I am in the market for a plunge/fixed router and have been looking at the Bosch 1617EVSPK. Today I received a Sears flyer in the mail advertising their plunge/fixed router. After looking at the pictures and specifications the Sears appears to be the same router with their name on it. Is Bosch making this router for Sears? If so I am going to buy the Sears for it is on sale for a good price. The Sears model # is 1617-12
If so I am going to buy the Sears for it is on
Buy Bosch for quality and durability
It is obviously made by Bosch, but that does not make it a Bosch product. I noticed that they have a clear baseplate, where Bosch has an opaque one. Sure, that might be an improvement, but they might have produced to greater tolerances, substituted plastic for metal, or who knows what.
RE: Subject
Only one of them is a tool builder.
IMHO, you can't even mention them in the same breath.
Lew
I've often wondered what companies such as Bosch, Delta, etc. do with the parts that test out of spec and are not used in their own brand products???
-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)
Not to say that the Sears isn't a good tool, but you can't tell if it's the same from the outside. They can change the internals - use plastic gears instead of metal, smaller bearings, etc - without you knowing from the external appearance. SWMBO bought a famous maker mixer for a 'good' price from the BORG and it broke two days later. Seems that the ones that the borg carries have plastic gears to keep the cost down. SAME MODEL NUMBER as the ones you buy from kitchen specialty stores which cost more. Difference is inside. This was confirmed by a call to the mfg. Needless to say, she took it back for a refund and paid the few extra bucks for the real deal.
I just bought an 18V Cordless Skil Brand Drill. When I looked at the manufacturers plate. It's made by the Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. Look up the name in a search engine and it will take you to the Bosch Tool Website. At the top of the page, it's the Robert Bosch Tool Corp.
Is it an inferior product. That depends. Most large manufacturers make several grades of tools. A Bosch drill would use a metal clutch assembly, like a DeWalt. The Skil and hobbyist level tool would use a high impact plastic for the clutch assembly.
Do I need the reliability of a DeWalt. No. I'm not a contractor. But I'd have to kill three of these Skil Drills to spend the same money as I would have for one DeWalt.
To put it simply. I'd take a look at the unit itself, and see if there are any manufacturers information on the unit. If it's the Robert Bosch Tool Corpororation or some other big name, I would lean towards having more confidence of it being a reasonable quality product, versus some no name company.
Pat
Bosh OWNS Skil. This does not mean that Skil tools are made in the same plant, or even the same country, as Bosch tools. Nor does it mean that the tools are manufactured to the same specs, or that they have to meet the same levels of quality.
The comparison is more like Dodge compared to Mercedes Benz. I still have no confidence in Dodge.
One of the magazines just had an article about tool differences. They showed the internals of both a Skil and Bosch router. They were very apparant when you looked at the motor and bearing sizes. As for the Craftsman made by Bosch, you'd have to take them apart to be sure if they are the same. They may be, but it is a bit of a crap shoot. For $10, I'll take lkthe Bosch and be sure. For $40, I'd be tempted to go with the C'man.
The November 2004 issue of Wood reviewed "multi-base router kits" Both the Craftsman and Bosch were reviewed. The Bosch had the same model number you referenced but the Craftsman was 26620. Final spec's between the 2 were identical EXCEPT for: Craftsman had no dust collection provided for either base even as an accessory and its subbase opening was 1 3/4" versus 2 1/16" for the Bosch. As a plus the Craftsman had a "through-the table height adjuster" which the Bosch does not offer. The Bosch had above base dust collection,subbase centering cone,edge-guide dust collection,edge guide fence,guide bushings and a height-adjustment extension knob listed as accessories where as the Craftsman just had guide bushings listed. Prices listed for each: Bosch - 195 smackers versus 220 for Sears Per the outside inspection the 2 units were virtual twins except the bottom plate on the Bosch was black and Sears was clear.
I picked up that router kit from Amazon - $191 - this morning.
Per the outside inspection the 2 units were virtual
ROTFLMAO..... did anyone doing the inspection also not notice that the Craftsman is RED vs. Blue on the Bosch?
I agree 100%. But I'm a lot more comfortable buying a tool if it has some attachment to a certain manufacturer than a 100% no name from the far east, that will start smoking the first time you use it.
Remember, Sears has everything built to sell for a certain price, not necessarily to meet longevity requirements. After all, they'll be there when you need another one. The commercial tool stores won't be open for you on a Sunday afternoon:-) Joe
Color blind Of the 7 routers reviewed, these 2 were given "Top Tool" award for what its worth.
Per the outside inspection the 2 units were virtual
ROTFLMAO..... did anyone doing the inspection also not notice that the Craftsman is RED vs. Blue on the Bosch?
Ya true.. But I'd be more confident in the dodge versus the world famous Russian Lada. Remember those cars.
The whole point being. I'd be more confident with a tool that has some connection to a big manufacturer, than I would with a no name tool made by a company in the far east, being sold as an immitation Makita or DeWalt.
Looking at the manufacturers plate, can give you a good idea of where it came from. Doesn't mean it's a top of the line tool. But it's a good starting point when your considering the purchase.
Pat
They don't make them. You can't afford to these days - companies that still operate by making rubbish and "testing out" the non-compliant stuff went bust some years ago. Modern manufacturing uses techniques like SPC so that you simply don't make the bad part in the first place.
There's still waste in a production process, but this is far smaller than it was twenty years ago and the stream of "out of gauge" components being rejected at a late inspection stage has almost vanished.
I do not recall the Russian Lada being affiliated with Mercedes or Dodge.
Are you saying that if Hyundai introduced a line of tools you would be confident in buying that tool? Hyundai is or was at one time one of the largest manufacturers in the world. And by the same token, you should not be confident in Delta as some of thieir equipment is manufactured by a no name facility in the far east. To me the only confidence I have in a large manufacturing company is its reputation of any one given product that it manufactures and is known to be a good item and possibily its ability to supply repair parts. For me, there is only one tool that Skil manufactures that I would remotely consider purchasing and Skil being owned by Bosch would have absolutely no influence on that decision.
I guess some would consider it a good starting point if they knew nothing about that product and or its reputation.
The first 1617EVS Bosch router that I bought in August of 1998, the same one that we are talking about here had to be returned because within 5 minutes of use the on/off switch failed. The dealer exchanged it for another new one. Again after the first use I was unable to get the bit out of the self extracting collet. I totally screwed collet and bit off the router as one unit and returned again to the dealer. We finally managed to get the bit out of the collet and had to try 2 more new collets before we found one that would not lock on to the bit. This was not a case of a bad one out of many, it was a case of poor quality control.
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