I need a new plunge router, 1 3/4 or 2 hp.
I was going to go just pick up another PC but thought I’d get the collective opinion of the rest of you.
what’s your favorite?
I need a new plunge router, 1 3/4 or 2 hp.
I was going to go just pick up another PC but thought I’d get the collective opinion of the rest of you.
what’s your favorite?
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Replies
Gonna use it in a table frequently?
When I bought my router kit last January I was looking at the PC. I ended up with the Bosch kit and i've been pretty happy with it.
I decided against the PC because I felt the plunge base had a "choppy" action. The bosch is much smoother.
The only complaint with the Bosch is after using the motor in the table the power switch loaded up with saw dust and was hard to turn on.
"...after using the motor in the table the power switch loaded up with saw dust and was hard to turn on."
Good tip on something to consider.http://costofwar.com/
I looked around and took the Bosch kit plunge too, and it's great. I made a tabel inset for my Bosch table saw, and set the tabel base under that. Now I just pop it into the table saw and use the fence for running edges and such.
Smooth well made and powerful. WAY better than my old Ryobi.
Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
Can you post a picture or two, Lateapex911? I'm making an insert for my Bosch 4000, and would appreciate any ideas.I've been comparing the PC and Bosch, also, and I've never met a Bosch tool I didn't like. In the PC's favor, though, I believe there's a means of adjusting the height through the standard base when it's mounted in a table.
I'm sorry I missed this somehow.....must be the 14 hour no lunch days.....
I can snap a few digital pics if you are still in the process..let me know.Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
Only if it's not too much trouble - but get some lunch first.
Thanks.
Hey CAG. Bosch wins. It isn't even a fair contest. But you decide for yourself. Go to somewhere that has both, and try out the plunge mechanism on the middle of the road PC. Then try the Bosch. Its like, hmm, a rusty VW compared to a Murcialago. And the PC mechanism doesn't hold up for long . . . and it slips sometimes while the bit is spinning. Convinced you yet?
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
If the Bosch compares to a Murcialago, then I guess the Festool OF1400 would approximate to the McLaren F1
JohnIf my baby don't love me no more, I know her sister will.
Oh yeah. Nobody makes a car as nice as a Festool. But CAG's still a young whipper snapper. His Mrs probably wouldn't let him buy something that nice just yet."If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
Probably going to be the Bosch... The festool was interesting to consider for that split second before reality set in.
and the Mrs. doesn't get a say in what tools I get to buy.... I just don't always tell her ;)
just like she doesn't always tell me about the purses, shoes, clothes, etc that she buys....
seems fair.
it is. Just be careful about the whole equality thing. You buy a shaper table, that's a whole new wardrobe for her."If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
I bought a PC 690 with a plunge kit a few years ago and haven't had any trouble with it. Plunges smoothly. Collets all stay snuggled properly and the motor runs smooth as silk. I'm not real careful with tools. In fact, I'm pretty hard on them. But that thing has held up great.
One thing no one mentioned that might figure into your decision - there is a boatload of after market stuff available for that PC. You can walk into virtually any woodworking store and find a wall full of stuff for that PC.
yeah well, she doesn't really need to know how much the tools cost does she ;)?
when she asks "when did you get that"....
oh hunny I've that for years...
bound to stop working someday soon ....
and I imagine after the wedding next month, she might start to pay a little closer attention.
Well maybe this helps. I'll try to stop joking now. But you don't have to stop laughing. I did do that. Almost exactly that, and you're right. You probably didn't pick a complete dope for a wife, and mine saw through that right away. I didn't like having to justify things to her, at all. I looked for ways to avoid her knowing I'd spent anything. But her main concern was our bottom line. I was newly self employed, sole prop, and in that boat differentiating between business and personal expenses gets murky. And while I was thinking about gold plated something, she was looking at the checkbook saying "so the house payment is going to come from where?"
I did get to the point where I said fine, I'll find a justification for it first, so when she asks, then I have the answer. Or maybe I should say I'll invent a justification. The intent wasn't entirely sincere, and she saw through that as well. This is the weird stuff about marraige. Spouses sometimes can see things about us that we don't see for ourselves. It took awhile, but I finally realised what a hypocrite I was being. I made this fairly sincere effort to be painfully honest in and about everything I did. Coming from the military, it was a pride thing. I used to get to drive troops almost to tears for anything which resembled deceit. Yet there I was. I had taken to either not telling her about, or embellishing the justification for, business expenditures. Without her being there, pointing a finger at an invoice, saying "alright buddy, explain this", I wouldn't have gotten where I am now, and I'd have probably gone on to form a corp only to run it into the ground.
Now, I have to convince me first. I still have that impulsive side that looks at every tool I don't have and says what if. But I have to justify it to me, to the business, then to her. And I don't even care about her now; if I've satisfied the first two, there is no issue. Now that's a nice feeling, because I had to work to get that trust. It's so easy to lose, and takes so long to regain. I try to think about any purchase in terms of usage, of time savings, or of work quality, and find a way to dollarise that as best I can. I have to translate it into a real bottom line equation to see if it makes sense to really spend the money or not.
Some things surprise me. I've bought things I initially thought were frivolous that paid for themselves in half a year and keep reaping dividends. I've had tools I initially thought would be a great idea and after analysing them, walked away.
I have become sold hard and fast on the idea of buying towards the top of the pecking order, and testing everything you can get your hands on to be sure it's going to do what you think it is. I like Festool. I like Fein. I like a lot of things that originated in Germany. They all cost more, but the quality difference, in how they perform, and the end result, is night and day. While you don't get that at the box store, you do only get it once if you did your homework. And not buying it again and again pays off.
And good tools make for good work, and good work gets referrals.
But I credit her for making me actually think before I buy. And I can honestly say there's only a couple of fairly big ticket items that ever got bought on credit or a plan. If the money isn't there, most of the time the justification isn't either. "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
"I have become sold hard and fast on the idea of buying towards the top of the pecking order, and testing everything you can get your hands on to be sure it's going to do what you think it is. I like Festool. I like Fein. I like a lot of things that originated in Germany. They all cost more, but the quality difference, in how they perform, and the end result, is night and day. While you don't get that at the box store, you do only get it once if you did your homework. And not buying it again and again pays off."
You hit the nail on the head with that one! I have seen the light as well, good tools make such a difference...both faster work and better work. I too have become big fans of Fein, Festool, and Bosch.
I think the payoff may be even faster than you have found.Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
Probably going to be the Bosch... The festool was interesting to consider for that split second before reality set in.
Reality??? My reality is that I use tools like routers to make a living. Therefore I buy Festool. Maybe the price difference in the US is bigger than it is in the UK. Here the festool is about twice the price.
JohnIf my baby don't love me no more, I know her sister will.
I am the head of the family.
My wife is the neck.
And we all know that the neck turns the head in any direction it pleases....Lignum est bonum.
I prefer to live in denial
So we can now refer to you as Cleopatra, Queen of denial? Or maybe just Cleo for short?Lignum est bonum.
You don't have to buy the Festool, but if you don't at least give it serious consideration, you are screwing yourself.
I've made a living with routers for twenty years.
I own a Festool Rotex 150 sander with vac and it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. Second time I bought it, sold the first with my business.
For ultra quality well-designed tools and unmatched service (next day), Festool.
Neil
64037.1
I've bought some of his stuff and he always represents it well.
Doug
been very happy with the reconditioned DeWalt 621(had to look that part up) that I got about a year ago.
just checked at amazon recond'd ... the big 3hp is on sale for $180.
might have to think seriously about that one.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa