[orozcoig]

Recently I saw a router -and table- combo in Cotsco warehouse. I do not remember if the brand is mastergrid, powergrid, whatever.

Can anyone give me the righ brand and comments?

Thanks,
Ivan

 

[Mike]

Ivan, do yourself a big favor and forget about buying a router / table combination like these. You will find they are limited in their abilities and no where near the quality of the major name brands. Please spend a few minutes to read the threads on what to look for when buying a router. I think you will make a better informed decision if you do. Welcome to the forums!

 

[GoonMan]

Hello orozcoig,

I purchased my first Router and table Combo a GMC from Lowe's was about 1.5 years ago and am limited with what I can do with it. Do not get me wrong I can still use it be there is some bits that I cannot use with it. So I recently Purchased the Bosch 1617EVSPK from Lowe's and am very satisfied with it. You can get the Bosch or a Porter Cable cheaper by ordering Online. I plan to buy a new Router to go along with the new table I am going to build. My next table top will be one I build myself or purchase a kit from Oak Park there is so much more you can do with one that you build or buy the kit and put it together.

There are alot of Routers and tables out on the market and I wish I would have found this forum before I bought my first table. Take your time, read the forum and get the information you need to make and educated decision on what you want and need. Sorry for the book but just wanted to give my 2 cents.

HTH

 

[DONALD]

Recently I saw a router -and table- combo in Cotsco warehouse. I do not remember if the brand is mastergrid, powergrid, whatever.

Can anyone give me the righ brand and comments?

Thanks,
Ivan

Ivan I agree with the advice in the other posts. There's a reason why quality routers cost more. The working parts are larger and made to closer tolerances. They have ball or needle bearings instead of bushings, the armatures are larger, the gears are metal instead of plastic, they are more powerful and last longer under heavy use. Go to Amazon.com. and look at the brand name routers like, Bosch, porter Cable, DeWalt, Milwaukee, Hitachi. I'm not saying you should buy from Amazon but they usually have a good selection and you can get an idea of what a good router will cost you. There are several other sites that offer quality router tables such as Rockler, Hartville Tools, Woodcraft, Lee Valley some offer router/table combinations and some will drill the router plate to fit your router. I bought a small table and cabinet on E-Bay for around $100. I wouldn't buy a metal table. Don't get in a hurry take your time and have fun. Members on this forum are always helpful although you'll get differing opinions, we usually agree that a quality (not necessarily the most costly) router is the best buy.

 

[orozcoig]

Thanks for the advice and comments.

 

[pianoman8]

My first router was a Crafstman fixed base, which I bought so that I could put a groove in the edge of 3/4" plywood to accept plastic T molding. I was building computer table kits for resale at the time. Soon I found that I needed the features of a plunge router, so I bought a DeWalt plunge router, a good all around performer, which I reccomend. When I aquired a router table, I bought a Harbor Freight 3 hp plunge router. Not very satisfactory. Although it seemed to be a bargain, I soon discovered that there was a slight wobble to the shaft, and fine work was impossible. I replaced that with a Freud, which is wonderful.
[At one point I ordered a small trim router from Harbor Freight but they had cut so many corners with it that it was practically useless. I sent it back, no problems with refund].
My advice is to decide the purpose for which you will use your router and buy a suitable one of a major brand. There are plenty of router reviews available out there to help you decide.
If you are like most of us, you will eventually end up with more than one router anyway.