Official Luthiers Forum!

O.K. For my Williams Jig P/C 309
For rosetts etc. P/C 310
For undertable router P/C 690
For inlay Dremmel
Are these good choices?
What do I purchase for 'freehand router' plunge or standard base and what brand and model number?

Bob,

Your choices look good. If you want an awesome deal on a router check out this one I got. Today is the last day for the Porter Cable $25 rebate. That will be on top of the $25 Amazon rebate for a purchase of $199, and free shipping.

This router is so nice. I got it last week, and I highly recommend it. Both fixed and plunge bases, lots of power, and easy to use.

Router deal here.

Jeff

bob

your choice of the 310 is excellent. what are you going to use to adapt it to cutting rosettes, soundholes, etc.? it will also do light free hand work. get a cochran base and it is an excellent light plunge router.

the pc690 and its variable speed evolutionary successors are good fixed base routers, and bought on special with the plunge base are very economical and an adequate combination. great way to get started.

the 690 is powerful enough for light router table use, but if you get into using the table heavily you will probably want to upgrade to something like the pc7518.

i think the best pure plunge router going around is still the dewalt 621; very smooth plunge and excellent dust collection. it is basically the european elu sold by dewalt.

the dremel has limitations for inlay, namely the bearings. whilst i am still using mine in a cochran plunge base, i am looking to change but haven't decided what to do. i know many serious inlay folks are using the air powered mini die grinder bases sold by both david nickols and john hall. i haven't tried one yet.

crazymanmichael38472.5932523148

I second everything Michael just said! You will probably need something
more powerful than the 690 in a table. The PC 7518 is a great choice! The
DeWalt 621 is the best all purpose plunge router I have ever used. And
you just cannot say enough about the PC 310 laminate trimmers. I use
them all over the shop for just about everything that is not heavy duty!

_________________
Sylvan
http://www.wellsguitars.com

You will never go wrong with ANY PC tool. They are built to last a lifetime. I have all of those you mentioned plus the 3.25 HP router in my router table.

If you are on a budget a Ryobi laminate trimmer is a viable alternative. I have 3 of them and they have never let me down in 10+ years. I bought all of them used on ebay for cheap. Ryobi doesn't have a great reputation for professional or industrial level work but ask yourself how often are you really going to use the tool? Mine have been just as trouble free as my PC tools.

_________________
tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I use a Hitachi TR3 3hp plunge router with the springs removed in my router table. Plenty of power. I've had it for 20 years and it's still going strong as is my PC 690, PC 310, 2 Sears 1/2 collet routers, a Stanley trimmer 25 years old, a Bosch laminate trimmer kit I bought years ago when I did I lot of formica work, a garage sale JC Penny's router (crap), a grizzly 3/4 hp plinge router (nice little tool) and a brand new addition a Freud 1 1/2hp 7.5 amp trimmer with plunge base offset base and reg base. Why you ask? It was on closeout at Rockeler for $89. and I couldn't resist. Thats not counting the 4 or five dremels and B&D
Any one need a router? Bobc38472.6853240741

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Interesting to hear you're using the Grizzly 3/4 hp plunge router, Bobc... I always eyeball that one in the catalog. It looks small and easy to handle like a laminate trimmer with the added versatility of being able to make plunge cuts. How's the collet on that, does it have much runout?

For routers I have 2 Ryobi laminate trimmers and a PC 310 for general routing jobs, with a Bosch 1608 in the Williams binding jig. For a table router I use a Freud FT2000E on a Rousseau plate, and for inlay there's a dremel with flex shaft and the handpiece is mounted in a homemade acrylic/maple base. A Harbor Freight (Foredom-type) flex shaft tool gets used a lot in my shop too.

Buddy I havn't measured the collet for runout but I havn't noticed any problem with it.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I really like the DeWalt DW621 for general purpose work. The dust collection is great. I tend to keep a 1/4" downcut bit in it and use it for template work.

I've been very happy with my Milwaukee 5616 "body grip". Low center of gravity and comfortable. I mainly use it in the router table, but it's a definite workhorse in the shop.

The PC 890 series is also very solid - soft start, variable speed. Available as a kit with D handle base, and plunge options.

The Bosch 1617EVS is also a nice fixed base option. Very smooth, nice depth adjustment. Hard to go wrong with any of these, but I like the flexibility that the plunge base DW621 give me.