Replies

1. 
   WillGeorge | Oct 10, 2005 04:20am | #1

   3 1/4 hp with 1/2" collet & 1/4" collet reducer, Micro-Adjust knob, and Quick Adjust Depth Gauge 15 amp motor .. Can't be all that bad for less than $200.00! I have never use that brand but I have looked at them.. Seems like a nice tool to me.. BUT again I don't have one..

   I use MDF for alot of stuff around the shop..
   I usually attach a hardwood edge (glue and spline) or just seal the edges with yellow exterior glue that is rubbed into the wood..

   As for the surface I just keep a coat of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax.. (Also on my TS top..) Seems like a nice hard wax and I have no gripes using it. I wax them after every use.. Takes little time..

   Chicago here so we got EXTREMES of everything.. Even with the edges unsealed I have never had a problem with MDF used in my shop jigs etc.. But most are sealed as in above..

1. 
   Christinastadt | Oct 10, 2005 04:30am | #2

   Thanks ever so much. The wax finish will certainly keep moisture and everything else out. BTW, I had sent an email with my question to the manufacturer, and now, I don't need to wait for an answer that probably will never come!

2. 
   royh | Oct 10, 2005 05:18pm | #3

   I have the Freud FT 2000 E router and it has all the power I could ever want; it has never bogged down in an edge cut or in a plunge. It has a soft startup so the torque won't jerk the machine out of your hands. RPMs are adjustable with a knurled dial. Plunge depth easy to adjust. 3 pre-set depths can be set. There is a micro-adjust plunge depth knob as well as a lever (right hand) to lock and maintain the plunge level once reached. On/off swith is easily accessible with the left hand. Springs get much stiffer as the plunge gets deeper. At around 14" tall, you'll need some space under the table, and a stiff mounting plate since it has some heft.

   It was a great investment for me at around $179 a few years ago, and I can't see I'll ever need another one.

1. 
   Christinastadt | Oct 10, 2005 08:50pm | #4

    

   Thank you for your comments. Very reassuring. Sounds like a "buy" is in the cards. Any doubts I had as to value for money are certainly alleviated. There are so many kinds to be had and all have something to recommend them, I guess, from celebrity endorsement to the guy at the hardware store who swears by DeWalt only, so I was a little overwhelmed when I decided, after my present machine proved to me beyond a doubt that it was no longer sufficient for the precision work I want to do, to look for something better. I have also grown very weary of bargain tools that cannot be set up or controlled with a precision better than 0,5mm in hard stock, so one ends up waisting both money and precious wood.