New router selection advice.

[Michael Costa]

I'm lazy and gone to mind over money. I have a Freud VCEK mounted to my table. I need to route a space in some mdf to fit a battery pack, and also a space to put cards into a cribbage board.

The thought of taking this router off the table .... I don't want to do it.

So, I'm looking for a good router that I can use by hand. Something to do what I mentioned above and other template stuff. I would also like to be able to use it on a sled to flatten slabs (future use). And ideas on a decent higher power router that is reasonably lightweight (the Freud is heavy), will take both 1/4" and 1/2" shanks, and not be in the Festool price range?

[glenn bradley]

Ah, the search for hen’s teeth :)

A powerful router is going to be a little heavy. A light router is going to work itself to death flattening slabs. I thought the guy who told me he had a half a dozen routers was loopy. I think I have seven :rolleyes:

[Jim Becker]

For versatility, one of the "pick your color" so-called 2.5hp router kits is a good thing to have in the shop for general, hand-held routing activity. But Glenn is absolutely correct that these are not well suited to flattening slabs where you actually want a big, heavy, powerful router that can safely swing a reasonable sized cutter for the work...which is hard on the machine. So...time to start your broader collection. Aside from my Festool routers, my choice in the space that I previously mentioned is the Dewalt DW618 Kit. It's performed flawlessly.

[Van Huskey]

As Glenn and Jim have alluded to you are looking for a router made of unobtanium. Light and powerful just don't play well together and it is the reason many people end up with multiple routers, I think I have 9 now and all see duty. For an awful lot of handheld duty I reach for either my Dewalt 611 or Festool 1010, when I need more handheld power it is the Bosch MRC23EVSK or Festool 1400 and for heavy duty handheld use like slab leveling I use a Freud 3.25 hp plunger router (not sure of the number) but wish I had a Festool 2200. If I had to have one router "set" for handheld use that was not a Festool it would be the Bosch MRC23. I think it is a really well thought out multi-base set. There are times I would rather have something more lightweight or more powerful though. There simply is no best router for all operations no matter how much money one spends.

[Tom M King]

For the rare times when I need to change a bit in a handheld router (don't want to count the dedicated ones I have), the one I reach for is a Milwaukee. I don't remember the model number, but it's one of the middle sized ones.

[Jim Dwight]

I agree there is no router ideal for flattening slabs that is also light I think you are looking for a mid sized router. I have two PC690s which work well for me. But if I was to buy a new router, it would be a DeWalt 621. It is no more powerful, it may be a bit less, but it has built in dust collection which is supposed to work pretty well. I do not want to go up to Festool price level but it would be nice to have one that didn't throw chips all over the place. I also have a Bosch Colt and for the other uses you mention, it might be enough. I also have the motor from a Ryobi R500 (13.3A) that resides in my router table (and does not come out). If you like your Festool for hand-held use, you might consider just putting a big router in the router table. The Hitachi plunge is probably the cheapest, the PC 15A perhaps the most used.

Mid sized routers are the best to start with (and with you only getting your second, I consider you as starting out) because they are light enough to be fairly handy but powerful enough to do nearly anything a router can do. There is a role for bigger and smaller but the do everything size is around 10A. It is a very active part of the tool market and DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Bosch and PC all make good models. A kit with a fixed and plunge base is handy. I still have one of the four bases I have for my two 690s screwed onto the extension table of my second table saw for occasional router table use. That way I can easily pull the motor off and use it hand held in the plunge base (or the other fixed base).

[Darcy Warner]

I only have a little palm router, a OF1400 and the big bad 2200. Ok I do have a couple really old Stanley Carters. One is almost 40 pounds, i liked the way it looked.

[Phil Mueller]

I’ll add my somewhat novice router opinion, and that is it depends on your tolerance for time. I have a 1 3/4 HP router in my table. It does everything I need it to do, albeit, there are some things that are just going to take multiple passes. Admitedly, I’m not doing raised panels and the like, but have done some deep profiling with large bits for picture frames....just took 3-4 passes. So, theoretically, you could probably level a slab with a smaller router, but you’re going to need to be willing to go at it in multiple shallow passes.

For all other things I do - primarily inlay work, I have a hand held trim/mini router. I have on more than one occassion, caught the bug for a big router for the table...but, I just couldn’t come up with a real practical need for it, for the type of projects I do.

