Wife got me one a Craftsmand Rotary Tool for Christmas.. I am just starting
to do small woodworking projects and I was considering purchasing a router
and I remembered the rotary tool came with the plunge router kit. Checking
Craftsmans site they even had a small benchtop router table for it. Would
router bits and the router table for this be worth investing in or should I
just buy an actual router?

Any advice/comments are appreciated, thanks!

It's similar to a Dremel, right? If so, the motor is WAY underpowered
for real routing. If you're not looking to spend a lot of money, even
a $40 Black and Decker router would most likely be a lot better.

"Josh" wrote in message
ups.com...
It's similar to a Dremel, right? If so, the motor is WAY underpowered
for real routing. If you're not looking to spend a lot of money, even
a $40 Black and Decker router would most likely be a lot better.


No, it is a lot larger than a Dremel tool. Here is a link:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...racutter+Tools

way under powered for actual routing
"Locutus" wrote in message
...

"Josh" wrote in message
ups.com...
It's similar to a Dremel, right? If so, the motor is WAY underpowered
for real routing. If you're not looking to spend a lot of money, even
a $40 Black and Decker router would most likely be a lot better.


No, it is a lot larger than a Dremel tool. Here is a link:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...racutter+Tools

or should I just buy an actual router?

Yes, I would say get a real router. Your rotary tool would be fine for
stuff like trimming off edges of veneer, maybe putting a small-radius
roundover on something, but it would not be nearly as useful or
versatile as a real router. I noticed on Amazon that the Porter Cable
694VK 1 3/4HP kit with plunge and regular base is on sale for $199,
minus $30 PC rebate, minus $20 Amazon sale, so that's $150 for a good
router with 2 bases. Or a Bosch 1617PK 2HP reconditioned kit with
plunge and regular base for $135 plus shipping. Either of those would
be excellent quality, a good sight better than Craftsman, B&D, or Skil,
and powerful enough for just about anything except big panel-raising
bits etc.
Good luck,
Andy

On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 16:38:32 -0500, "Locutus"
wrote:

Wife got me one a Craftsmand Rotary Tool for Christmas.. I am just starting
to do small woodworking projects and I was considering purchasing a router
and I remembered the rotary tool came with the plunge router kit. Checking
Craftsmans site they even had a small benchtop router table for it. Would
router bits and the router table for this be worth investing in or should I
just buy an actual router?

Any advice/comments are appreciated, thanks!

Depends. Are you going to be cutting holes in drywall and
countertops, or making fine furniture? You'll find some good other
uses, of course, but get the right tool for the right job. As I say
that, I do use my 3HP router like a shaper, so I'll add that you get
what you can afford at the moment, and what you'll most likely use the
most often.

They work great if you are modelmaking or doing miniatures. Not enough power
for anything more.

"Locutus" wrote in message
...
Wife got me one a Craftsmand Rotary Tool for Christmas.. I am just
starting
to do small woodworking projects and I was considering purchasing a router
and I remembered the rotary tool came with the plunge router kit.
Checking
Craftsmans site they even had a small benchtop router table for it. Would
router bits and the router table for this be worth investing in or should
I
just buy an actual router?

Any advice/comments are appreciated, thanks!

Locutus (in ) said:

| Wife got me one a Craftsmand Rotary Tool for Christmas.. I am just
| starting to do small woodworking projects and I was considering
| purchasing a router and I remembered the rotary tool came with the
| plunge router kit. Checking Craftsmans site they even had a small
| benchtop router table for it. Would router bits and the router
| table for this be worth investing in or should I just buy an actual
| router?
|
| Any advice/comments are appreciated, thanks!

The rotary tools generally only take bits with a 1/8" shank which
means that you're pretty much limited to straight (spiral) bits.

I have an inexpensive HF tool that I'd begun to regret spending the
money for - until I had a project for which the rotary tool was an
obviously right answer. About four inches into the first cut the bit,
which hadn't cut particularly well from the beginning, broke and I
replaced it with a 1/8" 3-flute solid carbide end mill (not sure why
it was in my briefcase, but it was a lucky accident). With the end
mill in the tool, it cut as well as any of the full-size routers in my
shop.

