So if you were to buy an all around router
(1) what would you look for
(2) Why?
(3) What is your Favourite router
(4) Why
(5) Thank you.
1st and most important, look to the company...
evaluate their CS and will they step up to the plate should there be issues...
see if they have a planned obsolesce program in force...
what will the company and their product do for me...
try to figure out if they will respect me in the morning...
no sense in buying something that can't be fixed a few years later...
next the product...
quality..
will it have a long productive life...
will it do more than I need it to....
is it a good value...
will it protect my bottom line...
will it go the extra mile...
will it go obsolete or become disposable in short order...
tools that don't cut the mustard, suffer down time, hurt production and the bottom line need to left on the store shelf...
Online reviews...
not too much...
read a few too many that my VOE said other wise...
I prefer to use and abuse different brands and evaluate them myself and I pay attention at large job sites as to who has what and what, if any, issues they are having......
the testers should eval a tool and then put it in production mode for a few years and then do another eval..
Bosch fills the bill and then some...
2nd to none CS and support...
real work horse...
last long time...
protects my bottom line...
WHY I LIKE BOSCH...
2nd to none CS/TS support (American based) that's absolutely painless... They even support their tools that have been discontinued really well...
Their tools are real work horses...
planned obsolesce isn't an issue and less all around grief...
they make tools that last a very long time... decades of hard heavy use..
they make tools that protect the bottom line...
Besides them being comfortable to use routers, they are much more feature rich, mighty fine soft start, way better fine depth adjustment, nice collets, and so much more...
I think/believe Bosch to be an excellent and outstanding company... they always ''man up'' to any found problems in a w/o issues...
When I had problems with two of their 1617 routers... a really old abused one and and a new one out of the box.. (it sounded terrible - gravely).... only took a day and all is well even with the old one and I never had to leave the shop.....
Keep in mind, that saving some money now just may cost you more down the road... Do yourself a huge favor and get a Bosch...
Bosch consistently scores high in/on all categories of quality, CS/TS, reliability and support, is as close as a phone call and your mail box...
In short... They, Bosch, respect us, the consumer...
http://www.routerforums.com/feature...ng-woodworking-equipment-tools-machinery.html