Trend T11 or Dewalt 625 Router?

[Orcamesh]

Hi folks

I wonder if anyone can shine any light on these two mentioned routers and whether one or the other is best (in their opinion)!?

My father-in-law is looking to replace his old Ryobi with a new 1/2 inch router and he thinks either of these are the best options for his Woodrat.

The Trend seems to have an 80mm plunge compared with 50mm for the Dewalt.

I've got the Dewalt 625 but I do struggle with depth on the Rat, but I have no experience of the Trend.

Thanks for your help
HM

 

[chippy1970]

why not try the 626 the next model up that has a much bigger plunge length.

 

[Mike.C]

Hi HM, I have never used the Trend but the above the table height adjustment has got to be a bouns if he ever wants to use it in a router table.

Cheers

Mike

 

[andy king]

I've got the Dewalt 625 but I do struggle with depth on the Rat, but I have no experience of the Trend.

Thanks for your help
HM

Hi HM,

Are you sure you have the correct Dewalt model number listed?
The T11 is essentially the same as the DW625 with a few enhancements, but the Dewalt plunge is a little shorter at 70mm, so should be fine on the Woodrat - Martin Godfrey usually demo's with one if I recall.
Both machines are excellent, but the Trend, with it's extra bits such as table friendly adjustments as mentioned by Mike, along with some neat accessories, make it a better all rounder, but if you just want a workhorse router that has stood the test of time since it's Elu days, the DW625 will be fine - i've used one for years and still love it.

hope this helps.

cheers,
Andy

 

[Orcamesh]

Thanks for all your comments.

626 model, well not sure of price and I was just passing on my father-in-laws question so this wasn't in his list! but we can take a look at the difference.

Andy - yep, I have the DW625EK. I have been using it on my Woodrat for years but sometimes probably due to some of my router bits being a bit short on shank length I run into plunge depth problems. This is probably due to a few (not a high percentage I might add!) of my router bits being somewhat on the cheap side of the market and are seldom used but sometimes one is needed for a quick cut! When I said I have trouble with depth using my 625 I should have written "only occasionally", sorry about misleading you on that. For most jobs it is absolutely fine.

cheers
Steve

 

[andy king]

Ah I see - it was just that you initially wrote that the DW625 has 50mm of plunge that made me question if you had written the right model number.
I've got an eliminator chuck for fast bit swaps as well as gaining an extra few millimetres in certain applications, plus i've fitted a RouterRaizer and have an Xtreme Xtension for table work on my own DW625. A bit pricy, but all fantastic upgrades in my mind, although the T11 has its own built in version of the RouterRaizer. I would have likely gone for that one had it been available at the time I got my DeWalt.
cheers,
Andy

 

[Orcamesh]

Yes, I did, apologies, I was in a rush and just wrote down what my father-in-law had said to me about thme on the phone. He may well have got the specs wrong and I couldnt remember off the top of my head.

I agree about the range of plunge extension kit you can get, it is just another one of those "roundtuits". As I have only just really got going again recently in my workshop, bought a new table saw (=now skint), new router gadgets haven't been on my shopping list but maybe now I am using it more often I will have to take the plunge (no pun intended!)!!

The Trend wasn't available when I bought my Dewalt too, and at the time I just went with the fact that the dewalt was based on the old Elus, even though at the time I knew that many people had commented on the differences between Elu and Dewalt. It has done pretty much everything I have asked of it so I have no regrets.

cheers
Steve

Ah I see - it was just that you initially wrote that the DW625 has 50mm of plunge that made me question if you had written the right model number.
I've got an eliminator chuck for fast bit swaps as well as gaining an extra few millimetres in certain applications, plus i've fitted a RouterRaizer and have an Xtreme Xtension for table work on my own DW625. A bit pricy, but all fantastic upgrades in my mind, although the T11 has its own built in version of the RouterRaizer. I would have likely gone for that one had it been available at the time I got my DeWalt.
cheers,
Andy