Help me choose a router (wood router that is)

[-CB-]

Well.... I've been workin' my butt off, and taking on a few projects, one of which is laying in some Pergo flooring.

Thats the good news.  Bad news is the flooring is not right.  The tongues are about .015-.020 wider than the grooves.  You can beat the living snot out of two sections and they "may" get together, but the seams aren't close and you either break tongues or grooves from whacking, or split the groove where the oversize tongue is forced into it.

So... now I have to rework about 400 board feet of Pergo....

I am not buying a router table or shaper... I have no need, no room, and no desire for that.

What I want to do, is rig up a one purpose use "jig/table" to trim the Pergo, and thats that.  One set up, run it thru, and be done with it.

That means I need to buy a router.  

Porter Cable?  Bosch?  Dewalt?

Sort of leaning toward the Dewalt 616, but... Porter Cable comes recommended, the 690.  Bosch too, the wassit.. 1617 or 1817... something like that, but, they say the Bosch is known for its power switches getting full of dust and failing.

Looking for some feedback here, want to keep the router under $150 if I can.

Thanks!

 

[Alfang]

First I'm surprised about the pergo issue.

I have a craftsman 2 1/2 HP router in my CNC routing machine that I'm happy with, it was $85.00

I know it's not the top of the line, I haven't heard anything bad about the bosch, in fact have only heard good things. Keep the dust out of the switch I guess.

I bet all the major brands have a good product, you will probably be pleased with any brand name router for around $100.00

I'm getting ready to rip up my pergo floor I installed in the bathroom 10 years ago, I'm surprised it lasted this long as my 19 yr old son seems to drip dry after a shower. Once the water gets in there it slowly starts to swell and compound the issue. the pergo in the kitchen dinning room is still fine

 

[-CB-]

Me thinks this Pergo sat in a damp place for a long time..... I've gotten out the calipers and feeler gauges... and had it sit in blizzard A/C for a week, some change, but not enough

 

[m4rk0]

I have a craftsman 2 1/2 HP router in my CNC routing machine that I'm happy with, it was $85.00

sorry CB for going off topic, but alfang, do you know if that Craftsman is suitable for routing a body (the whole thing)? I was actually looking at that one last weekend..

 

[Graffiti62]

My dad has had his Makita for years, and my Black and Decker is older than I am, but at the same time, that thing is all metal. If you own a table saw, have you thought about getting a dado set?  You will save a lot of money and still achieve the same results.

 

[djf67]

I bought a cheap one previously. POS. Wouldn't hold the bit, wouldn't hold height setting. Threw it's bearings after routing 1/2 of one body.
I now have a deWalt 625E.
Brilliant piece of kit. I've done 7 bodies plus copies for their templates, etc. Works like a dream.

 

[stubhead]

Beaver-on-a-Stick....

 

[Alfang]

Cetral, if that's your real name, I have routed a couple bodies with it in my cnc machine, plus tons of other stuff

And the Craftsman router is part of my cnc machine

 

[tubby.twins]

I bought a Ridgid R2401 laminate trimmer and used it to add a pickup route to a bass body.  It worked perfectly.

Whatever you do, don't buy Skil.

 

[Graffiti62]

My dad has had his Makita for years, and my Black and Decker is older than I am, but at the same time, that thing is all metal. If you own a table saw, have you thought about getting a dado set?  You will save a lot of money and still achieve the same results.

Well... technically... I "could" run it through the table saw vertically, and just "kiss" the tonge with it.  To do it right, I'd need to make a sacrificial fence, inset the blade into that, so in that manner, the blade could never go "too far" into the material, and I'll I'd have to do is keep the material tight to the fence.  Should it stray, it could be "re-kissed" and fixed up.  That thought occurred to me.  But to do that, I'd need a decent saw, and my table saw was somebody elses throw away, has no fence.  I clamp a hardwood beam to it as a fence for making cuts ok to maybe 1/32 of an inch if I'm very very good.  For this, I'd need to take 1/64 inch off repeatably and consistantly... smoothly... evenly... I think a router would be better, but I'm still looking.

I've wanted a decent small table saw.  The Bosch is the best table setup, best fence etc.  Folds well, but the motor is terrible, known with a bad reputation for its PC board going to toast.  The Dewalt... ok, but the fence is not as sturdy, but it gets high marks.  Has no stand, and I "could" get a Bosch stand which is great, and mount the Dewalt to it.... except, the Dewalt will not accept dado blades.  Sigh.

