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General Elementary Router Table Questions

And the PC 890 also comes in the combo kit; fixed base and plunge base. A reasonable starting out router that will serve you for years to come. It is one of my go-to routers, though the plunge base is dedicated to a jig.

This router has variable speed, 1/4" & 1/2" collets, and really clever switch system, in that when you stand it on its head (and you will often) a stick-out on switch is automatically plunged in, making sure the router is off. Can't tell you how many of my students plugged their router in without checking the switch first and it danced across the bench top hands free at 23,000 rpm. Premature gray hair!

Weight also becomes an issue here, especially for us ladies. The 890 is around 5-6 pounds. The 7518 is 19 pounds! Your first good router ought to be easily used in the table and hand-held. The 7518 is Paul Bunyan's version of a hand-held router! But it is an excellent table router.
 
I've had this one for 8-10 years. I don't use a router table all that much so it works just fine for the time being. I do have the plans for the Rockler table and will build it someday. I have a PC 690 installed in the table. It has the power for almost everything I need it for. This is also the same unit that Norm Abram used on all his shows and it worked just fine for him.
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-698-Bench-Router-Table/dp/B000022425
 
Yeah Cynthia the kit Carol mentions is the one i bought. It also gives you top of the table heightadjustment.

This is it here but shop around for it if you interested in it.

There is a bitter sweet side to this kit though. The value engineering guys at Delta keep messing with good product. So i did a bit of tweeking to the inside of the castings on mine. Maybe i should have taken it back but i knew no better at the time so just soldiered on.

Its a really great starter kit. All the features Carol mentions are very very true and useful on this setup. I have the fixed base attached to the phenolic lee valley insert and my top is baltic birch configured on a (oh man had a gray hair moment there) torsion box type structure. It has stayed flat for years and its a portable table. I plonk it into my router table cabinet.

Buy a kit like this refurbished for under $200US. You add the LV insert and for what $250 you in business with a very nice setup. Only two accessories i would add are the book:D and a vac port for the bases. Check out this link to CPO refurbished you could save enough dollars to pay for the book.

One other thing in general that i would advise you, is check out the manufacturers website when it comes to tools and machines you buy. Make sure of the support like parts lists manuals and accessories. You will notice if you look at the Delta porter cable link i have put at the top that you can get to see exploded views of the tools in parts list pdfs available on line before you buy. Not every supplier provides this kind of support. You need it sooner or later. Its what gives your purchases longevity.

In my mind after what i have experienced, given your experience i would set a goal of starting out with a kit like this and not expecting to go at it to make something that requires routering until you have messed around a bit and got familiar with the general run of the mill routing.

I keep saying BUY CAROLS BOOK. It will walk you through the process in very good well written plain language that is easy to understand. You will be able to see the inside story to this world of routing. Walk through the book trying the various projects. Build some jigs, buy some acrylic and make some extension bases get a feel.

Then survey the landscape and start a decent project. When you do make sure to have extra material prepared and do test cuts to check your setup and make trial runs.

You mentioned a budget of $750. Put it in the bank.:D Be prepared to spend a few hundred. Save the rest for when you got your own feel and are in a position to make better self decided decisions.

The great thing about this set up mentioned is the fact that you get all the bits and bobs in one hit. Fixed base, plunge base, above table height adjustment and whats more you can buy additional bases if you make dedicated jigs. then you just bounce the router motor core from one to another.

Remember this is not going to be the last router you purchase. Be prepared for that. There is no singing dancing all in one router that will do everything appropriately. One day you will want a trim router that is palm size (i dont have one yet but its on my list) then you will want a huge monster power wise for your dedicated table.

Take some advice from my wife, a fellow of your species. She says "Rob" remember its a journey. You dont get there in one day.:rofl:

I keep reminding her that I would like to get there before i can no longer hold the router though.:rofl:

Good luck keep us posted, and lastly set aside some money for the bits. Otherwise you will be like a turner with no lathe chuck and only the faceplate they sold with the lathe and still no chisels. How they do that i dont know?:huh::rofl::wave:
 
I'll just make one additional comment about routers. When I bought a (second) router for handheld use, I bought a D handle one. The reason is safety. I like to be able to control the on/off while both hands are on the router. With many routers you have to take one hand off the router to turn the switch on on top of the router. Same to turn it off.

