Re: Is the Freud 2 1/4 HP VS Router any good?

I wouldn't buy from anyplace named that. Too stupid to consider it.

What Leon said.

I saw that in the ad and laughed. If you want to get some enlightening reviews on this machine, check it out on Amazon. I have read reviews of this combo that were even more harsh than the ones posted there.

Robert

On Jan 29, 11:05=A0am, JoanD'arcRoast

What a recommendation, where can I buy one of those?

"FrozenNorth"wrote

Almost anywhere.

I don't care who you are, but that's pretty funny right there.. . . . .

and spot-on.

I don't care who you are, but that's pretty funny right there.. . . . . Damn right it is. and you could probably add "because they took out a full page ad in our mag, please see page xx" to the end of it.

jc

I know that to be true. I once called a US based audiophile magazine about arranging a review of my line of loudspeakers. I had already been reviewed favourably in Canadian, German and French magazines, so I thought it was the next logical step. I was told that they would send me a kit that would start the process. What I got in the mail, you guessed it, was a rate card for advertising.

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" laid this on me:

One of those Amazon reviews is mine. Overall, it's not a bad router, especially at that price point. It 'cuts' OK, power is reasonable for a 2HP, and it runs fairly smoothly. But be ready to tighten loose screws in the bases (they bounce around and loosen constantly); the plunge base is not the smoothest I've ever used, and it sometimes gets stuck when trying to remove the motor to switch bases. In the fixed base, the above table bit height adjustment works, but after about a month, it started 'skipping' as I tried to raise the bit, so now I have to give it support at the bottom when raising the bit. Easy enough to work around, but a small hassle nonetheless. To it's credit, the one wrench bit changing is good, and it does work OK outside of these hassles. At least enough that I'm not gonna buy another router until this one blows up. But if I had the $$ and a time machine, I'd get the Milwaukee.

Sean

My Bosch 1617EVSPK fixed/plunge kit arrived today. Not only did Amazon have the lowest price I found online, but there was an RA1064 edge guide I didn't expect bundled with the router kit. Free accessories, cool. For an extra seventy-five bucks getting something that I have yet to hear anyone say anything bad about seemed like a good way to go.

I can recall seeing magazines from the UK which offered reviews which didn't seem to have been influenced as heavily by advertising as their U.S. counterparts, guitars and related gear is one area that comes to mind.

As someone who has been on that side of the glass I can tell you reviewers know how far they can go with product reviews depending on the publication's relationship with the advertiser. If a product really stinks and the publication doesn't want to lose credibility with its readers (which in time can reduce its appeal to advertisers) then either there will be no review at all or it will take the form of a re-written press release from the mfg. but without being presented as a test report. Obviously some publications aren't that picky, they'll praise anything if the mfg. buys enough ad space. One can turn down opportunities to write reviews where one isn't willing to overlook a product's flaws, at least with some publications, but others will assume such an attitude means you don't want any more checks from them. The trick is in knowing which publications value their credibility enough to decline to print obvious BS....

Must be part of "TEAM MEDIOCRE" he he he.. GO TEAM!

craig

I don't care who you are, but that's pretty funny right there.. . . . .

and spot-on.

I have several of those routers, and I'd buy them again without hesitation.

Got any recommendations on a benchtop table? I just spotted a used Delta locally (real cheap) but the only user review I've found was highly unfavorable so maybe that's why it's real cheap. Space is at a premium so I need something compact.

BenchDog.com has a full line of router table configurations. Stand alone, bench top, and table saw table extension. Pretty good stuff, I have been using the stand alone since 04/2001 and is no worse for wear.

I know that to be true. I once called a US based audiophile magazine about arranging a review of my line of loudspeakers. I had already been reviewed favourably in Canadian, German and French magazines, so I thought it was the next logical step. I was told that they would send me a kit that would start the process. What I got in the mail, you guessed it, was a rate card for advertising.

Let me guess...Stereophile?

Seven or eight years ago, I built my own, with two layers of MDF, laminate, and a Rousseau plate.

If you don't want to build your own, there are several out there. I wound up getting one from MLCS with folding legs. I plan on hinging it off the side of a rolling tool stand eventually, but in the meantime it works fine on the bench. There are undoubtedly better ones out there, but not for the price.

:> Damn right it is. and you could probably add "because they took out a full :> page ad in our mag, please see page xx" to the end of it. :>

:> jc

: I know that to be true. I once called a US based audiophile magazine : about arranging a review of my line of loudspeakers. I had already : been reviewed favourably in Canadian, German and French magazines, so : I thought it was the next logical step. I was told that they would : send me a kit that would start the process. : What I got in the mail, you guessed it, was a rate card for : advertising.

: Let me guess...Stereophile?

I'd be cautious about extrapolating from audiophile magazines to woodworking (or any other type of magazine). Audiophiles, and the magazines that cater to them, are incredibly irrational. These are the guys who pay a thousand dollars a foot for speaker wire that is equivalent in transmission to lamp cord from Ace Hardware; rub green Sharpies along the edges of their CDs to make them sound better; etc. And the mags are full of "serious" "reviews" of these products. The woodworking equivalent would be something like thinking you can cut a pice of wood more accurately on a tablesaw if you stick a piece of bubblegum to the underside of your bandsaw.

The whole field of audiophilia is full of snake oil, its producers, and deluded saps who buy it.

-- Andy Barss