Erbauer 1/2" Router

[Doctor Drivel]

The Erbauer 1/2" router No. ERN210C, 2100w is £60 @ Screwfix with the 30mm guide bush for worktop cutting and 60mm plunge depth - 2 yr guarantee.. Seems a good buy for the occasional worktop cutting and the likes.

B&Q have the PP Pro 1/2" router, 1200w, 50mm plunge depth @ £50 No.

0000005045228 - 3yr guarantee. No mention of a 30mm guide.

Screwfix have a worktop jig for £50 No. 51426.

So, just for cutting worktops and the occasional use is the PP Pro the better buy. The Erbauer is better specced but probably over specced for the odd worktop cutting. If the PP Pro does not have the 30mm guide bush, then it come to the price of the Erbauer and the Erbauer is probably the better, and more powerful machine.

Anyone use these routers?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Describe which 'worktop cutting' you'd want a router for? For trimming to length etc a circular saw will do fine. For a cut out for hob or sink, a jigsaw.

[andy hall]

I've tried one of the Erbauer products and the Ppro.

Both are grossly underpowered - the power input is meanngless. 2100W power input has only a loose relationship to the mechanical performance under load.

Moreover, and this is the serious point, the plunge mechanisms are sticky.

Occasional use has little to do with usability. If the end result of cutting an expensive worktop is to make a mess of it, the saving is valueless.

A more sensible approach for occasional use is to rent a proper router such as a DeWalt 625, a Makita or a Freud.

[RedOnRed]

I've always been very wary of buying these cheapo "power tools".

That makes perfect sense and is useful to know.

[rrh]

I have the bigger PP Pro 1/2" router (about 2000w/£100) and it did my kitchen worktop very nicley. 30mm guide bush included as were a 1/4" collet and a dozen or so 1/4" and 1/2" bits. However, though I'm no router buff, the mechanism does not seem very precision-made and the plunge is sometime sticky.

[david lang]

I have the PP Pro and I'm pleased with it. My favourite to use however is the Power Base Excel I got from Homebase for £22 when they had a clear out, mainly because of the soft start.

Dave

[david lang]

The plunge mechanism on my B&Q jobby is just fine. As is the Power Base Excel I have. Easily equal to the plunge mechanism on my Makita 8602B. Nothing wrong with any of them.

When the rental charge is higher than the purchase cost? No sense in that whatsoever. You are the ultimate power tool snob.

Dave

[Doctor Drivel]

Look at this:

professionals on about top price tools not being worth it. One goes on about cheap tools, and replacing them often being cheaper than repairs the so-called pro makes.

A Milwaukee copy, angle drill at £30. The cheapest mains angle drill I have found is £112.

[John Rumm]

I had a look at the PPro 2kw (ish) router as well. In the end two things put me off; the general lack of quality to the "feel" (i.e. sticky plunge etc), and also the *minimum* speed was something like 15k rpm, and this is _way_ too fast for table use with some of the largest cutters.

[Doctor Drivel]

There is also the: Challenge Xtreme 1500 watt 1/2in Plunge Router from Argos and Homebase:

£49.99 1500 watt. Variable speed 8,000 to 23,500rpm. 6.35mm and 12.7mm collects. Plunge depth 0 - 45mm. Micro depth adjustment. 8 position depth pre-setting turret. Soft grip handle. Dust extraction facility. 15 router bits. Parallel guide. Template guide. Centring pin. Plastic carry case.

[Doctor Drivel]

Also Screwfix No. 92997. A £20 1/4" job with a 30mm guide. Only 44mm depth. If a 1/4" router has the depth, why can't it be used for cutting a worktop? Just take it easy and do the cut in more stages. Why an expensive

1/2" router?

[John Rumm]

Getting a long enough cutter in 1/4" shank is one issue. Time is another one - it will take *much* longer. Using thin cutters at that length is also more risky - bits of sharpened carbide snapping off while spinning at 20k rpm can do quite a bit of mischief bouncing round your gonads.

Some 1/4" routers have alternate collets that will take 8mm shank cutters - this would be a better bet if you must use a small machine.

[andy hall]

You must have been very fortunate in your purchases, or possibly your expectations aren't the same as mine. If you are happy, then that's perfectly OK. I've tried out the B&Q router, as have others here. I found it lacking in power (despite its claimed power input rating) and the plunge mechanism was poor.

There is complete sense in paying a higher rental charge than it costs to buy a tool, *if* that results in getting the correct tool to get the job done to the required standard. If the work being done is on pieces of worktop costing =A3200-300, then it would be very stupid, for the sake of saving about =A330 max. to screw it up by using a poor tool.

This has nothing to do with snobbery, and everything to do with looking at the situation as a whole and making the sensible decisions on tools to use. I know that I can achieve far better results using a DW625 or a Trend T9 than I could with a PPro. Simple as that.

[andy hall]

Because it does the job properly.

I know that this is a concept that's alien to you.......

[andy hall]

I wonder if the Chinese manufacturers are aware of the very serious safety implications of that....... or even B&Q.....

[Doctor Drivel]

Matt, he has a Makita as well, so has a direct comparison.

David never, and owns three different types, so knows how they all perform.

It has.

[Doctor Drivel]

Matt, you deluded.

[Doctor Drivel]

If all you want to do is do two or three worktop joints in your own kitchen, then taking three times as long per cut is nothing. Doing is professionally of course you get a 1/2" Trend. Using a machine once in a blue moon is another matter. If a 1/4" router can do the cuts then it is madness to spend a fortune on a larger machine.

If a 8mm cutter is long enough and you have a 30mm worktop jig guide, then I see no reason why not to use a cheaper smaller router.

[Bob Martin]

I bought the Erbauer 2100W to put in a router table for use with the Freud raised-panel door set and it does a great job - but the router is big and heavy so I wouldn't want to hand-hold it.

[Doctor Drivel]

guarantee..

Wickes do a 1/4"/8mm router with a 50mm plunge depth. I Googled and many have cut worktops with 1/4" routers. Then bits and 30mm guide extra. Toolstation do a 1/2" router @ £35 plus P&P.

The PP Pro @ £49 with router bits and 10% off for the next 6 week looks by far the best buy. I'm not sure of there is a 30mm guide bush. Even so, these are available from £6 to £13, and if bought at the same time 10% off.