Can you have too many routers? Freud FT2000E on offer.

[colinc]

It got mentioned in another thread https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12520 but I thought it was such a good buy that it might be worth giving it a bit more prominence in case anyone else wants one. I

expect they'll sell quite quickly but Screwfix are currently clearing these for £99.99 including vat & delivery. http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=17864&ts=89650

I ordered one just before lunch on Saturday and it arrived just before lunch today (monday).

It probably isn't the best Router money can buy, but I would think it would be hard to get anything better in power or quality for much less than twice the price. They seem to be well thought of here. The plunge action is not as smooth as my DW but that may just because it's brand new.

I'm almost embarrased at the number of routers I now have, but I found myself with one in a table and two portables set up for different parts of a job this weekend, I'm sure another won't come amiss!!
regards

Colin

 

[Colin C]

Hi Colin,

Go on :twisted:
How many do you have :wink:
(Thinking I you might not have as many as you think :roll: )

 

[RogerS]

Don't go there, guys

 

[JFC]

:lol: How many Roger ???? Tell them :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Just had a quick mental count i've got 12,

 

[JFC]

I thought i was bad with 4 or is it 5 but 12 :lol:

 

[colinc]

This could turn into Routaholics Anonymous. Actually I'm not feeling too bad now. I only have.....

1) An old Bosch Mof 400 - no longer regularly used but was my intro to routing.

2) its replacement - a single speed ELU MOF 96 bought 2nd hand about 10 years ago for £40.

3) From the Devil's own web site (Ebay) two years ago, a Perles version of the MOF 96 with speed control and softstart for £60 - luxury.

4) Bored one lunchtime wandering around Costco who were selling off a few Ryobi 1150V for £23 each - bought 2 but one for a friend.

5) Replaced (supplemented) my Charnwood table with a Unilift and home built table: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9126&highlight= and hit upon a sale of DW625EK for £200. Reached table nirvana, but still developing the fence design based upon an aluminium box section.

6) This weekend - I just couldn't resist Screwfix's sell off of the the Freud as I still find I can use another....

So, I confess to six.....

regards

Colin

 

[Colin C]

I have 7 :shock:

 

[Ian Dalziel]

I had router fever bad....i at one point over 30 but i'm down to a modest 22 now handy the fact you dont need to change cuters


I

 

[JFC]

Im hoping this was before the quick change collets where available or do you have the same amount of those :shock: :lol:

 

[j]

I'm seriously tempted by the freud.
What accessories would I need for table use?
Router lift? quick change collet?

And is there a way to easily remove it for freehand use? Or should I jsut by 2

I've currently got 2 routers, one is the aldi one £20 my first router, and very nice.
The other is an argos one which was £9 and never been used, just thought i'd use it more than that when I bought it abot a year ago

 

[BrianD]

Hi folks,

does anyone know of a writeup for this Router.

Price is good and I am thinking of permanently mounting under my table but am concerned about the chips falling in situation.

Any thoughts? :roll:

Thanks in advance.

 

[RogerS]

Brian..something went wrong with your weblink, i think

 

[andys wood shed]

blimey some of you guys have more routers than I've got router cutters :shock:

I've now got 5 routers T3, T5, T9 and 2 off Freud's
could not resist the screwfix offer after seeing Colins post
thanks for the info.

Andy

 

[BrianD]

OK so I got off my ass and found a review for this Router.

Pretty good review conducted so I have ordered one for permanent table mount.

Cheers.

 

[colinc]

I'm seriously tempted by the freud.
What accessories would I need for table use?
Router lift? quick change collet?

And is there a way to easily remove it for freehand use? Or should I jsut by 2

I've currently got 2 routers, one is the aldi one £20 my first router, and very nice.
The other is an argos one which was £9 and never been used, just thought i'd use it more than that when I bought it abot a year ago

You need nothing special to fix the router to the table. In its simplest form a router table can be a piece of mdf with a mounting plate let into it to which you fix the router with csk screws. The router is prepared for this as std.

The freud has a height adjusting knob that makes depth setting easy. You don't need a router lift, it's a luxury item. Start simple and add features as your needs become better defined. If think you can justify/afford/fancy a router lift then consider using a Woodpecker aluminium mounting plate from the start as the Unilift fits the same hole. I expect that you'll easily sell the mounting plate if you swap.

Similarly with the quick change collet, it's a luxury that you can add later - actually I don't know if one's available to match the Freud, mine fits the DW thread.

As to removing it you just lift the plate out of the table and unscrew it - a few minutes work.

