Router Question

[woodbutcherbower]

One additional post for the OP's benefit regarding the use of copy rings = what they are, and what they're used for. Here's my OF2200 being used with a copy ring (usually known as a 'guide bush' in the UK) to rout butterfly bolt slots on the underside of an oak kitchen worktop. The ring's the silver component highlighted, and it works by pressing against the sides of a routing template (in this case a commercially-bought Unika one for worktop joints), guiding the router around its shape;

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Here's another application - this time using another commercial jig (Sautershop) to rout many hundreds of super-clean 5mm shelf pin holes in the vertical sides of a 8-metre long cabinet run I was building for a customer;

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Templates can also be home-made. Here's one I knocked up using a scrap panel to rout curves on the ends of a kitchen island - (the same kitchen job as the first two pictures above, actually), You'll notice that the template is inset from the edge of the workpiece - this is to accommodate the distance between the guiding edge of the ring, and the cutting edge of the bit (see the first pic again to see what I mean - the router bit is cutting a narrower shape than the shape of the template itself). In this 'cutting a curve' case - the position of the template adjusted so that the bit is just 'kissing' the workpiece as you start to make the cut from the leading (straight) edge of the template.

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I hope the above pics clarify things for you  [smile]

Kevin

 

[jeffinsgf]

I'm late to the party, but here's another vote for the 1010. I own an embarrassing number of routers and have ready access to even more. It is by far the most used in my shop. Start with the 1010 then get a big ol' fixed base 3HP and build it into a router table when time and budget allow.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Although I am a huge fan of the MFK700, it's not for everyone, especially as an "only" router.
It's certainly not a contest, I have more routers than any sane person would consider normal, the OF1010 is one of my top favorites.
I'm definitely in agreement with the others, who have mentioned getting a compact router too. My preference is Makita, but there are others that can handle the job.
The Dewalt is considerably bigger in diameter and also has a "flat edge" on the sub-base. Some like those things, others do not.