Rob Keeble
Member
- Messages
- 12,633
- Location
- GTA Ontario Canada
I thought it may be worth for the sake of others to make a post regarding routers and how many we have and how it came to be.
I started out as a fool and purchased on price a Black & Decker plunge router. All singing dancing machine that only takes 1/4" shank bits. Its now a relic that sits in a box somewhere.
Then again without having joined a forum like this i got caught up at the woodworking show in a deal on the Porter Cable 2&1/4 HP PC 890 all singing dancing kit with two bases and collets for both 1/4" and 1/2" and whats more height adjustment from above the table. (said in my best tv direct marketing voice )
Well i thought that was going to be it. Then i purchased a bandsaw from Delta and it came with a free PC 690 1.75Hp as part of the deal. This is a great router.
Then i joined the forum and realized there is a whole world of knowledge that I knew nothing about and learnt a few things from the guys here.
I was not totally unhappy with my PC 2&1/4 unit in my router table except that the rack that is used to rachet the router up and down is held in place by two very small length screws and these rely on the wall thickness of the base to retain themselves. They are under force as the lift is operated and in my case just wiggled loose all the time and eventually the holes stripped. It was never a happy arrangement. Does it work, yes but that is only so the marketing guys are not accused of lying.
Later i was sent a copy of Carols book and have read it over and over and still refer to it.
Then a day came when i wanted to do something with a better handle on the router and the weight of the current incumbents was not conducive to it. So i was researching the Bosch Colt and ended up being given one as a gift by a good friend who spoils me now and then. This is a wonderful little router and i use it a lot, but it only takes 1/4" shank bits
Then i decided if i was going to mess with routers i wanted it to be safe and it needed stability and accuracy. I could get by with what i had but not with a pleasure or quick setup.
So a new table was in order and so too the lift and i decided a bigger no question asked router was needed and purchase my Milwaukee 3.5hp to use on the table as a dedicated unit. I want to be able to swing a raised panel bit without worrying about anything else.
I also do not want to be taking my router in and out of my lift. BTDT got the T shirt it gets stale and the rack got worse as i did this.
So now i have a bunch of routers and you can see the history of how they came to be.
I had thought that after my B&D Borg experience i would get away with the original Porter Cable 890 kit, it has the power, it has two bases (plunge and fixed) but it did not work out the way i had hoped.
I hope others chime in to tell their multi router story and i hope this helps someone make better informed decisions.
I started out as a fool and purchased on price a Black & Decker plunge router. All singing dancing machine that only takes 1/4" shank bits. Its now a relic that sits in a box somewhere.
Then again without having joined a forum like this i got caught up at the woodworking show in a deal on the Porter Cable 2&1/4 HP PC 890 all singing dancing kit with two bases and collets for both 1/4" and 1/2" and whats more height adjustment from above the table. (said in my best tv direct marketing voice )
Well i thought that was going to be it. Then i purchased a bandsaw from Delta and it came with a free PC 690 1.75Hp as part of the deal. This is a great router.
Then i joined the forum and realized there is a whole world of knowledge that I knew nothing about and learnt a few things from the guys here.
I was not totally unhappy with my PC 2&1/4 unit in my router table except that the rack that is used to rachet the router up and down is held in place by two very small length screws and these rely on the wall thickness of the base to retain themselves. They are under force as the lift is operated and in my case just wiggled loose all the time and eventually the holes stripped. It was never a happy arrangement. Does it work, yes but that is only so the marketing guys are not accused of lying.
Later i was sent a copy of Carols book and have read it over and over and still refer to it.
Then a day came when i wanted to do something with a better handle on the router and the weight of the current incumbents was not conducive to it. So i was researching the Bosch Colt and ended up being given one as a gift by a good friend who spoils me now and then. This is a wonderful little router and i use it a lot, but it only takes 1/4" shank bits
Then i decided if i was going to mess with routers i wanted it to be safe and it needed stability and accuracy. I could get by with what i had but not with a pleasure or quick setup.
So a new table was in order and so too the lift and i decided a bigger no question asked router was needed and purchase my Milwaukee 3.5hp to use on the table as a dedicated unit. I want to be able to swing a raised panel bit without worrying about anything else.
I also do not want to be taking my router in and out of my lift. BTDT got the T shirt it gets stale and the rack got worse as i did this.
So now i have a bunch of routers and you can see the history of how they came to be.
I had thought that after my B&D Borg experience i would get away with the original Porter Cable 890 kit, it has the power, it has two bases (plunge and fixed) but it did not work out the way i had hoped.
I hope others chime in to tell their multi router story and i hope this helps someone make better informed decisions.