Laferg, read through the many posts and you will find lots of good advice on choosing a new router. The best thing to do is visit your local woodworking tool vendors and get them into your hands. See how the adjustments are made, what you feel most comfortable with. I would strongly urge you to get a copy of Wood Magazine, the November 2004 issue. There is an article where they show the differences between a $100 Skil router and a Bosch that costs about twice as much. They even cut the cases open so you can see the bearings and motor parts. Further back they have a discussion of the top brand combo kits, which means motors with both a fixed and plunge base. For table mounting you cant beat the Bosch 1617 fixed base, or the Bosch built Craftsman 26620 fixed base which includes an LED worklight that illuminates around the bit. (Why is Craftsman the only company that puts worklights on their machines?) All that having been said my old Craftsman router I bought for $49 new is still running strong. I only use it for sign making. The adjustments require constant watching, but it works. I use my Bosch 1617 for most jobs, and if something heavy duty comes along I have my Porter Cable 7518 to power through with.
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Mike
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