[marlin adams]

I assume you have the Freud 2-1/4 hp router. 2-1/4hp routers are out there including ones with multiple bases like fix and plunge. I found portercables, bosch and dewalts pretty cheap in my area at Home Depot. I am thinking real hard here of replacing my Portercable 690LR which is in my router table with the portercable 892 2-1/4 but I did send porter cable a email asking if the 895PK that has the same motor but with a fix and plunge base if my 690lr will fit the bases so I could turn my 690lr to a plunge base to.

[Cary Falk]

I have a few routers. Several Porter Cable 690's, Dewalt 611, Dewalt 618, Dewalt 616, Ridgid 24012, Hitachi M12V, Porter cable laminate trimmer forget the model number, Grizzly
T27139. I dislike the Porter Cable 690's the most but they are cheap on CL and they work great for dedicated routers for dovetail jigs. I love my 618 the most. The plunge base is a dream to use. I hesitate to recommend it thought because there are a lot of reports out there of the variable speed ring breaking. I am waiting on mine to fall apart. I bought the 616 because the body will fit into the 618 bases if/when the 618 gives up the ghost.

[Michael Costa]

Ugh!

Let's pretend I didn't say anything about slabs and want a decent hand held router for templates. I just want to make a recess for a cribbage board deck of cards in a piece of wood right now. Lmao.

I find this interesting after reading thru tools vs wood cost thread.

[Van Huskey]

With Festool off the table and no need for slab leveling, I reiterate my recommendation of the Bosch MRC23 two base kit. It is not the cheapest of the two base mid-sized group but I think it is the best of the bunch. The trigger on-off on the plunge base is a game changer for me with multi-base routers.

[Derek Cohen]

The DeWalt 621 is my vote. I have the Elu forerunner and consider it one of the best around still.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Larry Frank]

I really like my DW621 and used it for years. I also have a PC 890 with two bases but not my favorite router. I recently got a DW611 PK and really like it. It is light with reasonable power. As I have gotten older, the weight of a router has become very important and this small router is used often.

[John Goodin]

The “ pick your color” comment is spot on. Porter Cable and Bosch have a large share of the market but most of the other brands you find in home centers make good stuff too. Like others said the setups with two bases and one motor are a good way to go. If there are funds left over a good trim router is nice. Light and quieter,, trim routers can do all you light duty work and they can be bought for less than a 100.

[Van Huskey]

The DeWalt 621 is my vote. I have the Elu forerunner and consider it one of the best around still.

Regards from Perth

Derek

The 621 was a favorite of the late Pat Warner, quite an endorsement. It isn't my favorite but it is excellent and I get the appeal.

[Charles Lent]

My most used "all purpose" routers are now my DeWalt 618B3 kits. I bought one kit and liked it so much that I bought a second one for the truck two months later. Each kit has not only the fixed and plunge bases, but also has the D handle base. Whenever doing dovetails on my Leigh D4R jig I always use these two in their D handle bases with the jig because I like the stability as well as the trigger control that I get when using thees bases. The low center of gravity and relatively light weight of these routers makes using them for just about any job a pleasure. About 2 years ago I picked up a DeWalt DWP611 and it quickly became my favorite router for doing smaller light routing. Combined with a CRB7 guide, the pair seems to be made for each other, although the CRB7 can also be used with many of my larger routers, it is most often used with the 611. I own a total of 12 routers in several brands from a 4 base laminate trimmer up to 3 1/2 hp, but these are now my "go to" routers for just about every routing chore.

Charley

[Alex Zeller]

I added the Bosch MRC23 recently because I wanted a bigger router and liked the idea of having two bases. A plus for me (may not be for others) is it came with a hard plastic case. I hate having power tools in fabric bangs getting beat up or worse not case at all. I know I'll never keep my router bits in the case with it but it's not uncommon for me to be doing a job in my house, garage, or shop (all separate buildings) so being able to put the tools I need in the back of the side by side and not worry about them getting damaged is a plus. It's not light by any means but having the trigger on the grip vs the top is nice. You can have both hands on the handles get it exactly where you want to start and then turn it on. However it makes it impossible to mount into a lift as the router has a plastic strip with contacts on it for the bases to have the trigger. Since you have a router already set up in your table saw it shouldn't be an issue. Like others have said, pick your color and accept that if you want the power you are going to have the weight.

[Van Huskey]

I added the Bosch MRC23 ... but having the trigger on the grip vs the top is nice.

The always on LED light is nice too.