I just feel like I have more control (and safety) with a D handle router for handheld use.

Mike
 
Mike Henderson said:
I'll just make one additional comment about routers. When I bought a (second) router for handheld use, I bought a D handle one. The reason is safety. I like to be able to control the on/off while both hands are on the router. With many routers you have to take one hand off the router to turn the switch on on top of the router. Same to turn it off.

I just feel like I have more control (and safety) with a D handle router for handheld use.

Mike
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Plus one on that, Mike! I love my D-handled 690!
 
I agree on the D-hand base except there is no base under the handle. I made a teardrop shaped base with a hand saw type handle. Now I have control AND support.

Twofer!

And, yeah, pictures and plans in the 'book.'
 
Carol Reed said:
I agree on the D-hand base except there is no base under the handle. I made a teardrop shaped base with a hand saw type handle. Now I have control AND support.

Twofer!

And, yeah, pictures and plans in the 'book.'
Click to expand...

could say no pics didnt happen but then the copy right guys would step in and i have seen her big foot:rofl: do some amazing things..:thumb::thumb:
 
Rob Keeble said:
Yeah Cynthia the kit Carol mentions is the one i bought. It also gives you top of the table heightadjustment.

This is it here but shop around for it if you interested in it.

I keep saying BUY CAROLS BOOK. It will walk you through the process in very good well written plain language that is easy to understand. You will be able to see the inside story to this world of routing. Walk through the book trying the various projects. Build some jigs, buy some acrylic and make some extension bases get a feel.

Good luck keep us posted, and lastly set aside some money for the bits. Otherwise you will be like a turner with no lathe chuck and only the faceplate they sold with the lathe and still no chisels. How they do that i dont know?:huh::rofl::wave:
Click to expand...

I'm curious, Rob, Carol, and everyone, do only the plunge routers offer table height adjusters? I noticed there's something you can buy to convert a plunge router and give it that option. Do any of the fixed-base routers offer that possibility?

And where, pray tell, can I buy Carol's book? ;)
 
You are into territory way way above my pay grade.:rofl:

As for the book I would sell you mine for about $1000 dollars. Just kidding.:)

The book you have to get second hand here. Mine was a gift so i dont know where you can get it new. Maybe the Router Lady can help you.:)

Cynthia after seeing Mikes point about a D handle i went looking for some other accesories for the 890. There are some great pics of everything on the rockler site here for you to get a better idea of the tool.
 
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I don't think they make a D handle for the 890. I bought a second router, a Bosch 1618, which had a D handle.

The Bosch is okay but it has a fine height adjustment that only has a limited amount of adjustment. If you hit the adjustment stop (on either end) you have to make a major height adjustment, then do the fine adjustment again. It's a real pain. The 890 allows you to do fine adjustment throughout the range of the base.

I wouldn't buy the Bosch again just because of that one "feature".

Mike
 
Cynthia White said:
I'm curious, Rob, Carol, and everyone, do only the plunge routers offer table height adjusters? I noticed there's something you can buy to convert a plunge router and give it that option. Do any of the fixed-base routers offer that possibility?

And where, pray tell, can I buy Carol's book? ;)
Click to expand...
I don't know about all routers, but the 890 allows you to make above the table adjustments with the fixed base. Other routers are probably the same.

But if you can reach your router adjustments below the table, it's faster than using the tool above the table.

Mike
 
Mike Henderson said:
I wouldn't buy the Bosch again just because of that one "feature".
Click to expand...

Mike hits on a good point. I have sent a few tools down the road due to "features" that I thought I could live with. It is definitely cheaper to go ahead and get what you really want rather than buy again. The rub is having done enough to kinda know what it is that is important to you.

Several fixed base routers allow adjustment from above the table currently. Unless the tool it truly designed with table mounting in mind, this adjustment capability is usually limited to height. This means that you are reaching under the table a lot anyway so it is only basically helpful.

Sometimes reaching for the special wrench is more trouble than just reaching under and twisting the knob. This add credence to Mike's observation about continuous adjustability. The coarse-adjust, lock, fine-adjust . . . out of room, unlock, coarse-adjust, lock, fine-adjust tango can make you nuts.

