We've all taken our turn at bashing Harbor Freight tools, however I
believe there are times when what they supply is adequate for some
tasks. I have been looking to acquire a trim router to do some
routing for inlay experiments and I couldn't decide between the Bosch
Colt and the Ridgid 2400. Anyway, when I saw the HF router at less
than $20, I thought I'd get it and get some hands on experience to
help me in my choice deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid.

Well, I got some experience!!!

Last night I installed a 3/32" round-over bit in my brand new HF trim
router. I was careful to tighten the bit well because I've heard
stories. I set the depth again being careful to tighten well because
I've heard even more stories. I then proceeded to round over the
edges on a 2' long piece of 1X3 pine. I finished one side and was
beginning on the second side when the router started vibrating
excessively. So much so that I had a hard time hanging on to it. I
was able to shut it off and then saw that the router had twisted in
the base housing, shearing off teeth in the height adjustment knob and
scaring up the body in several places. Then the bit fell out.

The router is really a piece of junk, which, when you think about it,
should be no surprise at the $20 price tag. It's going back to HF for
a refund. Anyway, if you had the same idea I had about getting this
router, I advise strongly against it.

Now I'm back to deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid, hopefully
in time to get a letter off to Santa.

Bill Leonhardt

In article , Bill Leonhardt wrote:

Now I'm back to deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid, hopefully
in time to get a letter off to Santa.

I recently purchased the Bosch Colt and love it. It's small
and compact but everything is very solid and the thing just
"feels right" in every respect. I considered the HF and
Ridgid offerings too and am very happy with my decision to
go with the Bosch. The quality to price ratio seems
extremely good to me and I think it represents excellent
value.

Of course, the HF trim router seemed to offer good value
but I was concerned that what happened to you might
happen to me! Some HF tools do offer good value assuming
light usage but there's always a risk they'll turn out
to be poor quality and inadequate. Sorry that happened
to you. I don't think the Bosch Colt will disappoint.


--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Malcolm Hoar wrote:

In article
, Bill
Leonhardt wrote:

Now I'm back to deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid, hopefully
in time to get a letter off to Santa.

I recently purchased the Bosch Colt and love it. It's small
and compact but everything is very solid and the thing just
"feels right" in every respect. I considered the HF and
Ridgid offerings too and am very happy with my decision to
go with the Bosch. The quality to price ratio seems
extremely good to me and I think it represents excellent
value.


Glad to hear that; mine is due to be delivered tomorrow.

Of course, the HF trim router seemed to offer good value
but I was concerned that what happened to you might
happen to me! Some HF tools do offer good value assuming
light usage but there's always a risk they'll turn out
to be poor quality and inadequate.

One does not expect inexpensively priced products to be ruggedly built;
one does at least expect them to perform the function for which they are
sold (can't even use the word designed in this case). Unfortunately, some
things have been "value-engineered" to the point they can't even perform
their defined function. At all.

--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

In article , Mark & Juanita wrote:

I recently purchased the Bosch Colt and love it. It's small
and compact but everything is very solid and the thing just
"feels right" in every respect. I considered the HF and
Ridgid offerings too and am very happy with my decision to
go with the Bosch. The quality to price ratio seems
extremely good to me and I think it represents excellent
value.

Glad to hear that; mine is due to be delivered tomorrow.

You'll love it. Now you'll have to decide whether to use
it and get it dirty or display it on the mantlepiece in
pristine condition ;-)

One does not expect inexpensively priced products to be ruggedly built;
one does at least expect them to perform the function for which they are
sold (can't even use the word designed in this case). Unfortunately, some
things have been "value-engineered" to the point they can't even perform
their defined function. At all.

Amen!

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Nov 26, 2:11 pm, Bill Leonhardt wrote:
We've all taken our turn at bashing Harbor Freight tools, however I
believe there are times when what they supply is adequate for some
tasks. I have been looking to acquire a trim router to do some
routing for inlay experiments and I couldn't decide between the Bosch
Colt and the Ridgid 2400. Anyway, when I saw the HF router at less
than $20, I thought I'd get it and get some hands on experience to
help me in my choice deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid.

Well, I got some experience!!!

Last night I installed a 3/32" round-over bit in my brand new HF trim
router. I was careful to tighten the bit well because I've heard
stories. I set the depth again being careful to tighten well because
I've heard even more stories. I then proceeded to round over the
edges on a 2' long piece of 1X3 pine. I finished one side and was
beginning on the second side when the router started vibrating
excessively. So much so that I had a hard time hanging on to it. I
was able to shut it off and then saw that the router had twisted in
the base housing, shearing off teeth in the height adjustment knob and
scaring up the body in several places. Then the bit fell out.

