Bosch Colt Plunge base

[Bruce Wrenn]

It's coming in August. Bosch part # PR011. Price just north of $80. It's in their new catalog. Sure would like to have a proto type to try out!

[glenn bradley]

Hooray! Its about time. Where did you hear this?.

[Ryan Mooney]

Hmm timely information.. I've been eying the dewalt with the plunge base... I may have to reconsider (no hurry here - I can wait until August).

[Van Huskey]

This HAD to happen for them, the Dewalt/PC was the only OEM game in town. I too can wait but had planned to get the Dewalt, I am sure they will have it at IWF which is a good time to play with it. BTW part of the model number is shared with a middle eastern Bosch home vacuum, DAMHIK.

[Bill Huber]

Well its about time, but I still really like the little Dewalt and I have used it more then I ever did the Colt. Even with the plunge base when you put the Colt back into the fixed base the adjustment is still not very good, the Dewalt is excellent to adjust.

226267

Plunge Base for Palm Router

ff Smooth Plunge Action, Spring-Lock Plunge Lever Depth
Rod — For easy and precise plunge routing
ff Fine Adjustment on Depth Rod — For accurate depth setting
ff Quick-Clamp System allows motor to be
easily moved from base to base
ff Precision Centering Design — Makes it
easy to keep bit on intended cutline
ff Accepts RA1054 deluxe router
guide, RA1175 and PR012 dust
extraction hoods and RA1126
templet guide adapter

[Van Huskey]

You make some good points Bill, the fixed base is indeed better on the PC/Dewalt and the new base would have to be better not equal to sway me. There are a lot of Bosch owners like myself that would be interested in the ala carte version. Glad they are doing that.

[Rick Potter]

Thank goodness,

I thought I was the only one who didn't like his Colt. Mine is very tempermental when trying to adjust it.

Rick Potter

[Jay Jolliffe]

I have two colts & hot happy with them I went to the Dewalt & it's a much better router

[johnny means]

I can't believe the new Colt base will be much better at locking the motor in squarely than the original base. IMO the motor housing is fundamentally flawed. I won't be throwing another nickle at my Colt, let alone plopping down any substantial amount. I think Bosch dropped the ball on this one and need to start from scratch. You know what they say about lipsrick on a pig.

[Keith Outten]

If you want a plunge base for your Bosch Colt you don't have to wait. Micro Fence has one called a Three Axis Mill attachment that fits the Colt perfectly and you won't ever complain about the quality :)
.

[Keith Starosta]

If you want a plunge base for your Bosch Colt you don't have to wait. Micro Fence has one called a Three Axis Mill attachment that fits the Colt perfectly and you won't ever complain about the quality :)
.

Keith, thanks very much for that information!! Excellent timing for me. Going there now... :D


-------------------------------------------


Uhh........:eek: :eek: :eek:

Maybe I'll wait until August. $400?!


- Keith

[Bruce Page]

If you want a plunge base for your Bosch Colt you don't have to wait. Micro Fence has one called a Three Axis Mill attachment that fits the Colt perfectly and you won't ever complain about the quality :)
.

Or, you could make your own.. :)

[glenn bradley]

Or, you could make your own.. :)

No, you can make your own; I'm a klutz. For those who haven't seen it, Bruce made an extremely cool base :).

[Van Huskey]

Keith, thanks very much for that information!! Excellent timing for me. Going there now... :D


-------------------------------------------


Uhh........:eek: :eek: :eek:

Maybe I'll wait until August. $400?!


- Keith

Same reaction many people have had. It is an excellent piece of kit but you really have to want one bad.

[Bill Huber]

If you want a plunge base for your Bosch Colt you don't have to wait. Micro Fence has one called a Three Axis Mill attachment that fits the Colt perfectly and you won't ever complain about the quality :)
.

That is a very nice little base, I looked at them at one time but for $400 it was just not in my budget. Now that I have the Dewalt I am glad I didn't spend the money because the fixed base on the Colt is still not that good. For 1/2 the money I got the Dewalt with a good fixed base and a plunge base that work very well.

[Randy Henry]

I've always been a Bosch fan until recently, when my miter saw brake quit, put in a new switch and it did not fix it. Went to go get a small router, Lowes had the Dewalt 611 and the Colt in the same display. After playing with them both for just a few minutes, it was clearly obvious the Colt raising/lowering mechanism is very poor quality. I ended up getting the DW from amazon and am real happy with it. Kinda wondering why Bosch let thing go down when they used to have a very solid reputation.

[Ryan Mooney]

If you want a plunge base for your Bosch Colt you don't have to wait. Micro Fence has one called a Three Axis Mill attachment that fits the Colt perfectly and you won't ever complain about the quality :)
.

Yikes. $400 is only a start, once you add on the optional, but very useful looking accessories you're closer to a grand plus. You people are dangerous to hang around. OTOH it does have that shiny sexy look.

[Bruce Page]

No, you can make your own; I'm a klutz. For those who haven't seen it, Bruce made an extremely cool base :).

Glenn, I have seen your work; klutz doesn't come to mind! ;)

[Van Huskey]

Kinda wondering why Bosch let thing go down when they used to have a very solid reputation.

