Routers

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JonJon

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Anybody know why there is such a huge variation in the price of Routers about 20 quid up to 300. I have a very small bosch one that has served me well but am bewildered as to what to buy in the 1600 - 2000Watt range. Any thoughts?
 
I think this is another area where you get what you pay for.

I bought two from Tesco recently, must have clicked twice, and they are fine, but don't have an on/off switch so can't be used with a table.You have to keep your thumb on all the time.
I also have /had the small Trend router, now £60, but a great little machine , but for bigger jobs and cutters you really need some ooomph.
Trend are great, and the catalogue is a joy. The new Bosch looks good, but I haven't been tempted yet!!

Should I get out more?
 
I had a medium price Bosch before it was stolen and now have a cheap Performance Power router. Difference is quality. The Bosch was lighter, quieter, easier to handle, accepted two sizes of bits. It had soft start and better speed control and better 'bits' for depth control and the like. The PP one works but it is harder to set up, harder to use and easier to bungle. But it works.
 
Depends what you want to do with them; I have half a dozen different makes and sizes, cheapies for working with MDF & similar where the dust is a problem through to a 2hp Trend that has done at least 5 years hard work in a router table.

Wickes used to do a Trend look-alike that was under a £100 and I think B&Q do some Trend branded ones that are Trend brand but look a bit less well made as well as stuff like their own brands.

Depending on how much work you intend to do with it either get a branded quality one - £200 - £300 or a B&Q/Wickes/Etc look-alike for £100.

You will also find that the quality of the cutters makes a massive difference and if you get a router with a dust extraction fitting you can put the vac onto that makes a massive difference as well.
 
Oh, a 'Row-ter' /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I was wondering WTF a 1000 watt router was all about.

High powered wireless internet perhaps? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Bosch, Bosch, Bosch. Does that help?
 
I have always found the Elu range to be smooth, fast and powerful. At one time they were all you could buy for the small workshop unless you went for the Stanley, an old American design. I bought a Black n Decker a few years ago which was discounted to £30 (you see them for c£50) and it has been great. It is rather bulky and awkward compared with the Elu and has an annoying switch interlock which some people will be tempted to modify. It is however powerful and well made, and comes with its own case and a couple of bits. The £20 efforts I have seen would not tempt me, the castings look rough and the fences flimsey
 
Must admit I like the Makita stuff. Had one of the old cordless drill/drivers for years now brilliant bit of kit. I was tempted by Erbauer they seemed very cheap.

Not being a pro at this woodworking business I need something that probly wont get an awful lot of use so will probably go for around the £150 mark.

I always fancied being able to cut and join kitchen worktops as well with it so presumably I need the 30mm guide for the jigs. I think I might have to do one last kitchen fore I snuff it. Many thanks for all the comments.
 
I have an SIP 1500W one which was quite cheap and I've been (ab)using it to take gelcoat off my topsides. Eventually it burned out and I was pleased that they offer a 2 year guarantee and replaced it without quibble.
 
Dewalt has about (??) 3 sizes of router all with various functions and gadgets, teh best one was around (??) £250 and works a treat.

I thought Dewalt purchased ELU??

For instance I have been told the ELU drop saw was replaced with the Dewalt drop saw.
 
I bought a £30 jobby from Focus to do one job. I have some woodworm on the transom of Serendipity which I've treated, but the holes (along the joints between 3 planks) looked nasty. I routed two grooves and epoxied some new oak battens in to effect a mainly cosmetic repair. Perhaps the epoxy will lend a bit of stabilty to the joints as well.
I wouldn't think I'll use the router much again now.

transomrepair1.jpg
 
Quality is fine if you're going to get enough use out of it to justify the price. If so, buy the best you can afford. For one-offs, a cheap one from Aldi is likely to be fine.

I have good quality - Makita and Bosch professional - drills, cos I use them a lot. I have a £14 Aldi angle grinder (£14), "Dremel" (£8) and hot glue gun (<£5) that I use once or twice a year and they're well up to that level of use, where a good one will rust to death as quickly as a cheap 'un.

Yes, you get what you pay for, but often a cheap tool is better than no tool when you can't justify the cost of the good one.
 
I'm sure this thread has gone to sleep now, but anyway. I have a big beefy and a little handy Makita. They do me well. The big one can (3612BR I think) can remove a hell of a lot of wood in one pass. The wee one can cut dovetails a treat. Things I don't have that I might spend more money for:
1. Variable speed - if you want to spin big cutters you must slow down.
2. Soft start - the big one tries to run off across the workshop with the torque on start-up.
3. Fine height adjustment for more accurate joints.

Finally, the thing you can't scrimp on are cutters. Cheap ones aren't worth a damn. Get Trend TCT or the like. After 10 years or so of routing, the cutters I have bought are worth far more than the machines! Don't tell the wife - I buy them cash one at a time to leave no paper trail.
 
I agree with everyone on the Bosch front but the Triton Router is excellent, particularly with the table or the Work Centre 2000. Very solid and loads of safety features for clutzy beginners like me. Good price too.
 
My local pile-em-high emporium, Trago Mills, occasionally gets a batch of JCB routers which it knocks out at £26. They are beefy 1/2" collet jobs with variable speed and are quite adequate even with large diameter bits.

I bought a second to go in a table but it meant some surgery to remove the plunge springs and short out the trigger switch.

Does anyone know a router that is designed to be used with a table rather than hand-held?
 
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