Looking to finally upgrade my router (a moment of weakness and
frugality caused me to buy a 1/4" collett router a couple years ago,
now it just wont support making decent size dadoes for projects, etc).

Amazon having a good sale on all tools, ends today. Was looking at a
bunch of routers, but I get all sorts of opinions for each one.

Im mainly looking at Bosch (1617, 1618?) vs DeWalt (618) vs Milwaukee
(BodyGrip), and maybe PC (but leaning away from them because of recent
quality control complaints).

Im not a hgue woodworker, so I was looking for one to use handheld and
in a table. I like the DeWalt 618 with 3 bases, but obviously its the
most expensive. I like Bosch tools in general, and I couldnt find a
whole ton of info on the Milwaukee (too new?)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

-Chris

I've got a pair of Bosch 1617 EVS, one in the table, one with fixed and
plunge bases. Both are about 1 year old, no problems so far with
moderate use. The plunge on mine is a little stiff, tends to do nothing
as you push down, then suddenly "let go" and plunge normally. Maybe
it'll get better as it breaks in. Other than that, I'm happy with them.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Im mainly looking at Bosch (1617, 1618?) vs DeWalt (618) vs Milwaukee
(BodyGrip), and maybe PC (but leaning away from them because of recent
quality control complaints).


Take a look at both models of the Triton router. Both models have been
taking top honors in magazine comparison tests. The larger one is designed
to be used in a router table and is tough enough for any router job. It
works as a fixed base and plunge base router with out changing bases.

Chris,

There's a lot of reviews in woodworking magazines you can read to help
you make a sound decision. Another good resource is Pat Warner's site
(www.patwarner.com). You can buy in-depth reviews of each model.
Picking a router is like picking a car and some personal taste will
enter the equation.

Personally, I own 2 PC 690's and 1 Triton. I love my Triton and the
690's have been trustworthy, although I haven't been as satisified with
the bases. My fixed base just doesn't rotate smoothly and my plunge
sticks a little. Both are probably from overuse and lack of
maintenance on my part. Still, I put them through hell before getting
my Triton and they're still kicking.

That being said, if I one of my routers broke and I had to buy a new
one today, I would definitely buy a Milwaukee. I like the way the feel
in the hand and I recently bought a Milwaukee cordless drill and have
been completely impressed by the performance and quality.

Good luck and have fun shopping!

Chuck

wrote:

Amazon having a good sale on all tools, ends today. Was looking at a
bunch of routers, but I get all sorts of opinions for each one.

Im mainly looking at Bosch (1617, 1618?) vs DeWalt (618) vs Milwaukee
(BodyGrip), and maybe PC (but leaning away from them because of recent
quality control complaints).

I've got the 1617. I really like it. It's light, feels good in the
hand, plunges really smoothly. I've put a rectangular subbase on the
non-plunging base for use in a table. It's doubled as a 2" jointer, and
I've used 3" roundover bits in it.

However, I had to get the power switch replaced last year and now it's
died again. Covered both times (this last one under my credit card
warrenty) but it's the one disappointment I have with this router.

Chris

In article .com,
wrote:

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Biggest bang for the buck, in my opinion/shop is the Hitachi M12V. A
very close second, with only slightly less power, but no plunge action,
is the Milwaukee 2.25 HP 1516. Very precise, very low vibration.

Robatoy wrote:
In article .com,
wrote:

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Biggest bang for the buck, in my opinion/shop is the Hitachi M12V. A
very close second, with only slightly less power, but no plunge action,
is the Milwaukee 2.25 HP 1516. Very precise, very low vibration.

Ive heard a lot of good things about the Hitachi as well, but was
worried about its ability to be used hand-held.

While I like the idea of having something powerful enough for me to
make my own molding in a table, Id still need it to occasionally double
as a handheld to make some rabbets to inset speakers into their boxes,
rout decking boards (thats how i can justify a new router ), etc.
If the Hitachi is OK for occasional handheld use, Id put it back on my
list.

