I have had 3 or 4 full sized routers since I began woodworking but I had never had a compact trim router. I am working on a project that has to be done by Wednesday night and it has a small narrow piece that needed routing. I was uncomfortable doing it freehand with my 2 1/2 HP P/C 8529 or doing it freehand on my router table. So I went to the local HD about 7:00 p.m. last night, looked at the two compacts they had and chose the Makita RT0701C. I also bought a cheap set of 1/4" shank round over bits as all the ones I own are 1/2" shank.

Using some turners tape, I taped the piece to the top of my t/s outfeed table, routed it, flipped it over, retaped it and routed the other side. What a pleasure it was to be able to use 1 hand to hold and guide the router while using the other hand to manage the power cable. I should have bought one a long time ago!