I am considering purchasing a plunge router…probably Bosch 2.25 hp 1617EVSPK
anybody have any favorites and why?
V Woodshop
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Replies
Makita 3612C has been good for me and great price (at the time anyway). Plus it also came with a 3-piece raised panel door set which I needed as well so it made it an extra super deal. I use it both freehand and in my table.
Variable speed, soft start. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the plunge lock could be better; it sometime releases if you don't really jam it down.
Jake
thanksV Woodshop
Dear V,
I own several PC & Bosch routers. I make my money with them so down time is not an option. The PCs are rugged and reliable, but the Boschs are much more refined. I haven't worn any out in the past twenty years, but I can tell you that if you do any "unconventional" or highly aggressive woodworking, I think that the PCs would take the abuse better. For overall usability, the Boschs are simply a pleasure to use.
PC seems to have set the standard for jigs & inserts and are interchangeable to Bosch. Makita and others tend to be more proprietary although that may of changed in recent years.
On a final note, PC was bought by B&D, so I would consider their days as serious tools numbered. Go with the Bosch.
Best,
John
Edited 10/26/2006 6:58 am ET by Jmartinsky
It will probably be used alot to drill shelf pin holes. What PC PR do you have? I read alot about them. I havent really ruled anything out, but I read a few reviews on the 2hp PC that werent favorable and then read some that were. Thanks again.V Woodshop
How many shelf pin holes will you be doing?
If its a bunch and time is money you might take a look at a line drill.
------------------------------------
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer (1891)
I have been making shelf pin holes for 30 years and I wouldn't even concidr using a router for this job. What is wrong with your drill press?
Dear V,
The two plunge routers that I have that are PC is the "old style" 1 1/2 HP & the 3 HP. The 3hp is way too big, so it sees little use, but the PC is a work horse. Same machine that they have been making forever. Good tool. Again, I like the Bosch better, but the PC absolutely bullet proof.
A suggestion was made about a line bore. I actually own this machine and although I begrudgingly (Anti-Delta) bought it, it is indispensable. It does one thing, and does it very well. I have drilled a couple of thousand holes with it, hardwood & plywood and it is a good machine. Much preferable to individual bores. I have the foot press attachment.
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-693LRPK-Fixed-Router-Plunge/dp/B00006411C/sr=1-35/qid=1161899092/ref=sr_1_35/104-0011954-5244751?ie=UTF8&s=hiBest,John
My bosch plunge router is in the shop getting fixed right now. I like the way it handles better than my PC, but then again the PC is older and has yet to break. If you are going to do a lot of pin holes for shelves check out the Festool. I know I know.... everybody always blasts them for price, but I save quite a bit of time compared to the old jig set up with the drill press. They are also just excellent routers. I wouldn't use one for fixed applications, but as handheld routers they are a joy to use.
The little Makita 3621 plunger is perfect for this purpose.
If you mean the 32mm centered 5mm dia holes for shelf supports then I wouldn't bother with a router. If it isn't worth buying a gang drill then I've done lots with a thing called Gizmo32 which fits on an ordinary power drill and drills two holes at a time, with spring-loaded pins to line up the next pair. I prefer the shop-made jig which is a piece of 6mm thick steel plate with nine holes drilled in it - very accurately - in a drill press. A spare 5mm bit locates in the last hole drilled so you can drill another eight(or more with a longer piece of metal.
Hi I have the Dewalt 625 3 horse power job and have been happy with it. The Dewalt has a soft start motor and a very nice collet. Several friends have the Porter Cable 2 hp plunge routers and have been very happy with them. Another friend has a Prter Cable combo router I am not sure which one but it is about 1 year old and I was impressed with how quite the motor was for a router. Hope that helps.
Troy
I have the Bosch 1617EV and I like it but at the last show I saw the Triton and was really impressed by it. If I need another I think I'll try the Triton.
Jack
DW 621
I have the PC 890-series and the plunge base mechanism is way too sloppy. I've heard this from other owners, too. I bought it based on the PC name and the reputation of the 690-series and the 7518, but this one's a dud. I'd stay away from it.
