Hello,I'm looking to buy my first router; what would you suggest?I've read the FAQ and that says you ultimately buy two: a small one touse handheld and a larger one for bench-mounted work. Which do peoplebuy first?I am confused about the handheld work; when would you do this? I wouldhave thought a router "up in the air" was dangerous and that you wouldalways have the work piece lying on a bench to work on? If so,shouldn't the size and weight of the router be irrelevant?Which collect is more useful 1/4" or 1/2"?I read that for big cutters you need slow speeds of 8000 rpm. I havefound this Erbauer router at Screwfix: goes from 8,000 to 23,000rpm. Has anyone used this one? If not,what does it sound like from its description?I've also found this one: a lot of machine mart's routers say "call for availability"which suggests they are being discontinued? This one seems to have the"advantage" of an 8mm collet; would I use that or is it marketing?IIRC I read that it is useful in a 1/4" machine where a cutter is notavailable in 1/4" but is available in 8mm. OTOH since this machine is1/2" would it matter?Spec wise it seems similar to the Erbauer both have 60mm plunge andthis one's speeds are from 7.400 rpm to 21,600 rpm. I notice that the Erbaurer model says the speed is constant underload, which I presume is a good thing but I could not find anything tosay what happens to the Clark model under load.Or am I barking up the wrong tree; should I be looking for a 1/4"model first?BTW there is also a Clark table: that any good?Thanks,Fred

AFAIK 'bench mounted' is where you have the motor underneath the bench and the cutter sticking up (much like a bench mounted circular saw ) and you move the wood against/past the fixed cutter whereas 'hand held' is where you clamp the wood to the bench and then move around it with the router.You can also use a hand held router on work which is already substantially built and therefore not suitable for being pushed past a bench mounted router.Could be wrong, of course :-)

Thanks for this list. I'll look them all up. I haven't done anythingyet because it's been too cold to go to the shops!Which is what confused me: 1/2" is supposed to be m,ore useful buteveryone recommends the 1/4" for its lightness and maneuverability.Perhaps I should just buy both!one:>>Go with the Erbauer.Ah, the good versus bad clones you mentioned above.Is Erbauer just another chinese import? What does Erbauer mean, it's astrange name?Is the constant speed under load not standard on routers then? I guessit's a feature that's good to have.Thanks.

On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 15:56:40 -0800 (PST), Andy Dingley wrote:

first router recommendations?

Dec 27, 2009 22 Replies

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Fred 16 years ago

Thanks for this list. I'll look them all up. I haven't done anything yet because it's been too cold to go to the shops!

Which is what confused me: 1/2" is supposed to be m,ore useful but everyone recommends the 1/4" for its lightness and maneuverability. Perhaps I should just buy both!

one:

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>Go with the Erbauer.

Ah, the good versus bad clones you mentioned above.

Is Erbauer just another chinese import? What does Erbauer mean, it's a strange name?

Is the constant speed under load not standard on routers then? I guess it's a feature that's good to have.

Thanks.

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Andy Dingley 16 years ago

Start with a 1/2" The benefits of a 1/4" are real enough, but only if your router is lightweight and easy to use. The cheapies are often quite heavy.

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Fred 16 years ago

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