Which router for a router table.

[John Shuk]

I recently bought a Bench-Dog cast iron roter table to go on my new Unisaw (when I get it) and am wondering which Router people would vote for. The two I am considering are the Hitachi M12V 3 1/4 HP and the Porter Cable 7518 3 1/4 HP. The price difference is about $130 at regular price and maybe a little better if I catch a sale. The table insert is ready to take the PC and I would have to buy an adapter for the Hitachi I think. If there are any other routers you know of I would love to hear about it and would love to hear from owners of both. They both seem pretty solid and I wonder why the big price difference is there but it is. Thanks.
John
PS. I promise picks of the gloats when they come in!

[Jim Becker]

Well...I'm a fan of the PC 7518 in a router table, but the pricing on the M12V is often very compelling if you are not going to use a lift. ($159 recently via Amazon)

BTW, don't forget pics of that workbench's new home!! :)

[Pete Rosenbohm]

I have m12v and couldn't be happier, have several Deltas for hand held use, and a couple Craftsman for dust collection :D :rolleyes:

[Don Selke]

John:
I have had the Hitachi TR-12 which was the forerunner to the M12V for the past fifteen years and it has been a real work horse for me. I have been using it in the router table for the past 10 years and it has power to spare. The only draw back is it does not have a 1/4" collet but has a adapter for 1/4" bits. With the exception of a hand full of bits, mine are all 1/2.
I have learned that JessEm now has a Master Lift which will accept my TR-12 as well as the M12V. In addition, Woodpeck has a lift that will work for the M12V but not the TR-12.
Good luck in your purchase.

[Mark Singer]

I have the Hitachi! Very nice!

[Michael Cody]

I have a Makita 3612c .. in a table.. it's an awesome router, smooth working, powerful .. pricing with 25$ coupy at Amazon is around 225 or so... worth considering but the price, don't see how you can not go the Hitachi route, it's been a well liked machine for a long time.

[Fred Voorhees]

I have had the Hitachi in my router table for a number of years and am very satisfied with it. It is a plunge router but is easily adapted to router table use and utilizes a raising and lowering knob. You won't be hurt by getting this router and as others have said, the price is looking pretty nice these days. I purchased mine for $200, but you can easily get it for around $50 less these days. Don't forget to get the raising knob if it doesn't come with it - though I think these days, it's included in the price.

[Gene Collison]

I recently bought a Bench-Dog cast iron roter table to go on my new Unisaw (when I get it) and am wondering which Router people would vote for. The two I am considering are the Hitachi M12V 3 1/4 HP and the Porter Cable 7518 3 1/4 HP. The price difference is about $130 at regular price and maybe a little better if I catch a sale. The table insert is ready to take the PC and I would have to buy an adapter for the Hitachi I think. If there are any other routers you know of I would love to hear about it and would love to hear from owners of both. They both seem pretty solid and I wonder why the big price difference is there but it is. Thanks.
John
PS. I promise picks of the gloats when they come in!
_____________
I used to own a 7518, mine had a lot of run out in the collets that I didn't like. I also got tired of chasing the switch, the stamped wrenches, the excessive noise, the speed adjustment getting jammed with sawdust etc. So I dumped it and bought a Milwaukee 5625-20 when they first came out. I like it very much, to my way of thinking it is the best router for a table. I haven't found anything really to dislike about the Milwaukee, and compared to the 7518 I am much happier and totally satisfied with it. Milwaukee has the best collets and bearings in the business and that's where it's at in routers. Zero runout is what makes for a smooth cut. I also own a couple Dewalts, a Hitachi and Festool. They are all good tools but not like the big Milwaukee. edit, Forgot to add, with the big Milwaukee, above the table adjustment is built into the router and the adjustor is included along with an extra base and set of handles. It's all there, and designed for table use, nothing extra to buy. Forged wrenches, the works! The hole pattern is the same as the 7518 BTW.

Gene

[Greg Griswold]

I have the Hitachi M12 and am very satisfied with it. I have it in a router lift from Woodpeckers and it works fine after a few slight modifications.

I wanted the 7518 and a PRL lift, but the cost steered me to the Hitachi. No regrets so far.

Greg

[John Shuk]

My master plan is to add a lift in not too distant future. As with many things I may wind up taking longer than I expect to get said lift. I am also going to check out that Milwaukee. I have always been a fan of their tools and have a smaller router from the that I like. Since funds are low since X-Mas I will hold off on the router for a short while. Maybe I'll find that Hitachi at $129.00 in the mean time. How can it sell so cheap?
Jim,
That bench will be posted soon. I have some shifting around to do so it hasn't hit it's permanent home yet.
Thanks for all the input
John

[Norman Hitt]

I have 5 routers, but the Hitachi M12V is dedicated to my router table (replaced my DW-625 there), and I'm very pleased with it. I'm currently building a new router table for my Buddy's recently purchased M12V and Woodpecker Liftplate. He bought his New, with more goodies included for the same price that I paid for mine a year ago and mine was a reconditioned unit. They are strong, durable, and the best bang for the buck going right now IMHO.

