site or something very similar
sounding.

DM Tools in Twickenham also do a number of routers, mail order, and also
carry Milwaukee stuff, who make industrial duty tools.

Got to be worth a look too - thanks! Do they trade online do you
happen to know?

Take Care,
Gnube

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 14:40:58 +0100, Peter Ashby
wrote:

The bottom of one column on my cheapo Power Devil router came out of the
base a while ago (fortunately not while it was running).

My non-cheapo didn't.

There's a lesson in this.

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 12:09:57 +0100, Peter Ashby
wrote:

I certainly don't fancy the router falling to bits with a huge panel
raising bit spinning in it.

Amen to that.

Take Care,
Gnube