Is this a great deal on a Milwaukee 5615-24 1.75hp router and kit?

I have the Milwaukee router and it is a quality tool. I especially like the strap on the fixed base since it make it easy to control with one handed use of a heavier router. However the milwaukee base doesn’t seem to have ant router template guile bushings available. I had to purchase another base that was not a milwaukee product in order to use template bushings. That price is a good deeal and you cannot go wrong.

-- Each and Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. Greg Little

One caveat: this is not a variable speed router. You may want the ability to change speeds.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

I have only heard good things about this router but watching it for the past 2 months the price has went up and down, at the lowest around 98.00 and free shipping, and some times around 104.00 and free shipping. For a long time it stayed at 124.00 or 129.00 and free shipping. It is up and down, my point is, if you can wait and watch you likely will get it at a lower price then where it is at, plus with the holidays coming this deal is sure to get better along with all the other router deals that may pop up.

Well what is a 40.00 savings anyway??? Maybe just a dinner out with the wife and children.

One advantage, it has a nice above the table adjustment set up for router table use. One disadvantage, it is not a variable speed so using larger bits would not be wise. At 1 3/4 hp you may not want to run large bits anyway.

I personally have 5 PC routers and 1 Frued router. I don’t like changing bits.

-- Jerry Nettrour

That’s a good price on a very well built router. I’ve owned two. It’s smooth and very strong for it’s amp rating. The plunge mechanism is excellent, and the Body Grip feature is great. A super router for hand use, but the RPM can’t be slowed for big bits for table use. If you need the VS, the 5616 is a better choice.

knotscott – it seems quite a jump up (about $100 from $140 to about $240) to get the 5616. Perhaps not worth the increase for me right now.

Lloyd

-- Northern California http://www.lloydus.com

I’d agree. You may never need variable speed anyway, but if you do, the 5615 seems to be a decent candidate for an outboard speed controller since it doesn’t have complications from soft start and electronic speed control. I bought an HF speed controller for $10. I’ve confirmed that it works, but can’t say that there will be no ill effects from it down the road. Perhaps others can chime in with the feasibility and ramifications of using an outboard controller.