Which 1/4" router?

[flounder]

I am after a 1/4" router for hand held work and was hoping you good folk could give an unbiased, considered and qualified opinion! :wink:

At the moment I am torn between the Trend T5 and the Dewalt DW621K. I would like a fine height adjuster and preferably a fine adjuster for the fence. Can anyone comment on the relative merits of one verses the other, or is there something else that knocks the socks off both? My budget is in the £200-£250 range.

Many thanks as always!

 

[mailee]

Out of those choices I would go for the DW 621 but it depends on what you want to use the router for? This model has the silly person switch that has to be held on where the T5 is a slide on/off switch but of a lower quality to the De Walt. My personal preference would be the DW 615 which is almost the same machine but has the slide switch but no dust extraction through the post. To give an example if you were routing signs with the 621 it would be painful to keep the switch held on for any length of time. This of course is just my opinion on the subject. I do have the DW615 and the Trend T5 but have not used the 621. HTH. :wink:

 

[woodbloke]

I'd go for the T5 rather than the deWalt - Rob

 

[Mr Ed]

I'd go for the T5 rather than the deWalt - Rob

I wouldn't - the trend routers I've used have been poor in comparison to DeWalt.

Ed

 

[chippy1970]

Gotta disagree Trend T5's are absolute rubbish. Where as the 621 is a much better quality router ,even though it has the Dewalt badge on it :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have had 2 T5's in the past and both were rubbish they are supposed to be based on the old Elu 96e but they are not fit to wipe the Elu's A**e.

I gave up on the T5 and bought a Festool in the end but if your budget doesnt stretch to one of them then I would say go for the 621.

 

[awkwood]

I have two Elu 96e's both have been good, they are used full time and are about 20 years old now, i would certainly recommend one. but they are no longer made but the Dewalt 615 is the same machine. (but its around £50. cheaper than my elu was 20 years ago)
I also have a metabo ofe 1229e. i like this one i has a good depth gauge and very powerful motor,
The trend T5 is ok but ive had a few problems with the variable speed.

 

[JonnyD]

I would go for the dewalt 621k. Its a nice router and as mailee says the switch takes a bit of getting used too but once you have used it for a while it becomes intuative. The switch can be left on and there is no need to keep it pressed on while using the router. I have a dewalt 615 and 621K as well as a festool of1010 as my 1/4 inch routers and i would say the dewalt is as good as the festool and the dewalt has better dust extraction and the fine adjuster works well. I have used a T5 and found it to be very ordinary.

Cheers

Jon

 

[flounder]

Thanks to you all for sharing your experiences. I must admit that the Metabo is not one I had considered, but on the balance of things I think the 621k is edging it and will be the one I go for.

 

[big soft moose]

Ive got a DW621 which i got second hand for £90 and i have to say its the dogs danglies - far better than the ryobi one it replaced.

That said i/we seem to be collecting routers like some people collect planes because I also have a baby bosch, a tend T11 in the table, an elu in the routergraph, and a cheap wickes effort which goes out on site with a generator when routing is needed in the field

 

[Smudger]

Gotta disagree Trend T5's are absolute rubbish. Where as the 621 is a much better quality router ,even though it has the Dewalt badge on it :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have had 2 T5's in the past and both were rubbish they are supposed to be based on the old Elu 96e but they are not fit to wipe the Elu's A**e.

I gave up on the T5 and bought a Festool in the end but if your budget doesnt stretch to one of them then I would say go for the 621.

I get on very well with mine! If you're going to damn it you really ought to say what is wrong with it.

 

[mailee]

Ok Dick, Here goes. I found my T5 was quite rough on the plunge compared to the DW and the base plate is bonded on rather than screwed on like the DW. Also the general feel of the T5 is cheap in comparison not to mention the spindle lock being open to the elements. JMHO. :wink:

 

[Smudger]

Thanks. I have had the sticky plunge problem (needed lubricating), but no other serious issues. My main complaint would be that the speed setting sometimes changes itself, and that once it fell off the bench and managed to turn itself on. It handles pretty well, in my limited experience.

