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Anyone have a Ridgid R2401 trim router? What do you think of it? I'm considering getting this or the Bosch Colt. I know the Colt gets great reviews but the lifetime warranty on the Ridgid is a nice plus. Also, anyone ever try to get Home Depot to honor a Harbor Freight 20% off coupon? I've heard that Lowes has honored them but I have never tried it at either place.
I've had that router for a couple of years, and have mixed feelings about it. On the plus side, the soft-start motor is very pleasant to operate, the power cord is nice and long, and the bases & guides are handy and well made. On the minus side, the height adjusting mechanism is very frustrating to operate -too 'mushy' and imprecise IMHO. If I had it to do over, I'd buy the Bosch.
I just had a wonderful experience with my Ridgid LSA on my sander. It only took about 3 month to get it resolved. My point is that if the LSA is the driving decision, buy two so you can work while the other is getting fixed/replaced.
That being said, I have the VS colt with a Pat Warner offset base. I would be unwilling to give up the variable speed or the base ;-) I followed the recommendation of other forum folks and asked Bosch for the second wrench to avoid using the spindle lock.
Actually, I don't think anyone has had the 2401 for more than a few weeks, except possibly the Ridgid R&D team in China. Home Depot stores, in my area, at least, still have the older r2400 model on their shelves and I find the 2401, which is intended to replace it, a distinct improvement. I looked at both, side-by-side with the Bosch Colt. I have several Bosch tools, admire the company, and am waiting for their new jigaw in August, but the Ridgid 2401 has more features and actually strikes me as the more substantial tool. The micro depth adjustment, coupled with a zero-reset feature is much improved over the arrangement on the older 2400 model. It's quick, accurate, and convenient. The machine feels smooth and solid and has excellent ergonomics.
Two small issues: the clamp for the base assembly has a captured bolt and you may want to tweak the nut on it so you can readily remove the base to change bits. Also, the through-hole on both clear plastic bases seems to be sized for standard brass template guides, but there is no recess on the bottom face to accomodate the flange on the guide bushings. You could still use them with this router, but the base would need a little spacer shim on one edge to provide stability. Seems like Ridgid should catch this little oversight and correct it. Otherwise, a really nice tool - especially for the money. I recomend it.