How many Routers do you have and why?

[Thompmd]

Those of you that mentioned the 1400.... what makes it your favorite?

 

[SoonerFan]

Currently I have an OF1400 and an MFK700.  Will soon be three as I am planning to get a router table and will get a dedicated router for the table.

I got the OF1400 first.  I choose this because at the time I only wanted one and felt it was the best over all option.  I added the MFK700 when I had a project to make a bunch of charcuterie trays.  The MFK700 was the prefect round over solution for me on that project.

 

[Holzhacker]

Porter Cable trim router from when I used to do a lot of laminate work
Old Skil / Craftsman I've had forever that I can't get rid of but never use
OF1010 main go to router
Big old 1/2" Bosch for the heavy stuff on the rare occasions I need it
In terms of guys who have 5 or 10. I had a friend years ago who was a cabinet maker. Can't even say how many routers he had. His point though was that he would set up each / as many routers as he needed for a particular cabinet job that use them throughout that job. No switching bits between routers, no new adjustments, etc. For him having to change bits or re-adjust depth was just dumb and inefficient. So if a guy tells me he's got 10 routers my first question would be how long have you been a cabinet maker.

 

[deepcreek]

How do you like the Castle pocket machine? I’m in the market for one but the Kreg is about 1/3 the price

I have the original Porter Cable version and prefer it to Kreg because of the lower angle holes.  Far less creep during assembly.

 

[CeeJay]

I have three.

An OF1400 which I’ve only had 6 months. Love it so far.

A Makita trim router which I also love. So easy to use.

A Makita RP2301 which is going into the router table I’m building.

I sold my old Makita 3601B which I’d had for 10 years when I got the OF1400.

Not sure about the RP2301 for the table but bought it new in box as a bundle from a guy who had bought router/lift/fence etc but never started his table build so it was pretty cheap.

Just waiting on an NVR switch and I’ll get started on the router table conversation to my PM2000 extension table.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jim_in_PA]

PC7518 in my cast iron table. OF1400 and OF1010 from Festool. Dewalt DW618 kit with three bases. I used to also have a PC 7529 plunge router, but I gave it to a friend. Hand-held, I mostly use the OF1400 and DW618 with the fixed base. Sometimes that fixed base is the better choice for stability and micro adjustment. Today, the OF1400 got the nod for cutting out a window opening in thick faux door skins for a home improvement project.

 

[cpw]

I have six.  I was at 5 until I started getting into the Festool routers; but gave away a 2 1/4 Craftsman plunge/fixed/d-base set after I added the Festools.

(1) A 3hp Porter Cable in the Table
(2) A small Dewalt trimmer (611) which is great for small chamfers and roundovers
(3 & 4) Two Dewalt 618s.  One is generally setup for the dovetail jig.  Not having to change the dovetail setup if you are doing a bunch of drawers saves a ton of time, but also having two routers for different profiles even if not a dovetail is useful.  Having the extra router be identical to the first is convenient because you can share extras like the guide rail attachment.
(5) I got a OF1010 for the LR32 system, but have also used it for a bit of edge profiling as well.  There is a fancy version of the Fastcap Little Lipper that makes flush trimming solid edge banding pretty easy and provides good dust collection/guarding while doing it.
(6) I managed to snag an OF2200 from the recon sale.  This is now my favorite handheld router, and the DW618s are gathering dust - except for the occasional dovetail setup.

 

[xedos]

dammit, I just get out of the sanders anonymous meeting yesterday.

Now I've got to sign up for routers anonymous. 

Craftsman small 1hp    - still has the best ergonomics, switch and depth adjustment of any small router I've used. Too bad it's not variable speed

Craftsman 2hp - with the internal dust blower contraption.  Bought on a lark before vacuum attachments were a thing.  Pretty much useless.

Bosch 1450  - was the first good plunge router I got.
Bosch GFK12- interesting little 12v palm router. Makes a mess though.

Porter Cable 890 x2 -  one in a router table , and one handheld with fixed& plunge bases
Porter Cable 7529 - mostly for circles. Dust collection rivals Festool.

DeWalt 618 - three base kit.  Mostly use the D-handle. 
DeWalt 611 - sweet little plunge router.

Rotozip - strictly not a router , but I've got one setup with a spiral bit and their clear dust shroud base for cutting outlet boxes in cabinets.  Dust collection is far superior to any Festool router.

Festool 1010 - this gets used a lot.
Festool 1400- didn't like it and sold it on.

