Price of secondhand T5 router

[Rob_H]

I'm thinking of getting a secondhand T5 router to go with my T11 - for smaller jobs. What should I be looking to pay for a god condition T5? Anyone know?

 

[p111dom]

I paid £65 for mine.

 

[chippy1970]

just sold mine for £100 had it for a couple of years had it replaced by trend when nearly out of warranty so it was nearly new. I never used it because I thought it was a rubbish router.

Mine was a 110v one with all the kit.

 

[Rob_H]

just sold mine for £100 had it for a couple of years had it replaced by trend when nearly out of warranty so it was nearly new. I never used it because I thought it was a rubbish router.

Mine was a 110v one with all the kit.

I'd be interested to know why you thought it was rubbish, Chippy; I haven't used one yet.

 

[mailee]

Mine has a rough plunge and the base plate is bonded on. Overall quality just isn't as good as the De Walt or Elu.

 

[Rob_H]

Ah, I thought Trend were supposed to be a good make.

 

[chippy1970]

Mailee said exactly what I would say the plunge is rough and the base plate just fell off mine its not screwed on like the old Elu 96e.

I bought it a while back and as soon as I opened the box it smelt like one of those cheapo diy £20 power tools, that worried me. After a couple of weeks use I notice a wobble in the bits I took it back to D&M tools who sent it back to Trend it came back no fault but there was so I returned it direct myself Trend admitted there was a fault and sent me a new one.

After a couple of months use maybe once a week if that the base just fell off so I put it away and gave up using it. I went back to my old faithful Elu. The T5 never even had any heavy use because I have a Dewalt 626 for big stuff.


If I was you I would maybe go for the small Dewalt that looks like the Elu I was told they are quiet good for the money.

 

[mailee]

Yes I would agree with that statement from Chippy. I also have the De Walt 615 which is another copy of the Elu 96 and it is great, good build quality and has never let me down. I think this is the closest copy of the old Elu 96 I have seen, w3ell worth the money IMHO. :wink:

 

[Rich]

As you are all well aware, I am only a hobbyist woodworker, but having purchased 3 routers from Aldi for £20.00 each, i am well pleased if I get a years use from them, I have had them for 3 years now and they show no signs of failing, I suppose the same could be said of buying a rolls royce or a skoda, both vehicles get you to your destination, but if the roller breaks down it will cost a lot more to get it roadworthy than a skoda, some would say that if you can afford to buy a roller you don't need to worry about such things, but in reality, you can pick up a second hand roller for a couple of grand, it's the running costs that hurt, I am sure that trend could produce a more marketable router, but they choose to keep their brand "high end" as do rolls royce, consequently, the normal run of the mill diy'er like me, turns to Aldi, I know who the winner is. :wink:

Regards,

Rich.

 

[p111dom]

I've had my T5 for about 5 years now and I have had none of the problems above. Perhaps production quality decreased after mine was made. It is a little under powered and is not suitable as your only router but for a hand held router it's great. Perhaps it's the way I use it. I don't or rarely use it as a plunge router per say. I always have the fine height adjuster on so have never had any issues with the smoothness of plunge. The T11, Dewalt 625 and the CMT version are all made in the same factory and I would be suprised if that wasn't the case with the identical looking Dewalt. Obviously Dewalt/Blackand Decker took Elu over some time ago so any Elu router you fine will be getting on a bit now. Other than that I can't see why the Dewalt 615 differs in any way other than colour. The best thing with the Trend is that they specialise in routing so the list of extras available is extensive and readily available. All of these should fit the Dewalt as well in theory but it's a guarenteed certainty with the Trend. I use mine for rounding over edges, laminate trimming etc. All of these thing a fixed based router would be better for but they weren't available when I was looking for a small router. Now that they are, while I would consider them, they cost significantly more. Yes there are better routers in it's class on the market but not for the sub £100 you would pay for a good second hand one. Strangely I aslo have a old Elu MOF96 which is 110v and the base of that is bonded on as well. I guess it depends when they were all made.

 

[mailee]

It just so happens that I now use my T5 for cutting dovetails and have it set up with the fine height adjuster on, this way I don't have to worry about the rough plunge on it. I think maybe the T5's chippy and I have may be Friday night ones as you correctly state they are from the same factory. I am lucky in having a number of routers of various makes so it is not a real problem for me.

