jessejames Posted December 28, 2014 Report Posted December 28, 2014 I have the ryobi one from home depot. But it is just too small for my needs. Anyone know of a larger router table that comes with a router, or is at least easily fitted for around $500 with router, $200 without router? Yes yes build one, I don't want to. I'd rather buy it. Quote
KeithHowell Posted December 29, 2014 Report Posted December 29, 2014 Have a look at: http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/u-turn-lift.html Quote
demonx Posted January 1, 2015 Report Posted January 1, 2015 I've got a Triton router in a Triton table. I don't recommend either! Quote
guitar2005 Posted January 1, 2015 Report Posted January 1, 2015 I built mine - just a simple laminated top with 4 foldable legs. Its ugly but it works and I've had it for 10 years. I got the router base and template from Lee Valley. Quote
Prostheta Posted January 2, 2015 Report Posted January 2, 2015 I'd put that money to one side and save up your pennies for a good table that accepts any router. You need to shop around for a good router separately, ideally. Check incra.com for their router lifts. They genuinely are worth the investment if you want to do a lot of accurate, repeatable quality work. Quote
SJE-Guitars Posted January 12, 2015 Report Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) I've got a Triton router in a Triton table. I don't recommend either! What don't you like about the Triton router? I use one in a Kreg table and I can't rate it highly enough! A brilliant router particularly on a table with the inbuilt crank allowing for sub mm adjustment, auto locking head for bit changing etc. Edited January 12, 2015 by SJE-Guitars Quote
Prostheta Posted January 12, 2015 Report Posted January 12, 2015 Let's do Bosch for a mo. The problem I've found with every router I've bought is underpurchasing. Buying too soon from a budget that is too small or simply from a limited immediate availability in the stores I had. The Bosch POF1400 I've had hanging around for a while is okay, with a little play in the plunge mechanism which isn't welcome. A big clumsy thing and "the affordability shows". I wouldn't use it for anything I could live with after messing up. For some odd reason I always liked that miniature Bosch POF500. Small base, so it wasn't too stable on its own but fantastic working around tight areas like headstocks, etc. Surprising given it is still in a "cheap crap DIY Bosch Green" bracket, but only a 1/4" collet. Moving up to the good stuff in Bosch Blue, the Bosch Colt (GKF600 here in Europe) is widely regarded as a do-all around small stuff like guitars. It's often found on small CNC router tables also. For the money you can't go wrong, however mounting it into a table might be a task. For a table router, I wouldn't look at anything less than a 1617/1618 simply because they are removable motors with separate fixed or plunge bases. At least couple of HP too. Having made too many mistakes with crap flexible tables (don't get me started on the RUWI shiece of pit I have to work with right now) and inadequate sloppy routers I would see €200 on a router as being money down the drain for the long term. If you don't have that choice of saving up a bit more cash or plain are not looking for a longer term investment, then do yourself a plus/con bullet list of things to look out for. Don't sell yourself into a router and certainly don't let a store do that for you. Walk away. If I had a thousand to spend on a router table setup, I'd plump for a removable motor that fits an Incra lift. Buy a thick piece of melamine board (or talk to a kitchen fitters for offcuts) and rout in a recess. Build your own table with an enclosure around the router that hooks up to your shop vac or extraction system. A few dust-proof drawers to keep your bits close to hand, and all that. I've read good and bad things about Triton routers. I'd have to get my hands on one to really have my own opinion. I chose to discuss Bosch purely because those are the ones I have used the most and have easily available. You can also find plenty of other opinions about them online. As much as you don't want to build one, jessejames I think that you will easily open out your budget by doing so. You'll end up reducing the range of routers you can buy if you let the table eat into your budget. Something like a Makita RF1101, Bosch 1617 or similar Porter-Cable might be in your near future methinks. Quote
SJE-Guitars Posted January 14, 2015 Report Posted January 14, 2015 (edited) In terms of the Triton router - if I was using handheld I could probably pick some faults with it - however mounted in a table with the plunge spring removed it really is an excellent piece of kit. I can't comment on the Triton table, this said I have read numerous bad reviews regards their tables, but mounted in a Kreg table which I have in turn mounted into my work bench it a real quality piece of kit. I've own numerous cheaper routers and one of the biggest annoyances is the 1/4" collets that slide into the 1/2" collet and they invariably don't grip the bits sufficiently - the Triton comes with both 1/2" and 1/4" nut collets so it makes change between sizes real easy. The covered power switch that isn't a trigger not only makes it perfect for table use but also stops any possibility of accidental switch on, along with the fact there are no vents under the motor (above the bit) so dust and crap cannot get inside. Then it's party piece for table mounting is the crank/lift already built into the router - no expensive lift required - that said I don't use the crank handle I find it far easy to just adjust the height with the twist adjust under the table, easy and accurate. The other thing is that it's very smooth and considerably quieter than the cheapie I use to do any hand routing (these things are few and far between but any kind of pocket aren't things to be routed on the table). So if you intended on putting a router in a table understand that you will need another to do any handheld routing (my cheapie basically has a tracing bit int it which hardly ever gets changed!). This is the one I am talking about: http://www.tritontools.com/en-AU/Model/TRA001# - I know there is an older version which had less than favorable reviews. Edited January 14, 2015 by SJE-Guitars Quote
Prostheta Posted January 14, 2015 Report Posted January 14, 2015 The winder mechanism - if it works for use upended in a table - sounds like an excellent addition. That's a definite plus. I think the bad reviews I read on Triton was this older model you mentioned. Was this on the router forums, and can you remember the resolution? I don't recall. Quote
SJE-Guitars Posted January 14, 2015 Report Posted January 14, 2015 The winder mech works great on the table! I can't recall what people were complaining about on the old version but I know when I bought mine (online) I triple checked that I was getting the new version . . . Quote
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