How many Routers do you have and how many did you originally think was enough

Rob Keeble

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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 :D)

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've mostly gotten by with one router, but I do mostly round-overs and chamfers, not heavy cutting. I bought the rockler aluminum base and the PC690 fixed base for it years ago and it gets used on my table saw extension. I wish I had a second pc690 as the biggest pain is just getting it out of the case to put on the other base. That is only because I use it on the plunge base more often and undoing that set screw on the plunge base is a pain.

I also own a rotozip with a router base attachment for trim routing and several dremals. I would like one with more HP for doing dados and the heavy cutting, but have just considered getting a shaper instead. My FIL has one though and it scares the life out of me just thinking about using it with the large blades spinning and thinking about the kickbacks it would give, so will probably stick with getting a larger HP router.
 
You must have missed my argument about plunge routers in tables, Rob. The plunge router was not designed to be fitted to a table. So we have to make the compromises necessary to make it so. But that isn't addressing the problem. I think that ease of bit adjustment up and down is the goal of plunge routers in a table but that is the very thing it does least well. That's why lifts have been designed and offered. The easiest router I have to do depth adjustment is the PC690. If it is an adjustment you need to return to, all you need is the original profile and a sense of touch. No numbers required.

Had an old-timer tell me many years ago that numbers in the shop will get us in trouble every time. His question was, "What are you trying to build to, a number or fit?"

Sometimes we forget about the original alligator we were fighting.

As to the number of routers I have, I really don't know. I haven seen them in a while. Maybe a dozen. How did I come by them? Some I bought. Some were given to me. I have had as many as 4 dozen. I thinned the herd ten years ago. But then when it comes to routers, I ain't your average bear. :rofl:
 
I had 6 of the 3 1/2 hp PC at one time I used 2 of them at a time on a CNC mill that we rigged up to hold them instead of using the spindle. I had them set up to cut Cap Rack stick ( by the Thousands) and I had 2 in router tables. Also a couple of 690's and a Hitachi 3.5 plunge and a Hitachi laminate trimmer.
I am down to 4 now but looking at adding another one or 2 ( I hate setting up routers :D). I still have 2 of the large PC and the 2 Hitachi routers now.
 
I have a Bosch Colt with the plunge base and fixed base. I have about a half a dozen (?) Milwaukees of various types. I thought maybe one or two ought-a do it :eek:
 
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I have the big Milwaukee in my router table attached to A lift. It has soft start and oodles of power and adjustable rpm. I also have a 690 with two bases. It's my all around work horse for dove tails, profiles etc. though it feels a bit like over kill for some tasks. I have a DeWalt laminate trimmer I use for small profiles. I have a 1/8" round over in it all the time ready to use.

I have had my eye on the new DeWalt small router kit with 2 bases. It has gotten good reviews and seems like it would fill the gap between the 690 and the trimmer nicely.
 
At last count:

1 PC 7518 motor mounted on an Incra lift in my table (both purchased last year).

3 Bosch 1617EVS with 3 fixed bases and 1 plunge base.

1 Hitachi M12V (available for sale).

1 Craftsman 1.5hp I inherited from my father.

1 PC trim router

2 HF trim routers
 
I don't consider myself to be a "router collector".

My first router was bought from a guy at work. It's an old Rockwell - equivelent to a PC890. NICE router

Second router is a M12V Hitachi. I bought this specifically for my router table/

Third PC690 - at a woodworking show - great show price - couldn't resist. I then bought a used plunge base for it.

ALL - my hand held work is done on this stuff.

The 690 - is my goto router.

THEN - I have the CNC router - it has a 2hp 220v Perske Spindle.
 
I'm no help with routers, but I too have the B&D plunge router. My dad gave it to me one christmas and I've used the heck out of it. For what I've done in the past it works great, but I'm gonna be adding a router wing on the TS and also flattening some slabs sometime this summer so will probably get a 690, sounds like they are workhorses.

Also have a Ryobi router table...not that great and a HF trim router that has a round over bit in it all the time.
 
I have two. A Bosch mounted in my router table and a Craftsman my son gave me. I only use the Craftsman if I want to do a round over on something I can't do in my table and it is light work. If I need something that won't fit on my table and is heavy work I remove my Bosch from my table. I mount my Bosch in my table with the fixed base and adjust the height by raising the table top. I'm only a hobbyist and can't really justify the cost of a router life, but, it would really be nice to have.
 
I started with a Sears Craftsman router back in the late '70s or early '80s. It rarely saw any use, since it was pretty much the only woodworking tool I owned other than a Dremel. Then about 9 years ago, after I started getting tools together for a woodshop, I got a P-C 690 with both fixed and plunge bases. Gave away the Craftsman to a buddy, along with the cheapie benchtop router table it was mounted in by then. Then I picked up another P-C 690 in a trade, this time with a D-handle base. Then there was a "3 1/2 HP" piece of Chinese junk that I bought on eBay. I think I've plugged it in once just to hear it run, but one look was all I needed to know it was not anything I'd trust to securely hold a piece of sharp steel spinning at over 10,000 RPM. :rolleyes: Although I started with one of the 690s in my router table wing on the tablesaw, I ended up replacing it with a Hitachi M12V and a Router Raizer. Then somewhere along the line Jim Bradley gave me another very nice mid-size router (the brand of which escapes me now). It's an older, all-polished metal model that still runs like a champ.
 
Two. My original Mastercraft (Cnadian Tire) twin-base 11a. router with slow start, light, two collets, etc. I aslo have a used Skil router fixed base which I use in my router table.

Oh, I always thought two was enough, but I added a spinsaw a while ago that can take a router bit, and I've used it to do some light routing.
 
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Three PC 690s;
a PC 890;
Three Hitachi's (one in the table);
two Bosch trimmers;
A Trend Plunger;
and a Dremel in a Stewart MacDonald base.

Thinking about a Festool 1400...
 
PC 7519 3-1/4 hp router mounted in my PRL-V2 lift.
PC 7310 trim router with fixed base.
PC 7310 trim router kit with the offset base, tilt base and fixed base.
Bosch Colt mounted in my home made domino.
Hitachi M12VC 2-1/4 hp router mounted in my panto router.
PC 690 mounted in my horizontal slot mortiser.
Freud FT1702VCEK 2-1/4-Horsepower Variable Speed Router with 2 Base Combo Kit that I use for all my free hand router work.
An off brand plunge router very similar to the Makita 3612 Plunge Router that I installed a router raizer in for use in a router table. Height adjustment is excellent, almost on par with a router lift and better than the new routers with the built in above table adjustment.
 
Three, an of1400 for plunge, a 3.5hp Milwaukee (destined for a table any day now) and an ancient sears (only 1/4") still used every once in a while for light work. Originally thought I could get buy with one. Wouldn't mind having a couple more (nice trim router and maybe another decent fixed base once the Milwaukee gets put in its home).
 
I have three routers. Two are very old PCs I inherited from my father. The other is a Skill I purchased used from Ebay. They are rarely used. I also have a Grizzly mini-shaper that has proven very useful and sees a moderate amount of use.
 
(1) PC 690 Fixed Base & Plunger (Carol's old router kit)
(1) Craftsman 1970s version (Glenns old router)
(1) Craftsman 1970s version (broken - kept for parts)

Think I may need (like) a smaller trim type router, but...........
 
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