A
Anonymous
Guest
Review of Triton router - price approx. £240
In the box we get a decent spanner, a fence, a single 1/2" straight cutter, a router, a 1/4" reducer for the collet and a decent manual
Well, I finally found some time to write a review of the Triton router I've had a for a couple of weeks. I purchased this for use in a table. I considered the various router lifting devices on the market too before eventually settling on this for my table. In the end it was the low cost of just the router allied to the high lift on the collet and the way it locks in place when fully plunged allowing one-handed collet removal that won me over.
I already own a 1/2" Porter Cable which I purchased after many weeks of reading reviews and considering all options. Almost invariably this router came out top in tests and has lived up to the reviews. However, I don't want to be forever mounting it in the table and then having to remove it again every time I need a hand-held router. So, I bought the Triton
Initial thoughts are simply confined to one simple observation - HEAVY. Yes, indeed, this is one beefy mutha with plenty of metal casting on the bottom half; I haven't dropped it yet but if I did I'm sure the garage would come-off worse :wink:
I haven't really considered this router as a hand-held tool because I only purchased it for table use, however, I did carry out some basic comparisons with my other 1/2" router to get some 'feel' for it's suitability for purchase as the only router a fellow woodworker might own. Also took a couple of cuts with it in hand-held mode.
The side-by-side photo below shows immediately where the Triton is carrying it's weight
When used as a hand-held router, the Triton's weight really does it no favours and I wouldn't want to haul it around workpieces for any significant length of time. By comparison the Porter Cable is a featherweight and much easier to control and hold.
The collet protrudes about an inch beyond the base plate when fully plunged and locks in place ready for one-handed bit removal and fitting. One cannot help but think that the designers had one thought in mind when they implemented this, table!
Collet above table:
Spindle lock just before it engages at full plunge
Spindle lock engaged
The build quality is excellent and this appears to be a real 'trade' quality' tool. Evidence of this is clear from the following photograph which shows phosphor bronze bushes on the legs. No play or slop here and the plunge stroke is absolutely straight, smooth and easy.
A very nice design feature is in the on/off switch. A cover moves over the swith when the router is turned on and shoots back when it is turned off. The cover prevents the router from being turned on accidentally. Another aspect of this rather nice safety feature is that one cannot fully plunge and thus lock the collet UNLESS the switch is off and the cover has returned to it's home position; preventing accidental switch-on during collet change. Nice:
Cover pushed across and router turned on:
Cover over switch when turned off
In any router that is predominantly intended for table use, one would expect to be able to easily remove the plunge springs and release the plunge lock. Well, the Triton is no exception here. The plunge lock does not have a return spring and so one does not have to hold it out of the way whilst plunging (or raising) which his very nice and makes positioning a one hand operation.
The plunge spring is very easily removed by simply undoing a small pozidirve screw and then rotating the retaining cap. Out of the 6 routers I have used over the past years, this is by far the easiest to remove the spring.
Coarse depth adjustment is made by turning the left handle after squeezing the orange lock ring in. It really is very easy to turn and one revolution gives 1/10" movement (about 2.54mm). The fine adjuster is a nice large knob on the top of the router which gives 0.05" (1.27mm) movement per rotation. Both are very easy to use and smooth in operation.
Coarse adjustment
Fine adjustment
The Triton comes with a fence but it is really a token effort. Pressed steel and none too long. It does have a nice feature in that there is a pin that can be used as a trammel with the fence. Nicely done. however, when compared to the Porter Cable fence (see next photo) it is clear that hand-held operation came second on the priority list
The depth stop system is another very well thought out area and the spring loaded plunger a works really well. Note the depth settings which are the only metric thing on this router :lol:
I ran it up and tested for noise.:
Porter Cable 1/2" router 91.9 dB
Trend T5 router 97dB
Triton 102.7dB
Cheapo B&Q 1/2" router 102.9dB
The Triton is LOUD!!!! +3dB is twice as loud to the human ear
The base is not Trend pattern and the screws are not metric threads
The bottom line?
Well, this is a very impressive design. Loads of innovative features and well thought out. From an engineering point of view I love it. I think it is a little heavy for hand-held use and to be honest the PC wipes the floor with it here.
However, it belongs in a table where it is king.
If you want a router for a predominantly table use and occasional hand-held use, then forget the router raizer (sic) etc. and buy the Triton - you won't regret it for a second.
If you want hand-held use with occasional table use, then this is not the one for you and I strongly suggest the Porter Cable which despite the Tritons innovations and engineering, is the better router overall.
