i am looking at getting a router for christmas and came across this recommendation during my search. just out of curiousity, what are the fixed base and d-handle base for and how often does anybody use them? i ask because the cheaper ryobi router is around $70 for 1.5 hp while the three pack is $150 for 2 hp and the extra pieces. just wondering if it is worth it.
I have a router table, and I have the fixed base installed in there, as the motor just screws right into it, so I am ALWAYS easily capable of throwing something on the router table quickly. And P.S. don't EVER buy one of those POS router tables from sears/home depot/lowes, etc. Build your own. Seriously. There's plans I can pass on to you, and you'll find it WAY more versatile and useful than the pressed steel bolted together chintzy versions they sell.
The D-handle makes it WICKED easy to go around larger panels with one hand,
BUT I DO NOT RECOMMEND YOU USE ONE HAND ONLY ON YOUR ROUTER UNLESS YOU HAVE LOTS OF EXPERIENCE WITH A ROUTER! USE THE "EAR" SECOND HANDLE! When I do the edge of a deck, it's just like zipping across it with the saw to profile the edge of all the boards.....it's one of those things that, until you've used it, you don't realize how nice a D-handle is. My Porter Cable didn't have the "ear" on it, but again, HEED the warning above!
I use the plunge base for everything else.
I DON'T use this router for work, I got it for "around the house" use cuz it was nice and cheap! I originally got it to replace my nice one until I could afford a replacement for my nice one.
Give it a week or so, that three pack router only cost me $120. For only $50 extra, I got an extra
1/
2 Hp, and one DARN versatile router!
I'm not positive, cuz I don't know specifically which other Ryobi router you were looking at, but the three base set handles
1/
2" AND
1/
4" bits. The extra
1/
2 Hp will help when driving the larger shanked bits too.