http://www.facebook.com/routertabledepot#!/routertabledepot?sk=app_152494294760588

Wouldn’t you know it, I bought this set about a year ago and now they are giving one away!

50 Piece router bit set

When reading a review right off the bat I think of these main areas of the person that is leaving the review. These are the main areas in which we will discuss.
• Shipping
• Expectations
• Experience/Inexperience
• Customer Service
• Emotion
• Assembly
• Use period
• Manufacture or Vendor Mindset

Shipping
This is the first subject that usually gets a lot of comments on. Let me begin with this statement. “I really understand the shipping process” I have worked in this industry at one time and I have seen every aspect from a package getting from point A to point B. If there is one thing that is a constant in the universe it is this, shipping companies damage boxes. There is no way around it, and sooner or later it will happen to you. Manufacturers design their packaging around the fact that it is rough world when your package gets picked up and on to your destination. You have to consider the sort facility and the way things get handled. Speed is the ultimate theme and shippers go by how many packages they sort out each night. Being careful is a goal but not always the golden rule. So when an item comes damaged, most vendors jump through hoops to help you replace the item or fix the problem. It is a headache, and if they can design a box to relieve that headache, they most certainly will because it reduces their replacement costs. So any comments on shipping damage really need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Experience/Inexperience
This is a sensitive area, since it is closely tied to emotion. I will try to tread lightly, but I will be blunt in some areas in order for the reader to get the most out of this content. When it comes to power tools, some people just do not have any experience and some have extensive experience. It is hard to figure out who is who when you are reading a review. To be honest, some people have no business owning a power tool, yet they go to great lengths in leaving some scathing reviews. Others have a perfectionist type of view that can give you some great insight about the product. Some are Engineer types that can go into great detail and offer design changes that they think would make the product better. So how do you approach this problem? I think the best way to evaluate it is by simply knowing the fact that there are different levels of experience out there and everyone is entitled to their opinion. You just never really know who you are talking too when reading a review or getting advice from someone, you just have to use your gut feeling.

Expectations
Some reviews are written in sense of an expectation of that product that has either been met or not. If you expected a product to be of a certain design or quality and it is not, your expectations have not been met. Most people draw from this and use it in their review. Another avenue of this thought is that people write about their experience based on using the item right away. Perhaps the tool met their expectation right away but then they quickly grew out of it or moved on in their skill level. The media also has tremendous influence on what our expectations are for products. Most of the time this is based on mass appeal and it’s designed to do one thing and one thing only and that is to sell you the product. Just because someone says they are an expert does not necessarily mean it is true.

Customer Service
Customer service is often commented on but it has some bearing in some instances. For example if you are speaking directly to the manufacture themselves, then customer service can be influential. If you are speaking to a distributor of a product, then how they handle your service situation is up to them and only reflects on their company, website or business, not necessarily the product. This can skew some reviews. Of course good customer service can always be a positive factor, it is really the product you are reviewing not your buying experience. Someone should make a service about that!

Emotion
I choose to add this section because I have seen overtones of this that leak into reviews. Emotion is powerful and sometimes it is hard to shake a pre conceived concept. That concept is from the old “mail order” days when the industry was brand new. Most “mail order” companies sold junk and it was all about conversion ratios and quotas. Today most companies and vendors realize that Internet sales are a huge part of their business and a great way to reach out to customers from all over the world. So here is a concept that I and most good companies embrace. The sooner customers and the general public figure it out the better. (This is the blunt part I was talking about)

Companies want and need to take care of their customers for a very good reason. If you become a customer once, there is a good chance that you will buy from us again. If you buy from us again, you reduce the cost of acquiring a new customer and that improves the amount of money a company makes. Bottom line: if you are my customer, I want you to buy from me over and over again. This is how we stay alive.
I have no interest in making you mad, or delivering a poor product, that would be stupid and go against the business plan. If you are happy, then my life is easy. If you are mad, my day sucks. I like stress free days, so it is in my best interest in doing a good job so that you come back. Assembly
I thought it was worth mentioning that assembly can be part of the product review formula. Let’s face it, there is a new problem alive and well today and it is most irritating. That problem is the lack of good clear and concise directions. Remember when software use to come with a book on how to use it? Now day’s vendors think it is ok to be vague. I am not sure who thought this was a way to save money or not, but it is irritating. I think directions are an influence but not always the deciding factor. It is worth noting that not everyone is good at the obvious. (Blunt I know) but I am amazed at how often that putting Tab A into Slot B eludes some people.

Manufacture Mindset
Product companies have a mindset of selling product and making goals. Part of the goals is keeping replacement costs down by good design and good techniques. It is just about as simple as that. Some Brands are better at it than others; those are the ones that last in the industry. Look for manufacturers that embrace this concept by developing their authority. Most good companies really enjoy happy customers.

I hope this has helped you with interpreting customer reviews. It was intended in teaching you how to write one, but more of an education of how people write them for the world to see. The one thing about the Internet, comments stay forever and reputations are made and broken over time. Getting a good assessment of a product can sometimes be harder than you thought.

