Routers - best or best value?

[A.Lee]

Hello all, I am on the hunt for a new router, main use will be kitchen worktops. Trend are clearly the brand leaders for routers, but most routers look, and feel much like each other.

I've currently got a £50 cheapie, (Branded Lucas IIRC), which seems to be an exact copy of a £180 Makita router. The only downside to the one I have is that it doesnt accept std. size guide bushes, so it has had a Trend base fitted to allow guide bush fitment. This works reasonably well, but there is always the doubt that the base has been knocked off line a little, thus even if .5mm out, will make a kitchen worktop joint look rather poor.

So, do I go for the £220 Trend, or the £200 Dewalt, or any number of similar price alternative makes? What about Freud? There are a couple of Freud models on ebay now at reasonable prices, new they are £150ish, so are they slightly less better 'quality' than others? The Hitachi ones have also had a good review.

Any thoughts? Thanks Alan.

[Arthur2]

I have a Triton MOF001 which is a 1400W I like using it because its not too heavy and the collets and nut are a 'one-piece' which means no fiddling with a 1 nut and 2 collets set up.

This review is farly good.

MOF001 is only 4.7kg and is not too heavy for handling as I do lot of trimming oak and sapele. I should say that when I am trimming or profiling the motor can sound overloaded when trimming off a 8 - 10mm of waste so I multipass to completion.. But I'm probably a bit wimpish about the noise issue. I have a ryobi 2000w router for the router table. The ryobi is a lot heavier and I wouldn't like to handle this weight with

2000W motor for hand held working.

Just a couple of bobs worth of my experience.

Arthur

[The Medway Handyman]

I'd go for the Trend simply because of the huge range of very good accessories they do, all of which fit perfectly. Its a 'system' machine. Hinge jigs, lock jigs, bushes, worktop jigs - all sorts of useful stuff that fits without having to buy adaptors.

[tony sayer]

Agree on that .. perhaps ideally you need more than the one machine?..

[Jon Fairbairn]

Trend have responded well when I've contacted them by email (and replaced an out-of spec guide bush under warranty without referring me to the retailer or anything irritating like that), which is useful.

Which model are you looking at? Buying from the Trend website is generally expensive compared to shopping around, but they do have C-grade T10EK

[John Rumm]

For some background on features etc have a look at:

So, do I go for the £220 Trend, or the £200 Dewalt, or any number of

For worktops you really need a 1/2" machine with plenty of power. If you are only using it for that task, then most of them will do at least an adequate job. Watch some of the cheaper ones though if you plan to use it in a table since some don't spin slow enough for the larger cutters.

The old Freud FT2000E was usually considered the point at which 1/2" machines became good enough - solid, accurate, and enough power at the sharp end. The Trend T9 would be another slightly more expensive option. The big Makita's are also usually reasonably nice. Not tried a Hitachi one, but based on their other tools they could also be worth looking at. Note that the Freud is also often badge engineered for others - the Wickes grey router was one of these (although they sold it for more than the cost of the branded Freud!).

[Andy Dingley]

=A3150 minimum, good solid one with a half-inch collet then, Cheapies won't edge-joint a worktop without wobble-marks

The Freud one is popular (several brands sell it) as it's cheap amongst comparable machines and has a good threaded depth control, a crucial feature that most lack (NB - not just a depth stop). There are other good ones too - Trend always seem over-priced and obsolete designs IMHO though. The Australian Triton is nice and the DeWalt with dust extraction up one thickened pillar is a good freehand router with good visibility (not so great in a table though, and in the UK you have to buy the 1/2" collet afterwards as a spare part)

A cheap 1/4" isn't wastcd money as a light freehand is always useful, but a cheap 1/2" might be if you're asking too much of it.

[A.Lee]

I went for the Freud FT2000. Bargain at £85 delivered - shop return, or B stock I was told. On inspection, nothing wrong with it, then did find the fault, the base plate holes for the side gate had not been threaded. Not a problem as I have the taps available here, though it is rare for me to use a side gate. A nice, smooth, heavy thing it is too. Recommended. Ta Alan.