Official Luthiers Forum!

Which of these plunge trimmers do you own/would you buy?:

Bosch


Dewalt


Porter Cable


Makita

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

DEwalt with retrofitted precise bits collet

For small routers I usually "plunge" manually. I like that the Makita base has depth stops that you can set, but I suspect most would go for the Dewalt plunge base, which appears to have the advantage of being used with PC trimmers also.

Chris--

The one I currently use is a Bosch Colt in a Bishop Cochran plunge base. I know the Colt is not the current favorite here on the OLF, but the functionality of the Bishop Cochran base is the star of this show. I can do big things and delicate things with it.

Dewalt. Plunge assembly is nice and tight and seemed more rigid than others I tried at store. Nice size, power to weight ratio. Easier handling than big routers. I use it for neck joints and slot heads.

Smaller trim routers Colt and Ridgid for bindings. Foredom and StuMac base for rosettes and inlay.

_________________
Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I have a Makita and plunge base (+ a few trim bases for various jigs) which I like a lot. Perfect for my saddle slotting jig.
Would buy the DeWalt for my binding jig for the depth adjustment, but it's a tad expensive in UK so I'm sticking with my Bosch.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

We have the DeWalt at work and it is nice but I have the Colt at home and have no complaints.

_________________
Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

What do you want to use it for?

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

All of my generic plunge bases are on larger routers. I have a PC 310 in a bishop Cochran base.

_________________
http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Edited...

Sorry, didn’t catch the plunge part... I use a DeWalt with a plunge base.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

_________________
Insta - https://www.instagram.com/cbcguitars/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cbcguitars

+1


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Both DeWalt and Porter Cable are made by Black and Decker. The two pictures above show they are identical except for the color scheme. Are they like a Chevy and a Buick - the same except for minor differences?? Do they have the same innards? Cost the same??

Ed

I’ve got both the Makita and the Bosch. To be honest I have yet to try out the Makita plunge base. I find the motion on the Bosch to be stiff and jerky no matter how you hold it. Lube doesn’t solve the issue either. I may be able to reduce the tension on the counter spring to solve the issue. Once my new shop is set up I’ll give the Makita a go and see if I like it any better. I have a separate router set up for each operation. I hate changing bits in the middle of a build. That means I have a dozen or so of these trim routers.

Why?

M

Dewalt

_________________
Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I got a used DeWalt. Then another, and added a few bases.

I use it for binding in a jig, and plunge rosettes/soundholes, bridge slots and M&T neck joints.

Replaced my lam trimmer, and keeps my router in the table. I like the soft start, led lights, quiet, and mostly the vertical adjustment.

Haven't tried the others.

I have the Makita. I am very happy with it.

I have the Makita too. Mainly used for binding channels, and bridge milling. I like it, but I can’t compare with the others as I haven’t used them. You going to make us some jigs for them Chris? I am seriously thinking of buying the Bishop Cochrane base. Would love to see an Elevate one.........

I may have a prototype in the works for cutting circle like shapes...

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

Sorry if this is a hijack, but...

I was looking at a Bishop Cochran base for my Colt but got sticker shock. I know you only cry once when you buy quality.

Any insights anyone can share to enable, I mean help others make an informed decision?

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

When I took my guitar building course some years ago, I kept an eye out for what tools were must haves for setting up my own shop. I used a Bishop Cochran base in that class for my rosette and it was obvious to me that it belonged on my list. I love mine and use it for rosettes, saddle slots, and backstrip channels. Its adjustments are super precise to within a gnats's eyelash and solid with no free play. Every one of my rosettes is different so having the fine and accurate adjustment is really nice. It's one of the few tools I've splurged on and it was totally worth it for me. Ok, my enabling for today is done.

_________________
Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Everything Jay said, I echo. I will confess, though: I was lucky enough to buy my Bishop Cochran base used. Stick around the OLF long enough, and you can benefit from someone else getting fed up with this hobby. Yes, I’m a vulture.

It really is a great piece of gear. I can do rosettes, saddle slots, inlay, you name it.

Same as the others regarding the Bishop, but I use it for other work as well. If you put the close work fence on, it's really nice for cutting truss rod channels, etc. I used it as a basic circle cutter to make custom driver mounts for the car... It's just a really nice plunge base.

It's weight minimizes vibration, fit minimizes slop in adjustments, and the adjustments themselves are extremely fine.

My only concern with the investment is for future when my PC 310 goes kaput.

It isn't magical, but it's definitely luxurious.

Chris, if you are designing something I have an extra consideration for you. I like to do some oval/eliptical soundholes and rosettes. To do this you adapt a circle cutting jig (I currently use the StewMac one with a dremmel) to have 2 pivot points, and you run it in a X-shaped track. When considering the Bishop Cochrane base I wondered if it could be set up with two of those adjustable bars that bear the pivot pin. For an oval guitar rosette and sound hole you want to place the two pivot pins around 20mm apart (at about 40 and 60mm, respectively, from the bit). Here is a short tute on how I have been doing it.

http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?f=5& ... 62c09bb0da

But the Dremmel is definitely an underpowered tool for this job. I tried cutting an oval rosette ring from a hardwood burl a few days ago and got a lousy result. I need a new setup and I would love something to use with my Makita trimmer (or would buy another trimmer to suit, if needed). I know oval-cutting is not something in high demand, but it could be an add-on feature.

For cutting ovals another approach may be to use something like the Creative Memories system that scrapbookers use. They use plastic ovals with tracks that "bugs" ride in (an idea similar to the old LeRoy sets I used as a draftsman). The bugs have blades that will cut 1/16th inch deep - about the right depth for a rosette channel. Once the boundaries are scribed, excavating the interior could be done with a trimmer and chisel.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBBDwHTK8qU

Thanks for that tip Clay. Looks like a viable alternative method. But not as much fun if there are no power tools involved!