Fixed based routers
I have always been a proponent of fixed based routers in router tables. Although you can use a plunge router, the fixed seems a better choice. Nowadays you can get some great value by purchasing the combo packs that have both bases. This is like getting two routers for just a tad more money. The fixture router use to be the Porter Cable 690, but now it seems like people are moving to the 892 series router. I am assuming because it has a little bit more horsepower and most men seem to think more is better (ouch, could not resist).
I found a couple of interesting reviews, but was wondering if anyone had any good feedback from this router and fixed based routers (especially porter cable) in router tables.

I found this review of a Porter Cable 892 it also had several other links on it.

Whats your opinion?

I would like to add some more articles about routers, so I will use some of your feedback to build a couple.

Why do woodworkers take the time to build their own furniture? I catch myself asking that question from time to time. One trip to the store or a brief visit to the local news usually answers that question for me. In today’s economy people want and need value. Value in a bad or tough economy usually takes the form of quality.

Building something yourself allows you to build in that quality and make an item that will last several lifetimes. It is starting to catch on. Because we are in a global economy, people understand that most businesses have changed the way they do business. Buying products made overseas and outsourcing jobs is what they must do to stay in business. However if you don’t like the offerings at your local furniture store, the craftsman has a different option. Build it yourself and make something that can be handed down from generation to generation.

Time Verses Quality

Obviously there is more time involved in making your own items. If your shop is already set up, you have a huge head start. Having all the tools you need and being organized is half the battle. If you are willing to trade your time in for quality, you can add a lot of value to your home. This is key; putting a value on your time is different for everyone.

What I want, verses what they offer

Another good argument to making your own items is the wysiwyg factor. (what you see is what you get) When you design and make your own furniture, you can customize any way that you want. Most furniture makers choose colors and styles that have general appeal. Making your own designs allows you to build in any style or color that matches your homes décor.

Cost verses convenience

For some people the bottom line is cost. For others the bottom line is quality and cost is secondary. Most craftsmen are willing to spend the extra cash to buy the better wood and products for their project. If you are making the product in the first place, you might as well do the best you can and use the best products. You should think about handing the item down from generation to generation. Someday your grandkids are going to brag to their children about the item you built that someday is going to be theirs. You really cannot put a value on that.

So your project calls for some precise dado’s to be cut. Some are Through dado’s and some are stop dado’s. Having never cut one before, which tool do you reach for?

The thought process:
Router:
Never having done this before, you will have to thing about what you need. If you use the router, you already have one (assumption). A straight bit will do the trick for the cutting portion. What about a dado jig? How will you guide the router? Do you need to buy a jig or make it? Do you have time to make one?
Once you have or make one, you need to practice using it.

Table saw:
Do you have a Dado blade? Can you afford one? What is the best brand? Is your saw big enough to hold one? (check your arbor length, a bench saw arbor are sometimes shorter) How do I cut the stop dado on the saw?

These are good questions. Its better and easier when you already know the answers. Deciding the first time is what takes all the research and time. After that when you have the tools, you can easier figure out how you want to tackle the dado proposition on your project. One of the things I like about the tablesaw, is that it is fast. I can cut a groove or dado quite quickly. But I love using my Router Table, and any chance to tweak or improve its capabilities is fun.

If you are thinking about adding dust collection into your workshop, it’s always good to do a little planning in the beginning. If your shop is small, this is essential. Smaller spaces generally mean that you have to fight for space, or come up with some ingenious space saving idea. In can get old trying to squeeze every last square inch out of a work space without it being cluttered. My shop is fairly small since I had to downsize a bit to add room to the home office.

I reclaimed some space by combining my router table to my table saw by using a table saw extension. This is basically a replacement wing for your saw that houses a router insert and fence. With the planning mindset I was able to incorporate a smaller dust collector underneath. Building a small shelf over the dust collector also allows you to capitalize on more space to put different items. You could even add a small drawer. The smaller dust collectors, sometimes called portable dust collectors work very well for this purpose. I find that if you take the handles off of them, you can make it fit in a smaller spot. If the saw has a portable base it also adds the portability factor. Not so much of loading it on your truck and going somewhere, but maybe more like rolling it outside on a nice day.

CFM’s for the smaller portable units tend to be around 600, which is more than enough if you use a shorter hose. You can easily get away with a shorter hose if the router sits right above the unit. Add a “Y” fitting and you can use the dust collector for the table saw as well. This gives you double duty for the dust collector. I now have dust collection for my two biggest offenders in the workshop.

If you budget allows you can get another portable to tuck away nicely underneath another workstation. I have my shop set up with stations, so the router table and table saw take up one and the drill press, miter saw and small bench take up the other. I utilize being able to line up the drill press and the miter saw on the same side of the shop next to each other. I can also share the dust collection from the miter saw and the drill press to one unit. I prefer to not trip over dust hose so I like the two unit concept. Besides I can buy two smaller units for the same price or less of a larger unit. Duct work and accessories are all standard and priced reasonably. I use a small jointer, so a bench top model can go on the bench and still utilize the same dust collector. Again this takes planning but with these two stations, there is nothing that I cannot build.

Budgets for the smaller portable units usually run between $150 and $239. Hoses can be found for around $30 from most vendors. A ten foot hose could easily be cut into 5 foot sections if you have a two station shop like I do.