Best mid-sized plunge router

[michael dilday]

I have the Dewalt 618 with the plunge and fixed base. It is a great router.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have three of the PC 690 plunge bases, along with a Ryobi (free,) Dewalt 625, B&D Quantium ( used exclusively on hole boring jig) and Dewalt 621. Because they are so quick to adapt to a jig, the 690's are my favorite

[John Terefenko]

I too love the 690's. Have a few of those.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I have a Bosch 1617, it is a nice router but the plunge base has one problem. While it looks like there are two guide posts, only the one on the side with the plunge lever actually has a bushing in the base. The other is smaller diameter and there is just an O-ring instead of a bushing- that post is just for retaining the plunge spring.

The bushing fit on the main post is not super tight, so there is play when the plunge lever is depressed. At the end of the router bit it might be a 1/32" to a 1/16" when you intentionally try to make it move, somewhat less when you are trying to plunge straight. When you release the plunge lever everything tightens up and the play is gone. So the play occurs only occurs during the act of plunging. For the most part this is not a big deal, but it can be a problem for a few things. What got me investigating was making recesses for door pulls. You can always tell where the initial plunge occurred because there is an indention the size of the bit on the bottom of the recess where it cut a little deeper at the end of the plunge. That's due to the play on the shaft. It's deep enough that its difficult to sand out, especially in a small recess.

Anyways it seems most of the plunge bases for modular router systems use a similar setup and I expect would be prone to the same issue. So if this issue bothers you then I think you have to look at dedicated plungers. I have tried to see which routers use two guide post bushings, and the only ones I could tell for sure are the large Dewalt 625 and Makita. The DeWalt 621 is a medium size plunger, and it runs on only one guide post bushing, but that post is much larger than on other routers so it might do better.

[Jim Dwight]

The DeWalt 621 is a plunge only router:

[Günter VögelBerg]

I went to Lowes to get the Bosch and ended up leaving with the Dewalt because I felt like the Bosch's plunge mechanism was too stiff. We'll see how it goes.

[Michael Drew]

I too love the 690's. Have a few of those.

They are on sale at Rockler right now.....99 bucks. I had to partake.

[Mark Hockenberg]

There is no "best", but there are a bunch of good options.

In the mid-sized category, all of the major brands have options; many of them actually offering multiple bases so you can choose what's best for a given operation. I actually prefer a fixed base for certain things because of the lower center of gravity and (in many cases) easier precise depth adjustment for things like edging. Mine happens to be the DeWalt D1618. My most used router is my Festool OF1400 for when plunging comes into play, but the DeWalt plunge base works great, too.

Jim - My go-to has also been the OF 1400. I'm considering adding the 1010 for system holes and lighter work. Do you also have the 1010 / What to you think?

[Jim Becker]

Mark, I have the OF1010, too, and while I don't use it often, it's lighter weight is very nice for things like edges as well as for shelf holes as you mention. the .25" and 8mm collets are well suited for that kind of work.

[Mike Cutler]

I went to Lowes to get the Bosch and ended up leaving with the Dewalt because I felt like the Bosch's plunge mechanism was too stiff. We'll see how it goes.

That's a really nice router. I think you're going to like it a lot! DeWalt made a winner with that router.
I have Festool routers, OF1400 and OF2200, but still really liked the DeWalt. I almost bought one, just because.

[Charles Lent]

I bought the DeWalt 3 base kit about 8 years ago, and liked it so much that I bought a second for the truck, but now that I'm fully retired, it too lives in my shop, and I have a third DW618 two base kit that I acquired to use in my Hawk Routershop table. I really like using the two D handle bases when I'm routing dovetails on my Leigh D4R jig. The low center of gravity and low weight is what I like most about the 618 routers. They are very comfortable to use. If you do this, put tape on the top of the motors with a diagram of the bit that is installed, so you don't pick up the wrong router DAMHIKT.

Charley