As far as the Milwaukee, I was hoping to get a plunge router, just to
make it more versatile. Plus the Milwaukee seems to be "newer" and as
such I cant find a lot of different opinions on it. If its made even
half as well as my Milwaukee cordless drill, its a heckuva router, but
at this point I dont know that it is.

-Chris

In article .com,
wrote:

Ive heard a lot of good things about the Hitachi as well, but was
worried about its ability to be used hand-held.

It is perfectly fine hand held. If I had to have one router, that'd be it.
The Triton looks to be another one I could live with, but up here in Canada, I
can buy a Hitachi AND a 2.1/4HP Milwaukee for almost the same money.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Since nobody's weighed in with the Dewalt 618 yet, I'll say I'm very
happy with that one. I've had the fixed-base version for a little over
a year (good deal, reconditioned from Amazon), used it both freehand
and in my home-made table, and I just got the plunge base from eBay a
few months ago. I guess I don't see much need for the D-handle base.
The fixed base is compatible with PC sub-base/pattern template
accessories, and has both 3- and 4-bolt attachment patterns. The
plunge base has only the 3-bolt attachment pattern. Dust collection
through the plunge base is quite good - not 100%, but I'm still very
impressed at how little debris is left after routing with that.
I've heard excellent things about the Bosch and PC routers also,
though.
I'll second the recommendation to browse Pat Warner's website.
One accessory I'll highly recommend for whatever router you get is the
"Router Edge Guide" from Rockler -
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=1524 I've found this works
well as an offset sub-base (with guide removed) in addition to the edge
guide as Rockler describes it on the webpage.
Hope this helps - sorry if I just confused you more.
Good luck,
Andy

Thanks for the reply, been waiting for someone to chime in on the 618.


I dont necessarily see the need for all 3 bases, but its 259 at Amazon
so Id get another 50 off on top of the sale price, making it 209. Most
expensive of the bunch, but probably the best value nonetheless. I
like the same things Pat likes.........heavy duty base instead of the
plain black plastic, dust collection, etc.

Ive also heard the D-handle helps when free-handing it without the need
for plunging.

-Chris

Actually I forgot to ask a question.

Have you found it able to route simple moldings while installed in a
table? I know everyone suggests really powerful models for table use
only, but Im sorta on a budget (and this isnt a source of income for
me, just more work.......and some fun ).

Im trying to find one powerful enough to route simple casing moldings.
Why pay HD extra when I can just get decent poplar or pine and route my
own!!

Thanks!
-Chris

Great thread as I am also in the market for a second router and have been
looking at the Hitachi KM12VC ($174 at Lowes) . I would appreciate your
comments on the 'guide centering adaptor used on the Hitachi routers. .
..does it work, is it a good idea, etc.

--
SwampBug
"Robatoy" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
wrote:

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Biggest bang for the buck, in my opinion/shop is the Hitachi M12V. A
very close second, with only slightly less power, but no plunge action,
is the Milwaukee 2.25 HP 1516. Very precise, very low vibration.

In article f_lKf.13084$2c4.5610@dukeread11,
"Swampbug" wrote:

Great thread as I am also in the market for a second router and have been
looking at the Hitachi KM12VC ($174 at Lowes) . I would appreciate your
comments on the 'guide centering adaptor used on the Hitachi routers. .
.does it work, is it a good idea, etc.

If you're talking about the adaptor that holds the guide bushings...yup works
fine, no complaints.

It does use std PC type guide bushings, right?

--
SwampBug
"Robatoy" wrote in message
...
In article f_lKf.13084$2c4.5610@dukeread11,
"Swampbug" wrote:

Great thread as I am also in the market for a second router and have been
looking at the Hitachi KM12VC ($174 at Lowes) . I would appreciate your
comments on the 'guide centering adaptor used on the Hitachi routers. .
.does it work, is it a good idea, etc.

If you're talking about the adaptor that holds the guide bushings...yup
works
fine, no complaints.

In article hSnKf.13528$2c4.9946@dukeread11,
"Swampbug" wrote:

It does use std PC type guide bushings, right?

Indeed it does.

wrote in message
oups.com...