Have fun, whatever you decide on.

[John Lucas]

I am a fan of the M12V and have 3 in tables, one with WoodRat and one for manual. In the tablesm I have with RouterRaiser...work fine. If you Google this, you will see 20 odd pages of H M12V info.
I also have big PC in Jessem lift,,,an outstanding combination.

[Bill Arnold]

I recently purchased the Hitachi M12V based on recommendations from folks here on the forum. Got it from Amazon for $159.99 which is a good price. Then one of the posters here mentioned he had purchased his for $127.99 a couple of weeks earlier. Not being shy about trying to get a better deal, I sent an e-mail to Amazon asking them to honor the lower pricing since I had placed my order shortly after their sale ended. They entered a credit for $32 on my card. Sometimes all ya gotta do is ask -- or did I just get lucky?

Anyway, I've used a Bosch 1617EVS in my table for years and was satisfied with it. It was time to replace it with a more powerful machine, so I went with the M12V. It's mounted in a Jet Xacta Lift (same as Jess-Em). No modifications were necessary except to remove the handles on the router. I ran the M12V for several hours yesterday making some HBDT drawers and it never wavered.

[Ron Robinson]

I bought the smaller (less h.p.) Porter Cable 890 with above the table adjustments. Precision height adjustment and one tool bit changes above the table without purchasing a lift. Granted, the hp may be an issue at some point, but so far everything I've tried has worked including panel raising. Now if I could just finish my router table.

Ron

[Joe Scarfo]

I have the 7518 in mine and love it...

Tks
Joe

[Jerry Bittner]

Just purchased the Hitachi M12 3 1.4 HP via
Amazon for $139. Used it this past week and could not be more pleased with the performance. Quiet and powerful.

[Steve Clardy]

Guess I'll have to say Porter Cable. I have 15 of them.

[Kent Cori]

Another M12V here on sale from Amazon. The price was just too good to pass up. However, if the price had been closer, I'd probably have gone with the Freud. Nothing wrong with the Hitachi but it sure is crude by comparison with my Bosch 1617EVSPK. The Freud looks like it might be a little better quality.

[Bill Arnold]

... Nothing wrong with the Hitachi but it sure is crude by comparison with my Bosch 1617EVSPK. The Freud looks like it might be a little better quality.
Kent,

Just curious -- what do you find crude about the M12V? I have three 1617EVS routers and find them to be great machines. The collet on the M12V is different but the way it's built I can change bits from above the table.

Regards,

[Aaron Montgomery]

I've got an M12V in my table as well and find it superior to the Bosch 1615EVS I was using previously. It's got equivilant power and I love the 1/4 turn bit changes. I'm using a Router Raizer with the M12V - couldn't buy one for the 1615. The M12V was also much less than half of what I paid for the 1615 ten years ago.

[John Weber]

John,

I think the Hitachi is fine, and lots of guys use them, but I really like the Porter Cable routers. I had a 3 hp PC in my router table until I upgraded to a shaper. I'm not sure if it's worth the extra $$$, but they are nice routers. I also like Gene's idea about the bigger Milwaukee router.

John

[Pete Harbin]

Another couple votes for the M12V. I replaced a smaller PC (690) in my table and my Dad just replaced a Bosch in his.

Pete

[Ed Hardin]

I vote for the Milwaukee :)

[John Shuk]

Doess anyone know if the Milwaukee is the same size as the Porter Cable. In looking around I see many accessories are built to fit the PC spec. If I go with the Milwaukee then I would like to be able to use the Bench Dogs lift eventually as well. Maybe I have to call Bench Dog.

[Gene Collison]

The Milwaukee already has a built in lift, you really won't need another. All that needs to be done is drill an access hole for the adjustor. I am thinking the motor diameter is the same size but I am not really sure. I know the hole pattern is. It probably would be best to contact Bench Dog in this regard, they would know. If your thinking bit changing, it's very simple and easy. Open the clamp, place your hand on the bottom of the motor, press the release button and the router motor will drop down to a safety catch. Wiggle the motor a bit and it's in your hand. If you buy this router, you will be amazed with the lack of runout and how much better and smoother it is compared to a router with runout which most 3hp routers seem to have. A lot of it is due to the precision collets, the rest is probably in the build quality. It's a nice tool!



Gene

[John Shuk]

I am thinking pretty hard about it. I do like Milwaukee tools I'm certainly going to get more info. I'm good at that I hate to spend money but I love to spends monthes if not years deciding what to get.

[Bob Johnson2]

I use the Dewalt 625, don't get one. Plenty of power but it's a hassel to get to the bits, they also stick in the collett every time. You pretty much have to remove it from the table to change the bits. Come to think of it it doesn't raise up high enough either, I end up having to leave the bit about 1/2 way out of the collett, not the best thing to do.