 

[Rob_H]

It just so happens that I now use my T5 for cutting dovetails

That's what I was planning on using it for - with the CDJ600 dovetail jig.

 

[p111dom]

I use mine with the DJ300 jig and the fine height adjustment is a god send. Not sure if this fits any of the others. It's fine for this use exept that the dust extraction is so poor it verges on being pointless. Just don't expect to do panel raising with it or use it in a table.

 

[Rob_H]

No - wasn't planning on using it for anything other than with the jig. I have a Triton TRA001 in the touter table, and also a T11 for other heavy work.

 

[mailee]

Yes I use the Dakota jig and have the T5 set up with the tail cutter and a Elu 96 set up with the pin cutter. Both have the fine height adjuster on and it is so quick and easy to cut dovetails now with this setup. It may be router overkill but it does save a lot of time. :wink:

 

[chippy1970]

As you are all well aware, I am only a hobbyist woodworker, but having purchased 3 routers from Aldi for £20.00 each, i am well pleased if I get a years use from them, I have had them for 3 years now and they show no signs of failing, I suppose the same could be said of buying a rolls royce or a skoda, both vehicles get you to your destination, but if the roller breaks down it will cost a lot more to get it roadworthy than a skoda, some would say that if you can afford to buy a roller you don't need to worry about such things, but in reality, you can pick up a second hand roller for a couple of grand, it's the running costs that hurt, I am sure that trend could produce a more marketable router, but they choose to keep their brand "high end" as do rolls royce, consequently, the normal run of the mill diy'er like me, turns to Aldi, I know who the winner is. :wink:

Regards,


Rich.

Trend are not "high end" far from it. Maybe compared to Aldi yes they are higher but not high end. Maybe for a hobbyist they are great (no offence) but for everyday professional use I don't think they are up to it. Its not just me that thinks that either, I know a few people who have had T5's and hated them.

If you are talking high end I would say Festool, Mafele, Hilti, fein etc etc mostly German stuff.

 

[chippy1970]

I've had my T5 for about 5 years now and I have had none of the problems above. Perhaps production quality decreased after mine was made. It is a little under powered and is not suitable as your only router but for a hand held router it's great. Perhaps it's the way I use it. I don't or rarely use it as a plunge router per say. I always have the fine height adjuster on so have never had any issues with the smoothness of plunge. The T11, Dewalt 625 and the CMT version are all made in the same factory and I would be suprised if that wasn't the case with the identical looking Dewalt. Obviously Dewalt/Blackand Decker took Elu over some time ago so any Elu router you fine will be getting on a bit now. Other than that I can't see why the Dewalt 615 differs in any way other than colour. The best thing with the Trend is that they specialise in routing so the list of extras available is extensive and readily available. All of these should fit the Dewalt as well in theory but it's a guarenteed certainty with the Trend. I use mine for rounding over edges, laminate trimming etc. All of these thing a fixed based router would be better for but they weren't available when I was looking for a small router. Now that they are, while I would consider them, they cost significantly more. Yes there are better routers in it's class on the market but not for the sub £100 you would pay for a good second hand one. Strangely I aslo have a old Elu MOF96 which is 110v and the base of that is bonded on as well. I guess it depends when they were all made.

The Best Elu's were built in Switzerland, I bought mine over 15 years ago new and it still runs smoother than a T5 today. Where as I think the 615 and T5's are made in Eastern European countries so totally different tooling and factories to the old Elu stuff so quality is well down.

I wish I had bought the Dewalt though as I have heard its better quality than the T5. I went to buy a Festool 1010 a while back and even the Festool dealer said if youre after a small everyday router you cant beat the 615 "for the money".

 

[gidon]

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/74218/Pow ... 50W-Router
with the recently posted 10% off isn't too bad new? But sorry don't know what they go for second hand - guess you've checked ebay?
I'm a happy T5 user. It has no bells and whistles but does what I ask of it.
I have no problems with the plunge and don't think I get the issue with the base plate.
Buying new I would look at the competition in that price range though. The Dewalt definately. What I do like about the Trend routers is the range of accesories easily available and their service. The fence is very good too.
Cheers
Gidon