If you want to start without blowing the cost of a used motorcycle on a motor and lift, I would consider a combo. Having the fixed base attached to a table and the plunge base available for free hand work can get you the best of both worlds. A few years ago this would have been a compromise but newer combos have plunge bases that rival dedicated plunge routers in feel and performance.

I'm a big Milwaukee fan (5616-24 would be a good starter combo for you; street price about $250) but there are other combos that get good ratings as well. I prefer two-wrench collets as I don't like levering against the arbor but that is just me.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideProduct.aspx?id=28710

http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideProduct.aspx?id=5366

http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideProduct.aspx?id=5931

http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideProduct.aspx?id=5672

Personally, I couldn't return the DeWalt fast enough; stamped collet, chintzy stop turret but, a great low center of gravity. I do have other DeWalt tools and really like them but the 618 isn't one of them. YMMV.
 
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With all this discussion, I now have a few more questions:

1. For every router reviewed, I see for and against. One has an occasional problem with the switch. One has a lot of vibration. One has a not so great base. There doesn't seem to be a clear brand winner....is there?

2. If I got something like this is that all the hardware I would need to mount it in a table (assuming I make my own table)?

3. Since I plan to keep it permanently in the table, would I be smarter to just get a fixed base one rather than a kit with a plunge base too? Or do the kits have better overall routers?

Thanks all.....:wave::thumb:
 
if you are gonna keep the router in the table and leave it there,, why pay for a attchment that your not gonna use on it// and the setup you show jessmen is the lift and insert combined so yes all you need is the table to put it in and a router to fill it.
 
Cynthia if you gonna leave it in the table then think Milwaukee and buy a big one. Glenn I think has one of the big ones, at the moment i cannot find the thread related to this where Toni from Spain asked the question but it was pretty clear in that post what lift and table was a good one to consider from the experienced guys here.

There is no short cut to experience though. Once you see what these tools can do i think you will inevitably want to be able to do off and on table routing. Hence why you will find some people with as many routers as hand planes.:D

One thing you might want to consider as a little bit of cheap getting your feet wet is buy a cheapo from HD and just test it out. In a round about way by default prior to joining this forum thats what i had ended up doing without realizing it. Hence i have a B&D router that never has seen the light of day since i got my newer one.:rofl:
 
Rob Keeble said:
Cynthia Mr Lee thought of people like you and catered for it.

I bought one of these and it was easy for me to install with my own router.

There are detailed instructions and you get everything in a small kit. It has served me well and in my new found love of the router i am now ready to think about a change. Especially after seeing Rennies new router table.:D

There is a hole in the center that allows use of various templates as well its sized correctly.
Click to expand...

Rob, do you have to take that plate off to change the bit?
 
No Cynthia, you dont. The hole is large enough for most bits. It comes with a brass insert if i rememeber correctly. That limits the above table bit insert with the insert fitted to around 3/4".

The neat thing about this router is it has a rotor lock that when you use the above table height adjuster it locks it and allows you to change a bit with one wrench.

I gotta tell you since Glenn posted that kit of the Milwaukee i would do some research on that and see if it has the same features. If it has i would think seriously of switching my preference to Milawaukee brand for a kit of the same sort of features for a beginnner. But if it dont have the features then i would stick with the PC. I gotta tell you when i go for a proper table lift and new power router its gonna be the Milwaukee big boy motor on its own and a lift. But i have not had an issue with my mickey mouse baltic birch table and setup. I will add though i have not made the stuff that the guys here have.

I still urge you as much as you might be chomping at the bit to go out and buy to try and get your hand on the book and that way get some in depth coverage with lots of pics and explanations. It will make you feel real comfortable with what you gonna spend your money on and there will then not be buyers remorse at least to the greatest extent possible.

I have been out of curiosity looking at the prices of this kit in Canada and boy it leaves a lot to be desire when you see them for 100 dollars more than in the USA and that before HST. But dont be attracted to the 690. I got one and got it free. There is nothing wrong with it, its probably one of the best ever made. But its at the bottom end on power. This 893 setup is at the mid range but if you want to start swing bit panel bits around you gonna have to take light cuts. Which is what i do anyhow.:D

I will try to get some pics for you this weekend so you can see my setup. It aint the best at all but i have fun with it.
 
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