Router purchase recommendations

[Jon Wyatt]

I plan to add a router to my shop and would appreciate any recommendations from the forum. I have a Professional Sawstop and have considered adding a router system to the right side. Leaning toward the Woodpecker system. Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Robert L Stewart]

I have had my Incra from Woodpecker for 7 years. It everything I had hoped for. In the last three days I have logged 20 hours on it.
One of the most important features are the magnetic throat plates. The one you may want to look at is:
851-INCRA PRL-V2 Lift

[marty fretheim]

I plan to add a router to my shop and would appreciate any recommendations from the forum. I have a Professional Sawstop and have considered adding a router system to the right side. Leaning toward the Woodpecker system. Thanks in advance for your comments.

Have you looked at the Sawstop router add on? Seems like an obvious choice if you have a Sawstop already. I bought their stand alone router table and really like it. I put the Jessem motor in it.

Marty

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[glenn bradley]

Adding a router is one thing, dedicating a router to a table is another. If it is dedicated, the Milwaukee 5625 or the Porter Cable 7518 are the preferred locomotives for table duty. I went with the Milwaukee and enjoy the smooth variable speed and soft start. The PC steps speeds but, hits a range that will meet anyone's needs.

I run the original Woodpecker PRL which is a beast. At the time I bought they made a lift specifically for the Milwaukee as opposed to having to use adapters. I also like the twist-lock aluminum throat plates and automatic carriage-lock feature but, that gets into personal preference. The only other readily available beast of a lift at that time was the Bench Dog which was another winner. There is a pretty wide field of lifts now with a few close-priced contenders in the 'really massive' category. Check the features and go with the one that meets your needs best.

[Alan Lightstone]

I much prefer the Jessem Master Lift II over the Woodpecker PRL, having owned and used both. With the Porter Cable 7518 router in it.

[Tim M Tuttle]

I just got the Incra Mast R Lift II and the Jessem Pow-R-Tek motor/speed control. Love both. The speed control is really nice. I put it in a Rockler table on a custom cabinet I built. A great setup all around.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

Adding a router is one thing, dedicating a router to a table is another. If it is dedicated, the Milwaukee 5625 or the Porter Cable 7518 are the preferred locomotives for table duty. I went with the Milwaukee and enjoy the smooth variable speed and soft start. The PC steps speeds but, hits a range that will meet anyone's needs.

+1 on what Glenn recommends. I have the Milwaukee 5625 for table use. The PC 7518 is also an excellent choice. With a lift either will serve your needs. If you're not going to use a lift, I would use the 5625 because of its height adjusting feature(s).

[Ben Rivel]

Router to be dedicated to a router table in a lift? No reason to go with anything other than the tried and true Porter Cable 7518.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have a PC7518 in a woodpeckers V2 lift in a dedicated router table. The lift has functioned okay, but I've had to send it back for warranty repair as a nylon gear wore out. I had to pay shipping back to Woodpeckers.

I installed an Incra table in my Sawstop and used a Jessem Master Lift 2 with Incra clean sweep inserts.

Of the two lifts, I prefer the Jessem.

[Patrick Irish]

I started with a Bosch 1617 mounted in a router table using the fixed base. It worked ok. It wasn't accurate and reaching under to unlock was a pain.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a 3 1/4" porter cable motor and the incra lift. It's amazing. It used the magnetic rings.

Woodpeckers and MLCS have some intersting mounts out there that allow raising and lowering from the side or via a motor. This would allow for upcut router work. Not a must have but does add a dimension to using a router.

[Mark Hockenberg]

Like everyone else, I run the PC 7518. It's a beast and just keeps running.

For the lift, I bought the General Excalibur based on a Fine Woodworking review. It seems to be less common than some of the others. I love - It's super smooth and solid.

[Rich Aldrich]

I have the Triton TRA001 3-1/4 HP. No lift is needed. It is a plunge router but designed to work in a table. It comes with a crank handle that you change the height of the router but you have to use the lock once you get it to height. Raise it all the way up and it locks the shaft so you only need one wrench for a bit change. The fan pushes air up past the motor so the cooling works with the dust collection. The speed control on all of the new routers is so much better - it is actually because the torque control is so much better. It is on a Kreg router plate. I had a Freud router that was about the turn of the century (2001). This one is so much better, but technology changed a lot since.

[Frank Pratt]

Like everyone else, I run the PC 7518. It's a beast and just keeps running.

For the lift, I bought the General Excalibur based on a Fine Woodworking review. It seems to be less common than some of the others. I love - It's super smooth and solid.

I have that lift as well. It has a more solid build than any other lift I've looked at, with 4 screws that do the lifting. SawStop's lift appears to be a clone of the Excalibur lift.

I got a Milwaukee 5625 to go in it. I considered the PC 7518, but I got the impression that they are not what they used to be with poorer quality bearing being among the issues.