UKC

Recommend me a good one please and what should I be looking out for?

YouTube would have me believe that I can change the world with a router - can I?

In reply to KingStapo:

Well my mum seems more cheerful these days. Could be that Dad's router is keeping him from being under her feet and making him happy and they do seem to be getting on better...

Your milage may vary...

In reply to KingStapo: Ryhobi

In reply to KingStapo:
I have had a DeWalt 625EK for years, they were nearly £400 when I bought mine, down to around £250ish now. Mine is still going as strong as the day I bought it.

Be prepared to spend a small fortune on cutters and most important of all, learn how to make and use jigs.

Edit: Once you have one router you'll find you suddenly need more (one for free hand/jig work and one to mount under your first router project, your router table.

In reply to KingStapo:

Table or hand held? I bought one to do my kitchen worktops because it was reduced to £100(erbauer one from screwfix) the motor seems pretty powerful but the depth gauge is useless and I think if you're going to be using it a lot then save up for something better. It was ok for occasional use but having done a bit more research it seems they're just one of those things that are ludicrously expensive.

Also a lot of people seem to recommend avoiding erbauer.

In reply to Sharp:

Intrigued as to what you were routing out of a kitchen worktop. Wouldn't a circular saw or even a jigsaw be better for cutting out the bit for the sink etc?

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:



My guess is to make the slots underneath to take the joining brackets that look like turnbuckles and pull the two pieces together in an invisible join . Also to prep the join itself so that the edges are perfectly aligned when pulled together. There are videos on you tube I have no doubt. There are jigs available too, but pricy if you only need to do one or two, so I just got a friend who had the tools to do that when I extended my kitchen.

In reply to KingStapo:
The DeWalt 625 EK as mentioned is more than adequate.

The Trend one and (cant remember the other make ) ,along with the Dewalt,are identical.

I've had my Dewalt for 13 years.still good as new .use it for the heavy stuff.

Have a Trend T4 for the hinge jig and lighter stuff (1/4 inch)

And a Makita laminate trimmer for smaller stuff . Great little tool.

I never got immersed totally in the world of routing ,but the possibilities are boundless

In reply to Neil Williams:

A router is the bit of kit needed to make the Mason mitre joints! Most joiners own a router for this reason alone!

In reply to KingStapo:
Another vote for the DeWalt 625EK. I use mine for larger hand held router jobs and with a worktop jig for machining kitchen worktop mason's mitres.

I've got a Freud 1/2" job I keep permanently mounted in a home made router cabinet for producing mouldings and jointing work, that's a good powerful router, if a little bit more agricultural than the DeWalt or a Trend.

In 1/4" I've got a DeWalt (copy of the old Elu) that I use mostly for edge profiling and template work. Also got a little cheapy Power Devil 1/4" router with the handles taken off and a 5mm single flute cutter and 10 mm guide bush that I use with a home made jig for doing shelf bracket holes (the ones you get in kitchen cabinets). The fence and plunge depth guides are very rudimentary on the Power Devil but it's a great little light weight tool for doing dowel and shelf bracket holes repetitively.

For buying your first router, it depends on what you think you'll be using it for as to whether you opt for a 1/4" or 1/2" collet. 1/4" collets are lighter to handle for putting moulded edges on boards etc but lack the power or ability to handle the bigger cutters needed for maching worktop joints or raised panels. Whatever you go for, graduated adjustable depth stops and fences are very useful and worth paying a bit extra for and to be honest, I'd generally opt for a DeWalt, Trend or Freud. If you're only planning on doing a little bit of DIY with it such as some moulded shelf edges and maybe a mantlepiece or something, then a Ryobi or Erbauer will be cheaper and useful enough. Get your head round using guide bushes, trammel arms, templates, jigs and a router table and there really isn't anything you can't make.

In reply to teflonpete:

But before spending £250 odd on one of those, nip into Machine Mart and have a look at a Clarke CR2. It's a solid machine, very similar spec to the DeWalt but much cheaper and it comes with a set of 1/2" bits included.

In reply to browndog33:

<Googles>

Ah, I did wonder how those were done!

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

They were oak worktops so they took a fair bit of cutting. A circular saw would have done a lot of the work (the non visible less important cuts), a jigsaw wouldn't be suitable imo. If you're using laminate (with rouded edges) you need a router to cut the corner joint with a jig. On mine I used it for a floating mortice and tennon joint for the end cap, to cut the sink out, to trim a diagonal line across the front of one where the door swings out, to trim a half way depression into the back where something was poking out of the wall and as Jim said to do the butt joints.

People I came across who do kitchen installs for a job seems to use a router for everything but if I had a decent circular saw I'd probably have used it for as much as possible as I really didn't enjoy using the router one bit (sorry). I had to prep them in my living room as well, the dust...oh the dust! I guess they take a bit of practice to use well but despite my displeasure over it they do do a job that nothing else really can.

In reply to KingStapo:

I have a 1/2" Erbaur machine, it's not perfect, very loud and out of the box the plunge stop could use a little refinement/finishing but with a little care it performs well in a table and handheld. It was also much cheaper than other comparable spec machines.

There are a lot of jobs that are easier to do well with a router but few I can think of that couldn't be done without one.

jk

In reply to mwr72:

I second the dewalt 625Ek I have had mine for years , it is a great bit of kit. Fitted oak kitchens with this and never had any bother.
Well worth £240.

In reply to KingStapo:

Buy a cheap but large 1/2 inch with a collect for 1/4" Get one will loads of bits and then buy decent ones of the type you use. Shop around and you will be amazed what you can get.

If you are doing the wood job professionally a cheap one is still useful for reclaimed timber.

Buy cheap, buy twice does not apply