Rating 11/10 for table
7/10 hand-held
In the box we get a decent spanner, a fence, a single 1/2" straight cutter, a router, a 1/4" reducer for the collet and a decent manual
Well, I finally found some time to write a review of the Triton router I've had a for a couple of weeks. I purchased this for use in a table. I considered the various router lifting devices on the market too before eventually settling on this for my table. In the end it was the low cost of just the router allied to the high lift on the collet and the way it locks in place when fully plunged allowing one-handed collet removal that won me over.
I already own a 1/2" Porter Cable which I purchased after many weeks of reading reviews and considering all options. Almost invariably this router came out top in tests and has lived up to the reviews. However, I don't want to be forever mounting it in the table and then having to remove it again every time I need a hand-held router. So, I bought the Triton
Initial thoughts are simply confined to one simple observation - HEAVY. Yes, indeed, this is one beefy mutha with plenty of metal casting on the bottom half; I haven't dropped it yet but if I did I'm sure the garage would come-off worse :wink:
I haven't really considered this router as a hand-held tool because I only purchased it for table use, however, I did carry out some basic comparisons with my other 1/2" router to get some 'feel' for it's suitability for purchase as the only router a fellow woodworker might own. Also took a couple of cuts with it in hand-held mode.
The side-by-side photo below shows immediately where the Triton is carrying it's weight
When used as a hand-held router, the Triton's weight really does it no favours and I wouldn't want to haul it around workpieces for any significant length of time. By comparison the Porter Cable is a featherweight and much easier to control and hold.
The collet protrudes about an inch beyond the base plate when fully plunged and locks in place ready for one-handed bit removal and fitting. One cannot help but think that the designers had one thought in mind when they implemented this, table!
Collet above table:
Spindle lock just before it engages at full plunge
Spindle lock engaged
The build quality is excellent and this appears to be a real 'trade' quality' tool. Evidence of this is clear from the following photograph which shows phosphor bronze bushes on the legs. No play or slop here and the plunge stroke is absolutely straight, smooth and easy.
A very nice design feature is in the on/off switch. A cover moves over the swith when the router is turned on and shoots back when it is turned off. The cover prevents the router from being turned on accidentally. Another aspect of this rather nice safety feature is that one cannot fully plunge and thus lock the collet UNLESS the switch is off and the cover has returned to it's home position; preventing accidental switch-on during collet change. Nice:
Cover pushed across and router turned on:
Cover over switch when turned off
In any router that is predominantly intended for table use, one would expect to be able to easily remove the plunge springs and release the plunge lock. Well, the Triton is no exception here. The plunge lock does not have a return spring and so one does not have to hold it out of the way whilst plunging (or raising) which his very nice and makes positioning a one hand operation.
The plunge spring is very easily removed by simply undoing a small pozidirve screw and then rotating the retaining cap. Out of the 6 routers I have used over the past years, this is by far the easiest to remove the spring.
Coarse depth adjustment is made by turning the left handle after squeezing the orange lock ring in. It really is very easy to turn and one revolution gives 1/10" movement (about 2.54mm). The fine adjuster is a nice large knob on the top of the router which gives 0.05" (1.27mm) movement per rotation. Both are very easy to use and smooth in operation.
Coarse adjustment
Fine adjustment
The Triton comes with a fence but it is really a token effort. Pressed steel and none too long. It does have a nice feature in that there is a pin that can be used as a trammel with the fence. Nicely done. however, when compared to the Porter Cable fence (see next photo) it is clear that hand-held operation came second on the priority list
The depth stop system is another very well thought out area and the spring loaded plunger a works really well. Note the depth settings which are the only metric thing on this router :lol:
I ran it up and tested for noise.:
Porter Cable 1/2" router 91.9 dB
Trend T5 router 97dB
Triton 102.7dB
Cheapo B&Q 1/2" router 102.9dB
The Triton is LOUD!!!! +3dB is twice as loud to the human ear
The base is not Trend pattern and the screws are not metric threads
The bottom line?
Well, this is a very impressive design. Loads of innovative features and well thought out. From an engineering point of view I love it. I think it is a little heavy for hand-held use and to be honest the PC wipes the floor with it here.
However, it belongs in a table where it is king.
If you want a router for a predominantly table use and occasional hand-held use, then forget the router raizer (sic) etc. and buy the Triton - you won't regret it for a second.
If you want hand-held use with occasional table use, then this is not the one for you and I strongly suggest the Porter Cable which despite the Tritons innovations and engineering, is the better router overall.
Rating 11/10 for table
7/10 hand-held
