Routers Reviews

Overall I am very happy with this saw. I bought it to replace a $50 Skil that I purchased years ago. The Skil still worked fairly well and survived some good abuse, but wasn't a real powerhouse. I've used this Milwaukee several times already and here is what I've noticed:

Pros:
+ Nice power
+ Very nice and easy adjustments for depth and bevel: This uses levers vs. a butterfly nut on my old Skil.
+ Tilt lock is a nice feature. Though many people who have this saw never use it, I have actually used it a couple of times: different adjustments when cutting lumber vs. when trimming doors.
+ Guide visibility is excellent.
+ Base is about 1/8" thick solid aluminum, nice and flat, and solid feeling.

Cons:
- The base is flat all around. My old skill, for example, had a lip on the back and front side. If you're stuck using a somewhat flat, and inadequately clamped guide (like a straight thin piece of plywood that you trust), that may slightly lift in the middle, you run the risk of the base plate riding under your guide. As a result, at some point I may modify the base by screwing on an additional 1/8" lip on the inside top.
- Case: Very minor complaint: it would be nice if it included some blade storage. I have some extra blades, including a cheap plywood blade and an expensive finishing blade. I would love to be able to store them in the case with the saw.

Overall, I have no regrets and recommend this saw. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 in part because of the base plate, but also because I can't recommend it above all other circular saws. Both the Journal of Light Construction and Fine Homebuilding had circular saw reviews. This particular saw, a specific Bosch, and a specific Porter Cable, were in the top three for both reviews. Though in the top three of both, This Milwaukee made it into the top 2 favorites/recommended in one article but not the other. Before purchasing this saw, I would recommend finding and reading those articles to decide which of the three would better meet your needs or preferences.

OK the fact is I havnt even used the saw yet. I own 3 other Milwaukee tools and feel they are the best. One reason I buy one tool or product over another is where the tool is made. I have bought Milwaukee and Porter Cable and have been happy with both. My problem is the saw is not made in the U.S. per the technical data page. That doesnt mean its not the best saw on the market. The feel of the tool is of high quality, I plugged it in and ran it up and tested the brake which functioned perfectly. I am pleased with the service I recieved from Amazon. The tool arrived in only a few days in perfect condition. I was however, disapointed it was not made in the U.S.This causes me to wonder about long term quality. I have a milwaukee angle grinder (made in U.S.) which has been abused for years and works flawlessly. In another buisness fabricating in metal we had a Milwaukee Magnum Hole Shooter drill (made in U.S.) which was the best power tool I ever used. My ex partner still uses it to this day. and it will still break your wrist if you dont treat it with respect.I gladly pay more for products made in the U.S., and often do not shop other brands. If Milwaukee is going to manufacture tools outside the U.S I will be more open to shopping other brands. Americans without jobs dont buy tools. I will write another review after using the saw for a while. I must admit it looks like all I expected and I'm sure its a great saw.......OK I've used the saw for a few weeks now...I'm loving it so far...feels great in the hand,good sight to blade, not too much dust in the eyes...the only complaint I can think of so far is the plastic blade guard...I find myself placing the saw down gently for fear of breaking it. Probably irrational but I think about it every time I put the saw down. Time will tell but so far I'm thrilled. M.R.

This is the very best saw on the market today. Durable, powerfull, and very well balanced with incredible line of site with outstanding bevel adjustment mechanism !

Bought these as I am starting a business (have been a cabinetmaker for 25 years)and couldn't afford to buy all the bits I needed at per piece price. Have used 6 different bits out of this set already and really haven't noticed the difference from higher priced router bits. Used the flush trim bit makeing corbels out of oak (four cuts per corbel)from a pattern. After an hour of use and many cuts it finally started to burn. Will most likely buy another set.

For the customer service I'll say this... I also had a bit come loose and bounce around. I asked customer service what I should do. (this was at 1:00 on a Friday) They OVERNIGHTED a replacement set on SATURDAY. I got it on Monday at 12:00. Not bad for an order placed on the previous Wednesday at 5:00.

