All Replies on How many routers in your shop?

Rich: I just have two routers, Both Porter Cable. I use the 690 hand held in my dovetail jig. The 893 goes in my overarm pin router.

Now that I have the 10,000 rpm Shopsmith speed increaser, I’m using it in shaper mode rather than use the router table. It can take 1/4” and 1/2” router bits as well as shaper cutters.

Hey. The weather here in the U.P. has been fantastic.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

I have a friend who is professional woodworker … he told me once he had 13. He has each one set up with a specific bit for specific cuts and profiles. To him, time is money, and he can justify the expense.

I have four … a Ryobi laminate trimmer, a Skil plunge router, a PC6902 in the Bench Dog router table, and a PC694VK kit with both the plunge and fixed base.

The Ryobi (1/4” collet) is used mostly for roundovers and chamfers. The Skil (my oldest router) is also 1/4” collet and pretty much never gets used.

The two Porter Cables, on the other hand, get a lot of use. They both have 1/4” and 1/2” collets, but I never use the 1/4” collets in them … like you, I prefer 1/2” shank bits. They cut smoother, and I think they are safer.

-- Gerry -- "I don't plan to ever really grow up ... I'm just going to learn how to act in public!"

Until I have one of every tool I need I probably won’t have two routers. I got a DeWalt 3 base combo so I have one mounted to my router wing on my table saw. Then a separate fixed and plunge base. I don’t do production work or rails and stiles every day so I can set the router up for each task. This topic has been brought up before and plenty of people on here have more than 5, 10 and 15 routers.

-- some day I hope to have enough clamps to need a clamp cart!

8iowa – I wish you well with the Shopsmith speed increaser. I had one and the gears busted up when I subjected them to (what I considered) moderate stress. This note is to suggest that you not push your shopsmith too hard.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Four routers. A Porter Cable trim router, a heavy duty Porter Cable for my router table, a Bosch plunge router and a Craftsman fixed base router. They all see use.

-- Ohh mann...pancakes and boobies...I'll bet that's what Heaven is like! ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

Right now I have 3.

2 Hitachi KM12VC fixed / plunge base 2.25 HP kits. One fixed base is on my router table.
1 B&D Firestorm FS1200RP, which works amazingly well, but has parts fall off of it frequently enough I am scared to use it. I want it GONE…

I am wanting to get rid of the B&D, and get a 3+ HP router for the table. I am thinking another Hitachi. Every Hitachi tool I have bought so far has been a hard worker, and down right pleasant to use….

I used to have a small 1.5 HP Ryobi fixed base that spun 1/4” shank bits that I somewhat regret getting rid of. But my Hitachis have both 1/4 and 1/2” collets…

-- Manufacturer of fine quality sawdust since 1984. Comments and advice on my shop welcome. Check it out at http://lumberjocks.com/dbhost/workshop. Gladly accepting shop build donations!

Only two, but I’m a novice.

-- Optimists are usually disappointed. Pessimists are either right or pleasantly surprised. I tend to be a disappointed pessimist.

One Porter Cable 2-1/4 HP with two bases, fixed in the table, plunge used freehand.

However I’ve switched to using a couple of plough planes and a router plane for most groove, rabbet and dado tasks in SMALL workpieces. Once I figured out how to use the joinery planes they seem safer to me than pushing small parts around on the router table.

But I still enjoy using my router, especially mounted in the table for things like pattern routing or running long lengths of molding or frame-and-panel doors. I know how to do them by hand (and sometimes do it by hand) but the router is generally faster. I work them by hand if I don’t have the right profile bit, don’t want to buy another bit or just need to tweek the look I’m getting from the router bits. That way it doesn’t look like what everybody else produces since they have the same profiles!

-- Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

Got Four. Porter Cable 890 in my router table, a Botch trim router, an older Craftsman and a cheap-O Tool Shop plunge router. I use them all for various jobs.

-- Dave Haynes, Indiana, http://www.oldaveswoodshop.com

Got four too. One 2 1/4 triton router, 2 Mastercrafts routers , 2 Bosch trim router. All serve me well

QuangFromCalgary. Is my math goofy or what?
“Got four too. One 2 1/4 triton router, 2 Mastercrafts routers , 2 Bosch trim router”

1+2+2=5 last time I looked…

Seriously though. Since I got rid of my little Ryobi, I have been wanting a trim router. Is that Bosch easy to use? I am in the air between the Bosch and DeWalt…

-- Manufacturer of fine quality sawdust since 1984. Comments and advice on my shop welcome. Check it out at http://lumberjocks.com/dbhost/workshop. Gladly accepting shop build donations!

