best router for worktops

[ike]

No, you're right to choose Festool. As a pro, it's a good investment. I sort of crossover from the regular day job to paying woodwork jobs - proper paying customers - but still part time, so I personally can't reconcile the cost-benefit equation to buy for example, Festool. More power to your elbow anyway.

Ike

 

[Karl]

Neil

Can I ask how you cocked up a worktop using the Erbauer?

I have one, which I have cut plenty of worktops with. It isn't great, but with a sharp cutter it is more than capable of cutting worktops.

Cheers

Karl

 

[tigerturnings]

How about the freud ft2000e? Does anyone know this model, and does anyone use one for kitchens?

I've just taken a mate's Freud FT2000VCE to my power tool dealer for a repair quote - it's an 8-year-old machine, had light use (he is a tradesman but spent much of the last 8 years caring for family and not woodworking...) and has developed too much brush sparking. Dealer showed me the brushes are chipping out, a symptom of uneven wear on the commutator.... so the armature must be replaced, along with the brushes and bearings - a repair bill of £100ish cf. new price £150ish.

Consider the same guy has a couple of Elus that are 20+ years old, get more use the the Freud, and are still going strong with the occasional changes of bearings and brushes.

In the process I also noticed Freud have not made any exploded drawings and part numbers available to the public (as far as I can find, anyway...) unlike Trend, DeWalt/Elu, Bosch, Makita, etc. Emails to any of their addresses bounced with something about 'inbox exceeded quota'.

Overall, Freud gets a big thumbs-down from me!

Cheers

TT

 

[neilyweely]

Karl
will never forget that day. am on a job in a small flat, using magnet (dense)worktops. have used the erbauer once before on a piece of worktop from another job(not so dense) and it seemed ok( this is the 2100w 60quid screwfix erbauer).
So off I go, set up jig, start my cut ( first cut nice and shallow ) no problems. Second cut this thing starts grabbing at the worktop and makin all sorts of strange noises. Trouble is its now chipping the laminate. And it was the longest length of worktop going in front of the window, so I had to replace the worktop (70quid) and was so pissed off I pulled the router out of the jig still running.You probably know what that does.
I bought the erbauer from a local pawnbrokers, and the bit was a brand new 50mm half inch trend. All set up ok, NOT me, so had to be the router. (seriously, it was!) Got my money back for the router, but still had to replace it.
And now i have heard a few horror stories about them. So you are gonna tell me yours is great, aren't you?

chippy,ike
this output/input wattage thing is a bit confusing for me, sometimes there seems to be a big difference between them. Why? Thanks for the help though guys.

 

[neilyweely]

***** ooops, sorry. was terribly upset at the time
Tigerturnings, thanks a lot mate, will leave that one alone then.
The de walt i may get doesn't have a 110v cable on it, so will have to replace that. Then I will have to see if it works ok,
is it hard to change the brushes myself or do i need to send it in? It is a 625, so should be ok to cope with worktops.
Think i may be overdoing the tool thing a bit, can only just get into the bathroom door now!!!!

 

[Petiegolfer]

Check out deals on the OF2000 at Festool dealers...a beast of a router and as the OF2200 is hitting the shops they are going to be trying to get rid of em as quick as poss.

Elliots4tools had some going at £275 plus vat I think.

Having said that I use the Makita 3162cx and have had no probs with it. I have cut 1inch tennons in 4inch posts with it plungeing 10mm at a time no probs.

Piers

 

[tigerturnings]

The de walt i may get doesn't have a 110v cable on it, so will have to replace that. Then I will have to see if it works ok,
is it hard to change the brushes myself or do i need to send it in? It is a 625, so should be ok to cope with worktops.

The DW625 is possibly the classic router for worktops and other bigger jobs. I recently bought one from a local pawnbrokers, I'm guessing by the look of it (almost new) that someone tried using it once, got scared, and sold it off!

Changing the brushes shouldn't be too difficult - I've done it on a few tools but not the DW625 as yet. When you come to disassemble it, be careful and methodical. Printing off a copy of the spares diagram from here will probably help. If you're not confident, it should be fairly quick and cheap to get a dealer to do it for you.

It sounds like you're looking at a used model, depending on its condition it may also be necessary to replace the bearings. This is possible to do yourself with the aid of the diagrams, but it can be a fiddly job. Again, a dealer probably won't charge a huge amount to do it for you if you prefer.

Cheers

TT

EDIT: The input/output watts thing.

The input power tells you the amount of electrical power the router will pull from the mains when it's in use.

The output power should tell you the amount of useful power the router transfers to the cutter.

The difference between them tells you how efficient the router is. The power that comes in from the mains but doesn't reach the cutter gets wasted (it heats up the motor and some goes as noise). So the smaller the difference, the more efficient - and better - the router.

Two routers which have the same output power should be able to cut wood equally well/fast, even if they have different input powers.

 

[NaffyNashy]

As a kitchen fitter myself I find anything with a wattage over 1200 is significant
believe it or not but the name doesn't matter unless you want the fancy tools and don't mind staying on site watching them like hawk
I'm at the moment using my son's router which is a silverline something but is 1350 watts with a half inch collet and a standard howdens 600 mm jig plenty of clamps and a true square

the cut comes from a good jig a good quality cutting head and patience make sure you take your time preparing for the cut and replace the cutter regularly
I find every 3rd to 4th cut starts to struggle so will change it by the time I get to the 5th worktop
I also find the best routers are only ever a half inch collet
have used the quarter inch one and they have all warped from the heat

No point spending stupid money for a name brand when it does just a good a poundshop 1
purchase what you can afford to make the money you need to buy your sparkling lamborghin router

 

[Job and Knock]

I've used Elus (MOF77, then MOF177e) then deWalts (DW625s) for worktops for 25 or so years. The big plus is that they have enough power (2000 watts these days) without breaking the bank - but most importantly for me parts are still available for earlier models and are relatively cheap, unlike say Makita parts (price-up a speed controller and see what I mean). I know a couple of guys who've recently bought Hitachi M12VEs at about the £150 mark and at that price it will be interesting to see how well they last - but they are 110 volt which at least shows that the manufacturer has some faith in their product to take a bit of site abuse. (I realise that mosy hobby woodworkers wouldn't use their routers to the point of needing new brushes, bearings, etc but for anyone using their kit more "actively" long trerm spares availability can be a major issue)

If you are doing it for a living I'd say forget about brazed carbide bits and instead look at TC-RT cutters from Wealden Tool (KWO), Trend or Titman. They cost less in the long run and the carbide tips really seem to be sharper than brazed tips. I only ever do two or three joint faces per cutter side (but there are two sides to every insert) - more than that and I find I am risking edge chipping, especially with worktops which have been in store for a while

BTW did you realise that the thread is 7 years old? :shock: