New router advice

[Jonny G]

First of many requests for bits of advice...

Looking at tooling up my garage into a functional workshop for a range of household projects.

Got a mitre saw & drill press, looking at table saws soon but figure I'll also need a router pretty quickly.

Does anyone have any sub £100 recommendations? As well as any advice on if I should wait and save for a table router, or are there universal tables that I'll be able to fit an existing router to if I buy one now?

Ta

Jon.

 

[sunnybob]

You'll have heard it a thousand times, but here it is once more;
Spend cheap, buy twice.

Dont look for a router on price, youll end up with something that will cause you grief and frustration to the point of almost putting you off.

I have 5 routers now, three makita and one bosch, and a powerplus, which I had to buy in a hurry and the price was right.

Guess which one is destined for the bin as soon as I can afford to replace it?

Within a year the soft start is playing up and I have to shake the damn thing to make it work, it has a very small wobble in a bearing seomwhere that causes lines to be left behind if I'm skimming wide pieces.
Two of the makitas and the bosch are 30 year old second hand, and they can outperform that 1 year old powerplus any day of the week.

Oh, once youve bought a good router, there are lots of threads here and elsewhere about building your own table.

 

[Jonny G]

Thanks for your thoughts SunnyBob

Brand is obviously a big consideration and I'm trying to stay on the other side of cheap and cheerful as like yourself, I value quality and reliability.

Would you entertain a Bosch POF 1200?

 

[sunnybob]

Bosch have a very good name. The blue trade ones are tougher than the green hobby range. Just depends how much you think you want to use it.

2 points to bear in mind with this one.
1/ if you know you will mount it in a table, electronic speed control is not really needed because you will soon get fed up diving under there to change the settings. but this is a 1/4" router so you wont be needing to change settings very often because you wont be able to use large cutters.

2/ Its a 1/4" router and you wont be able to use large cutters.
This is where you need to think about what you want to do with it. If you want to make panel doors or cut large pieces of wood into complicated shapes, then you need a 1/2" router.
If you want to make smaller stuff like boxes, trinkets, small works like drawer liners etc., then a 1/4" router will do the job.

Its a tough call. On the one hand you are starting out and money is tight, on the other its incredibly frustrating not being able to improve and make bigger stuff untill you buy your second router.

In my case, knowing it was going into a table straight away, i bought a 1/2" makita (non electronic control) and built the table straight off. Then i bought smaller second hand routers for tiddly jobs. One of the old makitas is permanently fitted with a 1/4" roundover bit. Thats all its used for, but it saves a huge amount of time in changing cutters.

Good luck

 

[Jonny G]

Thanks Bob, that's really helpful advice,

It sounds like a decent 1/2" is the way to go and maybe pick up a cheaper 1/4" for a backup / smaller pieces down the line.

 

[powertools]

It all depends on what you intend to do and how many times you will be doing it.
There are some amazing quality routers out there for not much money but would probably not stand up to every day use in a commercial environment but if it is for hobby use will see you out.
Take a look at the reviews of the katsu router on this forum to get some ideas.

 

[Jonny G]

I'm definitely in as a hobby for now so there's no way it's going to see every day use. It might be used on varied projects though, so would be good if I could find one with the full range of attachments, particularly the plunge base.

So far, all I can find is this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/101748-Electri ... B00LVVJ99U

and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SP10174805-Kat ... 21&sr=1-13

Are these the ones that're getting the recommendations?

 

[sunnybob]

I have seen the good reviews, i just want to point out its a 1/4". Nothing against as I said, but bear it in mind before buying.

 

[LJM]

As has been intimated, you'd do well to look second hand; you won't go too far wrong with a 1/2" machine from one of the usual suspects, Bosch, Makita, Dewalt, Hitachi, Trend and others. If you decide you need a 2kw machine (great in a table, invaluable for kitchen fitting and other heavy jobs) then look out Freud, which go cheap but are a solid, simple, industrial router; I picked up one for £30, which would leave you change for a Katsu [sp] palm router, for the small stuff.

 

[novocaine]

funny everyone slates the cheap stuff. I have a titan from screwfix, it gets used in a table very rarely as it's never been my favorite tool to use, it does the job, it's easy to set up and has all the bits I could need. but it's the wrong colour. apart from the plastic locking lever stripping out it's not had any issues at all, and that was an easy fix of adding a grub screw. it replaced a B&D 1/4" that was older than salt (and I still have, it will get new bearings).

I've also got a katsu, it lives on the bench, it gets used regularly and hasn't missed a beat. yes 1/4" isn't going to flatten stock for you or eat through a sink fit up in a side or some such, but then, I've got a plane for the stock and a jigsaw for cutting holes. buy the katsu now, keep an eye out for a bigger router when you need it and don't discount all cheap stuff as being crappy (some of it is though).

 

[TFrench]

The big erbauer one from screwfix is on offer quite often and I've never had any issues with it.

 

[LJM]

In my experience there is always a shortcoming with the cheaper stuff; poor ergonomics (form taking presidence to function) or compromises in design. I tend to buy new because of having a guarantee and being VAT registered. However, for the odd tool that I know will be rarely used, I buy used pro quality, knowing it will do the job, I can get it repaired and I can move it on once I'm finished with it.

 

[Jonny G]

The Bosch I linked to is probably where I want to be on price vs reliability, usefulness & performance right now.

What's the general consensus on MacAllister gear though? I've never used anything made by them so haven't got much to go on other than they seem to be pretty cheap.

 

[transatlantic]

What's the general consensus on MacAllister gear though? I've never used anything made by them so haven't got much to go on other than they seem to be pretty cheap.

The older stuff is much better than the newer rubbish

In regard to the router, as a beginner, I'd go with the Katsu. It's a nice gentle introduction to the world of routing at a very good price. Yes its only 1/4 inch, but you can still do a lot with it, just with more passes. And when it comes time to upgrade, you'll have a better idea of what you're looking for, and will also have a neat trim router for those smaller jobs (although its obviously much more than just a trim router).

 

[user22161]

My use is hobby only. The Katsu gets by far the most use with round over or edge trim bits mainly. Second, a Triton MOF 001 lives in the router table permanently in an Incra plate and lastly, I have a very cheap 1/2" Silverline which is identical to a Draper I had for many years but eventually wore out. For occasional hobby use, it's adequate but certainly not quality.

 

[sunnybob]

OOOHH! Graham used the "S" word!

 

[LJM]

If I needed a brand new router, on a budget, I would take a close look at the Makita MT range:

https://www.its.co.uk/pd/M3601-Makita-M ... KM3601.htm

 

[user22161]

OOOHH! Graham used the "S" word!

Terrible wasn't I! In fact, much of the Silverline stuff is almost identical to dearer badges, the Draper router being an example. At least virtually everything comes with minimum 3 year guarantee, some lifetime but, haven't claimed yet so don't know if honoured.

Problem is, people have different ideas about what is affordable. For a new DIYer just tooling up for occasional use, there's so much choice between spending the cost of a decent meal for two or, blowing a week or more's wages. Anyone remember the Bridges drill and accessories such as table saw? Times have changed a bit since I had one of those.

 

[novocaine]

is it the blue one Graham? if so, I've had one of those, it got nicked. was more than fine for most work I do, sat in a table just fine too. cost less than a worktop jig at the time.

 

[user22161]

is it the blue one Graham? if so, I've had one of those, it got nicked. was more than fine for most work I do, sat in a table just fine too. cost less than a worktop jig at the time.

One of these - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1500W-DIY-150 ... 2429241840

Went for the Triton as replacement for the table as it has lift built in, again occasional use.