New router time

[JimK]

Max 200-250

240v, 1/2 inch New

Quick trawl on eBay offers dewalts~200, hitachi ~160, sip?, then workx, & then sub 100 "cheapies" (silverline et l)

Any thoughts/ experiences with any or all please?

TIA

Jim K

[Andy Burns]

Push the boat out an extra twenty quid?

[JimK]

Aha ta

...Or even just £12.80

Plunge-Router.htm

Also what are Triton like?

Jim K

[Bob Minchin]

Tritons were always reckoned to be ideal for table mounting due to something to do with the spindle lock but as a downside I think they are heavy for hand use.

Triton as a company have under gone some changes in the last few years so I don't know if the current products are to the same design as previously.

[Rick Hughes]

I have 2 TREND Routers pleased with them. T5 is for most of my handheld Routing and the T11 used mainly in Router table.

[newshound]

Forget the Silverline and similar cheapies if you want to do nice work. The plunge is sticky and the depth setting is rubbish on my half inch Silverline.

[John Rumm]

To an extent you get what you pay for... the cheapies often have poor plunge mechanism (not smooth in use, too much wobble / backlash, and quite often the depth lock does not hold well (which is very irritating)

For table use Freud used to to a good one (FT2000E) not sure if that is still available though. The Triton is also liked for this (same reason - nice built in plunge depth knob, and a good plunge right through the base plunge capacity). For table use a good speed range (i.e. preferably that can go down to 8K - 10K RPM) is essential for use with larger cutters.

Trend T9 through T11 are also very nice but quite pricey.

I have an old Makita machine that I was given, that is also nice in the sense the controls work well and its smooth an accurate, however its a bit limited due to lack of speed control.

If you do lots of handheld edging work, then the old Mak 3601B is worth a look since its design is ideal for this:

[fred]

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We have the Freud 1/2", two Elu, 1/4" and 1/2" and a small Bosch. The Freud is a bit agricultural and not very smooth running compared to the Elu. In particular is difficult to switch off and sticky to plunge at times. The tw o Elu are unburstable. They are both a good age now and still going strong. Smooth to use and very well made. I just don't get along with the small Bosch mini router. Even with the plun ge kit I still find myself loathe to use it.