I have a basket case table saw like that as well. It runs like a top for being a little guy, and the fence holds really well and can be trusted. The only thing wrong with it when I bought it was the motor. There is something funky with the motor that keeps it from starting itself properly. In order to get it running, you need a little piece of scrap to kick-start the blade, and then it runs like a top. I bought if for $10 at the local pawn shop, and for what I do, it definitely does the trick. I'll eventually put a different motor in it, but its not on my list of things to do.

 

[Graffiti62]

I bought a Ridgid R2401 laminate trimmer and used it to add a pickup route to a bass body.  It worked perfectly.

Whatever you do, don't buy Skil.

I agree with the issues with Skil. Old ones were built like tanks, but when Bosch bought Skil in '96, they turned it into a budget line, much like HP did when they acquired Compaq ten years ago.

 

[iamdavidmorris]

Here's the one I use, and it's routed two guitar bodies:

http://www.toolsnow.com/RYOBI-Factory-Reconditioned-Plunge-Router-ZRRE180PL/dp/B0054K2ADG?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

It's a good, cheap router.  Around the $150 (a little over), I'd go for this one.  I've heard good things:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&ds=pr&sugexp=ldymls&pq=ryobi+router&xhr=t&q=hitachi+router&cp=8&qe=aHVpdGFjaGkgcm91dGVy&qesig=8RFtWHoq0kB4VfEyPkKrsA&pkc=AFgZ2tn4Nu285S5ljYLmK8mxdD5WjWDyKjYv5vfA8KjMKVxOfiCH71z5Mas8XfXH5wBjQzIiEnQr9FHgK36DuBkI6Qh4tuQCRg&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1440&bih=785&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13224918025128910936&sa=X&ei=1xXvTey5Os2DtgfjhoS3Cg&sqi=2&ved=0CGkQ8wIwAQ

For guitar work, I like having a lot of power.  Some of the woods we use are beastly.  Plunge ability is important too, for cavities and such.  I'd also look for a 1/2" collet.  For Pergo floorboards, you're fine with any reliable brand, I'd think.  As others have said, avoid Skil.  Avoid Black & Decker, while you're at it.  I don't love DeWalt as much as I used too either, but Porter Cable makes some of the best routers around, especially if you can afford a good one.

Hope that helps.

 

[AutoBat]

I agree with the issues with Skil. Old ones were built like tanks, but when Bosch bought Skil in '96, they turned it into a budget line, much like HP did when they acquired Compaq ten years ago.

Compaq was always a joke brand.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I routinely get to work on the hand held grinders at work.  I know from first hand experience that taking apart and putting all of them back together that the Bosch ones are quite easy to do this with because the design is well thought out.  I have gotten to the point of knowing that it requires only four of the screws and a bottle of contact cleaner with the Bosch ones, and the grinder will live again in no time.  While they do fail in a sense, they need work, the overall design makes working on them is much nicer than some of the cheaper models we have.
Patrick

 

[-CB-]

Beaver-on-a-Stick....

My favorite lollypop!


Went to two Home Depot's, and a Lowe's today.  Got to play with Porter-Cable, Ryobi (which his Home Depot brand), Skil, DeWalt, and Ridgid.

Ridgid was a big unit, not good for my use.  I could get by with a laminate trimmer for this job, but if I'm gonna buy one, want something more versatile.

Porter-Cable - nicely made, seemed ok.  What I dont like, is the motor housing revolves as you adjust the elevation.  In a router table or on my jig, thats gonna be a little funky to use.  Also the on/off switch was weird on the two I looked at.  Thought it was the one at the first store, maybe the display had a weird switch, so at the second Home Depot, I opened the box... weird switch.  Hard to get at.

Skil - beyond sleazo.  All gadget, and seemed flimsy.  Little lips and locks and windows... all plastic.  Fuggetabouddit.

DeWalt... they had a bigger variable speed (not needed, and everything I have that is variable speed fails to dust it seems....).  Also had a smaller one, 1-3/4 HP, fixed speed and a nice big switch like on the back of a blackface Fender amp.  Sold me. 

So, I went online, found Amazon had 'em with two choices - $124 and free shipping, or $124 and $20 back.  Shipping was $11, so I saved $9 getting the instant Amazon rebate - and - DeWalt has a father's day thing ... another $20 back.  That made it easy.  The DeWalt has a very nice ring to turn to elevate it, which will make table/jig use mo'easier.

Now I have to get the crap to build up the floor trimming jig....  and get some meat time into some other projects... been busy here folks.