Routers

[krw]

[Nova]

I still stop in at Sears more frequently than I'd like to exchange or have ratchets rebuilt. I'll agree that Sears does have a few decent tools. The majority of these tools are those made by major tool manufacturers and relabled with the "Craftsman" logo. I can usually find those tools under the manufactures brand at a better price.

[Max]

I wonder who makes this one.

of the reasons I like it is the little dust chute that connects perfectly to my Ridgid shop vac: only thing I would change on it would be the switch. I like a switch on the handle ala DeWalt 621. I use it more than any other router I own which includes DeWalt 621, 625 and 618. Milwaukee 5625 and 5615, Bosch Colt., 2 ea. Hitachi M12Vs and an M8V, Porter Cable laminate trimmer,

I think Sears has been trying to improve their Craftsman line. It might be in vogue to criticize them but it doesn't hurt to recognize effort.

Max

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Same thing, maybe. The ones at HD are the same as some of the Craftsman, made by Ryobi.

I'd stick with the brand names like Bosch, DeWalt, PorterCable, etc. That way you only buy one good router.

[Jason]

Yeah, we were. I was going on Jim's original one, but I found the $59 one with your links. Thanks - I wasn't thinking outside the box.

Jason Buckler Marietta, GA

Pat Barber wrote:

[Jason]

Dunno if I got lucky years ago (7 or 8), but I've been using my craftsman router a lot over the past week. I was afraid of the ARDA, but so far - knocking on wood) - after about 70 feet of dados (dog gates with trellis inserts, slots for T-bar in my router table that I never finished, etc) I've had zero variance on depth.

Then again, it's only 70 feet, and I've been haunting my local craigslist for a good deal on a PC combo kit.

If this craftsman holds its depth though, I'm just gonna leave it in the router table. The one thing I don't care for on it is *setting* the depth - the swirly/spinning guide is... not accurate. Find myself using a rule instead.

Jason Buckler Marietta, GA

[Steve]

It looks like the one I got FREE last summer with a Craftsman router table I bought. Actually I had a choice: 1) The router table for $100, or the router table and router as a package deal (regular price $130) sale price $100. So the router was essentially free. It IS a very nice router with plenty of power for what I do - rout pickup cavities in solid guitar bodies. It replaced my 25-year-old POS Craftsman router that had a plastic motor housing - the new one is all machined aluminum, and is much more stable. The old one had big-time vibration problems. And I agree that dust collection chute is really nice.

I also have a Craftsman Professional router that came as a combo kit with fixed and plunge bases. This one is identical except for logos to one made by Bosch. Excellent router too, a little more power than the free one.

BTW, everything Sears sells in the way of Craftsman power tools is built by someone else, usually to Sears specifications. If you know the codes, you can tell who made 'em: the three digits before the decimal point in the model number indicate who the manufacturer is.

--Steve

[Steve]

I have four. And I have a luthier friend who has at least 10.

--Steve

[toolman946 via CraftKB.com]

Stan,

Someone previously described themselves as "shamelessly" owning a stable of routers. I also fall into that category claiming parenthood of 11 units (Bosch, Makita, Freud, Craftsman and Porter Cable). But the reconditioned Hitachi at this site (mentioned in a couple of earlier posts) looks like a great deal... especially as a starter kit.

on the "details" tab and you'll see that it offers 1/4" and 1/2" collets, electronic speed control, seven template guides and a centering gauge. Template guides are a great accessory that you'd probably want to add soon after you gain a bit of experience... and they already come with this kit! And at 79.5 db... it's whisper quiet... uhhh, well for a router anyway (always wear hearing protection!!)

I prefer 1/2" router bits for most work but every now and again you need a small bit that works best in the 1/4" configuration. So both collet sizes is almost a necessity. And you're able to buy bits when they're on sale... regardless of size.

And since pawnshops have been mentioned a couple of times... let me add my 2 cents worth on that subject. I'm a Detective Sergeant with a fairly large municipal police service in Canada (700,000 pop.) and I'm in charge of our Pawn Unit. My experience is that most power tools in a pawnshop have been stolen from a construction site, a manufacturing plant or from a homeowner. I say MOST 'cuz there are some items that are pawned legitimately by the owner. My job is to vet everything in our 40 odd pawnshops and determine if the items originated as the result of a criminal act. If I can't connect the goods to a crime then I have to consider them to be legit and to be fair game. No morality judgments here. If you don't buy it, someone else will. My only caveat is that a beginner should be cautious about plunking down hard earned cash for a power tool with an unknown history. Experienced users usually can figure out if the goods are in useable condition and whether buying them constitutes a deal or not. If a newbie wants to shop for power tools at a pawnshop... take along a friend who has experience with the type of product in mind. As they say in court... caveat emptor! (buyer beware)

K.... nuff out'a me! Time to get back to kicking a** and taking names... (grin)

Michael

[Antree]

I'd like to say a big thanks to everyone that responded to my question. But I have one more question. Is a plunger base better than a fixed base, or visa versa, or does it really matter? There's two models from Hitachi ( I don't recall the model numbers) one is $59 and then the other comes with a fixed and plunger base for $102. I'd like to save forty dollars, but with two bases it seems like I might have more options to work with. Also in regards to buying all the other toys that go with a router,table, templates, etc., yea, those are in the future also. Take Care, Antree

[Doug Winterburn]

You can lock a plunge to make it like a fixed, but you cant make a fixed plunge.

[Steve]

I think this is the one that came with my router table:

[nailshooter41]

SNIP

Not just in vogue, absolutely stylish. Sometimes it reminds me of school kids that make fun of something because everyone else is doing it.

It is sad to see where that once proud name has fallen, but they seem to be doing better on many fronts now. Most importantly, I think they supply the weekend warrior of casual user a good value for the money these days. I like the fact they stand behind their product without fighting.

I still don't rely on them to make my living, but using my tools every day I have found just about as crappy quality and short useful as the worst of the group with any major manufacturer that I have used.

The only major tool maker I have never had a problem with is Milwaukee. But now, they too have joined the Chiawanese connection of manufacturing for some of their products, so they may wind up hit and miss as well.

I would like to see Sears take a little pride in their products and keep on trying to improve them.

Robert

[Upscale]

Funny you mention that. I was considering newer cordless tools from them since my current 12v Milwaukee cordless drill has done so well for me. That is, until a dealer I trust told me that Milwaukee was sold overseas. Now I'm looking very closely at Dewalt instead.

[Upscale]

It depends where and how you think you'd be using it. But, consider that a plunge router for the much greater part will do everything that a fixed base router can do, but the reverse is not always true.

[pat]

Some notes on the whole megillah at the :

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[henry]

I use a Bosch plunge and large PC in my table. I love my mid 80's Craftsman router with a light to better see my work. I dont know if any existing routers have lights or how old one would have to be to have a light.

[Doug Winterburn]

I like the light also. I just don't have any requirement for variable depth dadoes.

[Nova]

I'd take a look at the Makita BHP452HW. My neighbor bought one. Lot's of torque, light weight, and long lasting batteries with a 15 minute recharge.

[Pat Barber]

The kit with two bases is what I recommended. It is the WAY to get started. You can't beat that price in my opinion.

Buying the router(s) will be the cheapest part of the entire deal.

You are going to need a few "extra" things to go along with that.

(1) Table (2) lift (3) bits (4) bits (5) bits (6) template guides (7) bits (8) "How to" books (9) bits

You see a trend here ???

[e-mail] wrote: