Leemur - You've given a basic use case, but I didn't see a budget. What were you planning on spending?


Depending on your area, you may be able to find a nice used router too (Dad's a snowbird and winters in AZ. He picked up a sweet, hardly used Porter Cable at a garage sale for $25 last winter).

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Show off! Interesting you mentioned the PC 691. I have its predecessor, the 690, and it came as a kit with both a fixed and plunge base. I primarily use it today with just the fixed base given I have other plunge router options, but when starting out, it was a very nice option to have both bases.

I too have the Porter Cable 690 - in addition to the plunge and fixed bases, mine also came with a base to mount under a router table. Coming from a cheapo Ryobi it was a night and day difference.

quote:

Originally posted by fwbulldog: Let me introduce you to Festool.

Festool has some really nice tools, but dang they're spendy! I've lusted after many of them, but I can't justify the price.

I have 2 Festool routers and a big Milwaukee in a table but my Bosch 1617 still sees occasional use. It comes with a fixed and a plunge base and is a great tool.

I am router deprived compared to some.

I have the Porter-Cable 693 multi base kit.
https://www.portercable.com/pr...e-router-kit/693lrpk

Also have a 450 compact router.
PC makes a plunge base for this as well.

I also have the Bosch Colt trim router and the a Freud 3 1/4 HP model that I picked up on the cheap since it was discontinued.

The PC 450 compact gets the most use.
I use it primarily for cutting recesses for hinges on small boxes.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
Ok so based on everything I’ve seen I’m going plunge. Thanks. A few places I’m reading say overall best is about a 2hp motor. Sound about right?

The Bosch kit with plunge base and fixed base, is to my mind, the best high hobbyist kit available.

It's a little pricy, but not nuts, and is a very high quality tool.

The Porter Cable with fixed and plunge bases is also a good set-up.

Plunge or fixed base: In my opinion, a plunge base is not needed for hobby work.

If making a rough cutout, such as a sink cutout to a drawn shape, either will do. Just tilt a fixed base. No, it won't run amok; just don't be timid. Alternatively, a quick hole can be drilled. If you wish to put an ogee on the inside a plunge isn't necessary. Buy an extra base and fix it to a router table. You can make a simple one by slapping a sink cutout on a barrel.

cne32507 owned and operated an AWI QCP commercial casework shop

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cne32507,

Among my routers (two Festool, two Bosch, one Elu, one DeWalt mini) I would suggest looking at this nice Makita cordless with fixed and plunge bases.

Link

It’s heavy duty enough for most hobbyist jobs, and not having a cord makes it very nice; but then I already had the batteries and charger from another Makita 18V kit so it was cheaper than the kit price.

The one thing this doesn’t have as well as the Festools is dust collection; most Festool tools are extremely good at dust collection, including track saws, miter saw, and sanders; that means a lot to me as sawdust is extremely irritating to me; I probably couldn’t do woodworking without that high level of dust collection.

Here is my favorite Festool router: OF 1010 router. It’s fairly light but powerful; however doesn’t take 1/2 inch bits. Probably wouldn’t recommend as one’s only router. Of course with that you would need a Festool brand HEPA-filtered dust collector....

quote:

Originally posted by ShouldBFishin:
Leemur - You've given a basic use case, but I didn't see a budget. What were you planning on spending?


Depending on your area, you may be able to find a nice used router too (Dad's a snowbird and winters in AZ. He picked up a sweet, hardly used Porter Cable at a garage sale for $25 last winter).

Budget is $200ish. I’ve looked at the local Farcebook and Craigslist options. Everything I saw was retail price or looked like it’d been thrown off a cliff.

Leemur, if this DeWalt compact router with fixed and plunged bases is of interest to you, I have one that has never been fired that I could sell you. Shoot me an e-mail (in profile) if interested.

Email sent

From payment to receiving the router and multiple goodies was about 5 days from coast to coast. Pics of the new toy in the next day or two.

Thanks sjtill!

Not pictured are the bag and fence that sjtill so generously included.

Lessons learned so far:

* Router bits are sharp as hell (only a small chunk of skin removed trying to take the bit from the package)

* Practice on scrap until you get a feel for the tool (minor sanding require to fix the error)

* Even if you think you’re going slow enough, you probably should still slow down a little more

Otherwise, smooth sailing for the first small project. Making a portal for the door in the gate barring our cat’s litter box and food area because one dog can squeeze through and help herself. There’s a temporary setup in that works but my wife likes things to look nice so I thought I’d try my hand at something simple first.

Thanks again for the help everyone!

That right there should serve you well for quite a while. Not get to building....

Nah, don't go too slow. It'll burn the wood and ruin your bit.

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
Nah, don't go too slow. It'll burn the wood and ruin your bit.

Here's a hint. Get some time and experience with that router and a number of bits, and you'll soon get a feel for the proper rate of cut. The depth of cut, router bit size, and power of the router will all determine the rate of cut. Shoot, I've got a little 1/8" roundover bit I throw in my cordless Milwaukee router to ease the edges of the piece I'm working on and I fly through it without issues. It all depends on the setup and the work piece.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Here's a hint. Get some time and experience with that router and a number of bits, and you'll soon get a feel for the proper rate of cut.

This ^^^^^

Not that you'll always get it right, but, with experience, you'll learn how the tool should feel and sound when it's going well.

Some of us get a little impatient by nature.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
Some of us get a little impatient by nature.

You'll want to fight that urge when using a router. Not only can you damage your workpiece, you can actually damage a bit, which is no bueno.

Leemur, read about climb cuts, when they are a problem, when you might need one anyway.
It’s all about the direction of rotation of the router bit as it hits the wood.

Here’s a link to a nice explanation in Wood Magazine, which I find great for us rookies:

Climb cutting explained

Good read, thanks. I actually puzzled out the proper direction before I started. I get it right once in a while.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
I’m guessing if you have a fixed and you try to start in the middle of the material you risk injury or launching the tool across the room...?

You drill a hole.