Im mainly looking at Bosch (1617, 1618?) vs DeWalt (618) vs Milwaukee

Not sure what the 1617 Bosch can be had for but Craftsman 26620 (same as the
Bosch 1617) $219 goes on sale quite often for $199 and when the Craftsman
Club features that it's another ten percent off that.
Got mine on Craftsman Club special (plus my retiree discount, he, he), had
to watch their specials for about 6 months before they featured it. The last
time they featured it was back in November so they might run it again by
spring. RM~

PS, When I was shopping, I think Amazon was the best price on the Bosch
considering free shipping and no sales tax.

In article .com,
wrote:

Looking to finally upgrade my router (a moment of weakness and
frugality caused me to buy a 1/4" collett router a couple years ago,
now it just wont support making decent size dadoes for projects, etc).

Amazon having a good sale on all tools, ends today. Was looking at a
bunch of routers, but I get all sorts of opinions for each one.

Im mainly looking at Bosch (1617, 1618?) vs DeWalt (618) vs Milwaukee
(BodyGrip), and maybe PC (but leaning away from them because of recent
quality control complaints).

Im not a hgue woodworker, so I was looking for one to use handheld and
in a table. I like the DeWalt 618 with 3 bases, but obviously its the
most expensive. I like Bosch tools in general, and I couldnt find a
whole ton of info on the Milwaukee (too new?)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

-Chris

This may take you in a direction you hadn't planned, but I would
recommend considering the mid-sized Festool. It may take a while for
the pain of paying for it to wear off, but for many years you will have
a tool that is a real pleasure to use every time you pick it up.

PDX David

wrote:

Looking to finally upgrade my router (a moment of weakness and
frugality caused me to buy a 1/4" collett router a couple years ago,
now it just wont support making decent size dadoes for projects, etc).

Amazon having a good sale on all tools, ends today. Was looking at a
bunch of routers, but I get all sorts of opinions for each one.

Im mainly looking at Bosch (1617, 1618?) vs DeWalt (618) vs Milwaukee
(BodyGrip), and maybe PC (but leaning away from them because of recent
quality control complaints).

Im not a hgue woodworker, so I was looking for one to use handheld and
in a table. I like the DeWalt 618 with 3 bases, but obviously its the
most expensive. I like Bosch tools in general, and I couldnt find a
whole ton of info on the Milwaukee (too new?)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

-Chris

As one other poster mentioned, the Bosch's have problems with their switch.
Mine went out once under warranty. Also, and mabye this is a general
router comment, but the sub-base never quite centers. If I use the
centering cone to center the sub-base, then the outside of the sub-base is
not centered. I even sent it in to Bosch under warranty to have them look
at it, but it came back the same.

I wouldn't buy another Bosch router, although I am happy with the other
Bosch equipment I own.
--
Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer

Get a Pat Warner baseplate. Centered, guaranteed. His work is outstanding.

"Michael White" wrote in message news:IZsKf.2334
As one other poster mentioned, the Bosch's have problems with their switch.
Mine went out once under warranty. Also, and mabye this is a general
router comment, but the sub-base never quite centers. If I use the
centering cone to center the sub-base, then the outside of the sub-base is
not centered. I even sent it in to Bosch under warranty to have them look
at it, but it came back the same.

I wouldn't buy another Bosch router, although I am happy with the other
Bosch equipment I own.
--
Michael White "To protect people from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer

Look at the Dewalt 621 plunge router. Hogging out
deep or wide dadoes in one pass is probably not a
good idea - both in terms or heating the bit and
finish of the edges. Same goes for doing molding
with a router. Most plunge routers have a 3 step
"turret" which lets you make cuts in 3 passes
with some DOC control.

The DW621 has a nice smooth plunge action, a
dust port in one of the plunge columns that actually
works - and pretty well at that. One wrench bit
changing is also a godsend - hate the PC two wrenches
approach. The base of the DW621 has two FLAT sides-
much easier and more accurate than a less than
well centered round base - ala PC. Has variable
speed as well - if you're planning on using larger
diameter bits - you need lower RPMs. DW621 also
has semi-micro adjustment for depth of cut.

