Record Power RPMS-R or Charnwood W015 router table

[TomHermolle]

Hi there - new to the forum but I've come across a few of your threads while surfing and they generally seem to be full of good advice

I need a router table, max budget is about £300, and so I've been looking at the Record Power RPMS-R vs the Charnwood W015. I don't know much about Charnwood but their machine looks like a copy of the Record but heavier, cheaper, and inlcuding gas struts to help lift the cast-iron top.

Has anybody used either of these tables or have any advice they can offer me?

Thanks in advance

Tom

 

[ByronBlack]

I'll be the first one to say it:

Have you thought about making your own?

For £300 you could have a real killer table including Incra positioning and wonderfence, plus all the cool storage that goes with a home-made system.

I looked at both of those, but when I totalled up what a home-made one woudl cost and how much better it would be, it wasn't a contest.

Where are my manners? Welcome to the forum!!

 

[ike]

Has anybody used either of these tables or have any advice they can offer me?

Welcome. I have a version of that table. I've done some mods to it and it works well, and i'm very satisfied with the results. However the vast majority here will recommend you build your own. I can't offer you any advice there I'm afraid.

From my own experience I can say i've never found a pressing need for a high tech super-precision fence system. I use the fence supplied as with the Record table more or less as is without problems. Hold downs though are a different story. The standard springy metal things are c**p. I made my own holddown system from bits and bobs for very little cost.

Some info on mine in this thread.

Ike

 

[TomHermolle]

Thanks for the quick replies!

In answer to your question Byron, yes I have considered making my own table, but it all comes down to lack of time in the end. I have some wardrobe doors to make up for a client, I've got to do it quickly, and as I'm only making furniture two days a week I haven't the time to manufacture my own table unfortunately.

Ike, do you find the lack of gas struts on the Record table a problem when lifting the top - or can a reasonably fit guy lift it without problem? I'm more inclined to get the Record than the Charnwood simply because I know they make good kit and I've never heard of Charnwood

 

[stevel]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I think that because the weight of the cast iron top is so great, if it were to accidently close when you were changing the router you could lose a finger or two, hence the gas strut. I think Rutlands sell the same table as a Fox product. As to using it, I made my own so can't say.
Steve

 

[ike]

My Hitachi M12V lives in it permanently. You can access the collet nut and spindle lock by sliding the table out of the way. So I never need to lift the table.

But if you are not going to have a dedicated router then I'd say yes, the gas struts would be better. The table is heavy.

I'm more inclined to get the Record than the Charnwood simply because I know they make good kit and I've never heard of Charnwood

I'm not sure brand is a reliable indicator in this case.

I think that because the weight of the cast iron top is so great, if it were to accidently close when you were changing the router you could lose a finger or two, hence the gas strut.

Absolutely agree. It could slam down with force. The casting alone must be 40lb or so. The whole table top assembly a half hundredweight

cheers,

Ike

 

[Alf]

Welcome to the forum, Tom.

The Charnwood and Record were within feet of each other at Yandles last year and I was moved by the disparity in price to play spot the difference. I failed... Don't be taken in by Record being a better known brand - it's all past glories stuff. :roll:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Scrit]

Don't be taken in by Record being a better known brand - it's all past glories stuff. :roll:

Agreed. BTW Ryobi also sell a very similar table

Scrit

 

[ike]

Mine was badged by Woodcut Trading (long defunct) but almost exactly the same product. It was a good deal at the time - £150 I think.

 

[Adam]

I'm more inclined to get the Record than the Charnwood simply because I know they make good kit

Hmm, on any number of postings I think people may tend to disagree with that statement.

If its a generic "china" rebrand, I doubt you get any benefit from buying the more expensive part. Getting a gas strut to save your fingers sounds like a good idea.

Adam

 

[TomHermolle]

Looks like they're all exactly the same piece of Chinese kit then! I'll just go find the cheapest. Many thanks to all for your advice.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Tom

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Freetochat]

Firstly - welcome to the forum. You will no doubt get various comments on these tables. I owned the Record version, and to be honest felt it was not a good buy for the money. The question of safety when lifting the top has already been covered, and I agree whole-heartedly with the falling risk. I have read your urgency to get up and running, but I think for the money you could do better. You could do a lot better by making yourself, if that could be achieved.

 

[johnnyb]

unfortuneatly the attention to detail required to make a router table work is to much for most manufacturers. flat top and square and inline fence etc. seems simple. if you buy one it will need tweaking out of the box at the minimum. my advice is to 1 buy a very good expensive table like the jessem or b make your own. these are the only ways to get an effective table i think.

 

[curlywol]

I have the Ryobi one which is almost identical to the two you mentioned.
The solid cast iron fixed part of the table is excellent and the sliding carriage is useful. But the supplied fence, although impressive looking was inaccurate so i made my own. It is very heavy to lift up to change the cutters (it doesn't have the gas strut safety feature) but i wind my router right up and access the cutters from the top.
John

 

[ivan]

Woodford list a cast iron Xcaliber table and split fence for somewhat less ££. Someone here said Woodford people have an industrial machinery background so their stuff is likely well made. Anyone actually seen one of these?

 

[Scrit]

Yes, I have. It's exactly the same as the Ryobi, Charnwood, Record, etc. And BTW Woodford set-up only a few years ago as a machinery dealer so they're hardly an established player in the game, unlike say Allied, JJ Smith or Daltons.

Scrit

 

[ike]

Are you sure it's the same Scrit?. It looks completely different to me i.e. with a larger, single CI table. The Record et al has a sliding aluminium table.

Have to say though it looks like a tidy bit of kit at that price.

cheers,

ike

 

[Scrit]

I've seen two, one with a single-piece cast-iron table (as seen on the web site), the other with a sliding ally table and they were pretty much the same overall size, similar fence, etc as the Ryobi one. BTW that was a couple of years back so the design might have changed a bit, like everything else they do

Scrit