Best router for Leigh superjig?

[Daniel]

Hi all,

Im thinking of buying the new Leigh Superjig 24". In a not to far future I need to build two kitchens and half-blind dovetails would be nice for the drawers. My question is which router is best for this kind of work?

My budget i around 300£.

/Daniel

 

[momo]

I would be lost without my trend, I had an elu but my trend talks to me.

 

[ike]

Hi dan,

I found a Trend T5 underpowered with hardwoods on my Leigh (D4). IIn my experience, the Leigh jig demands something more powerful but not too big and heavy. There are a smallish number of mid-powered (1100-1400W range) routers out there. I settled on this. There might be a better deal to be had elsewhere. I paid £260. I'm delighted with the versatility of it. The fixed base setup feels very ergonomic, but the plunge setup is actually better with the Leigh jig, as the extraction hood /hose is better positioned so as not to foul the top clamp of the jig. This router is powerful enough to cope with routing a 40mm hardwood kitchen worktop for the occasional kitchen job (but not daily trade use - you need a big un for that). The 1850 -2000W routers (min is a Hitachi M12V) I think you would find, are too heavy and cumbersome for the Leigh jig.

regards,

Ike

 

[jasonB]

As Momo says I use a Elu MOF 177e on my D4 jig which is basically a DW625, Trend T10/11 or CMT. You will need a fine height adjuster with them but they will take the leigh guidebush without having to use a unibase.

The weight wont be such an issue wth the extra support that the new super jigs have.

Jason

 

[Rknott2007]

i agree with ike go for the bosch i have few routers but always reach for that, plus its like having two with the two bases, 3 if u decided on getting a router table with a quick lift

 

[andycorleone]

Hi, what about the The Dewalt DW621k? 1100w is enough? I find the DW625EK (5.1 kg) too heavy

 

[Chris Knight]

I don't know about the Bosch router that Ike suggested but my Bosch ( previous generation plunge router) has a fatal design flaw in the fine height adjustment mechanism. When you lock off the depth on the router, any movement of the fine height adjuster still move the router body wrt the base (ie the bit height changes). Vibration will do this. I went nuts trying to figure out why cuts weren't right until I spotted what was going on.

For a dovetail jig, it really pays to choose a router with a good fine height adjuster. For the Leigh, I like to use the Dewalt 621 with 8mm chuck, it's plenty powerful for even large joints and the 8mm shanked bits are also quite strong enough.

 

[stuartpaul]

Having spent the money on a Leigh jig I couldn't afford a new router so have been using one of the Axminster half inch white ones

Actually been quite good and haven't experienced any problems with its use.

 

[petenewc]

Bumping this one up,

I am finally giving up on using my Makita 3612 with the Lieigh. While it is a fantastic workhorse it is heavy and a right pain to set up with a dovetail bit and adaptor. Once set, movement of the adaptor is unacceptable and it has no other redeeming features.

Has anyone found the dream combination - light and yet powerful enough to cope with repeated use on multiple pieces but also easy to set up without mounting the cutters half out of the collet? Any additional bonuses, such as fine adjustment, dust extraction as standard or cheap adaptors are obviously a bonus.

 

[ike]

Has anyone found the dream combination

...

Re-read my post. :wink:

 

[petenewc]

re read and noted - I hadn't taken the implication that you found this the 'dream' combination. Certainly looks a good option. Is the guide bush adaptor an easy fit?