What would you do (router decisons)

[Allen Grimes]

Hey guys, I am having a bit of trouble making a decision here.

I own a Bosch 1619EVS 3 1/4 HP plunge router that I, up until now, was planning on making my dedicated table router. Woodpecker makes an awesome plunge lift for it that makes it perfect for table routing.

My problem is that the plunge lift itself costs 170 and the wrench for above the table bit changing costs another 20. (though Im sure I could get it cheaper elsewhere), which brings it to a total cost of 210 with shipping.

On the other hand, that new Triton router has all those features built in and costs only 200. But it has less power and a smaller base opening (I think).

If I buy the plate for my 1619, I'll still need another router, but if I buy the router, I'll still need some sort of an insert plate, and I'll also have a humongous router for most hand held work so I'd probably still want another smaller router.

There is really no getting around the amount of money I am going to spend, so I really just don't know what I should do.

Any suggestions?

[tod evans]

routers are like clamps....can`t ever have to many.
my favorite handheld is the "d" handled one.....i also keep a few laminate trimmers with dedicated bits in `em...
no single router will be the last one you buy.....so pick a brand that you like, hopefully one where parts will interchange from one router to another, and start writting checks

[Allen Grimes]

So what you are saying is that I should just get the plunge lift for my 1619, and forget about the triton. Then proceed to buy the 1617 combo pack and the Colt from Bosch?

Makes sense. That way all of the stuff I already have, I can still use and everything new I buy can work with my old router.

Also I can leave the fixed base of the 1617 in a secondary router table top for ease of use for those times that I do raised panel doors and stuff.

Tod, you are a genius (I think)

[gary curtis]

My shop is still being cobbled together, so I am a tool-buyer at this stage. Not a tool-user. Here's my purchase decision when facing the same choices you face.

Having bought a few tablesaw accessories from WoodHaven, I asked them about their router fence. While talking with Brad, the owner and president, he informed me that even though he manufactures router lifts, they are already obsolete. Last year 5 router-makers incorporated an above-the-table adjustment that makes router lifts obsolete. Bosch is one of them.

For double duty on the table and for hand routing I got the Milwaukee model 5616. My WoodRat uses a DeWalt 625. For tiny stuff, I have an old Makita 3612 (??? on the model number). Next month I'm buying a Festool 1400 because I already have the guide rails that make it a superb tool for cuts like Dados and edge jointing.

My router table will be my tablesaw extension. For a little more than $120, the WoodHaven 202T router fence clamps right onto my tablesaw rip fence. There's lots of options out there to circumvent the $300 you might waste buying a router lift.

Gary Curtis

[Allen Grimes]

Gary, I think you may have misunderstood. The router lift I'd be buying is for a router that I already own which doesn't have all of those new cool features that a lot of the newer routers have.

The reason I am even considering it, is because the router is huge in the first place and even though I currently use if for ALL of my hand held operations, I'd prefer to have a smaller router for those tasks.

Either way I will be buying another router, so I think that Tod's idea of sticking with one brand for optimal accessory usage is probably the best bet.

Besides, once I add the router lift in to the equation I am sure that the 1619 would be a slightly more efficient table mounted router than the Triton.

Either way, thanks for the advice.

As for your plans to buy the Festool OF1400, I was seriously considering that one too since I plan on buying the TS75+MFT and Domino+CT33 combos but routers I feel are one place where Festool may not be the best tool for the money.

[Sam Blasco]

I'm with Tod. I have 8 routers, 3 of them Bosch's, the big'n like you have, a smaller plunger and a junior. Like them all. As for using the big one in hand held situations, you would be surprised how much more control you can get with the extra mass and power in alot of operations once it is gliding on the work piece, though there are other times when a smaller D-handle is just the right ticket. It all depends. Nice to have options.

[Frank Fusco]

I have never fully understood this router table thing. Admittedly, I don't use either a router or shaper very often. But, what puzzles me is why use a put-together thing (router and table) instead of just using a shaper. For the price of that router ($300.00 to $600.00 depending on where sold) [that's another puzzlement, but I won't digress] plus table, wrench, etc., you can buy a whole ready to go shaper with all the bells and whistles. And, you would still have your router available to be used as a.....uh....router. BTW, I have two routers and a mini-shaper.

[scott spencer]

I have never fully understood this router table thing. Admittedly, I don't use either a router or shaper very often. But, what puzzles me is why use a put-together thing (router and table) instead of just using a shaper. For the price of that router ($300.00 to $600.00 depending on where sold) [that's another puzzlement, but I won't digress] plus table, wrench, etc., you can buy a whole ready to go shaper with all the bells and whistles. And, you would still have your router available to be used as a.....uh....router. BTW, I have two routers and a mini-shaper.

I'm sure there are valid arguments for both approaches depending on the need involved, but one plus for the router table is that I can mount it on the right side of my TS and save space that a separate shaper would take up....space I don't have. Not all routers are $300-$600 either...I got my MW5625 for ~ $200 shipped, and my Freud FT1700 for ~ $95 shipped. I built my own RT for < $50. I could have gone for just one router in that table for < $150. Also router bits are considerably less expensive than shaper bits.

Allen - Having two routers is a big plus in my book...one in the table, one for hand use. I don't plunge very often, so I'd put less emphasis on that aspect...YMMV.

[tod evans]

scott,
most shapers are the same height as a tablesaw so if a fellow wanted to he could put `em both on the same mobile base and have a huge cast iron top and all the benefits of a "real" shaper instead of asking a router to perform shaper duties, all in the same footprint......

[Allen Grimes]

I have never fully understood this router table thing. Admittedly, I don't use either a router or shaper very often. But, what puzzles me is why use a put-together thing (router and table) instead of just using a shaper. For the price of that router ($300.00 to $600.00 depending on where sold) [that's another puzzlement, but I won't digress] plus table, wrench, etc., you can buy a whole ready to go shaper with all the bells and whistles. And, you would still have your router available to be used as a.....uh....router. BTW, I have two routers and a mini-shaper.

Frank, I plan on owning a shaper as well, but to answer your question about WHY I'd want to add a table to my router is because of time, safety and ease of use as well as price.

It is much easier, safer and faster to push a bunch of small pieces of wood over a router table than it is to push a router over a bunch of small pieces of wood. (I can explain in more detail if you'd like)

I currently use a piece of ply wood that I clamp to my assembly table to hold my router in a router table fashion. I get all the benefits of using a router table this way. What I am talking about is streamlining that process a little more to save more time.

Also even though a shaper can do everything a router table can(I would assume), it is much more time efficient to have a shaper that is dedicated to certain tasks while having a router table that is dedicated to others.

I can understand how a hobbyist may not want to use his time as efficiently as possible, and instead relax and take things slowly, but I am not a hobbyist. The faster I work the more money I make, and I like money.