Router Recommendations (slightly OT)

[diesel_88]

I'm about to take the plunge (!) and buy a plunge router to help flush-mount drivers (among other less worthy tasks). Am considering the well-reviewed Triton MOF001KC.

Anyone have opinions on this machine?

What do y'all love or hate about your particular router?

[riff.ca]

Take a good look at the Bosch offerings.

[jimluu]

I have a couple of bosh and I would highly recommend the brand. Porter Cable also great, and slightly more 'universal'. If you plan to use accessories, you will find that everything is made for Porter cable, and most things also fit bosch. But you may have a hard time with accessories for Triton.

[mightydub]

That looks like a pretty serious machine, I like the integrated height adjuster for use with a router table.

I have to say though that you should think about how you plan to use the tool and how often. If you are into serious woodworking and will be using it often, then go for it. If you are just going to be flush mounting the occasional set of drivers and not using a router table, then consider saving some $ and going with a lower end router.

I have a Craftsman 2HP plunge router that I picked up on sale for about $60, and have used it for far more than I ever expected and have no disappointments. I made a poor man's router table by mounting it to the underside of the table for my radial arm saw. Not fancy, but it does everything I need and didn't cost a dime.

If it were me, I'd go with a cheaper model and put the $ toward drivers and crossover components.

mighydub

[MJL21193]

Originally posted by mightydub

I have to say though that you should think about how you plan to use the tool and how often. If you are into serious woodworking and will be using it often, then go for it. If you are just going to be flush mounting the occasional set of drivers and not using a router table, then consider saving some $ and going with a lower end router.

I agree.
I have the fixed base Bosch with the plunge base extra - I almost never use it (and I do a lot of woodworking).
I have a small Makita trim router that I do driver recesses with. Works perfectly. Light, comfortable to use.

[diesel_88]

I want to kill two birds with one spitball. I build a modest amount of furniture. So far, I've resisted the Call of the Router--bits are doggone expensive, and once you start, you can't stop--but I'm tired of cleaning up mortises by hand and I want to flush-mount drivers, too.

Thumbs-up on Bosch and Porter-Cable? Cool.

[Conrad Hoffman]

You don't really need a great router for what you want to do. Back when I had no money I picked up a cheap Black & Decker that's worked fine for drivers and various other woodworking tasks.

Now I've spent what money I did have on test equipment, so the Black & Decker still has to do it's job... But, I've also used some Porter Cable tools and they're simply a joy to work with. If I needed a router today, I'd spend the money on Porter Cable or a similar level of quality, and never look back.

[Tim__x]

If all I needed was flush mounting drivers, cleaning up circles and other simple little jobs, I would get a Bosch Colt trimmer, as it is I've got a Triton.

[Gerrit Boers]

If you're looking for really good stuff you might want to consider Festool

Very nice to work with but expensive.

[John L]

My advice is not to spend big bucks on just ONE router. Buy several. I'm serious! And see if you can get them used and on sale. I have a 3Hp Craftsman plunge router, a 1 hp Craftsman router, and a 1 hp B&D router I keep permanently attached to my router table extension as part of my table saw.

You never can have too many routers, because there are so many different jobs it can do, AND changing it out and recalibrating it is such a pain.

Remember, used routers are cheap. it's all the parts and accessories that cost the money. Never buy a new one unless you have more money than common sense. My 30+ year old Craftsman looks just as modern today as it did back then.

I still need to get one of those little hand held trim routers like what John uses, but I have been lazy of late, and will finally get around to getting a nice used one soon.

Again, Never Buy A New One!! Buy it used because you can get them cheap! People have high ideals when they get theirs, never use them, and then want to unload them, and you can be the winner!!!