Does a drywall cutout tool count. I set it up on an adjustable carriage for fine work until I picked up a trim router. The final answer is four plus the cutout tool. They all have their own uses and all work well.

-- "Man's ingenuity has outrun his intelligence" (Joseph Wood Krutch)

Rich,
I have 3 but only use 2 of them. I am just one of those guys than can’t get rid of tools. I still have my first router I bought back in about 1988. It is Black & Decker fixed base and I think it is 1-1/4 hp I haven’t used it in a long time but it still works. After that I have PC 2-1/4 hp setup with plunge base it also has a fixed base but I don’t really use it. And, then there is the big boy for the table the PC 3-1/4 hp.

Well, I guess if you want to count the little guy I have 4 – the little guy is a Dremel in router base.

-- Ron - Any day that I don't learn something new is a wasted day.

I have four routers. A Dewalt 2 hp plunge router, Craftsman 1.5 hp fixed base that I keep a dovetail bit on, a second Craftsman that is mounted under a router table and a Roto Zip trim router. Both Craftsman routers are at least 25-30 years old and are still going strong.

I’m confessing to 4, but I’m always on the look out!

I can’t wait to see what a1Jim claims….................
Now there is a Router Man!
(Check out picture #3 in his workshop pictures)
But if you see the nice stuff he turns out, he sure knows how to use them!

-- Eric

Greetings Rich,

I have four: 2 Hitachi M12Vs @3 1/4 hp. One is set up in my router table, one is hand-held. ...Love these routers. A Ryobi 2 1/4 hp that my son gave me years ago for my b.d., which is s plunger, and a small DeWalt trim router I use on laminante. It’s only takes 1/4” bits, but this little dude gets the job done. My favorites are the Hitachi M12 V’s….... you just don’t bog them puppies down, not with variable speeds…..get one…. lol.

-- " Don't ever wrestle a pig in a mudhole....he'll be having more fun than you..!!

I have, uhm, let’s see, 5. Yep, 5.

2 Craftsman routers with bench tables, but only 1 ever gets used anymore. A Ryobi that I use for dovetails, though, that may be changed soon, as I just acquired a Bosch with a 1/4” and 1/2” collet, so I may start utilizing that a lot more.

The one I use the most, believe it or not, is my Bosch trim router. I do a lot of small routing things on the job sites and it travels really nice.

Of course, I could count my Dremel, but I won’t.

-- http://www.ahomespecialist.net, Making design and application one. †

I have nine. All are used reguarly. Ditto what woodwrecker said. A1 Jim is da man….da routermaster.
Bill

I have 3. 1 in my router table. 2 for hand use.

-- Tim, Missouri ....Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the heck happened

I have 4 and could hope for more!

-- Safety first because someone needs you.

43 including the ones in my router tables

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

5in total: 2 Triton’s (one of each size the smaller in my router table) a Craftsman in the horizontal router table, a Skil plunge router with Milescraft base plate for sign making, and a small Harbor Freight trim router. For smaller projects I use a Master Carver flex shat from Woodworkers Supply’ for even smaller projects I have a 400 rpm Turbo Carver that uses dental size burrs.

-- Larry "Work like a Captain but Play like a Pirate!"

We all knew that a1Jim would take the prize – but 43! He must not like to change router bits so he has a router for every bit.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Hey Rich
I’ve got to get help I think it’s a hoarder thing but just with routers LOL

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Wow, I wish I had the funds ya’ll have. I have 1 rigid router and an unusuable craftsman router. I wish I could afford another.

-- Josh, South Jordan Utah

I’ve had a business to help support my habit Josh

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Josh – Your entry reads like wish you could afford another unusable craftsman router. Surely, an unusable router would not cost much. :-)

a1Jim – With 43 routers you must have favorites and reasons why you particularly like certain routers. Can you share any of that?

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Rich I find my self going back to my “D” handle PC 690 it’s not high end but I like the control and ease of turning it off and on with the use of the trigger and the accessories PCs are readily available.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

yeah, well, I like to collect junk :) Actually the craftsman router was the first one I had. I picked it up at a yardsale for $10. It lasted about 9 months and then one day while routing a dado I had motor parts start flying around everywhere. Needless to say that was the last time I turned that thing on.