The router is really a piece of junk, which, when you think about it,
should be no surprise at the $20 price tag. It's going back to HF for
a refund. Anyway, if you had the same idea I had about getting this
router, I advise strongly against it.

Now I'm back to deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid, hopefully
in time to get a letter off to Santa.

Bill Leonhardt

Now I thought a trim router only used a straight bit and was for
trimming off the extra formica that hangs over the edge when you
laminate your own countertops. Even a $20 tool should be able to do
this. Maybe you were trying to do too much with it and really need to
buy a cheap ($50) router?

Respectfully,

James

On Nov 26, 3:23 pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:
In article , Bill Leonhardt wrote:

Now I'm back to deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid, hopefully
in time to get a letter off to Santa.

I recently purchased the Bosch Colt and love it. It's small
and compact but everything is very solid and the thing just
"feels right" in every respect. I considered the HF and
Ridgid offerings too and am very happy with my decision to
go with the Bosch. The quality to price ratio seems
extremely good to me and I think it represents excellent
value.

SNIP

Malcom,

I've heard generally good things about the Bosch, but there were a few
people in the Amazon reviews that reported problems (and failure) with
the spindle lock and not having room enough to get two wrenches in to
loosen the spindle once the lock quits. I'd like to hear your
experience.

Thanks, Bill

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:23:44 GMT, (Malcolm Hoar)
wrote:

Of course, the HF trim router seemed to offer good value
but I was concerned that what happened to you might
happen to me! Some HF tools do offer good value assuming
light usage but there's always a risk they'll turn out
to be poor quality and inadequate.


The more I read the phrase "offer[s] good value", especially in the
middle of sentences like those, the less I understand what it means.


--
Chuck Taylor
http://home.hiwaay.net/~taylorc/contact/

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:05:26 -0800 (PST), Bill Leonhardt
wrote:

Malcom,

I've heard generally good things about the Bosch, but there were a few
people in the Amazon reviews that reported problems (and failure) with
the spindle lock and not having room enough to get two wrenches in to
loosen the spindle once the lock quits. I'd like to hear your
experience.

Thanks, Bill


Same problem with mine. Aside from that, it's a sweet little machine.


--
Chuck Taylor
http://home.hiwaay.net/~taylorc/contact/

Chuck Taylor wrote:
On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:05:26 -0800 (PST), Bill Leonhardt
wrote:

Malcom,

I've heard generally good things about the Bosch, but there were a
few people in the Amazon reviews that reported problems (and
failure) with the spindle lock and not having room enough to get
two
wrenches in to loosen the spindle once the lock quits. I'd like to
hear your experience.

Thanks, Bill


Same problem with mine. Aside from that, it's a sweet little
machine.

Just a comment but right now Coastal has a deal where you get one with
a 1587 jigsaw for 160 bucks, which looks like a pretty good deal to me
if one needs a jigsaw.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

In article , Bill Leonhardt wrote:

I've heard generally good things about the Bosch, but there were a few
people in the Amazon reviews that reported problems (and failure) with
the spindle lock and not having room enough to get two wrenches in to
loosen the spindle once the lock quits. I'd like to hear your
experience.

Changing the bit isn't super convenient in terms of access.
Maybe it takes a few more seconds than it could or should.
However, I haven't found it a problem or even a significant
inconvenience.

Obviously, I've not experienced any failure and the
assembly doesn't seem fragile or inherently unreliable
to me.

I wouldn't worry about it unless you expect to changing
bits a *lot* and need to do so rapidly. In that case,
it would be prudent to at least look at some other products.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In article , Chuck Taylor wrote:
On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:23:44 GMT, (Malcolm Hoar)
wrote:

Of course, the HF trim router seemed to offer good value
but I was concerned that what happened to you might
happen to me! Some HF tools do offer good value assuming
light usage but there's always a risk they'll turn out
to be poor quality and inadequate.

The more I read the phrase "offer[s] good value", especially in the
middle of sentences like those, the less I understand what it means.

My bad. Crappy English.

Sometimes, HF tools allow you to complete a job at a very
low cost. That's good value. Sometimes they break and fall
apart before the job is done. That's bad value.

Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Not exactly
profound...

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes, HF tools allow you to complete a job at a very
low cost. That's good value.

I have a HF 1/2" breaker bar that I recently used with a 3 ft pipe
extension to loosen a crankshaft pulley bolt. I was a little worried
the bar wouldn't stand the stress of me practically standing on the 3
foot extension - but it held up. So maybe their wrenches and sockets
are acceptable.