Wow, I went through this same process about two months ago. I was really looking at getting the bosch that you are looking into, but looked at the triton 2 1/4 and went with that. I was literally seconds away from buying the bosch. After getting the Triton I am more than happy with my decision. One, the guides are better in my opinion and it is so versitile. It really takes the design of the the routers with multiple bases and combines them into one easy SAFE machine. The triton is light years ahead in my opinion. The details are the same as the other reviews so check them here and on amazon.com. You really can't find the Triton locally or at least not in Nebraska, but trust me that it is worth it to get it online.
Porter Cable 3 1/4hp Speedmatic or 1 1/2hp 690 routers are what we use on a daily basis. Tough, dependable, interchangable. These seem to be standard issue in all the pro shops I've been associated with.
-Paul
If you need to drill shelf holes check out the Festool and their hole drilling set. Don't have one but saw it at a show. Most impressive!
I bought a makita plunge router years ago. One accidental drop and it never plunged right , so it got relegated to the router table.
Well I smoked it up real good a few years back and went looking for a replacement. As I sometimes use rather large panel raising bits, and know that they can "grab", I particularly looked at the flex in the mechanisms.
I brought home a couple and put a large panel raising bit in it and then flexed it to see how much play there would be. Some of the plunge routers I tried (sorry, I didn't keep track of em) had close to 1/16th of an inch slop from mere hand pressure. Anybody who has had a dig in with raised panels can appreciate what kind of an annoyance that is.
Bottom line is I settled on a Hitachi M12v. It had the least flex of the ones I tried. I didn't see anyone mention it, although it is a tad out of HP range you was lookin at.
I use Eurobits and jigs for drilling shelf holes.
And oh ya, the makita did get ressurected.
Eric
in Cowtown
Use your drill press. I bet there aren't any real professionals who would use a router for this operation. Oh sure, some may chime in and say they do, but sooner or later they will change to doing it the easy way.
You can mark and drill them more accurately with a drill press and a good quality brad point carbide tipped drill bit. And it has to be faster.
If you don't already own a router, I would suggest that you don't buy a plunge router. Most of what you will use a router for will not need the plunge option, and the handles on a plunge router are high enough to make other operations harder to do.
Or buy a router that will do both. And a drill press.
Hal
http://www.rivercitywoodworks.com
I have to agree with Hal here, a couple of years ago, I bought the Porter Cable 693LRPK combo set with the fixed base and a plunge base. I have never used the plunge base. Not once. It's nice to know I have it if I ever do need it, but so far, everything I have done has been 95% on the router table and 5% freehand with the fixed base.
I really like the 693, it's a good fit for the majority of the stuff I do (mostly making rabbets, dadoes and doing some decorative edge work). It takes 1/2" shank bits (an absolute necessity IMO) and is simple to set up and use. About the only thing I don't like about it is it is the fixed speed motor. I've bought a motor speed control from MLCS to use with it but have not tried it yet so I have no idea if that makes a good combination or not.
If I had to do it over again knowing what I do now, I would have bought the 691LRVS. In fact, I am still considering doing just that so I can have a bit more flexibility with the variable speed motor.
Edited 10/28/2006 1:33 pm ET by Dragon93
Hal,
I know several cabinetmakers that use the Festool jig and plunge router for drilling the holes for shelf support. It is, imho, a more efficient set up than the drill press. They are absolutely woodworking professionals. I suppose that when you hit the larger shops you will find dedicated machines and gangdrills, but there are plenty of professionals using a router for that application.
You might want to take a look at the "Jigs and Tips for Euro Cabinets" discussion.
Hal
I like Bosch, good tools. I've been happy with my plunge router...only complaint, when set in a router table, the fine tuning mechanism would slip slightly, causing repeated passes to cut ever so slightly less wood. On a small production job this made the joints increasingly slopply.
Short of that 'belly ache', I've been happy with Bosch.
