Cordless Router

[transatlantic]

I'm using the Bosch cordless line up at the moment, butit doesn't look like they're going to bring out a cordless router (other than the mini 12v one) any time soon, so am looking at other brands.

- The Dewalt one would be great as I already have the D26204K mains powered version, so could reuse all the bits from that. But it appears they don't do a 'motor only (without guide, bases etc)' version. And I don't fancy paying £500 for duplicates of what I already have.

So I'm left with Makita or Ryobi. Both of which I'd also need to pick up a battery and charger.

Any thoughts on which one to go for? or any others I should take a look at?

 

[ScaredyCat]

hhehe if you have battery stuff already...

https://www.badaptor.com/badaptor-2/
for the Ryobi

 

[clogs]

Milwauke.....!!!!!
when my Hitachi gear finally wears out, that's where I'm going.........

 

[Spectric]

Cordless has its place, can be convenient on site and I use cordless drills but nothing else. If it plugs in then it will work 24/7 until the day it dies, with cordless you need to have multiple batteries on charge and ready because they always go flat at the moment you really need the tool and batteries are expensive to keep replacing, often cheaper to get a tool deal with a couple of batteries than just buy a battery. I had two AEG drills and three Makita,s all needed batteries but I just brought a new drill at the time and another guy I know had a lot of Dewalt stuff again needing batteries but just brought a new tool.

 

[Nelsun]

I have the Makita and love it for what it is: great for small amounts of dust type jobs indoors and whatever it likes outdoors. It's by no means a replacement for a corded router which then gets hooked up to a vac though.

The Milwaukee appears to have a bit more grunt and a slightly better micro depth adjuster on the palm body - and that's based on a Makita Man doing a comparison between the two. I can't say I've cursed my one in either department as yet.

 

[Cabinetman]

I’ve only ever had one Ryobi tool and I wasn’t struck with it, I got the impression it was all a bit built to a price, but that was a few years ago.

 

[Ollie78]

Milwauke.....!!!!!
when my Hitachi gear finally wears out, that's where I'm going.........

TTI Hong Kong make Ryobi and Milwaukee now. It is said they are not the same industrial quality they once were.

Makita stuff is usually good, their version is basically the RT0700 laminate trimmer with a battery, I used to have the mains powered one which was very good and has lots of accessories and bases for it. I like the offset base for getting into tight corners.

I wondered about getting a cordless router/ trimmer myself. At first I thought it was a good idea but then I realised I have to bring the dust extractor with me anyway so might as well just plug into that. Unless I get a battery dust extractor too !!

Ollie

 

[custard]

Think for a moment of all power tools as being on a spectrum according to the importance of dust extraction.

At one end of the scale you have tools like a Domino (that won't work properly without effective dust extraction) or sanders (where for health reasons you want good dust extraction), then at the other end of the scale you've power tools like drills, where most people can manage well enough without dust extraction.

So where on that scale would you put routers?

I guess a lot depends on the cutters you use and the work that you do, but personally I'd have routers much closer to sanders and Dominos than to drills.

If router cutters spin in their own dust they tend to overheat and become blunt, so dust extraction effectively acts as a coolant. Furthermore, the volume of dust that a router can produce is massive, and in many cases can obscure the plunge points or end stops as well as being an obvious health hazard. Finally, for some applications, like say copy routing, the dust collection shroud effectively covers the cutter, providing a useful safety benefit.

Put all this together and I doubt I'd be interested in a router without dust extraction, and if you've got dust extraction then why not have a power cable too?

Just my experience, but I can see how a boat builder for example, working outdoors, may see things differently.

 

[AJB Temple]

I agree ^^. With many tools, dust extraction makes for a much cleaner and more accurate cut, with less risk of burning. I use extraction wherever I can and this includes routers and even multitools, both of which work much better if the dust is removed. I think some people have become a bit obsessed with cordless when in many cases it results in a less perfect tool.

