Routers Reviews

this is a great saw but for the money they should give you better bolts to assemble it with. I mean you put a little tork on them and they snap off. What the hell?

I am impressed with this piece of equipment for several reasons.
First, the assembly, while quite invlolved is explained in the instructons by someone who had to actually put put it together themselves. The quality is the best I could find...and I researched my purchase for over a year. The only item I found lacking is the motor dust cover (minor detail). If you need a serious table saw and can afford the price, I highly recommend the Powermatic 66. One note, unless you are doing production work all day long, you don't need the 5 hp.

Recieved quickly.
Instructions were good, all pieces accounted for.
While it takes some time to assemble, everything went together very well and the table tops were flat and true.
Has been running great and no regrets.
Super fence and super power compared to my old Delta contractors saw. The router table/lift is also super.
Only issues: One of the cast iron extension wings had a small 4x4 inch area that wasn't quite ground smooth-easily solved, and one of the bolts securing the top of the table to the cabinet had somehow sheared off - also easily solved.
Overall, great saw. Mobile base- a must unless you don't plan on moving it for quite some time.

Hate to rain on the parade but this is not a fantastic tool accessory. An excellent tool or tool accessory allows you to focus on your work instead of the tool and should bring ease and or precision to the process. First of all this table will take some time to set up and even more time to adjust the side tables to be level and flush with the main table. Next you will note that the included miter quage is useless for any precision work (ie. any work with a router). It has significant play in its (very shallow) slot, so cuts will not be smooth or square. You cannot use your table saw miter guage either because the slot is not standard. Next you will find that the router attachment hardware is cumbersome and of questionable design. In the name of building a universal table Vermont American has designed a system of four metal clips which grip your router in a precarious way. As far as tightening goes, there are no ergonomic handles or wing nuts. You will be tightening the four screws with your socket wrench and a deep socket, or a crescent wrench. Since there is so much going on you will have to flip the entire table upside down to install or uninstall the router, which will be even less convenient if you have the fence installed, leading to my next gripe: the fence when removed leaves you with seven pieces to keep track of until you reinstall. There is nothing convenient or quick about this table. And one more thing- if you own a Porter-Cable plunge router, don't even think of buying this table. The clips hold your router in such a way as to bind its face- making the plunging action almost impossible. The power switch is a nice feature, and the fence is decent, but you can build a far better table in just a few hours, so don't bother with this.

I just purchased this router table, so I have not used it too much yet. However, I think this router table does a nice job. The slide out on the fence turns the router into a jointer...very useful. It took about an hour to setup, and its not the highest quality, but, for under $100, it will do the job for most weekend woodworkers.

I wasn't sure about purchasing the Vermont American Deluxe Router table because I'm just begining as a woodworker, but the new table made it so easy. Now I'm able to deal with complex shapes and create things I would have never even attempted before.

I'm always looking for tools that make things easier, and if they make me look like I've been woodworking for years at the same time, it's even better. I think this is a product that's perfect for anyone, a beginner or a seasoned pro.

If you intend to use this system with other attachments - make sure they are the fine dust generating type. The hose causes too much vacuum loss and won't pull larger chips away and it will plug up. The hose is very flexible and doesn't crush but it can't be shorten because of the molded in fittings. It's small diameter and flexibility componds the vacuum loss when you use it.

This system can NOT be used successfully with a router or circular saw dust collection attachment. It probably will work ok with a jig saw, palm sander or belt sander.

You won't get "hosed" with this acessory. I like it to attach the sander to the shop vac and it keeps dust to a minimum in the shop. This is a must have if you do alot of sanding!

I have had one of these hoses for the last 6 years. It has performed very well, it really doesn't crush, simply folds over and then opens right back up. It is ideal for use with a shop vac and sander for keeping the shop dust level down. It's light weight makes it easy to use.

In general, products from Taylor design (Incra products) are well engineered and well made but are overpriced. You can pay far less for similar features in another fence or make your own for less. You cannot easily mount accesories to the intellifence such as featherboard hold-downs due the the lack of standard sized t-slots on the face of the fence. I actually mounted two hardwood boards the the faces in order to mount a t-track, greatly improving the usefulness of the intellifence. You shouldn't have to modify a fence. The bench dog fence makes much more sense and is cheaper. Would not buy it again. Build your own fence! (especially if you have a joiner to make a nice flat face)

I have owned the Intelifence for almost 1 year and it is one heavy duty, rock solid fence. Once set up and clamped down, it will not budge. This is a well thought out fence system with the ability to perform a variety of cuts. I especially like its edge joining ability. To be able to get an edge perfectly straight is priceless.

It also helps that the owner's manual is very detailed and well illustrated. If you want precision, time after time, this is the way to go.

I have not even begun to use all the capabilities of this fence. It is a really solid design and is not difficult to use once you read the directions. The extruded aluminum parts do not flex at all.

I have used it for cutting moldings, rabbets, and with my Jesada 2" x 3/4" diameter Flush Trim bit, as a light duty jointer. The offset is easily adjusted by two screws in the fence face.

The only complaint I have is that the table clamping screws were about 1/16" too short to grip my table top. I remedied this by adding 1/4" thick strips of wood to the underside of the table ends.

The fence instructions stated that the holes in the table needed to be drilled 15 1/4" o.c. which indeed the table was pre drilled exactly this dimension. Problem was the slots in the fence were 15 1/16" o.c. making it impossible to use without redrilling. the little plastic levelers for the router plate drove me nuts before I figured out how they could work, the instructions certainly did not give a clue to these or other parts, which I eventually figured out on my own. This aside, this table looks like it will give many years of excellent service.

