Recipient of one of two Best Overall awards, the Porter-Cable placed first or second in a number of categories. The oversize lever on its fixed and plunge bases helps make it easy to lock the motor in each base. When it’s mounted to a router table in the fixed-base mode, a special wrench lets you change bits and adjust the collet height from above the table. And a unique system on the plunge base allows you to change to a new bit stop by just turning a shaft with your thumb. A relatively quiet model, the Porter-Cable is an easy first choice if the router is going to see regular use in a table.

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