Poor Selection of Routers

heffo500

How come over here compared to the US there is such a poor selection of routers available especially fixed base router?

The likes of Bosch and Dewalt both have router available there that you cannot get here and even the palm router by bosch is better over there as it has variable speed while its european counterpart doesnt't.

I was locking at these routers on rockler.com. There postage is quite resonable so I was wondering would the routers perform well here using a 110v transformer. Has anyone any experience of this?

galwaydude18

Have a look at the festool OF 1010, festool OF 1400, Festool OF 2200 and finally Festool OFK 700

recipio

There's no shortage of routers available over here - they are different that's all.
In general the Yanks like fixed base routers more than we do.
If you want the best of both worlds the DeWalt D26204K is a combination plunge and fixed base available from Axminster power tools for £245.
I have the Bosch palm router which spins at an incredible 35,000 rpm. Its a trim router so I don't think variable speed is any great advantage.
The only advantage I can see with having an American router is that you can use all the various accessories such as inlay kits etc that seemed tailored to fit Porter Cable specifically.
I run two power sharpeners off a 110v transformer so I don't see any reason why a router wouldn't work.
Alas , you are forced to use one of the couriers if you mail order and that means guaranteed customs charges. It wouldn't be too bad if they were consistant but I've had to claim back outragous charges from them without a word of apology.The real sting in the tail is the 23% vat on everything so the economics of mail order kinda lose their appeal. !

heffo500

galwaydude18 wrote: »

Have a look at the festool OF 1010, festool OF 1400, Festool OF 2200 and finally Festool OFK 700

I had a look at them and I like festool but I dont particularly like the design of their routers

heffo500

recipio wrote: »

There's no shortage of routers available over here - they are different that's all.
In general the Yanks like fixed base routers more than we do.
If you want the best of both worlds the DeWalt D26204K is a combination plunge and fixed base available from Axminster power tools for £245.
I have the Bosch palm router which spins at an incredible 35,000 rpm. Its a trim router so I don't think variable speed is any great advantage.
The only advantage I can see with having an American router is that you can use all the various accessories such as inlay kits etc that seemed tailored to fit Porter Cable specifically.
I run two power sharpeners off a 110v transformer so I don't see any reason why a router wouldn't work.
Alas , you are forced to use one of the couriers if you mail order and that means guaranteed customs charges. It wouldn't be too bad if they were consistant but I've had to claim back outragous charges from them without a word of apology.The real sting in the tail is the 23% vat on everything so the economics of mail order kinda lose their appeal. !

Its actually the lack of fixed base routers in europe that annoys me and that the Bosch palm router has variable speed on the american version but not the european one even if you most would leave it to the maximum speed its still a nice feature to have.

galwaydude18

heffo500 wrote: »

galwaydude18 wrote: »

Have a look at the festool OF 1010, festool OF 1400, Festool OF 2200 and finally Festool OFK 700

I had a look at them and I like festool but I dont particularly like the design of their routers

Don't let their design put you off. Once your used to they are far nicer to use in every way possible. I personally have the OF 1010 and it's the best 6mm router I have ever used and dust collection is so good I have used it in the kitchen and herself didn't even give out about any dust :-)

recipio

After a few years you will end up with a good few routers - each one is good at its job and becomes a 'must have '
The speed of the motor really shows up poor design - somehow budget routers feel unbalanced and 'rough'.
I tend to stick to Makita which I find excellent for the price.
Lamello make a nice laminate trimmer with a screw base which I found for a great price on a German website so its worth shopping around. There is also a Bosch fixed/plunged base router available with wooden handles -can't remember the model.

slpower01

I know this is an old thread but its about routers so I had to comment....... after using loads of routers ranging from dewalt to makita to bosch.... and owning both a small makita and a big dewalt plunge router..... the best one I ever purchased that I use quite a lot is my powercraft one from aldi..... it was like 30-40 yoyo's uses a small router bit but its light and cheap if it does break... 3 year warranty and all that jazz but ive had two... one for the accompanying router table and one for hand held jobs.... only downside is it being 230volt ... if lidl and aldi start doing 110v tools.... they will prob be the number 1 seller for this stuff..... but yeah... run it off a plug in rcd and its just as safe and actually adheres to European laws. So if anyone wants a small portable one for cleaning out hinges and faceplates etc... this is the one id recommend.

Hope this helps someone,
Steven.

1chippy

I have the bosch combination kit with fixed base and plunge. got it in the north. lovely smooth action and cant really fault it. mainly use it for stairs but often run some oversized cutters on it. Fixed base routers are available as is variable speed on some of the trimmers its just a case of searching hard enough. try t for tools it has an add on donedeal. bought there a couple of times and find they were very good. cant remeber your boys name but there is a young lad there who will know wheere to get them.

recipio

slpower01 wrote: »

I know this is an old thread but its about routers so I had to comment....... after using loads of routers ranging from dewalt to makita to bosch.... and owning both a small makita and a big dewalt plunge router..... the best one I ever purchased that I use quite a lot is my powercraft one from aldi..... it was like 30-40 yoyo's uses a small router bit but its light and cheap if it does break... 3 year warranty and all that jazz but ive had two... one for the accompanying router table and one for hand held jobs.... only downside is it being 230volt ... if lidl and aldi start doing 110v tools.... they will prob be the number 1 seller for this stuff..... but yeah... run it off a plug in rcd and its just as safe and actually adheres to European laws. So if anyone wants a small portable one for cleaning out hinges and faceplates etc... this is the one id recommend.

Hope this helps someone,
Steven.

Good to hear that about a budget router. I bought a Trend T4 - the basic model- on impulse at a UK show for less than £50. Using a silghtly larger 8mm shank bit it vibrates so bad I can't actually hold it.In fact it always felt 'rough' so Its going in the scrap bin. I'd stick to the top brand names but of course they don't come cheap. !

slpower01

I was actually looking at a cheap trend router before, the one which you can take the plunge frame off (not sure of the actual model) but heard bad things about it at the time so didnt get it, their jigs are unbeatable but I havent heard anything good about their cheaper routers.