Bosch 1617EVSTB 2-1/4 HP Fixed-Base Electronic Router and Router Table Base

[marlin adams]

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/53bd0cc4-97fd-4e53-aefb-e63f578b8061_1.43890e7ffa3aa800f21be5885bb61b2e.jp eg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF I am looking to buy a new router to use on my router table and come across this. Now the base they are selling seperately is it the same base as on the router? From what I read of the manual on the router it advise I can use a 1/8 hex key to fine adjust it and that is just the router manual I look up. If that is the case why would I need a seperate base for the router table? Or is it just for swapping the router from table back to fix base which will never happen since I already have 2 fix base routers and a plunge router.

[marlin adams]

Okay after a little more research it is the same base :) So instead of spending alot I can just buy the router and mount it on my table :)

[Nick Decker]

Marlin, I used that base in a previous setup, myself, and it does work. The base has a weakness, though, that you should be aware of. It involves that long adjustment rod and how it is attached and supported (not very well). If you read the Amazon reviews you should find reference to the problem, with a "sort of" work around. I think I even chimed in over there at some point.

[Mike Walsh]

I can't comment on the base, but have that router motor in a Woodpecker base in my router table. It's been getting a fair amount of use for the past 10 yrs and continues to work very well

[Nick Decker]

Just to be clear, I do like that Bosch router and continue to use mine, just not in that particular base. That particular base, when turned upside down and used to hold the router in a table, will eventually be a problem.

[Robert Hazelwood]

It's a good router. But I agree with others that the fixed base is a little annoying to use in a router table. I have mine mounted with a spare fixed base to my table, and it does basically work. But you have to unlatch the motor lock before making any adjustments, which means you have to get up under the table anyways. So I never use the "above the table" adjuster, just the thumbwheel on the base since I'm down there anyways. The motor moves around a bit when unlocking and locking, so you have to be locked to gauge the bit height accurately. It ends up being a lot of back and forth. Also the adjuster has a limited amount of travel. There are three different slots on the motor that the base can engage to, and by using different slots you can get the full range of travel. But sometimes you end up in a spot where you run out of adjuster travel for one slot, so you have to then move to the next slot and then micro-adjust it all the way back down.

This is the only router I have owned so I can't say if the base is better or worse than other models. It's fine for handheld routing, but I really need to get a router lift for the table to solve these issues.

[John TenEyck]

My experience is similar to others. The standard base has the hex key feature, as you figured out, but I never use it. The base has enough slop in it that it's not very practical, plus having to bend down to unlatch the lock sort of eliminates that potential benefit anyway. But I've never had a lift in my router table so I'm used to a little fiddling in order to get the bit set at the correct height, and you can get this one adjusted to whatever degree of precision you need with a little patience. The router itself is very smooth and has enough power for my needs, including running panel raising bits with light cuts.

One issue I had with mine is the motor started galling in the base. Once I waxed it was fine again for several months and then I needed to wax it again. This router is maybe 3 years old and I read somewhere that at some point they changed the metal type in the base or router to eliminate this problem but don't know if that was before or after this one was made, hopefully after.

John

[John M Wilson]

One issue I had with mine is the motor started galling in the base. Once I waxed it was fine again for several months and then I needed to wax it again.

John: Thanks for the tip!!! I've had this problem off & on but the idea of waxing it never occurred to me for some reason.

For the OP: I've used mine in the upside down router table configuration for several years now with no problem, other than the already mentioned "fiddly-ness" of locking the motor and the slight movement you sometimes get. I use the above-the-table wrench, and was initially worried about the snap ring giving way, but I've been lucky so far. Hope you have equally good luck.

[marlin adams]

Well thank you folks for all the replies. I was going to use my porter cable 690 but it is the one with no speed control and then buying a router lift plus a speed control well outside my cost :). I did alot of research on routers and the bosch 1617EVS is pretty good in reviews. Plus I already have a bosch router plate insert and using a workmate 225 as for mouting my router top to so no problem with getting to the underside of it to adjust and adjust the speeds and such.