Hello,

I'm looking to buy my first router; what would you suggest?

I've read the FAQ and that says you ultimately buy two: a small one to
use handheld and a larger one for bench-mounted work. Which do people
buy first?

I am confused about the handheld work; when would you do this? I would
have thought a router "up in the air" was dangerous and that you would
always have the work piece lying on a bench to work on? If so,
shouldn't the size and weight of the router be irrelevant?

Which collect is more useful 1/4" or 1/2"?

I read that for big cutters you need slow speeds of 8000 rpm. I have
found this Erbauer router at Screwfix:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/95675/...C-2100W-Router

which goes from 8,000 to 23,000rpm. Has anyone used this one? If not,
what does it sound like from its description?

I've also found this one:
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...outer-kit-230v

Though a lot of machine mart's routers say "call for availability"
which suggests they are being discontinued? This one seems to have the
"advantage" of an 8mm collet; would I use that or is it marketing?
IIRC I read that it is useful in a 1/4" machine where a cutter is not
available in 1/4" but is available in 8mm. OTOH since this machine is
1/2" would it matter?

Spec wise it seems similar to the Erbauer both have 60mm plunge and
this one's speeds are from 7.400 rpm to 21,600 rpm.

I notice that the Erbaurer model says the speed is constant under
load, which I presume is a good thing but I could not find anything to
say what happens to the Clark model under load.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree; should I be looking for a 1/4"
model first?

BTW there is also a Clark table:
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...1-router-table
Is that any good?

Thanks,
Fred