I have a Benchdog Protop Contractor RT150 portable router table (though I don't plan on porting it)
Anyways, I'm looking at the Freud router for this table. Does anyone care to share their experiences with this router as a table only router?
I bought a Freud 1700VCEK about a year ago (I realize it's not as big as the one you're looking at, but it is very similar). Based on my experience, I would not recommend it. From day one, the above table height adjustment was not very repeatable. The spindle lock broke after about a month of intermittent use. Next, the height adjustment mechanism (made from plastic parts) stripped out. Finally, the motor died. I posted a detailed account in a previous thread if you care to search for it.
I returned it to the closest service center (cost me $15 shipping) and received a new one under warranty. The spindle lock on that one has already broken. I will never buy another Freud power tool again, though I may still buy blades and bits on occasion.
While the original was in the mail, I bought a Milwaukee 5625 and a woodpecker router plate to mount it in. This unit has performed flawlessly.
Regards, John.
Magenta wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I don't know if this one counts, because I bought it maybe 6 years ago. Used it on one project handheld, then built a nice table for it and bought a Porter Cable 690 for handheld work.
It's a reliable, well-constructed plunge router that does what I need it to do. I'm a relatively experienced hobby guy now, but the router may go for months without running, then get an intense week or two of work. On the upcoming schedule is a kitchen and master bath's worth of Shaker doors & drawers. I just wish the temps would warm a bit from the overnights in the
20's.As I said, I don't know whether this exact router is still sold. I'd have another, (advertised 3.25 hp) if I needed one.
Patriarch
I'll second the PC690. I have one of those for lighter-duty work. You can get it with either a fixed base or plunge base, or as a kit with one of each. I've had mine for years and it works very well.
Regards, John.
My Freud FT2000 (?) 3 1/4 router has served me well over the last four years as a dedicated router table router. The spindle lock is beefy (the other poster was referring to another Freud router) and as for repeatability, when do you plunge a router fixed in a table?
Do it and don't look back.
D'ohBoy
When I put my router table together - a workmate, a one-inch thick piece of melamine from an old computer desk, a rousseau router table plate and some clamps - I had a Hitachi M12V and a Freud FT2000 to choose from. I bought a router raizer at a wood show and when I read the instructions it looked less complicated to install in the Hitachi so I use the Hitachi for the table work.
Truth is though, I bet I could have flipped a coin. Both routers have done everything I've asked of 'em. :-) (I will now take the opportunity to go slightly off topic and plug the router raizer. Nifty little time saver for the price.)
Based on the comments here and the other posts that I've found, I think I'll gamble on the Freud (having $100 gift certificate at the store helps too)
But I think I'll take the_tool_man comments to heart and inspect the router for plastic parts and make a final decision then
Thanks for the comments
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