Recommend a wood router for me?

Fuengi

I'm after something for general woodworking and house projects, but something that I can use for routing out pickup cavities too if need be. The choice is bewildering for a newbie.

I'm not building guitars for a living, but happy to spend more than the bare minimum to get something decent. 

SteveRobinson

I've used a Bosch POF1100 AE for years and it's given excellent service. 

Last year, on the recommendation of @GSPBASSES I bought a Trend T10EK which is very good and much more powerful but may be more than you need.

Roland

Fuengi said:

The choice is bewildering for a newbie ..

Yes, and the product ranges change from month to month. I’ve got two. One is an old, unbranded model which I use for rough work. For fine work, including pickup cavities and binding, I have a Makita RT0700C with the base. This allows sub-millimetre control of cutting depth.

It’s also a good idea to get some decent cutter bits too.

Fuengi

Thanks chaps, I've gone for the updated Bosch, looks to be a good starting point and good to know it's served Steve well enough. 

Jaycee

Roland

It’s also a good idea to get some decent cutter bits too.

Have to agree with this, I used a £20 B and Q router for years, cheap bits to do the dirty work but if a decent finish was needed then I used bits from https://www.wealdentool.com

PeteC

+1 for wealden.  There bits are excellent 

SteveRobinson

PeteC said:

+1 for wealden.  There bits are excellent 

Yes again on Graham's recommendation I've started buying these and found they cut very well to give a good surface finish

Fuengi

I'll need to get a feel for it first, but will order some bits once I've worked out what I'll need. 

Keefy

I’m looking at getting a basic hand-held router, just for radiusing the edges of an amp head sleeve that I am planning to build (unless I can bastardise an existing one). There seem to be one-handed (cheap) and two-handed (dearer) machines about. Bearing in mind whatever I get is unlikely to see that much use, what are the pros and cons?

PeteC

There is a pretty good copy of the Makita palm router that will do what you want for cheapish money - I think its a Katsu ( not the curry ! )   The Makita double handed router base ( about £40) will also fit it if you want to go two handed. 
I have the Makita and all its accessories , they're great   - but the Katsu copy isn't bad for light duties. 

Roland

Cheap tools are often poor economy. What’s the cost in money and annoyance of remaking an amp sleeve because the router has slipped? 

Before I bought my Makita and router base I watched a video where someone had compared the Makita with a Chinese replica. The replica failed on fragile plastic and motor burn out. Worst of all the collet slipped, and the bit moved downwards whilst rotating. Instant damaged to the amp sleeve.

Keefy

Roland said:

Cheap tools are often poor economy. What’s the cost in money and annoyance of remaking an amp sleeve because the router has slipped? 

Before I bought my Makita and router base I watched a video where someone had compared the Makita with a Chinese replica. The replica failed on fragile plastic and motor burn out. Worst of all the collet slipped, and the bit moved downwards whilst rotating. Instant damaged to the amp sleeve.

Yep, I get that. There is a point below which money saved on purchase is a false economy. 

DiscoStu

SteveRobinson said:

I've used a Bosch POF1100 AE for years and it's given excellent service. 

Last year, on the recommendation of @GSPBASSES I bought a Trend T10EK which is very good and much more powerful but may be more than you need.

That Trend looks a helluva lot like the old Elu 177. Elus were fabulous, my Elu MOF96 is about 25 years old and still going strong. It's a ¼” model though and I do fancy a beefier ½” router for the real heavy jobs.

TTony

PeteC said:

There is a pretty good copy of the Makita palm router that will do what you want for cheapish money - I think its a Katsu ( not the curry ! )   The Makita double handed router base ( about £40) will also fit it if you want to go two handed. 
I have the Makita and all its accessories , they're great   - but the Katsu copy isn't bad for light duties. 

Roland said:

Cheap tools are often poor economy. What’s the cost in money and annoyance of remaking an amp sleeve because the router has slipped? 

Before I bought my Makita and router base I watched a video where someone had compared the Makita with a Chinese replica. The replica failed on fragile plastic and motor burn out. Worst of all the collet slipped, and the bit moved downwards whilst rotating. Instant damaged to the amp sleeve.

Agree with @Roland about false economies - but the Katsu is *very* similar to the Makita, to the extent that you could take it apart and not spot any differences in components or quality.  Apart from the brand badge ...

I had the Katsu recommended to me by a professional (as in, it's how he makes his living!) cabinet maker.  Most of his kit is Festool.  Apart from a few Katsu branded tools.

PeteC

In this case i think the Katsu is probably sufficient to recommend given the question posed.  However I totally agree with Roland about cheap tools and false economy. I use a Trend T11 for most heavier stuff and a Makita RT0700 with its swappable bases abd accessories for everything else.  I also have an old Bosch gets used occasionally but needs new bushes or something i think.   If you want a light duty but great router get the Makita RT0700c 

DiscoStu

Just looked up my Elu on eBay, they go for over £100! That's incredible for a 25 year old power tool, just shows you how well they were made and still sought after.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ELU-MOF-96-/303571348210?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

greggreg66

Another +1 for the Katsu.... not that I own one, but I know many people who have them and they are supposed to be good. I have the 12v Bosch battery powered trimmer, which is a great tool, but it's very lightweight so not good for anything beyond roundovers. Otherwise I use my Festool OF1400. The thing that annoys me about the Festool though is that it doesn't have an easy micro-adjust like the much cheaper Bosch ones!

Corvus

I have a Katsu, it's pretty good. It mostly lives on my binding & roundover setup. I got their plunge base for it but it was pretty awful. Mind you I got the Makita one instead thinking that must be better, 50 quid and the name - it had lots of slop & tilt and went back.
A wider/longer sub-base makes them much less 'tippy' to use. I'd have another Katsu no problem but not as a plunge router.

Elu's - love them, I ended up with a pair of MOF177s and a 97E which is brilliant, 1/4" plunge router. And I've got a MOF11 in the pin router, and want another or a Dewalt 627, on the hunt for those.

oktorockto

From a DIY point of view, if you want to be able to do deep routes like lock mortices then get a 1/2 inch router as you can get much longer bits than the the 1/4 inch one I landed myself with! Also, not all router bits are born equal, trend ones are very expensive but fantastic.