I just think that if someone is about to spend 200+ notes and asks for advice, someone simply saying "A is sh*t, B is diamonds" isn't much help to them.

 

[chippy1970]

Thanks. I have had the sticky plunge problem (needed lubricating), but no other serious issues. My main complaint would be that the speed setting sometimes changes itself, and that once it fell off the bench and managed to turn itself on. It handles pretty well, in my limited experience.

I just think that if someone is about to spend 200+ notes and asks for advice, someone simply saying "A is sh*t, B is diamonds" isn't much help to them.

As for not being helpful I find that very offensive Smudger as I am always on here giving my professional opinion and help to lots of people and if someone was to do a SEARCH then they would find that I must have posted many times about the T5 router in great detail so thought that I didnt need to repeat myself over and over again but just to keep you quiet read below......

OK here goes as said above by Mailee really, my first T5 had a wobbly spindle (not the collet) so there is no way you could rout anything with any accuracy then after many months of messing about with Trend they swapped it for a new one after using the new one twice the base plate (which is glued on not screwed on as per ELU / Dewalt) fell off. The plunge rods are not smooth at all and its not just a matter of lubing them you can just tell they feel very cheap and nasty.

As for the 621 I dont personally own one but have used one and they feel much better quality than the T5 and if you can get a US one it takes 1/2" bits which the UK one doesnt.

I was about to buy the Dewalt 621 myself but decided to spend the extra and get the Festool OF1010. Shame you didnt get one before christmas I noticed Rutlands were selling the OF1010 kit for about £300 which is nearly in your budget. Its gone back upto £350 now.

Hope this is helpful

Chris

 

[Smudger]

I don't mean to be offensive, but if someone asks for advice I think we should give them advice, not one-line put downs.

On the plus side for the Trend, and one of the reasons I bought mine, is that it is part of a system, so I know that I can buy accessories and jigs and they work with the router, and also with the T11 if I ever need one. For me that was a big positive.
I've said that I agree about the plunge, but mine isn't too bad, except when neglected. I'm comparing it with B&D and Bosch routers I've had in the past, so not with 'professional' kit.

 

[Racers]

Hi,

How about the Hitachi and Makita 1/4 inch ones the makita 1110c looks very good. I have a Hitachi M8V which is a very nice router.

Pete

 

[chippy1970]

I don't mean to be offensive, but if someone asks for advice I think we should give them advice, not one-line put downs.

On the plus side for the Trend, and one of the reasons I bought mine, is that it is part of a system, so I know that I can buy accessories and jigs and they work with the router, and also with the T11 if I ever need one. For me that was a big positive.
I've said that I agree about the plunge, but mine isn't too bad, except when neglected. I'm comparing it with B&D and Bosch routers I've had in the past, so not with 'professional' kit.

I can only compare with pro stuff, last time I had a DIY router was when I got my first router for christmas in about 1983 when I was 13 a Black & Decker one.

The Trend is priced as a Trade router but in my view and many others doesnt come up to scratch, maybe the new T5 just out is slightly better who knows. I need a really accurate router that is sturdy and will last and the T5 didnt tick any of these boxes for me and I did own two of them so I think I have given them a fair try.


I cannot say too much about the ones Pete has recommended I have used the Hitachi lots of times I dont like the feel of them they never had soft start I dont know if they have now. Makita wise I have only used the big old 1/2" Makita and that felt very clunky no finese also the wing nuts kept vibrating loose on the one I used they had no springs under them like other routers have to stop this but these are simple things that can be sorted out.

 

[mailee]

I do have two of the Hitachi M12V's and one is permanently mounted in the table. It is a great machine for table use but as has been said it is a little bit clunky for hand held. I have had problems in the past with the speed controler though.