Hope that helps - you should search around here, there's a lot of good ideas for tables & fences. My recommendation, would be to build a good solid router table base and top. For years I used a Charnwood portable table which was ok but the sheer weight and surface area of my current one makes it so easy to use and it soaks up a lot of vibration.

colin

 

[j]

You need nothing special to fix the router to the table. In its simplest form a router table can be a piece of mdf with a mounting plate let into it to which you fix the router with csk screws. The router is prepared for this as std.

So i'll need to start hunting for a suitible mounting plate, thanks.

The freud has a height adjusting knob that makes depth setting easy. You don't need a router lift, it's a luxury item. Start simple and add features as your needs become better defined. If think you can justify/afford/fancy a router lift then consider using a Woodpecker aluminium mounting plate from the start as the Unilift fits the same hole. I expect that you'll easily sell the mounting plate if you swap.

Similarly with the quick change collet, it's a luxury that you can add later - actually I don't know if one's available to match the Freud, mine fits the DW thread.

As to removing it you just lift the plate out of the table and unscrew it - a few minutes work.

That sounds good, so the hole in the top should be big enough to lift the entire router through, I had initialy thought of a minimal hole, but if i'm using the mounting plate then I geuess this is not an issue.

Hope that helps - you should search around here, there's a lot of good ideas for tables & fences. My recommendation, would be to build a good solid router table base and top. For years I used a Charnwood portable table which was ok but the sheer weight and surface area of my current one makes it so easy to use and it soaks up a lot of vibration.

colin

Thanks colin, very useful info, i've been searching around for a while now.
I almost bought the freud last year, but then got swayed by the triton. In the end I bought neither. Now that the freud is so cheap, I couldn't resist.

My initial thoughts are:
For a table top, get a router plate (any recomendations welcome)
I've got a piece of sturdy kitchen worktop (about 2inches thick) that is actually the cutout from a double sink. This would give me sufficient work surface.
For the support structure, I could either go with legs or some kind of cupboard, but would need to make sure it has good airflow.
I'd also want a fence, but initialy i'd probably stick with a batten and a couple of G clamps.

 

[colinc]

j,

I'm not an expert by any means so ask around for other ideas. Hopefully others will chip in.

Perhaps speak to Roger at Woodworkers Workshop and see what he has in the way of router plates - a very helpful chap. I know Rutlands do some but people have recorded issues with delivery. Trend do them too and they are probably the easiest to source.

I would be just a bit wary of some of the lighter thermoplastic plates which I suspect would bow under the weight of the Freud - that was a problem even with my 1/4 inch Elu in the Charnwood table, you could wobble the router around quite easily - not possible in my latest version.

You might want to consider using a simple (but thick 10-12mm) acrylic or polycarbonate plate in the first instance - it's cheap and easily available in A4 sheets on the devil's own website (ebay). I'd be interested to see what others suggest as there is an argument that acrylic is too brittle and polycarbonate too flexible. I was going down that route myself originally. Making a plate with circular inserts of various diameters seemed attractive originally but I splashed out on a Unilift.

If you haven't already found some good reading try "Woodworking with the Router" by Bill Hylton and Fred Matlack. I found it incredibly useful and built both the horizontal and vertical router tables described in it. Their advice on such things as making a router plate and fence seems good to me. I have also found Patrick Spielman's books very informative too.

As you suggest a simple batten makes a workable fence - I started there but am currently developing some ideas based upon an aluminium box section with sliding faces and integral extraction. I have a few ideas on incremental positioning that I'm playing around with too - one of the joys of being an amateur is that you can afford the time to try things that appeal to you.

Actually I think that the best thing you can do is a bit of research then get on and make something, see how it works for you then modify as appropriate.

regards

Colin

 

[mailee]

Just thought I would butt into the thread to say that I have just recieved my Freud FT 2000 router from Screwfix and it is a beauty. Not quite in the same league as the De Walt one I have but noentheless a very capable machine, and for the price! Can't go wrong. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[j]

Mailee,
I got my router today, my first ever order from screwfix.
It wasn't particularly well packaged, Inside the freud box, the plasticy bits were in an open plastic bag, but all the rest of the bits were just rattling round in the box with the router. I found a wing nut quite firmly lodged in the air vent of the router body

I don't believe I got all of the accessories, Any chance you can post a complete list of what was in the box?
The first thing I noticed was there was only one collet, I think it's the 1/4inch one.
Also, there was no instuction book, just a registration card and a thank you from freud.
Should I have expected more?

Thanks
J