August 2020 Router market showdown and discussion

LowRider CNC Advice
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My 50 year old Craftsman router is making angry sparks, and I think it is time for replacement. This was a hand-me-down from my dad. I’m not sure how many hours he put on it, but I’m sure I’ve put 30 hard hours on it on the LowRider. I replaced the bearings recently but some of the tolerances are pretty wide, the commutator is worn, and it has been hard to control the runout. It will also need new brushes soon.

I threw together a spreadsheet comparing the routers available to me from Amazon.ca and Canadian Tire, and the results were not surprising, but interesting none the less. I compared 14 models from 8 manufacturers and I thought I’d share the results.

Spoiler: If you want a compact router with 6.5-7.0 amps, variable speed, soft start, and constant speed, the best options still appear to be the Makita RT0701C and the Dewalt DWP611.

  • The Makita is CAD129, 6.5A, 1.8kg, and comes with a 1 year warranty. It does not have LEDs.
  • The Dewalt is CAD199, 7.0A, 2.5kg, and comes with a 3 year warranty, and does have LEDs.
  • Also of note is the Bosch Colt GKF125 at CAD195, 7.0A, 2.0kg, 1 year warranty, and LEDs.

Normally I would think LEDs would be a silly gimmick, but having used my LowRider for a while, I’ve considered adding illumination under there so I can better see what is going on, so this actually seems like a useful feature.

Knowing that our CNC tools put one or two orders of magnitude more hours on these routers than a typical user (except maybe a cabinetmaker), one might see the Dewalt as the clear winner with its 3 year warranty; however it is a limited warranty. During the first year they will fix anything short of “abuse” but after that the warranty does not cover normal wear. From a quick scan of websites, none of the 2 or more year warranties cover normal wear and tear.

At the low end of the price are two routers by Avid Power, the MW104 and the AERM144. Both models cost CAD89 with a 2 year warranty, so they could be considered disposable if you get a decent number of hours out of them. They even come with spare brushes. Their website consists mostly of lorem ipsum text, so… no comment.

  • The MW104 is a 6.5A variable speed unit but does not have soft start or constant speed. It is heavy, at 3.2kg.
  • The AERM144 is full-size 11A single-speed unit at 4.5kg. Reviews of these are mostly favourable, but they are notably louder than their brand name counterparts.

There are other compact routers to consider, but they lack one or more attractive features:

  • Porter Cable 450 at CAD159. 7.0A with soft start and constant speed but fixed speed. 2.45kg with 3 year limited warranty.
  • Ryobi R1631K at CAD159. An 8.5A fixed speed motor with LEDs and a 3 year warranty. Could be a way of getting more power while still under 3kg.

Full-size routers have some appeal, but at about twice the weight you’d need to balance the additional speed you may be able to run with the additional load on our little stepper motors and their reduced torque at higher speeds. I’d be interested to hear your experiences if you’ve tried this.

  • Skil RT1323-00 is good value at CAD139 for a 10A variable speed motor with soft-start (not constant-speed) at 4.5kg. Also has LEDs and a 5-year warranty.
  • Mastercraft router at CAD169 for 9.5A fixed-speed motor with LEDs at 4.5kg with 3-year warranty.
  • Metabo (Hitachi) M12VC at CAD183 for 11A fixed-speed motor at 4.7kg with 5-year warranty. They note that it is “quiet” at 79.5dB, but there isn’t much to compare with.
  • Dewalt DW616 at CAD199 for 11A fixed-speed motor at only 2.83kg with 3-year warranty.

In the $200+ range are the Dewalt DW618 and Bosch 1617EWS, both 12A with soft-start and constant speed. The Dewalt has variable speed. 4.5 and 4.0 kg with 1-year warranties.

Personally, I’ll probably end up getting the usual Makita or Dewalt, but please share if you have experience with any of the others:

  • Do you use the variable speed feature, or do you usually leave it on max?
  • Is soft-start worthwhile on a tool that you won’t be using by hand?
  • Is constant-speed a must-have feature?
  • Do LEDs really make a difference?
  • How does LowRider handle the heavyweights?
  • Are you loyal to a brand? Why?
  • Have you tried using your warranty? How did it go?
  • Are there valuable features that brands don’t hype?
  • Do you swear by the cheap Chinese spindles?
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I have the Makita RT0701C and it’s a fantastic router. Never had to use the warranty on any of my Makita stuff but there is local support. The DeWalt routers are good too and also have local support.

I also have this router. In Canada if you sign up for the Triangle program they will email you when something you are interested in goes on sale. I think I paid $99 CAD for it.

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Good tip, that is a great price for that router. I haven’t tried the MAXIMUM branded “premium” tools yet. That would be a nice unit when I get around to getting a router table.

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Writing this thread has also inspired me to add a Hobbs meter to my set up so I can keep better notes on router and tool life.

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I see you put premium in quotes, it’s an OK router, not great but good value when it goes on sale (about 2-3 times a year).

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I have the Grizzly T27139 Laminate Trim Router on my lowrider. As far as I can tell it is a direct clone of the Makita, has the same hole dimensions and mounts on the same plates.

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Something else to consider on the makita. If you choose to build a primo, it can be handy as a backup.
I started with a lowrider and bought the dewalt. Wishing for speed control on my burly, I picked up another dewalt over the makita for redundancy. One set of brushes to keep, shared collets, if one goes down I can swap in the other while I wait for repairs or replacement.
The makita is a noticeably better choice for the burly/primo than the 611, although not as good as a 660 with a speed controller. Which reminds me, I really need to get on top of that.

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I have the dewalt and it’s fine… the only negative is noise and it would be nice if the RPMs went lower which the Makita does I think.

I had a hard look at the chinese spindles which are much quieter but I saw more than one teardown that indicated they have some design problem (flexible bushing?) that means they will crap out after a year or so. I would love to be wrong about this or find some newer model that doesn’t have this flaw.

Some credit cards add an extra year warranty not sure if they cover tools.

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I did end up buying the Makita and so far I’m quite happy with it.
Only negative is that I found I had to stick a piece of tape over the speed adjustment, because it would vibrate itself to a faster speed.

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Started shopping for a router today for the LR2.
Saw the best price on the DWP611 is $139 usd.
Then looked at CPO, where “reconditioned” RT0701C’s are under $65.
That’s quite a healthy difference for what I read is a comparable router.
Below is the link to the sale item…

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Just to throw another router in the mix, I purchased Carbide Compact Router from Carbide 3D. It is either made by Makita or is a Makita RT0701C clone (I’ve read both). It comes with a longer cord than a stock Makita and includes both 1/4" and 1/8" precision collets (which saved me $25). It is priced at $80. In a bit of informal testing, I did find the 1/4" precision collet had less runout than the stock 1/4" collet (also shipped with the router).

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Does it have a flat face plate? The LR mounts to a flat surface.

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Good catch, The Carbide version doesn’t come with any bases. The fixed base is probably $40.

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Carbide does not ship a base, so this router is not a deal for a LR. I did a quick search and found third-party acrylic bases from Chine for $12, and OEM metal bases from Amazon for $38. I imagine for an LR you’d want the metal base.

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I have already cut out a 611 plate on my MPCNC but $70 in savings vs the dewalt means I guess I’m cutting a Makita plate today and printing out the updated vac connections…