Like the reviewer before, I found the instructions frustrating. The parts provided are different than the descriptions and illustration and I have four plastic spacers that are a total mystery. There are three separate documents - you need to digest them all to figure out how to assemble the table.

The table itself looks good and should work well for my needs (assuming those mysterious uninstalled plastic spacers don't cause some kind of problem while I'm using it).

if you need to have flexibility in moving your tools around and want to avoid stationery equipment, this is the router table for you. Full height with the removable router base plate frees up your work area. I keep several routers mounted to separate bases with different bits to minimize change-overs when wood working. It is another of my Rousseau collection

After 6 months of average use, both side panels, where the Bench Dog Cab-Loc wheels are installed, are bowed in about 1/2 inch. The demo unit at the local Woodcraft store showed the same bow, but not as bad. The length of the casters on the inside of the cabinet is too great to support the weight of the cabinet. Woodcraft didn't seem interested and suggested I contact Bench Dog. I have not heard from them as to a fix for this problem or if they will warranty this product. If they don't respond, I will have to add braces under the cabinet for support. That's what you get when you buy particle board.

Given Bench Dog's reputation for quality router accessories, the price of this cabinet took me aback. It's extremely solid, and stands at a very convenient height for repetitious work (about 36 inches with a top and levelers). There are some very nice accessories (wheels, drawers, etc.) which make this one of the best router table cabinets (if not the best) on the market.

With a bit of work one can fit many routertops to this base, but if you but top, fence, and table as a package the price is hard to beat, and overall quality is impressive. The door hinges are commercial cabinet hinges, for example. Much heavier grade than the usual hardware associated with particle board. If you want to work with the doors shut, and opening is provided for a air cleaner hose.

If you've been wondering what to do about a permanent router table take a good look at this cabinet. I think you will find it extremely suitable.

[Part I of 'How to Build a Really Expensive Router Table']

The dimensions listed are slightly inaccurate. The depth of the plate was not 3/8" (.375) but .344 as measured with a micrometer. Check your measurements! Also it is not listed on the package but the rounded corners for the plate were cut with a circle of 3/4" diameter as relayed by their tech support. Important if your making your own template.

And yes, the placement of the holes means that your Bosch 1618 D-Handle will have to be removed in order to fit.

All the holes line up, and it strong enough to hold the router without bending or warping. Really not much to this, but I have no complaints.

I purchased the Bosch 1617EVSPK router kit and the Bench Dog P-PC200 phenolic plate at the same time. I need the plate for a special jig. Bench Dog claims the P-PC200 plate is predrilled to fit all Bosch 1617/18 routers. I spent at least 1 hour trying to fit the plate onto the plunge base and was unsuccessful. The hole pattern on the plunge base matched a set of holes on the paper template included with the plate, but the plate was not predrilled with those holes. I called Bench Dog twice, and they kept telling me it should fit. Fortunately, Tool Crib was kind enough to let me ship the plate back at their expense.

The quality of the plate appears fine, but I am rating the plate only 3 stars because of Bench Dog's package claims and the technical support I received from them.

I use this ProPlate in my Bench Dog cast iron router table wing. So far the only router I have mounted to it is the DeWalt DW618 fixed base model.

Though it took some head scratching and studying of the paper template provided, I eventually figured out which holes to use to mount the plate to my router. My belief is that if Bench Dog says this plate will fit your router (with the predrilled holes), then it will fit. My main confusion was that my router's clear base mounts with four screws but the ProPlate only uses three screws to mount to my router. Once I realized this, putting this plate into use was a snap!

I highly recommend this product for its quality, performance, and decent price.

I have been using this router for 2 full years now. I use it daily in a large router table for anything from routing mouldings to doing raised panel doors. Don't let the 1 3/4 hp fool you. It has all the power of the big guys. I have routed everything from soft pine to hardwoods such as oak and birch and have never had a problem with the machine bogging down. The easy finger latch makes it quite easy to change the bits. All of the bits I own are 1/4 shaft so the collet size is fine for me. If I need to move up to 1/2" shafts then I will consider a bigger router. The plunge action in the router is superb. It is smooth and the spring action is very durable. The only drawback to the router is that it doesn't have a micro-adjustment on it like most routers in it's category. This makes it especially hard to use on a router table (although the experts say you shouldn't use a plunge on a table). But this tool has proven itself time and time again and I do not regret purchasing it.

I've only accomplished a little w/ my router. Most of it having attached it to a "value-priced" router table. I bought this router w/ a beginner 10 piece bit set and have been having fun ever since. I've made nameplates, etc.... and would recommend it to anyone who is breaking into woodworking such as myself.

Had to buy a router to do some work, looked around an finally found this one. Have used it several times and think its a worthwhile addition to my kit of tools. The reason I bought it was the value, the next closest 3 base router was a Dewalt that sells for over double the price, its definitely worth the money even if you only got the plunge router @ 12amps its got plenty of power. This is my second GMC tool and I will keep buying them as they are great value compared to the big boys.

I recently purchased this tool primarily to use the fix base left mounted in my home made router table top and the plunge base for the free hand work. I didn't think I would use the D handle, but have found it to be very good in edge work on large surfaces. The rip fence with the micr adjustment ensures you can acheive an exact setting.

The 3 base concept definatelt saved me $$$