# Very nice palm router with one annoying flaw



## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

Thanks for the review.
Can either of the included bases accept bushings?


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

good review JayT.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Tedstor, yes according to the instructions, the bases can accept threaded bushings, though I haven't used them in it, yet.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I wish my ridgid would except bushings. I absolutely love that little router though. The depth adjustment is amazing, it has tons of power, and does everything I would want it to.


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## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

I think I may give the Craftsman a shot. Its currently $76, but I have a coupon for $15 off any tool purchase of $75+. Free shipping too 

Edit to add: Order placed. For $60 shipped, I'll see if the depth adjustment bothers me too much. If so, I can easily return it to the local Sears.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Thanks for review, timed nicely as i think i will be getting this and the one lumberjoe reviewed some time back when i get gift card from my employer in a few weeks


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Tedstor, Justin, good luck with your purchases. I will be interested to see/hear your thoughts after using the router for a while. $60 shipped makes it an incredible deal.


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## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

I just got mine today. Free shipping and only took 2 days to arrive. Nice. 
I probably won't try it out until this weekend. But so far, I concur with everything JayT has observed. 
One note- The owner's manual AND online description BOTH indicate that this router can accept threaded bushings. I was excited about the prospect of using this router for inlays. NOPE. Unless Sears sell some sort of oddball accessory bushing. There is no way a standard bushing will work with either base. 
Luckily, I happen to have two sub-bases on-hand that came with a Ridgid bushing kit, that will accept bushings. I should be able to easily adapt one of these sub-bases for the Craftsman. Otherwise, I think I might have returned the router if I had to buy a sub-base or go to the trouble of making one from scratch. $60 is a great price, but not if you need to buy/make accesories. 
That aside, The router looks pretty solid and fits nicely in my hand. The two-handled base is a VERY nice feature. I'm looking forward to firing it up. 
Anyway, I'll post my own review in a week or two.


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## ajw1978 (Jul 5, 2014)

Ted,

I know this is a year-plus old, but how has yours held up? (Same for you, JayT). I bought a refurb Ridgid for $60 but decided to pass it over to the Old Man for myriad reasons. Was debating getting it back, buying a new Ridgid (for warranty purposes) and even considered a P-C or Bosch, but since I've got a lot of CMan tools in my collection already (I'm more loyal to deals/points/coupons than I am brands), I thought I might give this a try if I can combine enough discounts.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

ajw,

A year later, I don't have anything to add or edit from the original review. I had used the router a good bit before posting to make sure I wasn't missing anything by being hasty about doing a review. I haven't used the router a lot the past year (less shop time and more hand tool use) but the pros and cons remain the same for me. No issues with it holding up, yet, either. I think it is a good deal, if you are willing to put up with the lousy depth adjustment. If that's going to be a sticking point for the type of work you want to do, then I would advise looking around a bit more.


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## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

Me too. I use mine almost exclusively for roundovers and with patterns. I never really got into inlay, so my earlier bushing complaint is somewhat moot. It gets the job done. If you can get the Craftsman for $40, its probably a good buy. I really like the two handled subbase. 
FYI- I saw the Ridgid for $99 at Home depot and it came with a sheet sander.


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