shopping for a router for cabinet doors
Saw a Hitachi router in the L store yesterday. 31/2 HP Plunge.I think it was the T12 model. If I remember correctly it was < 200 dollars. I’m looking for a router around that price to put in my router table. How is the Hitachi as far as ease of use, reliability, yada, yada, yada, etc. I appreciate any advice. Oh, yeah I plan to make raised panel cabinet doors with it mostly. Rick W.
Replies
Rick,
I can't find a reference anywhere to a Hitachi "T12". If you mean the "M12V", you can read a good review at http://www.wwforum.com/faqs.articles/M12V.html
You may find the customer reviews at Amazon to be quite helpful also.
Jeff
another place to review tools is amazon.com. Lot of folks opinionate there on how well they like their stuff. I thought I was getting the cat's meow with a 3 1/2hp Porter Cable upside down in my table, but the dust screws up the motor pretty quickly, and PC's tech support answer was "well, we don't design routers to work inverted" or something to that effect. I've thought a great deal about how to divert dust away but I've already got vaccuum hoses in two places on the table. You could probably find a tech number for any brand you're looking at. Another place I've sometimes checked before buying a tool I'm not sure of is the local tool hospital. How many of these do you see, how often, how do they hold up . . . the guys fixin them ought to know.
RW
"well, we don't design routers to work inverted"
Wow. Talk about lack of responsibility. As though hanging a router under a router table is an exotic use of the tool!
Rich
Rick -
I built my router 'platform' into my rolling workbench. Underneath I constructed a 12x12x12 box out of 1/4" plywood. To that, I conneced a 4" DC pipe. I also cut a 2.5" hole directly beneath where the router hangs. I glued a piece of closed cell foam into a 4" circle and glued it inside around the hole. When the router is dropped into the table, it depresses the foam forming a seal of sorts. With the DC on, clean air is pulled up through the motor. I've used the router probably 3 hrs/day, average, for the past 3 years with no problem (Porter Cable router).
PlaneWood by Mike_in_KatyPlaneWood
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