Routers

[ldoodle]

Hey,

Why would one need a 1/2" over a 1/4", and a plunge over a palm?

Bosch Blue 1/4" Palm is £150 - http://www.tooled-up.com/product/bosch-gkf-600-1-4-palm-router-600w-240v/148439/

From the same site, Bosch Blue cheapest Plunge is £415. Big difference!

I would probably never be doing advanced routing. Off the top of my head it would probably be things like;

rounding over
dados/housing/trenching - through, not stopped. Stopped ones I can see an obvious need for plunging
rabbets/rebates

Cheers

 

[nickjb]

That Bosch is a fantastic bit of kit and is by far my most used router. I think they are £99 at Screwfix at the moment. Axminster often have them at a good price with a few bits, too.

That said I wouldn't be without a 1/2" plunge. The plunge is essential for closed slots, jigged circles and follow routing a pattern to name a few. 1/2" is pretty handy for big jobs and minimising the number of passes. My biggest roundover is r25mm, I wouldn't fancy that in the Bosch (even if it did fit).

I would love the matching Bosch 1/2" but as you mention, the price is a bit out of my range. I've got a nice old mid sized ELU and big Draper.

EDIT Bosch at Screwfix: http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gkf600-600w-palm-router-240v/68002 Well worth it, even if you do end up buying another router later. Not sure what the screwfix one comes with, though. Also worth mentioning there is no speed control, not a big issue on a little router, though.

 

[ldoodle]

Can I just ask - Pro or DIY'er?

I'm the latter, and by rounder over I'm talking very discrete. Equivalent of 1 or 2 light passes with a planer and sanding, which is what I did with my last project.

I'll also only ever use max. 18mm thick material so don't know if 1/4" would be enough to make appropriately sized trenches?

What does the 1/4" or 1/2" refer to? Not max width of bit size is it? As in 1/4" would only ever cut a max 1/4" trench?

PS: As to what the Screwfix one has it looks the same;

•¼" Collet
•Fixed Speed
•1.5kg
•Parallel Fence
•Spindle Lock
•Micro Depth Adjustment
•Soft-Grip Handle

I'm only really interested in the parallel guide anyway!

 

[ldoodle]

Ignore the bit about max. width of cut because I could of course do multiple passes until it's the size I need! D'oh.

From Screwfix, with this set - http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-carbide-tipped-router-bit-shank-12-piece-set/15010# - is a nicely priced 'starter' set I think.

Oh look it's Christmas

 

[big-all]

1/4 and 1/2" is the shank size
1/2 can take smaller
but a 1/4" cannot take bigger
although some 1/4" are actually 3/8ths or 8mm with a reducer sleeve or collet insert to 1/4 "

 

[ldoodle]

1/4 and 1/2" is the shank size

Which means what exactly - and don't say the thickness of the shaft that sticks in the router

Stronger bits?

 

[cajar]

The thickness of the shaft that sticks in the router.


And larger bits.

 

[big-all]

1/4 and 1/2" is the shank size

Which means what exactly - and don't say the thickness of the shaft that sticks in the router

Stronger bits?

you can get say a 1/2" or a 1/4" rebate cutter the 1/4" fits in the !/4" machine
the 1/2 inch fits the 1/2" cutter the cut is identical but because one is 1/2" in a larger machine you can remove twice as much in one pass the 1/2" and 1/4" refer to nothing other than the shank size the measurement has no reference to the cutting end what so ever
in general its one half the shank per pass so 1/2" 1/4" per pass
1/4" 1/8" per pass

http://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/productgroup/1/router_bits.html

 

[BARCUD]

Hi, I am a complete 'old' novice and I bought the Bosch palm router a couple of weeks back. So far so good. Very light in the hand and easy to maneuver. No speed control so it spins pretty fast, no problem though. No burns so far. Easy enough to change bits and adjust cutting height, though the height gauge really is a pain to see! Might be my old eyesight?
I use it with a Trend 1/4" router bit set. As well as that I just bought a 1 1/4" straight bit which has been really useful. The router came with an adjustable fence which has also been a help.
Some guys mention that fingers have easy access to the spinning router bit. I say just keep your fingers away and they'll be fine!
I was contemplating getting the plunge base from Bosch but as soon as I spotted no straight edge on the base plate I thought no way!
It's well suited to my projects and my best buy so far.

 

[big-all]

a strait edge is handy
but makes little difference other than let you you get closer to a flat face with the router
on a curve a strait edge is a disadvantage if you are bearing against it
as different parts give different distances where as a curve is constant

 

[BARCUD]

thanks for pointing that out big-all. Now you have mentioned it the round plunger base is just as likely to follow a straight line as well as a curved. I might think about that plunger afterall