Router question...How many???

[Johnnyy Johnson]

I have a real nice plunge porter-cable router. I like how I have it set up and use it with a fence for flutes and edges. I have a friend that has alot of experience with dove tails and he plans to teach me how to use my Leigh jig. I would like to have a dedicated router for dovetails but not sure if its worth the money to buy another one. My friend suggested a D handle fixed router. How do you guys deal with this. I have alot of time spent setting up machines and it gets old after awhile...Thanks Johnny

[Fred Preston]

well..... I have a dozen or more and still get the itch if I find a good deal. :-] most are dedicated to speciffic tasks.

[Peter Quinn]

I'm up to seven, or eight? I lose track, but it still feels a little lean. You don't need a monster router for everything. Maybe for dovetails a couple of small fixed base routers (1 1/2HP) would do the trick? Set um up and leave them that way.

[Myk Rian]

I have the smaller Craftsman for dovetails and handheld work. Nice router for $80.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...inate+Trimmers

[Johnnyy Johnson]

Anyone got the Porter-Cable 691 with the D handle. I'm wondering if the handle would block the view of the bit unless you turned it to the side abit??

[Walter Plummer]

I like the D handle. I would use a fixed base for the dovetails. The plunge routers are too heavy. I have no experience with the new jigs. Getting the router depth dialed in for the old ones was a chore, and once set we left it and used it till you could not cut anymore. I vote for multiple routers.

[glenn bradley]

I have 5 or 6 so, yes, its worth it to buy another.

[scott spencer]

Johnny - Most of us tend to have our own way of doing things, and you're likely no different...it's just a matter of discover what what works for you. My favorite dovetail router is the fixed base Hitachi M12VC...smallish, light, well balanced, quiet, smooth, and easily powerful enough for the task. It'll accept the standard PC style bushings, and also happens to be less expensive than some of the other options. I sold my Bosch 1617 and PC690 in favor of the Hitachi for this task.

I'm down to 4 routers, and could get by pretty well with two if push came to shove. I've got a big Milwaukee 5625 for heavy duty table use, a Freud FT1700 for everyday table use, a Milwaukee 5615 for plunge and hand use, and the Hitachi for dovetails and other hand use.

[Johnnyy Johnson]

I like the PC 691 D handle model, but it does not have speed adjust. It runs at 25.5K RPM. Will that limit it's use? I want it mainly for dovetails but would like it for other light weight jobs. I know I will be limited to small bits, but will I run into problems burning the wood while cutting Dovetails?

[David DeCristoforo]

It doesn't matter how many you have. If you only have one, it should be a plunger. And you will have to do a lot of bit changing. But, as is the case with many things, there is no such thing as "enough". You could have as many routers as you have bits. So every time you buy a new bit, you could buy a new router. There are times when I'm working on a project and every router in my shop is set up for something related to that job so that I can just grab the one I need at that moment. And still, I end up thinking I could use "one more". Same with clamps....

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Johnnyy (if that is your real name... ) --

I personally don't like the d-handle for the Leigh jig. I don't have the VRS (I think that is what it is called) add-on kit that helps with dust collection and balance, so one of the main ways I have to screw up the dovetails is to tilt the router forward or back accidentally. I found this happened more with the d-handle than the regular fixed base. If I really did a lot of dovetails, I might think about getting two 690-style routers, and keep a DT bit in one and the straight in the other. Remember, you'll also have to shell out for an additional 8mm collet and guide bushing (although I don't think they are too expensive).

Scott -- you wrote:

I'm down to 4 routers, and could get by pretty well with two if push came to shove. I've got a big Milwaukee 5625 for heavy duty table use, a Freud FT1700 for everyday table use, a Milwaukee 5615 for plunge and hand use, and the Hitachi for dovetails and other hand use.

How come you use 2 different routers in your table? I would have thought the 5625 would handle the large and the small tasks (at least it does for me...) Or do you have 2 separate tables set up?

[Dennis Hatchett]

When I asked a hunter friend how many guns he had, he replied, "More than I need, but not as many as I want."

I also remember a New Yankee episode when Norm showed off more than a dozen routers stuffed into a drawer and that made sense to me. I started off with one of the more expensive heavy duty, do it all type of plunge router but that's the only one of those that I've ever purchased.

I now have a dozen or so routers with most of them being used for designated bits. Some dedicated routers are... 3 sizes of round-over, chamfer, flush cut, 2 for dovetails, rabbit with fence, etc... And I have the big hitachi dedicated to the router table.

Routers are very simple machines and I've found that the basic Porter Cable 1 - 1 1/2 horse models are more than adequate and very inexpensive. Most of mine were purchased second hand and I'm always looking for a good deal.

[Jeff Duncan]

I'm with Dennis, most of my dozen or so routers are Porter Cable
690's. They're just such a versatile solid tool I use them for almost anything. Have 1 set up for dovetails, 1 in the table, and a few scattered for various tasks. I do not have any routers that are more powerful, nor any with speed control, I guess those options could be handy for certain situations, but I've gotten by for this long without so??? Oh and I have a couple shapers so bigger stuff gets done on those anyway.
The great thing about having multiples of the same router is that if one goes south you can cannibalize it for parts
good luck,
JeffD

[Todd Trebuna]

I have 3. I can see the benefit of having more.
With me, One stays in the table. One is strictly for my mortising jig. The other one is my Bosch workhorse, which I use for everything else.

[Bill Arnold]

I have the following:

A Hitachi M12V in my router table - plenty of power for everything.

Three Bosch 1617EVS with fixed and plunge bases. One fixed base is mounted to a trammel arm and stick a motor in it when I need to do radius work.

One old Craftsman 1.5hp fixed base - gets very little use.

Three trim routers - one PC and two HF. I keep a flush trim bit in the PC, a 1/4" RO in one HF and a chamfer bit in the other HF.

My collection grew over the years for a variety of reasons but mainly because I wanted them.