I am going to have Between $300 and $350 in the next week or so and need to get a dovetail jig and would like to upgrade my router. Currently I have a 1/4" collet Ryobi router and the spindle has a habit of comeing unlocked when in use. My plan is is to spend around $200 on the router then the rest on the dt jig. I have only two brands that I will not deal with, Cman and Ryobi. So, any help in deciding which router and or dt jig would be helpfull. If possible I would like to get a combo packwith fixed and plunge base.
Al,
As far as a Dovetail jig, I don't have one. My Dad has one that I can borrow, if need be. Here is my 2 cents worth on routers. I hope it helps some....
I started with a Craftsman (fixed & plunge bases). It was Ok, but I needed something that would accept a 1/2 shank. I was looking at 3 differnt brands/models at the time: P-C (893PK), DeWalt (DW618), and Hitachi (KM12VC). I also had a $200 gift card to Lowes so that limited my choices somewhat. I was looking for a 2 base set, that ran at 2 hp or more, with the ability to accept both 1/4in and 1/2in bits. Some other things that became important were: Electronic Variable Speed (EVS), metal motor housing*(more on that later), spindle lock, clear base plates, and quality reviews.
Based on price it was: Hitachi, then DeWalt, then P-C
All had fixed and plunge bases
All had the same 2 1/4 hp
All would accept both size bits
All had EVS
All had metal motor housings
Spindle Lock: P-C & DeWalt only required one wrench, where Hitachi needed 2.
Quality reviews: Hitachi and DeWalt seemed to have better quality reviews for the models that I was looking at. It seemed like the older P-Cs (690s) held up better than the new one.
In the end I went with the DeWalt 618, and I have been very happy with the decision. I put some pictures of it on the "what kind of router do you use" thread.
*My note on metal motor housings:
I put the fixed base of the Craftsman that I was using in my router table. It used a ring on the base to raise, lower and remove the motor. The motor on this router had a plastic housing. Some how in the process of inserting, raising and lowering the motor in the base, the threads became jamed. I had to use a 3 foot pipe wrench on the dial on the base to remove the router motor. It was enough of a headache, that I decided that I would never have another router with a plastic motor housing.