Duane Bledsoe
12-14-2010, 11:53 PM
I got a Craftsman router with two bases (plunge and fixed) for Christmas (ahem...EARLY Christmas :D).
Also I got a Craftsman router table, which I picked out originally, but after seeing it close up out of the box I was not happy with it. It had the laminated MDF top which was not bad but it was sitting on a plastic frame for support that felt very thin and weak, and legs were made to fold up too so it left the entire assembly feel very wrickity and shakey. Also the router just clamped on underneath it and there was no real way to center it without using a centering cone that I don't yet own one of, and it did not fit tightly in the cutout so there was as much as 1/8 inch of play for it to be out of center. Then the fence felt very cheaply made. Thin plastic faces that slide sideways but once they extend past the main fence then they feel as if they would bend easily. The outfeed side was adjustable by as much as 1/16 inch for joining purposes and that was OK I guess (I don't really know being new to woodworking and all) but you just loosen the screw and insert a shim to get it. Anyway, last night I returned it and decided to wait before buying another one to look around some and see what else is available. I had originally got it on sale for $80 (was $120). The router had been that same price on sale and I felt like it was a steal but the table for that price made me feel like I'd been robbed in return.
Then today I was at Lowe's to get materials for a job and stumbled across a router table with a plunge router included for the same price that I had paid for the Craftsman table ($80). I'm thinking that I still need a table and this one looked decent to start out with, not as flimsy built as the Craftsman table was, and the router would bolt on instead of clamping on, and as a bonus IT ALSO CAME WITH A ROUTER!
Now I love the Craftsman router I have here already, it's about the best deal I've seen from shopping around for them. It uses both 1/4 or 1/2 inch shank bits, has two bases, 2 HP motor, variable speeds, work lights, electronic feedback to maintain constant RPMs, the whole works, just features on top of features. So inspite of the new table having a router, I'm keeping the Craftsman.
But gaining an extra router to leave permanently attached to the table was a real bonus in my view. This way I don't have to take the motor out and put it in a table mounted base to use the table. Now I will have a free hand router, plunge or fixed base whichever I need, and also a table to use at a minute's notice with no hassles. The new router however is only a 1/4 inch shank type but at the moment that's what all my bits are as well. Also it's only 10 amps which will be a little less powerful but for my uses starting out I believe that would be OK as well.
The table has the same basic top as the Craftsman table did, MDF and laminated. But the legs are a lot stronger feeling, made of ABS plastic about 1/8 inch thick and well reinforced. The router bolts on instead of clamping and it's dead on centered, no adjustment necessary or even possible, and the fence seems to be a bit better made as well. It has sliding faces but each one has two screws with wingnuts instead of only one so it's not possible for them to bend nearly as easily being held at each end by a screw instead of only in the middle. The outfeed side of the fence is adjustable by as much as 9/16 inch as well which is a good bit more than the Craftsman was, and it does not require shims but instead it has a knob to loosen it, adjust it, and retighten to hold it set in place. As a matter of fact, all the adjustments on the fence have knobs for easy grasp to loosen and tighten (except the wingnuts on the fence panels) so it's much easier to adjust fence depth than the Craftsman was (it only had T shaped grips on the screws that were smaller than I'd like). All in all, this table is a much better built "starter" table. The only thing I sacrificed with this table vs. the other one is a lack of a featherboard, but I can add one for $20 if needed.
Only one flaw with it that I found (and I'm not sure it's a flaw but if it isn't then I don't understand it fully). The scales printed on the table are not dead accurate. The one on the right is, but the one on the left is 1/8 inch off exactly. So the fence setting at zero on the right, it reads 1/8 inch on the left. If it's at zero on both then it is not parallel to the miter slot. I can work around this though, and for $80, to have the nicer table and an additional router to boot, I'm leaps and bounds ahead right now.
Also I got a Craftsman router table, which I picked out originally, but after seeing it close up out of the box I was not happy with it. It had the laminated MDF top which was not bad but it was sitting on a plastic frame for support that felt very thin and weak, and legs were made to fold up too so it left the entire assembly feel very wrickity and shakey. Also the router just clamped on underneath it and there was no real way to center it without using a centering cone that I don't yet own one of, and it did not fit tightly in the cutout so there was as much as 1/8 inch of play for it to be out of center. Then the fence felt very cheaply made. Thin plastic faces that slide sideways but once they extend past the main fence then they feel as if they would bend easily. The outfeed side was adjustable by as much as 1/16 inch for joining purposes and that was OK I guess (I don't really know being new to woodworking and all) but you just loosen the screw and insert a shim to get it. Anyway, last night I returned it and decided to wait before buying another one to look around some and see what else is available. I had originally got it on sale for $80 (was $120). The router had been that same price on sale and I felt like it was a steal but the table for that price made me feel like I'd been robbed in return.
Then today I was at Lowe's to get materials for a job and stumbled across a router table with a plunge router included for the same price that I had paid for the Craftsman table ($80). I'm thinking that I still need a table and this one looked decent to start out with, not as flimsy built as the Craftsman table was, and the router would bolt on instead of clamping on, and as a bonus IT ALSO CAME WITH A ROUTER!
Now I love the Craftsman router I have here already, it's about the best deal I've seen from shopping around for them. It uses both 1/4 or 1/2 inch shank bits, has two bases, 2 HP motor, variable speeds, work lights, electronic feedback to maintain constant RPMs, the whole works, just features on top of features. So inspite of the new table having a router, I'm keeping the Craftsman.
But gaining an extra router to leave permanently attached to the table was a real bonus in my view. This way I don't have to take the motor out and put it in a table mounted base to use the table. Now I will have a free hand router, plunge or fixed base whichever I need, and also a table to use at a minute's notice with no hassles. The new router however is only a 1/4 inch shank type but at the moment that's what all my bits are as well. Also it's only 10 amps which will be a little less powerful but for my uses starting out I believe that would be OK as well.
The table has the same basic top as the Craftsman table did, MDF and laminated. But the legs are a lot stronger feeling, made of ABS plastic about 1/8 inch thick and well reinforced. The router bolts on instead of clamping and it's dead on centered, no adjustment necessary or even possible, and the fence seems to be a bit better made as well. It has sliding faces but each one has two screws with wingnuts instead of only one so it's not possible for them to bend nearly as easily being held at each end by a screw instead of only in the middle. The outfeed side of the fence is adjustable by as much as 9/16 inch as well which is a good bit more than the Craftsman was, and it does not require shims but instead it has a knob to loosen it, adjust it, and retighten to hold it set in place. As a matter of fact, all the adjustments on the fence have knobs for easy grasp to loosen and tighten (except the wingnuts on the fence panels) so it's much easier to adjust fence depth than the Craftsman was (it only had T shaped grips on the screws that were smaller than I'd like). All in all, this table is a much better built "starter" table. The only thing I sacrificed with this table vs. the other one is a lack of a featherboard, but I can add one for $20 if needed.
Only one flaw with it that I found (and I'm not sure it's a flaw but if it isn't then I don't understand it fully). The scales printed on the table are not dead accurate. The one on the right is, but the one on the left is 1/8 inch off exactly. So the fence setting at zero on the right, it reads 1/8 inch on the left. If it's at zero on both then it is not parallel to the miter slot. I can work around this though, and for $80, to have the nicer table and an additional router to boot, I'm leaps and bounds ahead right now.