Dremel with the micro plunge base for tiny inlay work.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Sweet old Stanley 1/4” with a nice wide base
Big old Hitachi plunge router with just a single scary speed
Classic Porter Cable trim router, short and squat
Three Bosch trim routers with multiple bases (pre Colt) but two have bad bearings
Two Ridgid trim routers one better than the other
Makita single speed similar to the Stanley but all plastic
Makita cordless trim router
Small Milwaukee 1/2”
Medium size Milwaukee 1/2” plunge kit
Two medium size Bosch 1/2” one in a portable table and the other plunges
PC7518 in lift in cast iron table and a spare backup 7518 in a carton
Three OF1000
OF2200

Craftsman and B&D routers given away don’t count

 

[HarveyWildes]

12

Started with with a 2hp Makita which I moved back and forth between router table and handheld use.  That lasted a couple of years until I got a router lift and put it in my shop-made router table.  I didn't want to take the Makita in and out of the lift, so I got a Bosch 2 1/4Hp router.  I got tired of switching that between the fixed and plunge bases, so got another, and then found yet another one with a D handle (used) which I like for dovetail jigs.  (that's 4)

Then I got a Bosch Colt because they are so easy to handle with smaller bits doing more detailed work.  I liked it so well, and got so tired of switching bits and setups, and then having to try to re-create setups, that I got a second Bosch Colt, and then a Rigid trim router.  So that set of routers served me well for maybe 10 years.  (up to 7)

Then my router lift started getting a bit weird to adjust, so I got a newer one, improved the dust collection, and put a PC beast in the new lift.  Around the same time I got a new DeWalt trim router because I thought the plunge base would be nice.  (now at 9)

In the last couple of years, enamored with Festool dust extraction capabilities, I added a 2200 to the arsenal, and the dust extraction is phenominal.  Based on that experience, I also added a 1400 and an MFK 700.  (now at 12)

Finally, this year I got the Milwaukee M18 cordless.  As I looked how to consolidate accessories to give me flexible setup, I managed to winnow out the Rigid.  (still at 12)

For router table use, I'll keep the PC and Makita routers, as I can now field 2 router tables if the need arises, and if I use rail and style bits or other bit sets that require the two setups to be coordinated, I would want to be able to do that.  The PC will get the bulk of the work, but the Makita is there when I need it.

For large handheld use, the 2200 is brilliant for clean routing, but the 1400 is easier to handle.  Between the two of them, they can do everything that my Bosch 2 1/4 routers can do, and they do it with less mess and with silky smooth operation.  Plus the supported Festool accessories add a lot of flexibility which I either have cobbled together, or would have to, for the Bosch routers.  I may offload the Bosch routers in the next year, but I do have a Micro Fence custom base on one of the Bosch routers that gets a fair amount of use, so I'll need to get adapters for the 2200 and 1400.  Micro Fence is a big deal for me.  The Micro Fence circle jig supports large diameter circle cutting - I've done one piece that had nearly a 2' radius.  The Micro Fence fence is the best fence that I've ever used.

For trim routing, I'll probably keep all of them, but right now I am super impressed by the utility of the Milwaukee cordless router.  Being free of a cord means that I can easily use it outdoors, which I like to do in good weather.  The Bosch Colt, DeWalt, and MFK 700 routers will get used for extra setups on projects that require them.  The DeWalt stays because of the plunge base.  The MFK 700 has some specialized uses that the other routers don't, so I'll probably save it primarily for those uses.

If you haven't seen it in operation, the Milwaukee M18 cordless router is awesome.  Things I particularly like:

• The adjustments are positive and precise.
• The motor break is awesome.  In theory it does not stop instantly, but in practice it might as well.
• Dust collection is very good.
• Other features are comparable to other trim routers on the market.
• Runtime is suitable for more trim routing tasks, as long as you are not running it for long periods on end.  I'm using 5 Ah batteries and did not run out the battery while chamfering a project.
• The only real disappointment is that there is no plunge base (yet).

 

[thudchkr]

If you haven't seen it in operation, the Milwaukee M18 cordless router is awesome.  Things I particularly like:

• The adjustments are positive and precise.
• The motor break is awesome.  In theory it does not stop instantly, but in practice it might as well.
• Dust collection is very good.
• Other features are comparable to other trim routers on the market.
• Runtime is suitable for more trim routing tasks, as long as you are not running it for long periods on end.  I'm using 5 Ah batteries and did not run out the battery while chamfering a project.
• The only real disappointment is that there is no plunge base (yet).

Am looking real hard at picking up that M18 cordless. While looking at it, they also showed me the plunge base. https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/milwaukee-48-10-5601
They also now have separate kis that come with the different bases, (offset and/or plunge).

I currently have the big PC beast in my router table, in a lift, and have a PC 690 that gets used with a dovetail jig. A Dewalt 617 that also pretty much lives with the dovetail jig, while a Makita 1100 resides with the Leigh MFT. A Bosch Colt with plunge base used to handle all the smaller handheld tasks, but got usurped when I started getting the Festool offerings.