Best of luck.
Check out the Triton. Both the 1400W and 2400W models have some sweet features which just plain make sense.
I just bought one, and may jump in for a second.
Don
Another vote for the DW621 - for most of the same reasons that Routerman's link cited. For a long time it was the only router I owned and was getting both handheld and table use. It kind of sucked for table use (since replaced by a PC fixed base for that) but for handheld use it's great. It aint no Festool, but the dust collection works pretty well for the money.
If you build it he will come.
Look at Festool and Porter Cable. I own several of both brands, and they perform
very well. The largest PC is on my Jessum router table and I use both of Festools'
routers, and the smaller PC, for all my other needs.
Freud FT2000E. Variable speed, soft start. Has been a workhorse. Interesting that the words "On/Off" are on the backside of the switch, which is otherwise conveniently located however. For $180 with a fence some years ago, it was the beefiest plunger around. No complaints.
roy
A lot of people have been talking about using the router for drilling shelf pin holes. Rockler has a jig for this that uses a special drill bit that fits in a regular drill and works quite well especially for the price. If I remember correctly the jig works well with both 1/4 holes and 5mm holes.
Troy
Troy,
Have you seen the Festool hole drilling system?
Yes looks like a great tool but if your just doing a few shelfs the Rocklers price is hard to beat.Troy
The festool 1010 router with the shelf hole drilling system is great.
The system took me a little getting used to using though, and it was pricey.
But its an investment in the busness 'cause its a quality tool and I put out a fair amount of work.
I have to agree with you, if its not used much, theres no need to spend much.
I have several plunge routers. My favorite is the Festool OF 1400, OF1000, then the Dewalt DW621.
If you are going to be boring alot of shelf holes, look seriously at the festool system & the LR-32SYS. It's a bit of money, but works well and is based on the 32mm system.
Routers are like clamps. You can never have enough.
Edited 10/29/2006 3:07 pm ET by craig
Can I tell that philosophy to my wife? I tell her that about fishing rods too!! :)
Don
sure you can,...just don't tell her where you got the idea. But I doubt the fishing rod will leave as fine a hole in your fish as the OF1000 would. : )
Edited 10/30/2006 9:36 am ET by craig
Thats the one I have - Bosch 1617!! My vote is on the Bosch. Don't know about the Triton. I did a lot or research and am REALLY glad I bought the Bosch. As a guy on a tight budget, the Bosch has exceptional capabilities, not to mention accessories!
I have the Bosch and the PC 2 hp combo sets. I think the PC is better. The Bosch has a magnesium body that corodes (only slightly) which causes the motor to not adjust smoothly unless you keep it clean and waxed. Also the plunge depth stop is poorly designed. The rod stops when it hits the stop on the base. This stop can be rotated to take smaller cuts untill you reach the final depth, this seems to be the same as eany other design out there. However the Bosch's stop is not solid. When the rod hits the stop it compresses. When you zero it out you have to push hard enough to compress the stop solidly (it takes a fair amount of force to do this), but when you are using it it is hard to make sure that you are seating the stop mechanism all the way and not pushing hard enough to cause the bit to over cut. If you go and look at one on display you will see what I mean. I also dont like the plastic handles, they are flimsy.
Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
I have three "high-end" plunge routers and the only one that I would recommend to people I care about is the Triton. It is way ahead of the rest in terms of innovation and ease of use. It is more powerful than most on the market and it performs brilliantly with its soft-start, dust collection and easy adjustment.
It is easy to use in either hand-held or table mode with it quick and easy depth setting and fine tuning a breeze to use. What really sets it apart and makes it a gem among the gravel is its above-table, self locking bit change capability, which just blows the others into the weeds for ease. Look at the Triton writeups and look at the tool itself and you will see what I mean.
BTW, on the strength of the Triton performance I also bought their jig-saw, which I have to say is way ahead of the competition too. Good stuff Mr Triton.
Pete
Retirement is a lifelong opportunity.. :?)
What Aussie said. Nice tool.
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