Router Choice

[Jerry Bruette]

Help me spend my money. I'm shopping for a new router and have my eye on the Milwaukee corded routers.

Don't know if I want the 5615-24 package or the 5616-24 package. I'd like to be able to mount the router in the right wing of my table saw. Don't know if I want/need the extra power for table use. I'm also open to other suggestions of brands.

I'm open to any suggestions or ideas, so let's have'em.

[Dave Sabo]

For table use , you’ll want the higher hp model. The 5616.

I like Milwaukee routers , but not enough to pay a $75 premium over something like the DeWalt 618. The Milwaukee has been out of stock for a while now. DeWalt is available.

[glenn bradley]

I have 6 or 7 Milwaukee routers. The 5615 is fixed speed, the 5616 adds more power, variable speed, and electronic feedback. I use the 5615 when speed control is not an issue, non-burn-prone woods, light cuts, small cutters, etc. I use the 5616 when I am doing maple or cherry (burn prone) or am spinning larger cutters (lower speeds for larger cutters).

I accidentally started using the Milwaukee 5616 a dozen years or so ago. I added a 5615 combo kit during an Amazon price drop. Once I had a few bases, fixed and plunge, the versatility of either motor working in any base led me to buy more.

I also run 5625's in the lifts. One 5625 has been used . . . a lot . . . since the mid 2000's and it just runs and runs. All my other colors (except the Bosch Colts that I have setup for various tasks and have gotten good at replacing bearings in) have worn out or just been sent down the highway as the interchangeable feature on the Mils put them out of a job.

Hand held routers are a personal thing and no one router is right for everyone. I always recommend getting the top contenders in your hands as they have to "feel" right as well as perform. I now feel awkward using a router without a "body grip" strap and a tool that outlasts others certainly gains my loyalty. That doesn't make it right for others ;-)

[Jim Dwight]

I have used a mid sized PC router, a PC690, in a router table before and it worked. But the limited power meant more cuts doing things like panel raising. But cope and stick for doors was OK with it. But I now use the much more powerful PC 7518 in my router table. The added power is very much appreciated. It essentially never slows down. Cutting speed is more for the wood than the router. It depends on how many routers you want or can afford. A mid sized is a true do it all. But I really like having a heavy weight in the router table and a little one for light use (mine is a Bosch Colt).

I have never used a Milwaukee router. So I can't help with model specifics. I think a router big enough for a router table is not well suited for hand held use (but I have a fixed base for my 7518). A mid sized router is good for hand held but just usable for a router table.

[Andy D Jones]

I've been very happy with a Milwaukee 5616. I use both the fixed "BodyGrip" base and the plunge base, plus I use the motor in an Incra Mast-R-Lift-II-R lift on a cast iron router table extension for my table saw.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Jerry Bruette]

I have never used a Milwaukee router. So I can't help with model specifics. I think a router big enough for a router table is not well suited for hand held use (but I have a fixed base for my 7518). A mid sized router is good for hand held but just usable for a router table.

Thus my dilemma, underpowered in the table or heavy while hand held.

[David Bassett]

Thus my dilemma, underpowered in the table or heavy while hand held.

The Creek solved that dilemma a long time ago: By one of each!

[Mike Kees]

I would buy the Dewalt 618 or PC 690 . These middle sized routers can do everything relatively well. They will work well in table mounted use for all but the biggest bits. I own about 6 of the 690's a 3hp plunge and the Dewalt trim router with two bases. Brand is a personal thing, if possible try out a couple and go from there. I do not have a large router in a table, basically because I have two large shapers that do about 98% of my shaping. So in my shop most router use is handheld. As Glen stated pick one brand and end up with several routers and bases that are interchangeable.

[roger wiegand]

PC routers were a great choice for a long time. They are now all discontinued by the manufacturer who has exited the router business.

My new router lift got the Milwaukee 5625 as a result, and so far I'm extremely happy with it.

[Jason White]

Roger -- Did you have to cut the fine adjust screw off of your 5625 to get it to fit your router lift? I have one, too.

PC routers were a great choice for a long time. They are now all discontinued by the manufacturer who has exited the router business.

My new router lift got the Milwaukee 5625 as a result, and so far I'm extremely happy with it.

[roger wiegand]

Roger -- Did you have to cut the fine adjust screw off of your 5625 to get it to fit your router lift? I have one, too.

No, there was an orientation where it fit without surgery. This is in the Incra version of the Mast-r-lift II.

[Frank Pratt]

Roger -- Did you have to cut the fine adjust screw off of your 5625 to get it to fit your router lift? I have one, too.

The Excalibur/SawStop lifts fit the 5625 without any mutilation. But it is slightly smaller in diameter than the big PC motor & requires a shim. I couldn't find one locally, so I got a piece of .032"x2"x12" brass shim stock off Amazon that worked perfectly. I think it was about $6 or $8.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

FYI, if you decide on the Milwaukee 5625, Incremental Tools has them in stock. I just ordered one and it will be here Saturday.

Cliff

[Jerry Bruette]

The Creek solved that dilemma a long time ago: By one of each!

I guess I did ask for help spending my money.

[Tom M King]

The Creek solved that dilemma a long time ago: By one of each!

Only one each? I don't even want to know how many routers I have. The one I reach for, when I need to change a bit, is a Milwaukee. I don't remember the model number, but it's one of the middle sized ones. That's one of the few that doesn't have a dedicated bit.