Who else uses (& loves!) their cordless router?

[Rich Engelhardt]

The more I use my cordless Makita - the more I absolutely love that thing!

I had to plow out some 1/4" wide lines & then enlarge them just a teeny tiny bit - the use a T slot bit to make some tracks.

I used my new track adapter plate that rides on the track saw track - what it brings to the table instead of using any other method is a mystery to me at this point. Maybe after I use it enough I'll find the niche it fits into.

I noticed more and more cordless routers are showing up on Youtube videos also.

So how about it - any other fans of them?

[Jeff Roltgen]

I have a pair of the Bosch GKF12V-25's. The "no battery included" feature was immediately no problem, as I have close to a dozen of the batteries, due to my collection of the related Bosch compact tools.
"Love" - not quite. Really like no cord, naturally, but rpms are lower, so you must go slower or finish quality suffers. Mainly used for flush-trimming of veneers, clean up of tabs for parts off the cnc, and 1/16" round over bit for softening square edges of doors, drawers, etc. Since I run a swipe of 180 around all edges/corners for final clean up, it's not a big deal, but again, if you go your normal pace around the workpiece, even the 1/16" roundover is scalloped. Quite unappealing upon staining.

Best feature: larger support base = more consistent round over as arm swings around 4 outside edges of door. Also, bit height setting and locking completely blows away the wired Colt routers. Older Colt's seem to get worn where bit is no longer perpendicular to base, so if you don't orient body of router motor the same way for each edge, some are too deep, opposite edge barely grazed.
Ergonomic body style is just odd - sometimes I find myself holding it completely wrong, but hey - whatever works.

So- if I hadn't a pile of batteries on hand, I likely would not have bought at ~ $130 each. Just wish Bosch would update the original Colt routers to this type of bit height adjustment/locking system.

Do you experience similar shortcomings (rpms/finish quality) with the Makita?

Jeff

[ChrisA Edwards]

Just bought the Milwaukee Fuel M18 Cordless Router, get up with dealing with the power cord on my Bosch Colt.

So far, on the minimal use, it has performed above expectations. One project, I had to cut out a 6" x 6" right angle square on the corner of a 3/4" thick Walnut table top. Used a 1/4" spiral cut bit, made three passes, worked perfectly and the dust collection was excellent.

I made the decision to go the Milwaukee M18 Fuel platform for most of my cordless tools.

[Eric Arnsdorff]

I bought the cordless Makita palm router after buying my cordless Makita track saw and it is terrific!! I had an old corded Ryobi palm router that I used a lot and just gave it away since it no longer sees any use!
For all the smaller routing jobs (which is well over half of what I use routers for) it is terrific!!
I don’t have any issues getting good results from it.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Do you experience similar shortcomings (rpms/finish quality) with the Makita?

Not that I've noticed - but - this is easily checked since I also have a Makita corded compact set. I'll do a side by side of them to find out.

[Bob Cooper]

Have the dewalt 20V and it is a pleasure to use. Soft start. Plenty of speed. Light. I tend to look to use it as much as possible which isn’t always possible because most of my bits are 1/2”

[Ryan Griffey]

I have the Dewalt in corded and cordless. I mostly use them for small task like rounding edges.

The one downside of the cordless is the height. If I’m working in a tight area I use the corded tool.

[glenn bradley]

I do love my small routers. I generally use dust collection when routing so not having a cord is no real gain when I’m already dragging the vacuum hose around with me. For times when I’m working outside or doing a cut where you have to just “let it fly” cordless is great.

[johnny means]

They're nice for those little tasks that come up often. Kinda fits the same niche as a low angle block plane for me.

[Mike Henderson]

I have the DeWalt cordless routers and love them. Soft start, instant stop, and no cord to worry about.

Mike