My first Festool was the 1400, then picked up the MFK 700, the 2200 and finally the 1010. The Festools pretty much took over all the non-dedicated tasks which means I get to leave the others set up for specific purposes.

Pretty sure I’ll be acquiring that M18 though. The appeal of having a cordless router, and huge investment already in the Milwaukee M18, (and M12), lineup make for a good addition to the stable.

 

[bertv]

As evident from my signature I am not ashamed to admit that I own every model of the current Festool router line up, except the 1400. And that one may be in the shop soon. Collections need to be complete, right?

Why I own two MFK 700’s? I happened upon a bare and barely used second hand machine that was very cheap, but discovered that buying the accessories separately was as expensive as buying a Set. So I bought a Set & to even things out I bought the lone MFK 700 its own Systainer and insert AND a guide of its own.

 

[blaszcsj]

I have the 1010, 1400, 2200, and two cordless Dewalt trim routers.

I have one Dewalt set up with a white side round over and the other is left for flex setups. I would like to buy 2-3 more of these for other setups. Cheap as chips and really good router.

For corded activities I reach for the 2200. It is flat out a joy to use and I find it the most stable to use. I use the 1010 for the lr32 and odd trim jobs. 1400 comes out when I do multiple ops or just want to change it up. Overall I use them all interchangeably.

 

[blaszcsj]

Also I have the micro fence and adapters for all the routers. Best investment ever. Love the fence and circle jig.

 

[Cheese]

Micro Fence is a big deal for me.  The Micro Fence circle jig supports large diameter circle cutting - I've done one piece that had nearly a 2' radius.  The Micro Fence fence is the best fence that I've ever used.

If you haven't seen it in operation, the Milwaukee M18 cordless router is awesome. 

• The only real disappointment is that there is no plunge base (yet).

I echo the Micro Fence recommend, that system is very slick. Adjuster backlash is in the .001" area. They also offer a metric adjuster as well. I have the adapters to use the Micro Fence on my Festool 1010, 1400 & 700. I'd suggest anyone new to router use, take a close look at the Micro Fence before you purchase the normal router accessories and then move on to the Micro Fence system anyways...money saved.

I've also always had a few Milwaukee routers laying around. I still like them because they're bullet proof. However, as good as their routers are, the available Milwaukee plunge bases have always been horrific. The plunging action is sticky, the internal spring/springs are too stiff and they make a horrible thunk when they hit the upper stop.  [mad]

I'd suggest trying the Milwaukee plunge base in person before you take the leap.

I'm also thinking about the new Milwaukee M18 router...it seems really nice.  [smile]

 

[Imemiter]

I've also got a beautiful old Stanley. My mentor talked me into buying it. I actually still use it sometimes. Spins like a top. No photos to upload but here's a link:

My most used are two Bosch, a 1613 and a 1617. Then the two Makitas, an offset trimmer and the 18v cordless. I've also got another short, sturdy Porter Cable trimmer that hasn't seen a lot of use. I was surprised to find so few routers putting together inventory recently. In the past two years I've sold two PCs and a Ryobi. I love routers, but I've never had a Festool. I'll have to remedy that someday.

 

[Thistleman]

To answer the question what do I use my routers for is simple cutting lots of different profiles an having set fences etc not having to adjust these if I want to use a different cutter

Festool. OF2200, 0F1400X2, OF1010, MFK700
Elu. MOF99E
Makita. DRT50 18V X2
Bosch. GKF 12V
Draper. For use in router table
AUKTools V3 for use in router table

 

[FestitaMakool]

I've also always had a few Milwaukee routers laying around. I still like them because they're bullet proof. However, as good as their routers are, the available Milwaukee plunge bases have always been horrific. The plunging action is sticky, the internal spring/springs are too stiff and they make a horrible thunk when they hit the upper stop.  [mad]

I'd suggest trying the Milwaukee plunge base in person before you take the leap.

I'm also thinking about the new Milwaukee M18 router...it seems really nice.  [smile]

I strikes me, as my very old Makita router has slightly better plunge action than my newest routers. To me it seems strange that the industry seems to rely on the same mechanics/glide bushings since, well... a very long time ago. I know that the progress of gliding bearings and bushings have come a long way since - a long time ago  [huh]

 

[HarveyWildes]

....
Am looking real hard at picking up that M18 cordless. While looking at it, they also showed me the plunge base. 
https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/milwaukee-48-10-5601
They also now have separate kits that come with the different bases, (offset and/or plunge).
...

I see another tool order coming in my future...

 

[jjowen]

Asked me three days ago and I would have given a different answer; A pin on the plug-it connector on my OF 1010 broke! I got the OF 1400 out of the CMS and started using it the right way up for the first time! She looked brand new once I vacuumed all the dust out. I love the extra weight and power.
Anyway, I took the 1010 to get repaired and purchased the replacement part 574351 while I was there.