Now for the Bits themselves.I shopped around for a good set of bits to learn on. By far this is the best value for your money. I looked at the local "orange" store, a discount supplier near some "harbor" and Amazon. This set is of acceptable usable quality for the hobbyist, or beginner. They aren't perfect, but for the price I would have been stupid to buy something else. I did see identical bits under a different barand in a catalog for around 65.00. Don't let the made in China scare you away either. China is getting better at making things every day. Just yesterday I think they found out how to give me 24 quality bits for a very reasonable price.

If you don't like money you can sure spend more on bits. But like me, if you like your money and want the most bits for the least of it, this is the set.

Well made, nice package, perfect starter set for serious router work. Price makes it an outstanding value. if you ruin a bit the loss won't ruin your day nearly as much as losing a pricier Freud or similar pro quality bits.

jb

Works great, just what I wanted. Wished that changing from vertical to horizonal was provided by pushing a knob or moving a lever. Otherwise very good workmanship.

It's perfect for small jobs when a full size drill press wouldn't be needed. It's compact design is great if your work space is limited. My son and I use it for making his Pinewood Derby cars.

I received this item and Dremel sent me an adaptor free of charge to allow this item to work with the xpr.
Great item

Average price, It just saved time running out to get them.

They fit well, they arrived well packaged with no swelling, and at this price, they're almost a steal

Used with recent purchase of joiner. The best value of anything I found in the store. The purchase of much smaller quantities at the local homestore was more than all off these cost. Great bargain and quality all around.

I purchased about five of these for use on different tools. Initially they looked good, but in use they are annoying and end up breaking. Most other commercially available featherboards for table saws are better designed, better built and cost less! I am surprised other reviewers rate these so high, I suspect the ratings are given before much use.

1. The black plastic knobs that you use to tighten the featherboard in place capture onto a nut head. The largest problem with these featherboards is that it is easy to strip the black plastic knobs when they are tightened, allowing the plastic knob to turn freely on the captive bolt.

2. A better design would ensure a more positive capture into the miter track by having both black knobs works to lock the split aluminum bar into the miter slot, in this design only one of the knobs does this. Which BTW is the one that strips as above, since you have to tighten it enough to stop the featherboard sliding in the miter track.

3. The black plastic knobs are small and feel cheap, other commercial featherboards have larger knobs that are easier to tighten.

4. Also after using them for a while you've start to hate the non-parallel bolt slots that the featherboard slides around on. Most other commercial featherboards have parallel slots and these are easier to adjust.

Amazon has wooden featherboards and the Grip-tite model available, both are much better than these. Also Rockler makes a good $7 table saw featherboard that is a much better product.

This product is a great idea, but it not as helpful as I thought it would be. It has a very limited range. It is only useful for ripping relatively narrow boards. As a result, I found myself not using it nearly as much as I thought I would. I reverted to using my own shop-made feather board that has much great flexibility.

Works great...well made...easy to use. The orange color is easy to find in the shop. One note...some craftsman table saws have a 1" miter slide and this won't work in them. Most table saws and router tables are 3/4".

I bought this tool on clearance from Lowe's. I must say Milwaukee has great customer service and supplied me with the missing wrenches for this tool. I like having the ability to hold the router with one hand with ease. I must agree with another reviewer about it being difficult to get your hand in the strap. I would prefer the PC model with the D handle. This model was on sale for $50.00! I wished the router had a soft start. This router has a lot of torque at start up. Very powerful router.

Love the BodyGrip and power of this small router. Extremely well built and accurate basic tool. The optional plate allows for use of brass collars. Softstart would be nice, but I knew when I bought it what it had and what it didn't.

After reading all the non-plunge router reviews I could find, and looking at each model in local stores, three tool features sold me on this unit. It helps living in a large metropolitan area, as numerous local stores sell professional-grade routers.

