New to the Router Forum

[curtis]

Hello All,

I am recently retired and now just working part-time. With more free time on my hands, I have recently become interested in woodworking. I am thinking about getting a router, or possibly two, and a router table. I have already learned that a router can be a most versatile tool, but at the same time it seems that it could be complicated to learn how to use it properly.

I was looking around the internet to gather some information about routers, and I ran across this forum. I am hoping to read some of the posts and see what some of the more experienced woodworkers are using before I invest any money in a brand that I know very little about. I am also hoping to pick up a few pointers on how to best use the router as well. I am looking forward to learning from the others here.

Thanks for allowing me to participate.

Curtis

[Doyle]

Welcome Curtis
As you learn to navigate the forum you will gain much information.
Ask plenty of questions and enjoy.
Take care
Doyle

[challagan]

Welcome to the Router Forums. Lots of good routers out there today. Just depends on what you want to spend. Porter cable, Milwaukee, Bosch and Dewalt all make great routers. Check out combo units that come with a motor unit that can be switched between a fixed base and a plunge base. If you go this route most put the fixed base in a router table and use the plunge for hand work. Or you can buy a dedicated plunge router for the table and for hand work. The combo's are a great idea. You can just switch the motor between the table and the plunger. Very few jobs will require more than a 2 HP router such as those that involve large router bits such as rail and stile doors and panel raising and you can get buy with panel raising with a smaller router by using multiple passes.

Most of the 2 base combo units run between 200-300.00 However... Craftsman has released a real nice 2 base unit with 2 HP, work like on the plunge base and it has received very good reviews and runs 109. I bought the 1 3/4 plunge version for 79.00 and it's an awesome value. So for 109.00 you can get off to a great start at a modest investment. Great way to find out if you really like the router and what it is all about.
Here is a link to the router page and the 2 base unit:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...UseBVCookie=Yes
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...UseBVCookie=Yes

[Joe Lyddon]

W e l c o m e . . A b o a r d !!

[Dr.Zook]

Thank you Curtis for joining and welcome to the Router Forums. Congrats on your retirement. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. If you have a fast internet connection, you might want to go to "www.thewoodworkingchannel.com" and check out the Router Workshop shows.

[rmaxa]

Welcome to the forum Curtis. Lots of good information here, and very knowledgeable members. I have a PC 7518 in my router table, and I use a Dewalt combo router as a hand held.

[Mark]

Welcome to the community!