 

[Hattori-Hanzo]

What jobs are you intending to use it for? like mentioned they will not replace a corded router and are only for lighter work.

I have use of both, the Makita is better no question. Better built, more powerful, less vibrations, more attachments, better dust extraction, proper storage box, the list goes on.
The Ryobi will do the same jobs, it just feels a bit basic in comparison. the stick style battery means it's very top heavy if using a 5AH battery, which is pretty much a must. It will stand upside down easily so you can use it from above, the Makita has to be secured to do this.

You don't get a hard case with the Ryobi and the only attachments you can get for it is a simple fence.

I do prefer the micro adjuster on the Ryobi over the Makita however it's let down by the locking mechanism which can become loose through vibration, and that's my biggest gripe with the Ryobi it vibrates a lot. Worse with bigger cutters but noticeably even with small cutters.
Using the same cutters in the Makita and it runs smooth as silk.

If I didn't already have Ryobi batteries I'd try and get the cheapest deal on the Makita with battery and charger as I could.

I have a plethora of Ryobi batteries and I paid £60 for the base unit alone on an Amazon black Friday deal, and for that price it's an absolute steal. I'm hoping it goes down again so I can get another.

 

[transatlantic]

In most cases, I would always have it hooked up to a vac, but personally, I still see the benefit of it being easier without a cable.

Ideally, I'd go the Festool route and have the cable attached to the dust extraction hose so they're essentially one thing, but I don't have the luxury of having specific work stations where everything is attached permanently. I'd have to set that up each time.

So yeah - I think it still makes things easier in most cases. Although in practise, maybe I wouldn't notice much of a difference? who knows.

I guess you could also argue that in losing the cable, you get a more bulky, unbalanced tool, especially with the bigger batteries.

Food for thought. Thanks guys

 

[TRITON]

" Makita stuff is usually good, their version is basically the RT0700 laminate trimmer with a battery, I used to have the mains powered one which was very good and has lots of accessories and bases for it. I like the offset base for getting into tight corners. "

Ditto, but with hindsight I should have went for something with a plunge base to begin with.

I bought the basic with the wind up/down base, then found the plunge base would have been a better choice, so bought that only to find you also have to buy a guide fence as one isnt supplied. They are nickle and diming us for every part, which normally comes as standard.

Also picked up the offset base which as you say is a handy attachment, though I've not actually used it yet. The base for it, is longer and gives more support when you attach it the the wind down base, though there you need to center it as theres some play in the mounting holes, but al the same it makes the trimmer more stable.
Makita have as far as i can see discontinued this offset base, I think because either the nylon cog or the belt wear out very quickly. I thought it best to buy 3 of those belts/cogs to future proof it for myself. I got the offset base on ebay and the parts too and for a fair bit less(base cost 20 quid.)

 

[Dr Al]

I've got the Makita DRT50 (I think that's what it's called) cordless router and it's one of my favourite tools. I've got a mains powered 1/2" router as well, but since having the cordless Makita the 1/2" router has stayed permanently in my home-made router table.

It came with several different bases in the kit I bought, but I rarely use anything other than the plunge base. I find the trimmer base too awkward to adjust compared to the plunge base. I haven't had a need to use the offset base but I guess it'll be useful when the need arises. I've used the angled base a few times to chamfer corners at funny angles and it's worked very well for that.

Obviously without dust collection it sends little chips everywhere and with dust collection it might as well be corded, but I like the convenience of the cordless version (not least the fact I don't have to coil up a mains cable when I put it away) and I often use it without dust collection: I just wear one of these and one of these and vacuum up afterwards.

My only criticism of the Makita router is that it would be nice to have a bit more travel on the plunge base for taking deeper cuts. That's mainly for use with my home-made planing slide thing - having a bit more travel would allow more variation in workpiece thickness, in particular dealing with pieces much thinner than the rails the router runs on. I ended up making a router extension thing to solve that issue.