I'd advise that you pick up a laminate trimmer and a 3.25 HP router. You will have a tool at each end of the router continuum and be able to handle all work from light handheld to heavy table based cuts.
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I'd advise that you pick up a laminate trimmer and a 3.25 HP router. You will have a tool at each end of the router continuum and be able to handle all work from light handheld to heavy table based cuts.
Contributor
My first was a 1 3/4 hp router, and I found it adequate for everything that I as a hobbyist need. It goes from table to hand easily. The thing is, if you stick with it, you'll end up with several routers eventually.
Contributor
I have a Hitachi 3hp for my table. I don't use it much since I got a shaper. I have a DeWalt 618 kit that I love for everything but I am waiting for the VS to go out like everbody else. The smaller 616? non VS router fits the bases also so I am covered there. I have 2 Dewalt 611 kits that I like the plunge base for shelf pins. I have a Ridgid and PC trim router for roundovers and such. The downfall of the trim routers is the 1/4" limitation. I have a bunch of the PC 1-3/4 hp. routers. I hate them but they work great for dedicated dovetail jigs where I don't have to change out the bits. I have purchased quite a few of them on CL for cheap so everybody must hat them also. WOW , I used to laugh at people with a lot of routers. Looking at what I have accumulated I guess I have to laugh at myself.
What plunge bases are good for: shelf pins, stopped dados, flutes, circle jigs, mortises, inlays
[OP]
Member
Well, if there's agreement that a palm router is good to have and that it is at least as good if not better than a two-handed midrange as far as edge rounding / chamfering is concerned I might just start with that and wait for a table model once I save up more, probably within the next 6-12 months. I just can't splurge for the table and large model right away and I wanted to make sure the small trim router woudln't be rendered useless by a mid-large model once I could afford it. Edging is all I plan to do for the moment anyway, apart from some dado grooving here and there if my table saw would be too awkward for it. Basic projects, shelving, case storage w/ drawers (using pocket holes for joinery, nothing fancy), and the like to start with, and nearly all of those need edging work.
I know people sing the praises of compact routers in plunge bases. I'm one of them but, they should not be abused by being tasked with larger work. T he smaller frame and the 1/4" shank impart runout and chatter when overtaxed.Originally Posted by Chris Lukowski
For a first router a 2+ HP combo unit will serve you best; big enough for serious work but, not so expensive as the eventual stable of routers many of us end up with. For higher end work quality stick to 1/2" shank bits whenever possible. It may have been in Wood Magazine but, someone showed similar profiles cut under similar conditions with the only variable being the shank diameter of the bit. Not hard to see the difference.
There are definitely times when 1/4" shanks (or even 1/8" shanks) are the answer but, we're talking in generalities here.
Last edited by glenn bradley; 08-25-2016 at 2:55 PM.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
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Chris, Trim routers can have a place in a woodworking shop, but unless you are building small and delicate projects most of the time, they are not going to serve you well for "serious" edge work and plunge work. You really want to be working with 1/2" shank (or 8mm shank) cutters for general woodworking work when you can...they are much stronger and can take more pressure without breaking. IMHO. I look at trim routers as "something nice to have at some point"...but that's me.
I'll go back to my original recommendation...shared by several others...start out with one of the mid-size kits for best value and best versatility.
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
I have the DeWalt 611PK. Wonderful small router with "big router" power.
At first I was concerned about it taking only 1/4" shank bits, but, that's really a non issue.
A Porter Cable 690 makes a great all around and/or first router. It's roughly the same power as the smaller/handier 611, but, it has both 1/4" and 1/2" collets.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
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I have a 3 hp in my table and use it for more than 90% of my work. I have a 1 1/4 hp Makita plunge unit that is very handy but I don't use it much. I have wished that I had bought a trim router instead but I'd still use my table router for most of my work.
Mike Null
St. Louis Laser, Inc.
Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
Gravograph IS400
Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
Dye Sublimation
CorelDraw X5, X7
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If I could only have one router it would be the 2.5 HP combo kit (Bosch is my preferred color). However, I also use a laminate router lots so that would be on my short list. The combo kit really gives most folks the most bang for the buck.
Robert
Member
If you get either trim or 3.5 HP, you'll be wishing for the other very soon. That's why most (including me) will recommend the 2.5 HP combo. This will give you two bases (fixed and plunge), as well as two collets for 1/4 and 1/2 bits. Nothing is ideal, that's why many have added more routers over time, but the combo kit will be your best option.
Contributor
One thing no one has mentioned re plunge bases. They're not all created equal. I started out with a PC-690 kit. The fixed base was fine the plunge base was awful. The springs seemed too stiff and the plunge mechanism would stick. I now have a PC-89X fixed/plunge and the plunge base is fine, it seems identical to the plunge base on the DeWalt 618.
[OP]
Member
This is the thing I keep going back and forth on, and why I wanted to tap the experience of people who own all kinds of routers who have a clear idea of how they'd do it again if starting from square one. The thing I keep reading in reviews is that the midrange 2.5HP routers are not designed to do much work in a table, with most being unable to adjust from above the table via holes in the router base, needing an expensive lift for convenient adjustment, the inability to conveniently mount/dismount from the table for handheld use, and/or having ventilation systems designed with the assumption that they'd be used "top-side up", and that using them extensively in bases will eventually cause failure (something I've read about the DW718 more than once).
Now, if in your experience these types of complaints apply more to commercial applications or heavy duty woodworking involving a dozen hours a week of use, then let me know since that is not how I'll be using it. Hell, if I can find time two weekends a month to work on projects I'll consider myself lucky.
Moderator
Start with a trim router. I really like the DW611. I'd actually buy that one in the combo kit with the add'l plunge base.
When you get your table, get a +3hp router motor for it, without any bases. You'll appreciate the extra power when using larger bits.
Finally, if you find that you need an inbetween router, get a 1.75 or 2hp version with a plunge base only.
The experience of others and yours may be different, but in my shop, I have a shelf dedicated to unused extra bases.
Member
Hi Chris. You have asked for advice for a first router. Reading this thread it seems to me that you got it. I would add my vote to the "howling chorus" to go buy a 2.5 kit with two bases. I have a Porter cable "stable" in my shop,7519,2-3 690s. One makita and the small trim dewalt. I am a full time carpenter the 690 is the one I use to cut out window openings framing. I also use it for router table work,have for years. Yes midsize routers will stand up for everything you need for hobby work. Good luck.
Member
I can't imagine a 3.25 hp router. What are you going to do with it?
I agree with Mike. I also use my 690 in a table. My go-to router is a Bosch Colt.
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