The reality is up until IWF 2010 when Dewalt introduced their new offering the Colt was the hands down favorite here in that class, except if you were willing to pay for the Festool. The Dewalt just came into the market with an excellent dual based system, and agreed the fixed base is better than the Colt. The plunge base should see well if it is a good tool, since there are a TON of Colts out there. They still have a pretty good hold on the mid-sized 2 base kits with the venerable 1617 which can hold its own against any kit and the MRC23 which is better than any I have used in the class. Overall, I think Bosch has decreased less in quality than many of the other widely available hand power tool brands.

[Keith Outten]

I knew the price of the Micro Fence 3 Axis Mill would raise some eyebrows :)

The truth is it isn't just a plunge base, it is a very accurate piece that is smooth as glass. I own one but I purchased it here in our Classifieds Forum a couple of years ago, recently I purchased the Micro Fence attachment for the base. If you do fine detail work such as inlay work on musical instruments the 3 Axis Mill is well worth the price. Other than that it is just a really beautiful piece that is a joy to hold in your hands.
.

[Van Huskey]

I knew the price of the Micro Fence 3 Axis Mill would raise some eyebrows :)

The truth is it isn't just a plunge base, it is a very accurate piece that is smooth as glass. I own one but I purchased it here in our Classifieds Forum a couple of years ago, recently I purchased the Micro Fence attachment for the base. If you do fine detail work such as inlay work on musical instruments the 3 Axis Mill is well worth the price. Other than that it is just a really beautiful piece that is a joy to hold in your hands.
.

The word jewel like comes to mind, if a Festool is a precious stone the Micro Fence is feels like a precious stone. Very nice piece for anyone that needs this precision in a small router.

[Jamie Buxton]

Y'know what annoys me about the DeWalt and the Micro Fence plunge bases? The base is darn near the same diameter as the plunge base on a full-size router. The whole point about these smaller routers is that they should be, well, smaller. Smaller can be more maneuverable, and easier to hold. But if the things are nearly the same size as their cousins, what's the point?

[Van Huskey]

Y'know what annoys me about the DeWalt and the Micro Fence plunge bases? The base is darn near the same diameter as the plunge base on a full-size router. The whole point about these smaller routers is that they should be, well, smaller. Smaller can be more maneuverable, and easier to hold. But if the things are nearly the same size as their cousins, what's the point?

Other than weight and they tend to be less top heavy, not much. It will be intersting to see how big the Bosch base is, my guess is it will be very similar.

[Rick Potter]

The reason I got the Bosch is because it is not as tall as other laminate trimmers. I have a real old PC 310 that has the knob broken off, and thought the Bosch would be a real improvement, but the PC is still easier to set up. The adjustment mechanism on the Bosche will not work smoothly, no matter what I try.

I also have a PC laminate trimmer that is tall. I put a pear shaped base on it, which is great for edge trimming, but I still don't like the height.

Rick P

[Bill Huber]

What is funny is I don't here much of anything on the Trend T4, at $100 it should be a good router for inlay work I would think and it comes with a plunge base.

[Rick Potter]

Bill,

I don't know about the Trend T4, but I was doing a lot of fluting on MDF door casings and bought a T3. When it came, it was missing several pieces, and did not always start. Returned it and Klingspor sent me a new one with no problem. I just turned it on a couple times and set it aside, because I was doing other projects by then. I took some time to build a nice fluting jig to put it on, and finally got around to using it.

It wouldn't start. Disgusted, I put the project on hold again for a while. Months later I tried it again and it started this time. I got the jig set up and tried fluting with a 3/8" bit, about 1/8" deep, and it bogged down. It was way too underpowered to handle the job. Tried it again and it wouldn't start.

Put the setup away again, tried to return it, but it was over a year old, and it was too late (no fault of Klingspor...my fault).

Showed it to my brother a couple months ago, and it started right up. Obviously it has a bad switch. My brother borrowed the fluting jig, left me the router.

I bought it because of the dust collection and the plunge. I could not find any other small router with this at the time. Judging by your experience, the T4 must be improved.

By the way, my PC laminate trimmer would do the cuts just fine....I just didn't want to eat all that MDF dust. Close to a hundred uprights I had to flute.

Rick Potter

R

[Jerome Hanby]

I've got the Trend T4. It's a nice little router, but it definitely isn't a Colt. I'd feel comfortable trimming laminate or doing decorative/inlay work with it, but I'd use the Colt on anything that comes through my shop and never think twice about it. I think the plunge on the T4 is perfect for pretty effects and inlay, but I've never used the Colt for anything where I missed it not having plunge capability. Guess I'm not doing the same kind of tasks other are because I've never had any issue with the depth control. Only routing task that springs to mind where I had to sneek up on bit height/depth was playing with a lock miter bit and that was all in the router table...

[Todd Davidson]

I think the new multi-base trim router kit from Makita is going to be a top contender.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy_AfcTftFw

http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?Name=RT0700CX3

[Bruce Page]

I think the new multi-base trim router kit from Makita is going to be a top contender.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy_AfcTftFw

http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?Name=RT0700CX3

That is a nice looking setup. I wonder if they'll sell a motor only version for the CNC folks?

[Van Huskey]

I think the new multi-base trim router kit from Makita is going to be a top contender.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy_AfcTftFw

http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?Name=RT0700CX3

Thanks, I had not seen this. You get 4 bases, dust control fitting all for $240 definately worth taking a look. In the end for me it will come down to which solution has the best plunge base (assuming the motor is solid).