[Closed] What plunge router?

£50 will barely get you a cheap one. Probably better to look at second hand. What sort of jobs are you planning?

If you've only got 50 quid stick with chisels and ask Santa.

There's a couple of Elu Mofs on Ebay,currently at less than £30. I'd go for one of them, preferably the 1/2" collet.

I've got an old version of this http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-pof-1200ae-1200w-router-240v/32549?kpid=32549&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=CJ2rksXLhr4CFbShtAod5mgAFw and its ok for light work like putting in a small rebates but not really up to chopping through worksurface or using in a table e.t.c you will still need to add money for bits. If you want to do some serious cutting go for a 1/2 collet as the increased stiffness will help with accuracy and power will allow you to move quicker reducing the chance of burning the wood. This will cost you a lot more.

I've got [url= http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-2100w-1-2in-router/98162 ]one of these[/url] and it's proven to be very capable - a bit over your budget though at about £70.

I've had a cheap new one, and now use a Trend T5 I bought s/h. Night and day.

Save up and tbh it's easy enough to spend £50 just on bits.

Thanks folks. I was thinking more second hand and appreciate I'd probably still be struggling with that budget.

Projects currently are basic-ish - bin store in the garden and a two storey playhouse for the kids. I'd like to do a proper job, and use those to improve before taking on some more serious jobs around the house though (wardrobes, drawers, etc).

The Trend T5 is a cracking little router for small jobs and can be picked up quite cheap 2nd hand plus there less than £100 new.

I build wardrobes for a living and hardly touch my router. Circular saw is my main tool.

I bought a cheap ex-demo 1/4" router years ago. I only use it occasionally, but every time I do, I wish I'd paid a bit more and got the 1/2" one.

I use my 1/4" far more than the big one. That said there are times when only the big one will do. You need both 😈

I build wardrobes for a living and hardly touch my router. Circular saw is my main tool.

I'd have thought you'd be using it all the time for giving nice edge profiles - or does everyone have them square these days?

Screwfix often have a small Bosch model on offer in their shops (or my local one does) - around £80 I think.

I'd have thought you'd be using it all the time for giving nice edge profiles

I tend to use 18mm MFC with 2mm ABS edging for the carcasses and vinyl wrapped MDF doors that come in 100s of different styles and finishes, made to measure from [url= http://auniquechoice.co.uk/ ]these guys[/url]

Proper job.

and vinyl wrapped MDF doors that come in 100s of different styles and finishes, made to measure

Isn't that cheating? 😉

If you call getting a luxury made to measure bedroom at a fraction of what low-end companies like Sharps charge, cheating, I suppose it is.

They'd see it that way 8)

Personally unless the wardrobe has been chiselled from a solid tree trunk in one go, it's not a proper job 😉

1/ Buy size to suit the job
2/ Buy model which is well supported for spares/jigs - Elu Mof/Trend/DeW` or clone
3/ Buy bits for the job of reasonable quality
4/ pay close attention to technique - ie direction/size of cut and guides.
5/ Practice on scrap wood - not mdf
6/ Note a big cutter on a 1/2 router is to be respected.

Long time T5 owner - they were more than £200 when I got mine.

Does anyone use a router for cutting joints? Or is it all this pocket hole jig things now? I was planning on nice joints in everything and thought it would be easier/ quicker with a router.

i'm with a few other folk on here who've already said the same. i've used some very cheap routers, i've used a decent hobby type one for a long time, but the 1/2" makita i now have is another world.

basically, its so much easier to use than anything i've used before its crazy. and i never would have thought that until i had tried it.

btw, another option is one of the small palm size makita routers. i have one of those too and its a great bit of kit. you can get them for under 100quid and a plunge adapter is available.

[i]bin store in the garden and a two storey playhouse for the kids[/i]

tbh, I think you're unlikely to need anything more than the odd lap joint cut out on a pull saw for those projects.

You might need the odd mortice and tenon joint for proper furniture but most of the time I've only used a router to put a nice edge on shelves etc or trim up bits of wood so they're square.

Cutting joints ? - what type/quantity and how bigish ?

For joining 18mm chipboard there's nothing to beat [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kreg-Junior-Pocket-Hole-Jig-R3-/300441870276?pt=UK_Crafts_Other_Crafts_EH&hash=item45f3bb1fc4 ]a Kreg pocket hole jig.[/url]

With a bit of practice you can make a cabinet out of a few boards in minutes. No visible fastenings. Drilling and routing cam & dowel holes takes more measuring than I'm prepared to do.

I've just bought and absolutely stupefyingly lovely (and absolutely stupefyingly expensive) festool 2200 router which means my old Trend T9 is surplus to requirements. The spindle has somehow shifted slightly which means the spindle lock (when changing bits) doesn't locate so you have to improvise by jamming an drill bit or similar in to hold the spindle while doing up the collet. Ultimately the reason for the new one is I generally have to work pretty fast and the speed of bit and accessory change is what sold me on the festool.

But, although generally a little bit knocked about, the T9 is still generally very serviceable. Its got variable speed, a guide bush collar, trammel bars/edge guide, 1/2" and 1/4" collets.

You could have that for £50 if you like

Cutting joints ? - what type/quantity and how bigish ?

So I figured I'd use my two immediate projects to practice and improve my woodworking. Perhaps the reality of it is that I should just crack on without one for now, save some pennies, and wait until I really need one. Thoughts?

maccruiskeen - tempting, but I've never used a router before. Will yours kill me?

Will yours kill me?

Only a little bit quicker than any other one would. Its big/powerful, compared to a T5 but fundamentally all routers do the same thing in the same way, its the blade that would hurt you, not the the thing thats spinning it. You'd have to be trying pretty hard to hurt yourself with one though, pretty safe compared to say a circular saw. They're a two-handed tool to work with - theres very little temptation to get your fingers near the blade or to work on material thats not well supported

You'll get a bigger choice of bits with a 1/2" router and having speed control is useful - with stuff like MDF I slow the blade down as much as I can get away with so the waste comes off as chips/shavings that drop to the floor rather than dust getting thrown in the air - speed control also allows you to route plastics and aluminium if you ever get the urge.

I've just bought and absolutely stupefyingly lovely (and absolutely stupefyingly expensive) festool 2200

😆 Get you Mr. fancy-pants!! I'm about the pull the trigger on a 1400 myself, now that they're under £400. I'm sick of my Hitachi Optimus Prime. (And I know it's a bit naughty but the one handed ness of the 1400 is bloody useful for routing biscuit grooves in long planks of flooring.) Actually, tonyd, you're based in Brizzle aren't you? (Unless I'm imagining things.)

Nope, Crowthorne - near Swinley

Get you Mr. fancy-pants!!

Its a bit of an indulgence but festool prices really seem to have tumbled a bit so its only a fraction as bonkers as it used to be- I've also got a a full scale replica for a WW1 tank to build so its going to earn its keep!

Nope, Crowthorne - near Swinley

Ah right, sorry, I have a beast of a router that'll be for sale.

I've also got a a full scale replica for a WW1 tank to build so its going to earn its keep!

Also my T5 has a soft-start motor plus its an on/off switch, easier (for a DIYer) to use as you aren't concentrating on keeping it on while guiding it.

When I do the kitchen I'll buy T9/10 too.

Where are you based maccruiskeen?