Thread: What is the best router for Halloween projects?

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Ok, not sure if I should have posted this here or props or in off topic. I need to know what router you guys/girls are using to make your projects. I'm thinking plunge router to do signs/book cases for my witches/clowns things. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Growler

Any porter cable router is top notch

I love my Ryobi router! It has been faithful for over 6 years now. Not very expensive either. Best of luck to ya!

No matter what router you buy, make sure you save the receipt and the manufacturer's warrenty card. Just like any other purchase, you may find features you like and/or dislike with your first router purchase, and you may want to return it or upgrade after a while.

I currently have a Craftsman router and I'm not very happy with it. the system it uses to "lock" the depth in place is plastic and doesn't work very well.

Having said all that, I've heard good things about Bosch routers. You may want to look at the Bosch Colt PR20.

Thanks guys. Yeah, I'm finding that I really don't care for Craftsman stuff and going for the more mid price to upper price items. I like dewalt and heard ryobi and bosch are both good brands. I bought a black and decker table saw since it was on sale a couple years ago and it's a real piece. I've already ripped off most of the safety guard and the rip guide doesn't lock in accurately. I'll check over your suggestions. Thanks again.

I have a Ryobi router for over 10 years and it works well. I would also recommend the Porter Cable, Bosch and DeWalt stuff. I have a bunch of tools from each of them and they're still working many years later.

Craftsman used to be good years ago but I don't think they're what they used to be, for power tools anyway. As for hand tools they're good. I do have a B&D cordless drill which has lasted for many years but their stuff is too proprietary and hard to find parts to fix when they break.

It seems for Craftsman, you have to buy the higher end stuff. Their entry-level power tools are pretty crappy. I bought their simple table saw years ago and it had all sorts of problems (wiring, alignment, stability, etc.). I went back a few years ago and bought their commercial grade portable table saw and it's a dream come true. Beautiful cuts, great guides and guards. It's a great table saw for the price, but I'm sure if I went out a bought a $400-500 DeWalt or Bosch, I would be even more impressed.

I, for one, am going to be watching the sales very closely next week. I want to buy a new router, skill saw, and framing nail gun.

I've sort of given up on Craftsman items. Porter Cable and Dewalt are actually the same company, but I've always had good luck with both lines. In fact I've never had a failure with any of their tools and I've been using them for 10+ years.

I wouldn't say one router fits all...... I have 5 routers all together, 2 Craftsman, Black & Decker, Bosch, Skil. All depends upon usage...... One is a trim router, small and light weight making it easy to handle for detailed or small jobs. Another is a plunge router for like you said, signs and other larger projects where I need to plunge the bit into the item or using larger bits removing more material at a time. Then I have one that I keep mounted to the router table all the time. Another is setup for the dovetail jig. And the last one is just a basic small router (larger than the trim but smaller than the plunge router). So depending upon what I'm routing at the time, will determine which router I'll use. I also have the plunge router attachement for my dremel which I'm finding works better in some cases than the trim router does and works really great for carving tombstones.

Originally Posted by The Pod

I wouldn't say one router fits all...... I have 5 routers all together, 2 Craftsman, Black & Decker, Bosch, Skil. All depends upon usage...... One is a trim router, small and light weight making it easy to handle for detailed or small jobs. Another is a plunge router for like you said, signs and other larger projects where I need to plunge the bit into the item or using larger bits removing more material at a time. Then I have one that I keep mounted to the router table all the time. Another is setup for the dovetail jig. And the last one is just a basic small router (larger than the trim but smaller than the plunge router). So depending upon what I'm routing at the time, will determine which router I'll use. I also have the plunge router attachement for my dremel which I'm finding works better in some cases than the trim router does and works really great for carving tombstones.

You have a dedicated router for your dovetail jig? That seems a bit excessive! (and I envy you, good sir!)

I only have the one Craftsman router right now, so I always have to switch it around between dovetailing, my small router table, or freestyle routering. I really want to upgrade to a better model, but every time I see the prices, I shy away.