1.This is the only mid-sized router I could find that is designed to be controllable with one hand, with quick access to the off/on switch (using your right hand). (Holding the router in your left hand, the switch won't be in the right place for your thumb.) This is important to me, because when routing dovetails, I hold a vacuum hose in my left hand, and the router in my right hand, so a two-hands-needed router won't work.

2.Router bits stay in the precise center of the base, even when bit depth is adjusted. This may sound pretty basic, but this is the only (non-plunge) router I could find where this was true. E.g., in ALL of the units where height adjusts via the motor assembly screwing into the base, the router bit shaft is hardly ever in the very center after you tighten the motor housing clamp. While this may not be critical for most router applications, it is whenever using template guides. I.e., in my case, to make dovetail joints.

3.Router had to be relatively light and easy to handle.

Soft-start was not important, although that would have been a nice plus.

I bought this router primarily to use with a Leigh 24" dovetail jig, although it's used for other purposes. It hasn't been used enough to testify as to its longevity, but so far, it's just what the doctor ordered. The micro-adjusting screw is perfect for doing dovetails, where you're typically moving the bit in or out, but 1/100" at a time. As with any well-designed router, you can set it upside down, because nothing sticks out.

Owning 5 routers of various types, I can assure you that there is no "perfect" router for all purposes. For example, I use a 3 hp plunge unit in a large router table - it's soft-start and variable speed, with plenty of power for those super-large panel door cutters, and bit changing needs but ONE wrench from the table top - because the tool's drive shaft can be locked. This Milwaukee unit needs TWO wrenches (included) to change bits; and while it's amazingly simple to insert or remove bits with the router sitting on a bench, that wouldn't be so if it was under a [router] table. Besides, it would be underpowered and too high-speed (for large bits).

The reviewer whose unit vibrated too much probably had a defective router - mine hardly vibrates at all. If I sit my router flat on a bench (with no bit), and turn it on and let go, it just hums, doesn't wander at all - and runs smooth as silk, although it's hardly quiet.

One suggestion: order model 5615-21. It comes with a very nice case and a clever built-in removable router base (click on customer photos above). The case provides outstanding tool protection. Model 5615-20 is JUST the router - no case and no router base.

Since through dovetails need two routers to be set up (for productivity), I'm thinking of buying another one of these...

The Porter-Cable router, while robustly built, has as its primary weakness a collet that does not adequately grip the shafts of bits. I expereienced a recent incident where a properly seated and tightened rabbeting bit came loose and was propelled at a very high velocity. The bit glanced off the router base, struck the workpiece, and ended up being lodged in the ground. Fortunately no one was hurt! Previous to this "incident," the collet would fail to release bits, requiring a great amount of hand force to insert or remove the bits. Yet the same collet will not hold a bit in place during rotation.

Due to this substantial weakness in the design, I cannot give more than a one star rating of this router. Run like hell from this one. A user would be better served spending his/her money on DeWalt or Bosch. Even my cheap $80 Ryobi has never presented any safety issues like the Porter-Cable.

I purchased this kit earlier this year and have used it to build several projects, mostly lawn furniture and the like. It's a very high-quality kit, easy to use and understand. I've gotten consistent results, depth is easy to fix, and stays put. The edge guide is real time saver too.

My one complaint about routers that convert from fixed to plunge base is that the power switch (located at the top of the router) cannot be accessed without taking a hand off of one of the handles and reaching up. When you do this, your other hand is left trying to hold up a fairly heavy tool (esp after several hundred cuts) while the bit's spinning away. It just doesn't feel safe to me.

I purchased this item as a replacement for another PC product. I am very happy about the quality and ease of use. Before purchasing I had looked at other products, However I have found that for the money this is about the best deal on the market. I also read some of the reviews on this site especially the ones written by "A home improvement enthusiast". Please note that in an earlier review he made note of modification he made to the plunge base and then later stated he had problems with it and stated it wasn't safe. These routers are as safe as any other power tool if you follow the instructions and don't make modifictions like a Tim Allen wanna be. Also in another review someone stated that they had a bit come out while the router was in use. This might have been a fluke thing or if he had read the instructions he would know that you should never tighten the collet without a bit in place as this would damage it and could cause the bit to come out while in use and when placing the bit in the collet you should back it out about 1/16 inch to prevent it from being stuck. Most likely he did not follow or even read the instructions and this is what caused his problems. These two reviewers simply cannot follow instructions or they want to modify the product that has been built with safety and ease of use in mind. Most likely this is what caused their troubles. they should consider themselves lucky that they weren't injured or killed. Imagine a solid metal projectile spinning at around 27500rpm bouncing around your shop(sounds a lot like a bullet?).
These are excellent quality tools and I have never had a problem with Porter Cable tools and I would recommend them to anyone. This router has plenty of power to cut through dense wood and can also have a delecate touch with fine projects. It has a nice weight to reduce vibration. I particularly like the fact you can find accessories easily for this product. This is one of the best power tools I own.

Yes its heavy, yes the instructions to put it together are not the best...but it works, if you have half a brain you can manage it I promise. Took me 2 hours with a cordless impact and a 110 piece craftman tool kit. Nothing special ...I will admit I made a mistake assembling and had to back track...cost me 15 min on my over all time...darn...but more importantly the unit works very well and the weight is nice when working with long pieces or large bits on hard stock....enjoy...(I will not bother addressing the little details or the inner workings on this unit. If you are buying this unit you are, I would think, mechanical; and can figure out the best way to make this unit fit your style of working and your shop layout...)

There's useful and accurate information in some of the reviews of this table and inaccurate misleading information in others. The former do a service to this community, the latter frustrate me. Given both (I've read them all), the most helpful advice I can add, as a woodworker with 20 years experience, is to be sure this tool fits your needs and experience. If you've used a router or router table very little or have little woodworking experience, then this is NOT the tool for you. First, because it's probably more than you need (there are cheaper, lighter, easier options), and second because the setup and use of this tool require knowledge, experience, and common sense well beyond directions supplied by Grizzly. This table is appropriate for someone that can put it together by either skimming the manual or not reading it at all. Good woodworking requires resourcefulness. You won't find step-by-step directions for the use of any tool to fit all of your particular needs.

Some specifics.

The unit is large and heavy. You need room for it, but that shouldn't be surprising when you need quite a bit of clearance for safe table routing operations anyway. And it's heavy for a reason. The last thing you want when doing heavy cutting, such as for raised panels, is for the table to move. The table should also be matched with a beefy router, probably not the one you use for handheld operations. The 3 1/4 hp Hitachi M12V is a good match and powerful enough for the kind of serious cutting this table was designed for.

Assembly took me about two hours, but I wasn't in a rush. The instructions are concise and expect that you're not new to this, as you shouldn't be if you bought this table. One note: There is no mention of the brackets attached to the table top to allow it to tip up for router installation. The front and side braces (skirt) bolt ON TOP OF these tipping mechanism brackets (assuming the unit is upside-down). Also, the L and R marks apparently refer to their orientation in assembly (upside-down, from the rear) not in operation. After setup, be very careful with the table tip lock mechanism. It's a bit undersized for the weight of the table and you need to be sure the lock has engaged on both sides before letting go.

Router attachment. The complaints about the difficulty of mounting a router have everything to do with insufficient user experience for this kind of tool and nothing to do with the table design. It took me about 10 minutes to mount my 3 1/4 hp Hitachi M12V. It's very simple: Remove the plunge springs according to the simple directions found at www.routerworkshop.com. With the router base plate off, rough mount it under the table using the mounting hardware Grizzly supplies. There is absolutely no need to drill and tap the table for custom mounts. Then slide the router carefully underneath the table to see if it will travel down the guides (up) and clear the mounting brackets. If not, adjust the brackets. To center it in the hole, the base plate opening may just be the exact same size or close enough to the size of the hole of one of the table inserts. Use that as a guide or do as another reviewer suggests and put a bit in the router that is the same diameter as one of the inserts and use that as a guide. I have to say in all honestly and with no intention to insult but only to realistically warn that if this process confounds you then you are going to have a lot more trouble later on cutting routed joints properly.

Electrical. The manual picture for installing the switch doesn't make sense so don't refer to it or try to follow it. If you've done some wiring then you will figure it out on your own. Bolt both green grounds to the hole on the table leg closest to the square switch cutout. Connect the white and black plugs to the switch as if it were a light switch. Just be sure to test the switch with something other than your router plugged into it in case you wired it wrong. Use a drop light then all you lose is the bulb if you've cross wired. Try again until it works.

The iron portion of the table top is covered in grease and wax paper to keep it from rusting in shipping and storage. Scrap it off carefully with a sharp putty knife then apply WD-40 to it and wipe or lightly steel wool. Clean up thoroughly with paper towels then wax (I use bowling alley wax) and buff thoroughly.

The sliding table should not rock on its guides. If it does (as a reviewer complained) then the screws were tightened the wrong way. The aluminum is so smooth that you don't really need the table to slide to smoothly push mitered stock along the fence, unless it's very narrow. In any case, your custom-made jigs work better than stock fences. Look at woodworking references for tips on important jigs to make for your router and router table.

First, I have 'destroyed' a couple of wood tables over the last few years. I decided to go for the Grizzly for its advertised durability, as well as the sliding table. It arrived about a week after I ordered it. The box was compromised and I could not tell if anything was damaged so I refused the shipment. Before I was back at my desk, Grizzly customer service was calling to inform me that a replacement would be sent out immediately. What a great response! As far as the table goes, it took about 1.5 hours to put togehter - not really what you would call a challenge. And, It performs great. The wood and metal tables of my past are not even in the same league as the Grizzly. This is a serious tool and worth the money.

I have had my Makita variable speed R1101 router in the shop for repair three different times in the space of 2 years. First the varible speed switch went out. Major bucks to repair! Second the router shaft began to wobble. This was repaired at no cost, however it still had some vibration and a slight wobble. Third the "new" varible speed switch crashed again. This time the shop removed the variable speed switch at no charge. Finally after a few months the wobble returned with a vengence. This tool would not even make a good boat anchor!

I have five of these in my shop and, I fabricate corian.I use these only for edgeing the corian.They can not take the same abuse as a PC,but they are quiet. Not a production router.

This D handle router is very easy to operate and adjust. The ablity to route with one hand if necessary makes this a great little router, also it has the power to help you pull through the routing. This router is worth it and you won't be dis-satisfied.

The 690 has great power ,moter can easily can spin right off it's base under a router table. Now pc has designed a new base lock haven't tried it yet .

There is nothing inherently wrong with the router, but the router is unusable out of the box. The base plate supplied with unit will not allow you to use a number of conventional bits- I was not able to use a .375" rabbeting bit- the hole is too small. The plate is set for use with the bushing set that sells separately for about [dollar amount]. Porter Cable will sell you a second base plate for [dollar amount]. Also, the on/off switch is a toggle swith on the top of the unit. This location is unsafe- to shut the unit off you have to hold it with one hand & reach around for the switch. You can buy a different base with a trigger switch (standard on most other routers, Sears, Hitachi, Ryobi) for [dollar amount]. I bought the second base for [dollar amount] but built a foot switch for [dollar amount] to use with the router rather than pay [dollar amount]. But the real question is why do we have to buy all these extras just to use the router when other brands supply them as a matter of course? Craftsman sells a 1/2" collet, 2 hp unit for [dollar amount]with a trigger switch & usable right out of the boxx

I've owned one of these dandy little routers for some time now - I also use a 2 hp variable speed Bosch. The plunge base works with both routers, and has proved to be very handy...The quality of this tool and its rugged construction far outweigh the placement of the switch or the fact that you use two wrenches to change bits...A router (like any tool) should be judged primarily by the quality of work it is capable of, and that's where this little baby shines....