Picking up a new hobby.

I've been doing a little research and these 2seem to be the most popular units.

I'm looking at the Dewalt DW618PK Fixed/plunge router and the Bosch 1617EVSPK.

Anyone have any experience with these? They both seem to have decent pros and cons and I'm having a hard time making a decision. If anyone has used both and could comment that would be great.

I don't have much experience with the Dewalt, as I personally own that exact Bosch, but have used one owned by my stepdad a little bit.

I picked the Bosch because I personally liked the balance, the handle feel a little better than the Dewalt, and really liked the depth adjustment a lot better. The Bosch has above the table height adjustment built in if you are planning on putting it in a table. From some time spent researching on woodworking forums, lots of guys have both, and seem to say they both have their benefits over each other.

The only major issue I have read about the Dewalt, which is a small part of the reason I went with the Bosch, is that the speed controller likes to go out when mounted in a table that doesn't have perfect dust collection set up.

I think either one would be a good choice. The best recommendation I have is to go handle both and see which one feels best in your hands.

I've read the same complaints about each unit. I don't have any local place to try them. Going to have to do some driving to find one. I think lowes may have them ocassionally in stock.

Any good recommendations for a wood working forum?

Call your local HD or Lowes to see if they have them for rent. And search for tool rentals in your area as well.

KOT

I heard that it's Festool or go home. But that's only cause I subject myself to being friends with the biggest Festool fanboy on the planet.

Festool 1400 - definitely my favorite router

The largest one I think is sawmillcreek: [Link: sawmillcreek.org]

I am not a member though and only occasionally read it.

Looks like wood magazine reviewed them a few years back and Bosch was the winner: [Link: woodmagazine.com]

Yup! OF1400

unreal how nice of router it is. the ratcheting collet function, the micrometer adjustment (this is insanely nice for doing finish passes) and the accessories makes it a clear winner. LOVE the soft start function and the dust collection is great (for a router)

For making fluted columns and other repetitive passes the edge guide with extensions is super nice. If your doing cabinets with adjustable shelving the LR32 system is a game changer!

For a beginner thats getting into wood working and routing you cannot go wrong, and infact I would almost insist on you getting it because it really makes routing fool proof. Aside from the sanders & track saw this would be the first Festool I would purchase!

Now this is the



I was talking about

You must watch these guys.

http://www.routerworkshop.com

Perfect! I was looking for a direct comparison. Inept finding reviews of individual ones but not both together.

I'll pass for now on the festool. I have a habit of getting bored of things quickly and prefer not to spend $600 on it.

What will you be making? That makes a difference WRT which router you will need.

One thing I would recommend is going to a place that sells these and finding out how much pressure is required to compress the springs. When I did car audio, we had Porter-Cable routers and one was used for the router table. The springs were too strong to allow raising the bit by opening the door on the dust collection box and pushing up, so I removed them. The springs being too strong would have made this router very difficult to use in any configuration and could result in damage to the material and fatigue from pressing down on long passes.

If you will be using larger diameter bits, go for higher power. If you think that you'll use a router inverted in a router table, get one that can be adjusted for depth without removing it from the table or needing to reach underneath.

Look for router safety videos- these can do a lot of damage if the safety features aren't used and the guide pin is one of the things that should always be used when routing end grain on a router table.

I recently picked up a Porter Cable 690 and like it a lot. As I'm new to the game, I didn't want to drop a crap ton of money on the best router. I picked up a 2nd fixed base as well as the plunge base. I affixed one of the bases to a custom drop-in leaf that fits into my extension on my table saw. The only thing I'm a little disappointed in is the difficulty to get the leaf to sit completely flush on all 4 sides of the table saw but it's still a work in progress. This is mainly due to the table saw not being completely level with the table fully extended. I also created a custom fence that attaches to the table saw fence. It works pretty slick!

If I can't overcome my leaf being perfectly flush, I may be investing in a dedicated router table with an adjustable router plate. When making our showroom bookcases/fireplace, I had some inconsistencies with my face frame because of the slightly tweaked plate. I just don't want to have one more thing/tool that I need to make room for. That's what you'll find with this hobby! There are tools for literally every aspect of woodworking and what guy doesn't like tools???

Even though our office kitchen/living room cabinets took a crap ton of hours, I guessed I saved roughly $30k as I got an estimate for the kitchen at $23k. The total investment with additional clamps/tools/etc. was only $5k. A labor value is not figured in that total.

Honestly, I wouldn't over think it. Pick up the recommended Bosch or the Porter Cable 690. Either way, enjoy the new hobby!

I have the 618 and a Hitachi, both the combo sets. The Hitachi is used in a table and for circle cutting. The Dewalt is used for everything else. A good friend has the Bosch, which I almost purchased over the Dewalt.

Between the Bosch and Dewalt you will likely be happy with both, I think they are both fantastic. The Hitachi I bought used for $75, and it is actually really really good too. If I could save $50 getting the Hitachi I might do it.

That said I like the handles on the Dewalt as the Bosch handles started to feel really slick on a hot day doing longer passes. The plunge base on both is really good, though I feel like the Bosch got sticky over time. The removable cord on the Dewalt is really nice, way more of a differentiater than I imagined that it would be.

Like I said, both are fantastic, and more than enough for a casual hobbyist. The Hitachi, in my opinion, would be a great fit as well.