Craftsman Rotary Tool

Wife got me one a Craftsmand Rotary Tool for Christmas.. I am just starting to do small woodworking projects and I was considering purchasing a router and I remembered the rotary tool came with the plunge router kit. Checking Craftsmans site they even had a small benchtop router table for it. Would router bits and the router table for this be worth investing in or should I just buy an actual router?

Any advice/comments are appreciated, thanks!

Reply to
Locutus
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It's similar to a Dremel, right? If so, the motor is WAY underpowered for real routing. If you're not looking to spend a lot of money, even a $40 Black and Decker router would most likely be a lot better.

Reply to
Josh

No, it is a lot larger than a Dremel tool. Here is a link:

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Reply to
Locutus

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Reply to
bob kater

Yes, I would say get a real router. Your rotary tool would be fine for stuff like trimming off edges of veneer, maybe putting a small-radius roundover on something, but it would not be nearly as useful or versatile as a real router. I noticed on Amazon that the Porter Cable

694VK 1 3/4HP kit with plunge and regular base is on sale for $199, minus $30 PC rebate, minus $20 Amazon sale, so that's $150 for a good router with 2 bases. Or a Bosch 1617PK 2HP reconditioned kit with plunge and regular base for $135 plus shipping. Either of those would be excellent quality, a good sight better than Craftsman, B&D, or Skil, and powerful enough for just about anything except big panel-raising bits etc. Good luck, Andy
Reply to
Andy

Depends. Are you going to be cutting holes in drywall and countertops, or making fine furniture? You'll find some good other uses, of course, but get the right tool for the right job. As I say that, I do use my 3HP router like a shaper, so I'll add that you get what you can afford at the moment, and what you'll most likely use the most often.

Reply to
Guess who

They work great if you are modelmaking or doing miniatures. Not enough power for anything more.

Reply to
CW

| Wife got me one a Craftsmand Rotary Tool for Christmas.. I am just | starting to do small woodworking projects and I was considering | purchasing a router and I remembered the rotary tool came with the | plunge router kit. Checking Craftsmans site they even had a small | benchtop router table for it. Would router bits and the router | table for this be worth investing in or should I just buy an actual | router? | | Any advice/comments are appreciated, thanks!

The rotary tools generally only take bits with a 1/8" shank which means that you're pretty much limited to straight (spiral) bits.

I have an inexpensive HF tool that I'd begun to regret spending the money for - until I had a project for which the rotary tool was an obviously right answer. About four inches into the first cut the bit, which hadn't cut particularly well from the beginning, broke and I replaced it with a 1/8" 3-flute solid carbide end mill (not sure why it was in my briefcase, but it was a lucky accident). With the end mill in the tool, it cut as well as any of the full-size routers in my shop.

There are a couple of serious drawbacks with the rotary tool: [1] you're limited to straight bits; and [2] you're limited in terms of _safe_ depth of cut.

Probably the first drawback is sufficient justification for buying a larger router. I have a personal preference for bits with shanks larger than 1/4", and it's worth noting that I've never managed to break any of the larger-shanked bits.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

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Reply to
Morris Dovey

Reply to
Rob Mills

You're right! I found 'em in my Rockler catalog - interesting.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

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Reply to
Morris Dovey

Notice the full size price? :)

Reply to
CW

Holy smokes! (I had to go back and look.) They must be really proud of 'em - I only had to pay $5 for my 1/8" 3-flute square end mills, and only $7.25 for 2-flute ball-ends. For everything except miniature work Rockler makes a good case for buying a full-size router.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

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Reply to
Morris Dovey

You can find less expensive bits:

Granted they are not carbide, but for the price you'd take a while before equaling the cost of the Rockler bits.

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

I bought my wife a Dremel multi-speed for Christmas that came with the router setup and all the other bells and whistles.. I would NOT try serious routing with it..

Regardless of what their advertising says, it will not take the place of a router... but large stuff is not the nature of the tool or why most folks get it.. it's great for SMALL stuff... sand, grind, cut, etc., etc. in areas that "normal" power tools either won't reach or are too big for.. If you have things that would be too small or precise for a router, use the rotary tool.. YMWV

To explore using a router for slightly bigger stuff, I'd recommend the 1/4 hp trim router that Harbor Freight has on sale a few times a year for $20... I got it as a "throw away" spare for light jobs and have been unsuccessfully trying to kill it for over a year now.. *lol*

Mac

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Reply to
mac davis

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