Im so confused with routers.........

[Blunt 10+ year member]

i have the craftsman combo plunge and fixed base and it works great and cost me $100

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

oh yea, and find some scrap wood to practice on first. definitly dont try on your box materials.

 

[Blunt 10+ year member]

that skil is a peice of crap. for starters the jasper jig dont fit it. and the craftsman rocked it. i burnt that particular skill up the first few days. the craftsman is fine.

 

[Blunt 10+ year member]

i borrowed someones craftsman 4" grinder one day, broke the handle right off of it, i bought them a milwaukee to replace it.

jsut because you abuse tools don't mean its junk. I've broke abotu every brand out there. but craftsmans warranty seems ot be the best and least amount of hassle

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

bri487 is just biased b/c he's rich....

for light duty use the craftsman seems ok but for that price I'd prefer the Skil 1825 that comes with a swappable plunge and fixed base which came in really handy on my last build... and if you are only going to use it once or twice a year don't blow your budget on anything nicer. If you have the money, want the tool to last 10+ years and use it alot got the dewalt/milwake/hitachi type stuff...

ohh and don't stoop to no names or harbor frieght stuff...

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

jsut because you abuse tools don't mean its junk. I've broke abotu every brand out there. but craftsmans warranty seems ot be the best and least amount of hassle

nah, craftsman is garbage. the craftsman pros arent too bad for hand tools. snap ons warrenty is the best i have ever dealt with out of any company for any item.

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

that skil is a peice of crap. for starters the jasper jig dont fit it. and the craftsman rocked it. i burnt that particular skill up the first few days. the craftsman is fine.

the jaspers fit my 1825 just fine...

however the screws that come with the jaspers **** something awful... I broke the head of one of them with mild hand force...

 

[newtitan 10+ year member]

id recommend

1) 1/2" shaft down spiral cut carbide bit --for your holes and cutouts

1) 1 jasper jig set from partsexpress--(make sure you adjust the instructin diameters

for the larger bit diameter

1) 1/2" shaft roundover carbide bit

by good blades, and they will last longer--get them online/ebay etc or just buy a set , but make sure you get a down spiral cut it makes life, and dust collection far easier

you can also get a upcut spiral if you like--just dont use a straight bit--the dust is horrible lol

and stay away from the 1/4" shaft diameter they break too easily

and IMO id look for a nice NIB porter cable 693LRPK

http://www.porter-cable.com/index.asp?e=547&p=2816

gives you the plunge base for your holes, and disks, and a flat base to do your roundovers, changes out in less than 2 minutes

a woodworker/cabinet guy recommended this too me, and it has worked out great!!

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

nah, craftsman is garbage. the craftsman pros arent too bad for hand tools. snap ons warrenty is the best i have ever dealt with out of any company for any item.

I like the snap-ons but it's REALLY expensive to get even a modest set of snap on tools... if I was a mechanic or doing body work for a living I'd have snap-on though

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

id recommend
1) 1/2" shaft down spiral cut carbide bit --for your holes and cutouts

1) 1 jasper jig set from partsexpress--(make sure you adjust the instructin diameters

for the larger bit diameter

1) 1/2" shaft roundover carbide bit

by good blades, and they will last longer--get them online/ebay etc or just buy a set , but make sure you get a down spiral cut it makes life, and dust collection far easier

you can also get a upcut spiral if you like--just dont use a straight bit--the dust is horrible lol

and stay away from the 1/4" shaft diameter they break too easily

all good advice.

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

I like the snap-ons but it's REALLY expensive to get even a modest set of snap on tools... if I was a mechanic or doing body work for a living I'd have snap-on though

even if you are going to establish a set of tools. start out with snap on. buy things piece by piece. they are really more of an investment than just a tool. it is something you will keep for a lifetime and probably never have to replace, and if you do you dont have to worry about warrenty trouble.

 

[Jesse98 10+ year member]

lol, i dont even have to shop for tools, the snap-on truck comes by the shop once a week //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif just love having a line of credit with em too can put $5 down and spend the rest of the day using my new torque wrench //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[hzsogood 5,000+ posts]

Bosch for me... The best imo... And i use it weekly at work... No problems and performs top notch

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

even if you are going to establish a set of tools. start out with snap on. buy things piece by piece. they are really more of an investment than just a tool. it is something you will keep for a lifetime and probably never have to replace, and if you do you dont have to worry about warrenty trouble.

Investments appreciate over time (at least they should), sorry just a pet peeve...

in any case I'd rather have a wide variety of tools last me for 5 years than have one or two tools last me a lifetime.... I couldn't have done my last install without a router/radial saw/jig saw etc. Had I purchased dewalt/miluwake etc I'd only have one tool and all performed flawlessly....

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

Investments appreciate over time (at least they should), sorry just a pet peeve...
in any case I'd rather have a wide variety of tools last me for 5 years than have one or two tools last me a lifetime.... I couldn't have done my last install without a router/radial saw/jig saw etc. Had I purchased dewalt/miluwake etc I'd only have one tool and all performed flawlessly....

a tool that you are going to keep for an extended period of time shouldnt depreciate in terms of wear and durability.