If you're going to use it hand held - check Pat
Warner's site for a nice thick - BIG roung base
for the DW621 - it's a little tippy on some
cuts - like around a corner.

I've got and regularly use both of my 621s -
one hand held, one in my router table. Getting
use to the trigger and trigger lock on one
handle and a depth lock on the other takes
a few minutes to get used to but not having
to take your hands off the handles is really
nice.

charlie b

The charlie b entity posted thusly:

Look at the Dewalt 621 plunge router.

I recently picked up a 'house brand' router that I believe is a DeWalt
625 or VERY similar. It's a 15 Amp, with two flat sides on the base,
has the same depth post setting method, etc.

It's a Power Fist, house brand for Princess auto. Paid $77 Cdn for it.
I think it will work fine once I get the garage wired and stop trying
to use 12 Amp extension cord to power it. :-)

Anyone know for sure if this is a rebranded DeWalt 625?

"Oleg Lego" wrote in message

It's a Power Fist, house brand for Princess auto. Paid $77 Cdn for it.
I think it will work fine once I get the garage wired and stop trying
to use 12 Amp extension cord to power it. :-)

Anyone know for sure if this is a rebranded DeWalt 625?

I very much doubt it Oleg. You've most likely bought a Chinese knockoff and
Princess Auto is well known for selling poor quality clones of popular
tools. I'm not criticising or attacking you for buying it, but I'd be very
wary of *anything* bought from this company. Just my opinion.

The Upscale entity posted thusly:

"Oleg Lego" wrote in message

It's a Power Fist, house brand for Princess auto. Paid $77 Cdn for it.
I think it will work fine once I get the garage wired and stop trying
to use 12 Amp extension cord to power it. :-)

Anyone know for sure if this is a rebranded DeWalt 625?

I very much doubt it Oleg. You've most likely bought a Chinese knockoff and
Princess Auto is well known for selling poor quality clones of popular
tools. I'm not criticising or attacking you for buying it, but I'd be very
wary of *anything* bought from this company. Just my opinion.

I know exactly what you mean. I have had both good and bad luck buying
from Princess Auto. I'm hoping that this will make a reasonable table
mounted unit a second table setup.

At that price, more likely a Chinese knockoff. May work just fine though.

"Oleg Lego" wrote in message
...
The charlie b entity posted thusly:

Look at the Dewalt 621 plunge router.

I recently picked up a 'house brand' router that I believe is a DeWalt
625 or VERY similar. It's a 15 Amp, with two flat sides on the base,
has the same depth post setting method, etc.

It's a Power Fist, house brand for Princess auto. Paid $77 Cdn for it.
I think it will work fine once I get the garage wired and stop trying
to use 12 Amp extension cord to power it. :-)

Anyone know for sure if this is a rebranded DeWalt 625?

On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:54:13 -0600, Oleg Lego
wrote:

I recently picked up a 'house brand' router that I believe is a DeWalt
625 or VERY similar. It's a 15 Amp, with two flat sides on the base,
has the same depth post setting method, etc.

It's a Power Fist, house brand for Princess auto. Paid $77 Cdn for it.
I think it will work fine once I get the garage wired and stop trying
to use 12 Amp extension cord to power it. :-)

Anyone know for sure if this is a rebranded DeWalt 625?

I couldn't find a picture of a Power Fist router through Google, but
my DeWalt 625 only has a flat side on one side of the base.

Brian Henderson wrote:


I couldn't find a picture of a Power Fist router through Google,

Did you happen to see the early 80's movie "Top Secret"? G

A few scenes in the movie involved a Sawzall with the blade replaced
with a fist...

On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 19:41:32 GMT, B a r r y
wrote:

Brian Henderson wrote:
I couldn't find a picture of a Power Fist router through Google,

Did you happen to see the early 80's movie "Top Secret"? G

A few scenes in the movie involved a Sawzall with the blade replaced
with a fist...

Yup, I did indeed. Now excuse me while I go put galoshes on the cow.