What Router etc?

JCA2550

I need to replace/update some of my modding and repairing power tools but have limited space and budget. Any one recommend an indispensable  wood router or similar?

Cheers,

C

Sambostar

Donno, but anything cheap wobbles and has a degree of run out, usually the collet adaptor (In the case of my Erbauer) and is pretty useless and or very scary.  It's OK with the smaller collet though and was cheap.

WezV

I have 5 or 6 routers.  This is my favourite:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gkf-600-palm-router-kit

I have the plunge base to go with it.   I now use this small laminate trimmer/palm router for about 80% of the routing i do.

I switch to a big half inch Erbauer for my router thicknesser.  its a beast but for this job its perfect.  I also have a lower end ryobi  which the bosch replaced but it still gets used  on rougher tasks.   There are 2 old axminster ones (1/2" and 1/4") which both have broken collets... and an old wickes one which was my first. 

Its actually quite scary going back to a cheap router, never realised how dangerous they are till i started getting ones with soft starts and smoother motors

jd0272

I found looking for the term 'Buffoon Proof' in the description helped. Bosch are quite good at this for what it's worth.

Andyjr1515

WezV said:

I have 5 or 6 routers.  This is my favourite:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-gkf-600-palm-router-kit

I have the plunge base to go with it.   I now use this small laminate trimmer/palm router for about 80% of the routing i do.

I switch to a big half inch Erbauer for my router thicknesser.  its a beast but for this job its perfect.  I also have a lower end ryobi  which the bosch replaced but it still gets used  on rougher tasks.   There are 2 old axminster ones (1/2" and 1/4") which both have broken collets... and an old wickes one which was my first. 

Its actually quite scary going back to a cheap router, never realised how dangerous they are till i started getting ones with soft starts and smoother motors

Is the GKF600 soft start, @WezV?

WezV

No, but its small and smooth enough that its still not a flight risk on power up.

Andyjr1515

Thanks @WezV  I've been looking at this model off and on for a while...very tempted...

JCA2550

Anyone have experience with using a router mounted in a router table?

Sambostar

Yarp.  I cut a rectangular 6mm sheet of aluminium out with bevelled corners.  I then traced it onto 15mm MDF.  I then routed out the template by 6mm to drop it into.  I then took the router and marked the outline and routed the rest out through.

Then centred the router and marked centrehole.  Then took the piece to an engineers and they put a 3 inch hole in it and put a lip on it, 3mm I think.  Then got a piece of 3mm ali, cut it to match with a jigsaw and dropped that in there with a smaller pre drilled collet hole in it.

Ordered a load of countersunk Stainless Machine screws off Ebay, drilled and countersunk them and attached the three plates, including bolting up the router.

Then made up supports and a table for the MDF out of CLS 2 x 4's with a mitred pine strip binding on the table.

I operate it by clamping the on trigger and plugging it in.  Setting the height is a bit of a PITA to be fair as I never made a winder for it.  But it's OK as you can take the weight of the router from underneath, push the depth stop spring back by pushing up the router and adjust the height by screwing the fine depth movement, measure and then lock in place.

I only made it to make 30 ornamental curved roof trusses from a template.  I figure one day I will have a go at a guitar body.  BUt it has seen some use making architraves and stuff, as it's easy to clamp up a guide timber.  Still have to take it in depth stages though which is a bit of a pain.

And if you force anything it spits it out at you, complete with shards of timber, travelling at 3000 miles per hour, heading straight for your eyes.

The idea was that it was to be collapsible, so the frame is joined with 10mm bolts and those shark tooth Fender bolt thingies that hammer into the wood.

If you want to use the router overhead, you can just undo the four screws on the plate and use it with the plate on, but I can't be arsed, need a better router really.  It does have soft start though. I wear ear defenders, everything is less scary with ear defenders on.

I think it's all in the router plate, mine cost about 25 quid including the engineering, still cheaper than buying one that doesn't match your router anyway.

hywelg

You'll really need a good ½" router and a small single handed ¼" job, they really are completely different tools, what you can accomplish with one is different from what you can accomplish with the other, and trying to do fine work with the big one is fraught with difficulty and you'll never shape a body in one pass with the small one.

WezV

hywelg said:

You'll really need a good ½" router and a small single handed ¼" job, they really are completely different tools, what you can accomplish with one is different from what you can accomplish with the other, and trying to do fine work with the big one is fraught with difficulty and you'll never shape a body in one pass with the small one.

I don't disagree, but most people starting out will need to make a choice.   In that situation it makes sense to go with a small 1/4" one over the large one.   

The bosch i linked to will do anything you need it to on a normal guitar build, but it might need more steps to do it (like shaping the body in more than 1 pass)

cx7

The DeWaltD26204K is also worth a look for a bit extra money. I have a D26200 fixed base only version.and am very happy with it. Between that and a 1/2 Makita i can tackle most things

streethawk

cx7 said:

The DeWaltD26204K is also worth a look for a bit extra money. I have a D26200 fixed base only version.and am very happy with it. Between that and a 1/2 Makita i can tackle most things

That's the one I'm looking at now.

Do you know if you can buy the plunge section separately? 

jonnyburgo

I bought a cheapo from Aldi with shoddy results

cx7

Most places mention the plunge base as an extra for the D26200 but finding one separately is a different matter.

My D26200 included the additional round base that takes guide bushes 

But If its to be your only router i wuld suggest contacting dewalt uk to check availability of the plunge action, there's only so much you can do safely with a fixed base

streethawk

cx7 said:

Most places mention the plunge base as an extra for the D26200 but finding one separately is a different matter.

My D26200 included the additional round base that takes guide bushes 

But If its to be your only router i wuld suggest contacting dewalt uk to check availability of the plunge action, there's only so much you can do safely with a fixed base

Cheers, I'm going for the plunge option now anyway. Was just being a skinflint.

Also looking at the Trend t5ek

http://www.axminster.co.uk/trend-t5ek-mk2-v2-router

It's a toss up between the two.