New handles for Bosch 1617?

[Toller]

I bought a 1617EVS primarily for use in a table. Yeh, I know I need a more powerful one for table use, but the 1617 is literally twice as powerful as what it is replacing, so it is fine.

I rarely handhold a router, and when I handheld the 1617 it was awkward. Those pretty wood knobs didn't give much to hold onto. I am thinking about replacing them with something bigger and more holdable. Has anyone tried this? I would appreciate knowing your solution; no sense to reinventing the wheel.

Yeh, I know I should get a plunge or D base, but there is the budget to think about.

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

I read that here all the time, but I've done an awful lot with a

1617EVS in a table, with great success.

I actually like those knobs, and prefer them over plastic knobs.

I have an extra fixed base in my table, sans knobs. It seems like you could mount just about anything that is comfortable for you and able to use the same size bolts.

Why? I have those bases for the 1617, and greatly prefer the fixed base over the plunge when I don't have to plunge, and the fixed over the "D" when edge routing. The routers CG ends up lower and I find it "handles" better with the fixed base on edges, especially if I'm doing more than one edge of the same board.

Let us know what you end up doing.

Barry

[Charlie Self]

Toller asks:

Best bet, at least for me, is to break that shine. Those handles are so slick the router always feels on the verge of spinning around in my hands, so a shot with some 150 grit sandpaper did the job, followed by 0000 steel wool. I haven't coated them again and may not.

Charlie Self

"Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal." Alexander Hamilton

[Routerman P. Warner]

Might be, an offset plate will give you the control. See

for one design.

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