So let me rephrase. I wish I could afford another solid, stable and very USABLE router.

-- Josh, South Jordan Utah

3 for me! Speedmatic pc plunge router in the table and the PC 2 base kit and the Rigid 2 base kit.

-- thatwoodworkingguy.com ~Eagle America~ ~Woodcraft~

2 at the moment, Ridgid Trim and a Bosch Plunge/Fixed combo. Want to add 2 more fixed base so I can put one in the table and have another for free hand when I don’t feel like using the plunge.

I have 8, if you count the Dremel which has a plunge base with it

-- Smitty!!!

i have just one, it’s my first ever that i bought about 7 months ago as i started my passion for wood only about a year ago!
it’s my thrusty Bosch POF 1200, it’s a hobby machine but i like it. i now certainly could afford a better one, but it does everything i ever asked it to do.
im actively looking for a used router on second hand sites, one that is more powerfull to put under the router table that i want to make once i get the time.

Two : one Milwaukee and one Linksys wireless!!

-- Bert

14- 2 Makita 3700 trim routers, 1 old Stanley, Porter Cable: 2- 309 trim, 2- 310 HD trim routers, 1- 730 trim with kit (tilt base, offset base, underscribe base), 1- 890, 5- 690s(2 fixed, 2 D-handle, 1 plunge)

-- Robert - Haven Wood Crafts

5 total, 2 are laminate trimmers that are just set up for the round over and easing. On the lookout for more HP for the router table and will probally get more trimmers.

-- Doug...

I’d forgotten about my Linksys router. I have one of those also but it is not in my workshop.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

I have 5 3 plunge 1 fixed base and 1 trim router

-- www.carvingandturningsbyrick.com, Rick Kruse, Grand Rapids, MI

I have 7… 2 of which are trim routers

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas only 4 miles from the mill

I have 2, one Bosch 1617 kit and the Bosch Colt.

Two, one is a modern Hitachi 1/2” speed controlled router that I use for everything.

The other is a ‘70s style Craftsman 1/4” unit that spins at about 45,000 RPM and scares me to death. The centrifugal forces are so great when that Craftsman is running you can hardly move the thing where you want it to go.

-- "The unexpected, when it happens, generally happens when you least expect it."

Only 7; need more…

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

4 routers in my shop at the moment. I’ve had as many as 5 at one time, and as few as 3 (in recent years). I’ve currently got a Freud FT1700 that stays mainly in the router table. A Milwaukee MW5625 that goes in the router table for raised panels and other brute jobs. A Hitachi M12VC for hand use and dovetails, and a Milwaukee 5615 that’s mainly for plunge work, but also sees general hand use.

To date, I’ve had a cheapie Craftsman 9 amp 1/4” shank fixed base, a Freud FT2000E 15 amp plunger, a Milwaukee 5615 fixed base, a Freud FT1700 kit, a Milwaukee 5625, a Bosch 1617PK, Hitachi M12VC, PC690LR, and a Milwaukee 5615-24 kit.

I could get by quite nicely with a good table router and a hand router.

...and a Linksys!

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

Gosh I feel better about my little desire to another router! haha. I only have one. Unless, uh, you want to count my sheet router.

-- Lis - Michigan - http://www.missmooseart.com - https://www.etsy.com/people/lisbokt

Rich,
I have a Hitachi M12v in my Router table, and a Porter Cable 890 with A fixed and a plunge base.

-- Charlie............Only time will tell if it was time well spent.

I have six, but only use 3 of them regularly.

-- I don't make mistakes, only design changes....www.dgmwoodworks.com

Got eight that work, three dead in a box somewhere. Hey wow, that reminds me I put my big Jacobs 33BA 3/8 in the box with the dead routers. Thanks!!! Convenient at the time I guess.

-- Methods are many,Principles are few.Methods change often,Principles never do.

I have 9, but I only use 6 regularly.

-- Uncle Fester

6.
A 690, a 690 in a plunge base, a 7518, a 7310 laminate trimmer, A Bosch laminate trimmer kit with 3 bases, and an 892 in my CNC.

-- Gerry, http://home.comcast.net/~cncwoodworker/CNC_Woodworker.html

WOW – With my 4 routers I thought I was at the high end when it comes to number of routers. Suddenly, I feel no guilt about my last router purchase because so many of you have more than I do. Can’t wait to tell my wife.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.