Hitachi M12V, 3 ¼ Hp, Plunge Router

I have two of these routers!
I mounted on in my router table and use the other one for manual jobs.

Having a 3 ¼ Hp, 15 AMP motor, the Hitachi M12V is can handle virtually any routing job or bit design. The motor features an infinitely adjustable electronic speed control dial and soft start to make it manageable for hand use. The 8,000 to 20,000 rpm range (no load) dial is divided by 1 through 5 numerals (no detents) on the dial.

The On/Off switch is located off the right-side handle and can be easily operated while gripping the handle. This is a good idea, especially with such a powerful router. It also has a soft start so it isn’t jerked out of your hands when it starts.

Depth Scales The Hitachi M12V has the traditional adjustable stop rod that mates with a three position turret on the base flange. Two positions on the turret are adjustable. A dial on the side of the router housing operates the stop rod, which is locked with a wing screw.
The controls are easy to use and the handles repositionable through three detents.
Not so familiar is being able to adjust the angle of the hand grips. Both grips can be adjusted to one of three positions from vertical to laid back by simply loosening the mounting screw, turning them to the index wanted and tightening the screws.
The handles are large, nicely shaped and give a good feel of control without being tiring.

To make depth cutting more accurate, the scale next to the depth rod indicator can also be adjusted by loosening its wing screw and pulling the knob out before turning. That engages the scale rather than the depth rod.

It has a nicely designed exterior spindle lock that makes changing bits a truly one-wrench task. A heavy, spring loaded sliding plate is moved into position, its sides fitting into flats on the spindle shaft. The included wrench is then used to loosen or tighten the collet for bit changes. This feature is always handy but especially nice in router table applications that do not allow bringing the spindle above the surface. I did purchase a drop down wrench to use when its in the table making it very easy to loosen and tighten the spindle lock.

It has a ½”-diameter collet but a reducer sleeve is included for using ¼”-shanked bits.