I never buy any "edge" tools like chisels or drill bits from HF since
I figure the metal is low quality. I think I'll add tools that spin at
20,000 rpm to that do not buy list. Sounds like that HF router is
unsafe and should be recalled.

Has anyone tried their torque wrenches?

Mitch

In article , MB wrote:

Sometimes, HF tools allow you to complete a job at a very
low cost. That's good value.

I have a HF 1/2" breaker bar that I recently used with a 3 ft pipe
extension to loosen a crankshaft pulley bolt. I was a little worried
the bar wouldn't stand the stress of me practically standing on the 3
foot extension - but it held up. So maybe their wrenches and sockets
are acceptable.

Has anyone tried their torque wrenches?

If you're planning on adding a 3ft extension and standing
on it, I'm guessing that it's gonna break ;-)

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Nov 26, 11:11 am, Bill Leonhardt wrote:
We've all taken our turn at bashing Harbor Freight tools, however I
believe there are times when what they supply is adequate

I bought the cheapo 1/2" router (at $38, I think) and found that a
little work with a slipstone on the collet was enough to
get the sucker to clamp. Consider the low-end tools to be a
starter kit, be prepared to rebuild 'em before any heavy
use, and they ARE bargains.

A friend wanted me to buy the trim router for him, but when
I saw it in the store, it screamed "self-destruct" to me, and
my friend got my advice to seek elsewhere. He's happy
now with his Bosch.

On Nov 26, 2:11 pm, Bill Leonhardt wrote:
We've all taken our turn at bashing Harbor Freight tools, however I
believe there are times when what they supply is adequate for some
tasks. I have been looking to acquire a trim router to do some
routing for inlay experiments and I couldn't decide between the Bosch
Colt and the Ridgid 2400. Anyway, when I saw the HF router at less
than $20, I thought I'd get it and get some hands on experience to
help me in my choice deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid.

Well, I got some experience!!!

Last night I installed a 3/32" round-over bit in my brand new HF trim
router. I was careful to tighten the bit well because I've heard
stories. I set the depth again being careful to tighten well because
I've heard even more stories. I then proceeded to round over the
edges on a 2' long piece of 1X3 pine. I finished one side and was
beginning on the second side when the router started vibrating
excessively. So much so that I had a hard time hanging on to it. I
was able to shut it off and then saw that the router had twisted in
the base housing, shearing off teeth in the height adjustment knob and
scaring up the body in several places. Then the bit fell out.

The router is really a piece of junk, which, when you think about it,
should be no surprise at the $20 price tag. It's going back to HF for
a refund. Anyway, if you had the same idea I had about getting this
router, I advise strongly against it.

Now I'm back to deciding between the Bosch and the Ridgid, hopefully
in time to get a letter off to Santa.

Bill Leonhardt

Bill:

A Trim Router is just that. Small, easy to handle for trimming that
16th inch or so of laminate to clean the edge.

But I agree that those chinese trim routers are trash.

Take it back to HFT and get your $ back. THey have been good about
this with me (Don't buy their small right angle drill to drill beyond
a 1/4" hole!)

On Nov 27, 5:47 pm, Hoosierpopi wrote:
SNIP orig msg
Bill:

A Trim Router is just that. Small, easy to handle for trimming that
16th inch or so of laminate to clean the edge.

But I agree that those chinese trim routers are trash.

Take it back to HFT and get your $ back. THey have been good about
this with me (Don't buy their small right angle drill to drill beyond
a 1/4" hole!)-

Dear Hoos,

I have to disagree. If I had tried panel raising bits, your argument
would hold. But 3/32" roundover isn't outside what I feel is the
capability of a trim router, just, it seems, outside the capability of
the HF trim router. In all honesty, the winged part of the bit may
have caught the end of the board causing a large resistance to be felt
by the router. That shouldn't cause it to distruct, however.

In the Dec 2006 issue of Woodworker's Journal, they present results of
testing 8 trim routers (but not the HF or the two Grizzlys). In the
tests, the author did 3/8" round-overs and 1/4" deep dadoes in a
single pass with a 1/2" bit in maple. That's more than I would have
ever tried, but it shows what the author, at least, considers
reasonable usage. The Bosch and Ridgid were ranked the best in that
article.

BTW, the fist time I turned on the HF router, I was surprised by the
jerk-in-the-hand I received because of such a fast ramp up to full
speed. It showed me that the soft start feature is important,
especially when attempting fine work.

Bill Leonhardt

PS - I've quit worrying about the spindle lock on the Bosch and will
ask Santa for one. I just have to decide whether to ask for the kit
with all the extra bases or go bare bones.