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Fixed vs. Plunge Router...
NoOne=NBA=:
What makes a plunge router a plunge router is NOT that it is handheld.
It has big spring loaded guides on the side that will let it PLUNGE into the top of the board.
You set the base part of it on the board, and then push down, and the bit cuts its way into the top of the board.
You don't want to try that with a fixed base router, trust me.
It CAN be done; but can get REALLY ugly, REALLY quick too.
Here is a fixed base router, and here is a plunge router.
The base thing on the right is the plunge router attachment.
The router base kind of rides in that.
Teknique:
bought a fixed just for this project, didnt need a plunge router and it cost alot less. Ryobi had one for 70 bucks at Home Depot. Results were great! Spend you money on all those dang bits you need ($$$). Use your drill for pilot holes then the router. Unless your planning on doing alot more woodworking projects and want an slightly easier way to do things, go with the fixed... afterall were not millionaires here.
Teknique
eightbit:
Fixed base router is often lighter and smaller than a plunge and is usually cheaper. For t-slots your better off with the fixed base.
What is nice about a plunge router is depth adjustment. Often if you want to sink a recess into a board or route a lot off you need to do it in serveral passes. With a plunge router you make a pass pull a lever push it down a little and make another pass. You keep doing that untill you get to the depth you want. With a fixed base router you have to shut it down and adjust the height for each pass.
I have a plunge router, I do a lot of woodworking...
mp2526:
--- Quote from: eightbit on January 30, 2004, 09:52:57 am ---Fixed base router is often lighter and smaller than a plunge and is usually cheaper.
--- End quote ---
I don't know, this is pretty cheap for a plunge router.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47937
Maybe not the best quality, but for the limited amount of routing most people on this forum do, it should do the job nicely.
Buddabing:
I got a Craftsman all-in-one cutting tool kit for Christmas last year. It's got a plunge router attachment. I used it for my son's Pinewood Derby car. It sure beats a chisel, which is what I had to use after my bit broke.
The kit also includes a hole saw attachment, I've never used that.
Here's a link to the original kit, which is what I have:
http://www.sears.com/sr/craftsman/whatsnew/cr_ct_cooltooldetail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1192305238.1075476231@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdladckiellddgcehgcemgdffmdflh.0&vertical=TOOL&Tool_Id=26
The all-in-one kit sold now also includes a flexible shaft, to which you can attach Dremel-compatible bits. Mine doesn't fit in the case, but I believe the newer cases do fit the Dremel shaft. Dremels are wonderful tools.