There are a couple of serious drawbacks with the rotary tool: [1]
you're limited to straight bits; and [2] you're limited in terms of
_safe_ depth of cut.

Probably the first drawback is sufficient justification for buying a
larger router. I have a personal preference for bits with shanks
larger than 1/4", and it's worth noting that I've never managed to
break any of the larger-shanked bits.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto

Corner rounds, decorative cutters, ect are available in 1/8" shank.

"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
news
Locutus (in ) said:

There are a couple of serious drawbacks with the rotary tool: [1]
you're limited to straight bits;

"Andy" wrote in message
ups.com...

a good sight better than Craftsman

The Craftsman 26620 is a Bosch 1617, only difference is name. I just
purchased one while they were featured as a Craftsman Club special. After
the Craftsman club discount and my sears retiree discount it cost me about
$160 which included both bases.
I compared the Craftsman parts list to the Bosch parts list and they even
use the same numerical designation numbers. RM~

CW (in ) said:

| "Morris Dovey" wrote in message
| news || Locutus (in ) said:
|
|| There are a couple of serious drawbacks with the rotary tool: [1]
|| you're limited to straight bits;
|
| Corner rounds, decorative cutters, ect are available in 1/8" shank.

You're right! I found 'em in my Rockler catalog - interesting.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto

Notice the full size price?

"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
CW (in ) said:

| "Morris Dovey" wrote in message
| news || Locutus (in ) said:
|
|| There are a couple of serious drawbacks with the rotary tool: [1]
|| you're limited to straight bits;
|
| Corner rounds, decorative cutters, ect are available in 1/8" shank.

You're right! I found 'em in my Rockler catalog - interesting.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto

CW (in ) said:

| "Morris Dovey" wrote in message
| ...
|| CW (in ) said:
||
||| "Morris Dovey" wrote in message
||| news |||| Locutus (in ) said:
|||
|||| There are a couple of serious drawbacks with the rotary tool: [1]
|||| you're limited to straight bits;
|||
||| Corner rounds, decorative cutters, ect are available in 1/8"
||| shank.
||
|| You're right! I found 'em in my Rockler catalog - interesting.
|
| Notice the full size price?

Holy smokes! (I had to go back and look.) They must be really proud of
'em - I only had to pay $5 for my 1/8" 3-flute square end mills, and
only $7.25 for 2-flute ball-ends. For everything except miniature work
Rockler makes a good case for buying a full-size router.
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto

"CW" wrote:

Notice the full size price?

You can find less expensive bits:

http://www.sloanswoodshop.com/router_bits.htm
http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/CTGY/dremel-router-bit
http://www.minicrafttools.com/routing.html

Granted they are not carbide, but for the price you'd take a while before
equaling the cost of the Rockler bits.


"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
CW (in ) said:

| "Morris Dovey" wrote in message
| news || Locutus (in ) said:
|
|| There are a couple of serious drawbacks with the rotary tool: [1]
|| you're limited to straight bits;
|
| Corner rounds, decorative cutters, ect are available in 1/8" shank.

You're right! I found 'em in my Rockler catalog - interesting.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto

On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 16:38:32 -0500, "Locutus" wrote:

Wife got me one a Craftsmand Rotary Tool for Christmas.. I am just starting
to do small woodworking projects and I was considering purchasing a router
and I remembered the rotary tool came with the plunge router kit. Checking
Craftsmans site they even had a small benchtop router table for it. Would
router bits and the router table for this be worth investing in or should I
just buy an actual router?

Any advice/comments are appreciated, thanks!


I bought my wife a Dremel multi-speed for Christmas that came with the router
setup and all the other bells and whistles.. I would NOT try serious routing
with it..

Regardless of what their advertising says, it will not take the place of a
router... but large stuff is not the nature of the tool or why most folks get
it.. it's great for SMALL stuff... sand, grind, cut, etc., etc. in areas that
"normal" power tools either won't reach or are too big for..
If you have things that would be too small or precise for a router, use the
rotary tool.. YMWV

To explore using a router for slightly bigger stuff, I'd recommend the 1/4 hp
trim router that Harbor Freight has on sale a few times a year for $20... I got
it as a "throw away" spare for light jobs and have been unsuccessfully trying to
kill it for over a year now.. *lol*

Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm