Routers Reviews

This fence is nice. It is adjustable, rock solid, and easy to move. The "high boy" knobs are better than most. The adjustable measuring scales on the side are easy to zero out.

However, the dust collection system is backwards. (1) It will only accept a 2�" connection. That is Shop Vac size. (2) If you are a serious hobby woodworker, I think you would have at least 4" lines running to each machine. Most dust reducers go from 4" to 2�" - NOT 2�". (3) And you must put the dust connection inside the hole, which is backwards in direction to efficient collection of saw dust. (4) JessEm makes no adapter for other sizes.

They should have made the dust port with a "nipple" on top to accept different size connections. Plus that puts the connection reducer on the outside of the hole, NOT inside. Shame on JessEm. Their design team made a big error on the Dust Port. And their Customer Service STINKS!

JessEm includes a manual, but it is no better than others. It lacks detail in a lot of areas, just like most manuals. However, with trial and error, most functions are intuitive.

This is a nice fence. Worth the high price? Doubtful.

There's a lot of choices out there - But three things made me chose JessEm for my router setup -
And along with it this fence.
1. I'm a relativley new woodworker. I wanted to buy - And USE - A system - Not spend my time creating/building one. JessEm had everthing I needed to put together a complete router table/lift/fence/slide/stand package. And they fit - And work - Together - Exactly and Precisely.
2. The reviews on all their equipment are "top end".
3. The quality of the stand - And the rest of the line are everything claimed. Built with precision - They deliver precise routing.
I added a Porter Cable 7518 router (fits this setup perfectly), a Rousseau switch, and an HTC2000 Universal Mobile Base.
And now I'm in really "in business".
You get what you pay for - Do it right up front.
Hint: Buy the JessEm 02021 4-Piece Tab-Loc Insert Ring Set up front. You'll want 'em and use 'em.

Called and asked JessEm customer service if I could order my at 52 inches to match my 48 inch table, they told me sure. Had this router fence since it first came available with the high star shape adjustment knobs, so that should tell how old it is. Very well made and designed for the true woodworker doing router work, not just making dust. You will not go wrong by this fence with the jigs you can add while being heavy duty too. I also own the Bench dog router fence, only used it for two weeks, now taking up room and just standing up in my shop.

If you want a durable, high-power, aggressive sander, then this is the right one for you. I bought this sander because of Milwaukee's reputation for tough & powerful tools, and it sure has lived up to the name. However, I do have a few minor complaints... (1) The motor shaft has a fan and vent for keeping the motor cool, but unfortunately, this fan/vent blows the sanding dust almost directly upward into my face (so wear goggles/dust-mask); a dust bag would be nice (if it worked right) (2) The power trigger is on the underside of the body which circumscribes the motor, but the body diameter is a little too big to get a comfortable grip when using the sander for a long time. It'd be better if the grip was shaped like a gas pump handle (like the Makita, Bosch, and Metabo sanders) (3) The sander should (but doesn't) come with a hook & loop pad for easy application and removal of sanding discs (instead the discs have to be stuck on). (4) the sander comes with a handle that can be screwed into right/left/top side of sander for two-handed use, but I think the sander would be a lot easier to use for long periods of time if this handle would screw onto the FRONT of the sander, so that your two hands would be on opposite sides of the pad for balance (like on the Makita BO5021KX and Bosch 3725DVS, although the handle is fixed on these models). Aside from these ergonomic drawbacks, the sander is just what Milwaukee tools are supposed to be: very durable, aggressive, and high-power... this is what your money pays for. I've gotten excellent results when using this sander on wood floors and furniture, and would be reluctant to trade it in for anything but another Milwaukee.

I have 3 porter cable, 2 Makita, and 1 Fein random orbit sanders. Only the fein comes close as far as agressiveness. The only drawback is that there is no vacuum provision.

I use this sander every day all day all week long it is the best sander on the market We have tryed them all and this one is hands down the best we use it for rough sanding and fine sanding jobs and it does have a vac set up

This tool is good for a few doors. However, if you are in the business, this tool lacks as follows:
1. when performing latch plate routing the template is not extended enough to support the average base of a router.
2. the brad nails are very inexpensive and therefore loose their configuration very easily.
3. the tool does not easily center itself.

for the price, it is well worth it, however, a tool that clamps to the door would be a better design. This design is available on Amazon.

It works like it should. The only problem I have with mine is when I unpacked it, the wax used to protect the router bit reacted with the plastic of the jig and melted a hole right through the wall of the jig. Fortunately it was in a slot I don't plan to use.

This is a great product. Wish I had this template
years ago instead of trying to chisel by hand.

This was the first item I have purchased from Jasada, and I have since cancelled all other items from this company. Of the 8 templates in the set, 6 had defective threads and were unusable. I ordered them following other reviews, but beware, there is obviously no quality control process.

I just recieved my Jesada 10 pc. router guide kit, and was somewhat disappointed. I was expecting them to come in a case to protect the softer metal they're made of, and on opening the kit, I found that the threads on the guides were somewhat tight, which is not a good thing when you're trying to put them on a router in fairly close quarters. I haven't checked them for accuracy of dimension, but hopefully, they got that part right. There is also some left over solder on the insides of the guides. Also, there is some tarnishing starting on the brass already. I think Jesada needs to look at their finishing process on this item very hard. This surprises me because I just got one of Jesada's raised panel shaper cutters, and it's great - does a fine job, and is very smooth.

My wife bought this set for me last Christmas from my wish-list. I chose these guides over other brands because of Jesada's reputation for quality, they are made of brass and won't rust, and all of them have a 1/4 inch barrel length. (Other brands vary in length.) They are indeed a quality product. But I do think they should have the size printed on the guide (they don't) and come with a fitted storage tray. (I would have preferred to give them 4 1/2 stars due to these complaints, but that score is not available on the ranking system.

I have owned this router for about two years, and its small size makes it very convenient for small jobs, but it does have some shortcomings.

1) The plunge depth gauge is primitive, and its scale is very difficult to read.

2) There is no way to lock the trigger in the "on" position, so you have to hold the trigger down during the entire operation.

3) The insert plate is not included with this router. To do dovetailing or any other type of template work you will need this, and it is rediculously expensive ...considering that it is just a steel ring.

I needed to replace my trusty 40 odd year old porter cable D-handle base . This old router was all metal and worked well for everything I ever needed . But time took it's toll on the cord entering the motor housing and this is not a job one can do without paying a good sum and waiting forever .
I looked at all the routers and wanted a plunge cut , not a monster 3 1/2 HP and I don't need speed control or soft start .
These may be nice features but to me just something else to fail .
All the other makita tools I have seem to work great and hold up fine and they all share one common attribute , they are put together well and fit well , even the lest expensive of their line on DIY weekend project tools are built well .
I got this router today and yes it is far from the most expensive and has not the bell and whistles and is made largely of plastic , even the entire motor housing is plastic and then the base is metal .
So I tried it out and it does perform very well indeed , just as well if not better than my old porter cable .
There are few reviews for this model router and one that sold me was the cabinet shop using these for 12 years and wanting to purchase more .
This tells me the router has been around for some time and makita does not keep many tools around for years on end unless they prove out well , I see tool models go many times from makita and some all around for decades and still are .
I had my choice for the same price for the hitachi 3 1/2 HP soft start varaiable speed plunge cut here on Amazon and it was tempting .
Reality and common sense told me it was way too much machine for my needs .
I do guitar amp cabinets and electric guitar bodies and don't need a bit more than 1/2 inch ever .
Any router regardless of the power cannot run a 1/4 " straight bit through maple and better than this one can , unless of course you want a broken bit or a trip to the emergency room to have it extracted .
No other company seems to offer a small plunge router that I could find and none come close to the price of this makita or do they have the long time in production trake record .
Maybe there are still cases where leave well enough alone applies .
I did'nt have alot of money to spend , and I did look at some of the other routers out there with more metal used in the product but many were crude forgings at best and I can't honestly say aluminum is any stronger than this polycarbonate composition .
It does not have a shaft lock system , well I prefer to have a solid shaft rather than one with a hole to weaken it , how much trouble is two wrenches instead of one ?
The only other router I liked was the dewalt plunge with the built in dust extraction system but I did not think I would get used to the feel of one handle so much farther from the centerline of the bit than the other , this felt off balanced and odd to me . Although the tool was nice in many respects it was still not the precision build of a makita , I still felt I would have to make a few modifications and adjustments before I would be happy , the base looked real sloppy to me on the dewalt and the fit of the motor housing still plastic was not all that great , it looked forced together with gaps between the screw positions .
With all the added features the dewalt was $50 more than this makita . This in itself tells me something important .

This router, the lowliest plunge of its time, cheap, 95 bucks at fedco... r.i.p. came with case and wrenches, case long gone, two power cords went by the wayside a makita flaw common in all there corded tools they disintegrate. You may only learn how much you like something by trying something else. I tried a friends recently more power, and bigger handles both problems for what this little router is relegated to, hanging doors. I leave it set up with freud templates and 1/2 bit for routing hinges and strikes in doors. The knob handles set this router apart from the rest up and down a door jamb total control. compact, fits in my finish box, it is perfect. I am glad they still make them. I wish mine had an electric brake, but I will probably leave earth owning this one. I enjoy using this tool.

Overall this is a great tool. The power is great. Some reviews talk about on/off switch, I found it to be acceptable. Although it could easily be improved for safety. The tool case was design very well, all accessories snap in. (but kit does not come with all accessories) Power cord is nice and long. It is loud! Use hearing protection.

There are three complaints.

It is made off shore. I know most people do not care where tools are made anymore, but I live, work and pay taxes in the USA. I care. I still feel the quality of American made tools is second to none. Including tools made here by foreign companies.

Second, I dislike how companies say "KIT" and only supply you with basic tools with the tool. I feel most consumers who buy high end tools expect a tool case with the tool. This does not constitute a kit. On a jig saw I feel the basic tool should come with case, a few blades, anti-splintering device. A kit would include all above plus Combination Rip and Circle Guide fence, dust pickup attachment, Plastic Shoe Cover, and hearing protection.

It is a barrel grip saw and the plastic barrel housing gets slippery when you use it for awhile. I think the engineers should of used a rubberized grip. This is all the rage now with tool manufacturers. This helps in many ways. It reduces operator fatique, improves comfort and anti-slip for safety. I would bet the engineers who designed this never used a jig saw before.

I still like the tool. It is a keeper.

Well, I've used this saw on my job for two years now. It has power and cuts pretty smoothly or aggresively with a flick of the orbital action switch. I like the way it fit in my hand and the way the base adjust. But I did have the blade changing lever break on me. It seems a little flimsy to me and if you kept it together with other power tools in a bucket, it might break like mine did. I also have a bosch which cuts even smoother with less vibration and it hasn't broke on me in 8 years. I gave that jigsaw 5 stars

I recently purchased this jigsaw and have used it a few times. Here are a few things I've noticed in this short time:
On the plus side, I like how it fits in my hand, barrel grip saws just feel better to me than top grips. It's got plenty of power, and with the variable speed, you can dial in whatever you need. It cuts beautifully and leaves smooth edges, but that could also be that I only use Bosch blades.
While it is a bit heavy, I find this to be advantageous to staying online and reduce vibration. The plastic foot cover allows to to glide nicely as well.

On the minus side, there are a couple of safety concerns I'd like to mention. First and foremost, the switch to turn it on, while somewhat protected by the upper knob, pushes in for ON and pulls out for OFF. This occurs to me as easy to accidentally bump on and a little trickier to turn off quickly if needed. I'm a bit surprised that is configured this way as every other tool I've seen is designed to turn off if bumped, not on.
Second is in regards to the quick change blade system. While certainly a super idea and WAAAY faster than any other jigsaw I've used, I've noticed that after only being used a few times, the blade retaining sleeve, which should rotate back 90 degrees to completely lock the blade in, only rotates back about 20 degrees barely doing the job. As I previously mentioned, I use Bosch blades which are a bit thicker than the Milwaukee ones, but even with those it only closes about 40 degrees now. I've blown it out with compressed air in case there was sawdust in there, but that had no effect.

Against my better judgement(needed to finish the project that day), I've used it in this condition and haven't had any problems though I plan on contacting Milwaukee about this.

The last thing on the minus side is that the bevel adjuster lever is really easy to bump loose and thus inadvertantly slanting the blade over. Alas, I know this from experience. Now that I'm aware that this can happen, I'll have to pay more attention to that setting.

All that being said, I really do like this saw. It's SOOOO much nicer than my DeWalt cordless jigsaw. Once the blade retention sleeve issue is worked out I'll feel fully confident and won't have any worries, but I'll always keep an eye on the ON switch and bevel adjust lever from now on!

I've used Porter-Cable with much success. I tried to save a few dollars and go this route. Trust me, it doesn't come close and won't hold up for more than a couple of doors. Do yourself a favor and go with Porter-Cable.

I have not used it yet, but it looks to be well made.

This product is a tremendous advance over freehand mortising or any such method that has gone before. For many people, it will probably serve as is. My particular door-hanging method revealed two minor suggestions for product improvement.

I install the knob latch first, bearing in mind the type of weatherstripping and any imperfections in the rough opening. Then I install the deadbolt so that it centers in its strike. In order to use this template, it was necessary to take a triangular file and notch the centerline of the template openings, top and bottom, in order to align with marks I made on the door jamb. Also, with the usual knob latch and deadbolt modular spacing and Kwikset hardware, which is very common, the lower nail will hit metal with the knob strike installed, and it is necessary to improvise to fasten the lower half of the template securely. It is to be understood that in a production setting my criticisms may not apply, but my technique was developed over twenty years of dealing with jobsite realities. Otherwise, this product is a wonderful contribution to a difficult aspect of finish carpentry.

I need to know the specific depth of cut. This product does not list it.

The bit arrives sharp and well balanced. Always use at a very low speed like a 2 on a scale of 5.
Only in a router table and only when the router and table are securely matched. This puts out a lot and I mean a lot of vibration. If you don't have a better than average table and support system there may be trouble like: The router lock will vibrate loose and the router will slip down into the table so as to put the bearing off your pattern = gouges and flying wood. Then there is the possibility of the vibration loosening the screws that hold your router to the plate in the table. The router will fall into the table and while running tear anything it touches into pieces while you are protecting your eyes and groping for the power switch. Yes! it happened to me and the bit was ruined. I got another one because no one else makes such a heavy duty bit for a router. No problems now that I know how to use thread loc.

The depth of cut is 1", look at the image.

I purchased a "D" handle PC 691 to use with the PC 24" Omnijig. Because I have a small shop dust collection is a major objective. This dust collection system works, at best, marginally when using the Omnijig. The lower collection enclosure cannot be used. The side port collects minimal shavings. I still use the system and from time to time turn off the vacumm to gauge if it is worth the setup. Yes, it does collect some of the chips, but probably not worth the price if the dust collection system is exclusively used with an Omnijig application. The PC 691 is exclusively used for dove tail work in my shop. If I'm missing something here I'd welcome correction.

I hooked it up to my vacuum and it eliminated virtually all mess! That's so pleasant given the tremendous whirlwind of debris generated by routing.

You have to think ahead and determine just how the cuts are going to be made and where you need to look. This hood can get in the way of your cut, either hitting some other piece of material, the blade, blocking your vision etc. It takes a little time to get used to but as long as you think ahead it can make a difference.

I've been doing a lot of MDF work lately and using my flush trim bit A LOT. The dust MDF creates is incredible and I got tired of being covered in it and having it cover everything in my garage. Hooked up to my Ridgid shop vac, not one speck of MDF dust escaped this PC dust collection system. WOW! On a side note, I do recommend getting a softer, less rigid hose as the stiffer ones typically provided with shop vacs can interfere with smooth handling of the router. I am comfortable with the price.

i haved used at least 5 of these routers and they work great right out of the box but the base becomes warped very quickly making it difficult to router properly especialy with flush cuting bits i have 6 years of full time wood working experiance and the last time i used one i messed up flush cuting because the base was not flat i would by the Bosch 1618B if u plan on using the router more than a few times because of the superior base

This router is great for a first or only router because of its versatility. You can buy a plunge base if you need it, but i dont really care for it too much but it is cheaper than a new diecent router.The dhandle is a great feature it gives you alot more contol than just the two knobs found on most routers.1 1/2 hp is pleanty of power for most applications.The collet i dont mind but use real wrenches,the ones in the kit are cheap and tend to cut your fingers especially if the bit is in there really tight.The 690 series is the most popular router, many other accesories are avalible, which make it even more versitle.If this is your 1st router of your 50th, you have to have one.

This is a wonderful router. We have made blind, taporing, dovetail socket routs, and parts to match. With this router we wiz right through the ladder rails and rungs with no complaints from this router. I just wish that the bits would keep up with the router. The "D" handle is just the perfect size, and the locking trigger is perfect for all of the routing that we do. The only complaint that i would have with this, and this is with every router I have ever come to research, and use, is that you can not hook up a vacume source anywhere on the router. Luckily i work in a wood shop with my father, and he is definatly from the "old school" and we designed a great design for that. Thanks Porter Cable, Daniel Kroeker Juniata, Nebraska GO HUSKERS!!