Is a Porter Cable router a wise choice?

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Im looking to upgrade my cheap £30 router which is appalling to use in EVERY way :x

I have been looking at routers from CMT, Trend, Makita bla bla bla, but they just dont seem to do it for me :shock: however im really interested in the "Porter Cable 7539" which is a large beast with a 3 1/4 horsepower motor.

I am mainly going to be using it in a router table with the odd hand held operation, so I thought something this powerful would be ideal for 1/2 shank cutters like panel raising etc..

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/cgi-bin/psProdDet.cgi/7539/OFT||@cRouters@b|0|user|1,0,0,1|17|
7539.jpg


Its not cheap so I cant make any mistakes at this price, I dont suppose anyone is using one here? im also a little concerned about getting spares as not many people stock these in this country.

Anyone know any other places that sell these other than rutlands?

Any help would be appreciated,
Thx
Nick :)
 
Hi Nick

Sorry, I don't know anything about the Porter Cable but I can recommend the Trend T9.

It is a very smooth router and has all of the accessories that you will ever want, available at an extra price.

One suggestion that I would make is that you will probably need to spend as much on decent cutters as you do on the router. I have a set of Freud cutters and they are excellent, they make such a difference.

Cheers
Neil
 
Ah ok, I will contact Charley & see what he thinks of it,

Im really keeping an open mind at this stage, its a minefield out there with loads of good routers to choose from.
 
Yup, If you hold your horses (I mean sawhorses :p ) and keep your eyes peeled to SDA - I may be reviewing 1 or 2 big 1/2" routers soon!

BTW Normfan - What make was your old router - I have to know :roll:
 
Norm Fan,

I watched a video of Norm for the first time yesterday! Is it worth having sky for Norm I wonder? Anyway, he was cutting some mortices I think with a router. I noticed that the plunge lock appeared to be some easily operated toggle type cam as opposed to twisting the handle as per my T5. I did quite a lot of routing yesterday and found that twisting the grip to tighten the plunge to be a bit of a pain. If you want more info, drop me a line and I will watch again to try and identify the thing.

regards

Wiz
 
Have a look at the DeWalt 625EK . That has a lever that you just push down to lock the plunge action in place. Very easy to use and as powerful a router as you would ever need. Not cheap but like people say you get what you pay for.
 
I read somewhere that the Dewalt 625EK is supposed to be a replacement for the old Elu, but I also heard of many people taking them back too, saying they are nowhere near as good.

As for that handle on norms one, im not 100% sure as you cant get enough details/photos off the net but the Porter Cable may have something like that & on the PC website there are links to the new yankee workshop so quite possibly he may use this make (oh well, in that case I just HAVE to get it now) lol.

My old router was brought from Wicks, its a "PowerBase" 1020W, the plunge action just has to be tried to be believed, you go to plunge & nothing happens, you push a little more & WHAM full plunge mode!!! lol, its real junk, im avoiding cheap things in the future, some are ok like my Ferm biscuit jointer, this is actually cheap but well made, cant say the same for the router though.

Reviews would be great James, hope you can get some up soon as I dont know how much longer I can hold out with this powerbase junk :p

Nick :wink:
 
I'm awaiting some phone calls, hopefully in an ideal world they will be done soon - I may not actually put the reviews up, but if you like Nick - I'll drop you an email of my initial impressions!
 
Yes that would be good James, thanks, I appreciate that.

So, "wood1000" you have used this one eh? how do you find it? any bad points? im going to order the fine height adjuster with it as well as without this it seems to be lacking any features, the smaller 7529 on the other hand seems to have it all, a little knob you turn to raise or lower the bit, where as the 7539 from what I can see in magazines lacks any refinements like this & in its place is sheer brute power, & weight of course!

Am I correct in thinking this? have you got the fine adjuster & if so how exactly does it work as from what I can tell it just threads into the body of the machine, no idea how it alters the height of the cutter/base.

Thx,
Nick :)
 
More info...

American Woodworker from 2001/2002 Tool Buyers Guide states on the 7539
"This machine is similar to the 7518 but in a plunge base.....will handle the biggest of router bits... height lock lever is large and easy to use...no micro adjust knob...adding one means replacing the turret system, which is critical to plunging applications."

Have you considered the Freud FT2000....plenty of umph, fine height adjust and about 50% of price. Just a thought.

Rgds

Noel
 
Norm Fan":ayseju8b said:
Yes that would be good James, thanks, I appreciate that.

So, "wood1000" you have used this one eh? how do you find it? any bad points? im going to order the fine height adjuster with it as well as without this it seems to be lacking any features, the smaller 7529 on the other hand seems to have it all, a little knob you turn to raise or lower the bit, where as the 7539 from what I can see in magazines lacks any refinements like this & in its place is sheer brute power, & weight of course!

Am I correct in thinking this? have you got the fine adjuster & if so how exactly does it work as from what I can tell it just threads into the body of the machine, no idea how it alters t"he height of the cutter/base.

Thx,
Nick :)

I don't have a fine adjuster. I use the router for running big 3" bits.
In the states some people have fine adjuster try www.shopnotes.com
 
Thanks Noely for those links, appreciate it!

I will certainly take a look at the Freud & all other makes before I purchase anything.

Nick :wink:
 

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