I’m thinking, wouldn’t one of those little laminate trimmers come in handy? I do a lot of work that requires seaming and flush trimming, you know, shelf edging and top edging, and screw plugs. Everything needs to be nipped down flush. If I had a little trimmer, I would make an offset base for it and set it up permanently for the trimming jobs.
So I go on eBay and see an interesting phenomenon. Key up “laminate trimmers” and you get a flood of really low-priced trimmers, in the $15 range, obviously no-name Asian-made stuff, and no one, absolutely no one is bidding. And there are hundreds of them. But if someone is selling a Dewalt, Porter Cable, Freud, or something recognizable, they get bid up to somewhere near 80 percent of new-with-warranty-from-Amazon.
Has anyone bought and used one of these cheapies? For what I want to do, they might be just the ticket.
Replies
Bob: In your message you said you do a LOT of work trimming, so why would you want to buy a $ 15 tool to depend on your lively hood? IMO you should go to your local tool distributor and ask him what the best trimmer is for the money, this way you can choose features and models and maybe buy an off set attachment with your tool now. Another question, where are you going to that $15 tool fixed if it need service? and you know the tool is going to break just as your finishing up a job on a Friday afternoon. Stick with tool a manufacture you know, and that tool will last you many years of service. Good luck
I don't think I have ever saved money by buying a "cheap" tool.
Tom
Douglasville, GA
Bob
Ditto Ben and Tom on this one..
sarge..jt
Proud member of the : "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
So you want cheap!! Go to HD and pickup the Roybi trimmer works a treat and comes with two bases. $80 I think.
I think I'd use a flush trim bit on the router you probably already have..? Lam timmer always seemed kinda redundant to me.
Charlie
I have four routers already, but was thinking of this little rig as a dedicated flush trimmer, set up with a good carbide 1/2" diameter mortising bit, and a home-made offset base with a plane knob handle.
After owning just about every router made in every brand. the trimmer I like most is the PC 309. It has a base like a normal router, not with those little hard to adjust screws for the height adjustments. I bought 2 of them on ebay for 70 to 80 dollars each. They were almost new, good deal. They do a lot of my shop work, I only use the bigger routers when needed.
I'm with you. I set one up permanently for doors, Just lay the templates on the door and go.
With tools as with most things, ya get what ya pay for.
Sometimes. Sometimes you get less than you pay for. But you d*mn seldom get more than you pay for.
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