LarryS Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Is there a link or can someone give me information on a good Wood Router. I'm looking into building a router table and mounting it so I can make kitchen raised door panels and more. Or your own personal experience with a good router. How big a router I would need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comp56 Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 there are many good routers out there, you will want a min. of 1 3/4 hp and as important is good router bits just to keep that in mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrmccabe Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 What wood are you planning on using for the raised panel doors? Raised panel bits need lots of HP. The other question is, do you plan on using a router lift so you can make easy bit changes and height adjustments from the top or are you willing to work under the table making adjustments with a plunge router and bit changes? My picks for router table router and handheld router are going to be totally different. If I planned on doing a fair amount of hardwood raised panel work I would be purchasing a 3 1/4 HP unit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I've got a Bosch and a small Makita trim router and three Festool routers. They are all excellent but if your doing a one Router kind of thing I'd agree with Comp, start at 1-3/4hp minimum and look at PC as well as the Triton router. Bosch makes an awesome machine too. But when it comes down to is you need something that can put some power down. Rich is right too, if your going for a fixed machine I'd got for the serious horse power. You can do a lot with - 1-3/4 but you can put a roman ogee in a steel I beam with a 3-1/4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMG Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 You might also consider one with variable or multiple speeds. Some larger cutter sets benefit from lower rpms. I have a few cutters in my collection that would seriously scare me if I had to run them at over 12k to 15k rpm. I have more than one 5 speed PC router in my kit, but they are old models long since discontinued, and I am not familiar enough with any of the newer models to be able to recommend any. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrmccabe Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 1 hour ago, JMG said: I have more than one 5 speed PC router in my kit, but they are old models long since discontinued, and I am not familiar enough with any of the newer models to be able to recommend any. Well this is what the new PC 3 1/4" router looks like with lift. This thing works amazing. More money than I would like to spend but I kinda boxed myself into a corner with my router table setup and it was hard to use without a lift like this that brings the collet out of the table for easy changes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SetBuilder Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Those BIG bits for raised panel doors are pretty scary to run till you get used them. If you are using hardwoods, I agree with rrmccade that you would want a large router, as they remove a lot of material in a single pass. I don't think a 1 3/4 hp would do the job. I have an older PC 3 1/4 HP router in a Bench Dog router cabinet. Nothing fancy for a lift plate though. For a mid sized router you can't beat a Porter cable 690LR. I made some raised panel doors last week with a 690 in a router table, but they were made from MDF as they only had to last for a day I know one guy who cuts the angles for raised panel doors on a table saw, he stands the wood on end. I have not tried it myself yet though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comp56 Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 I said 1 3/4 hp minimum, I have an older PC D handle that is as far as I am concerned under rated for power, I had a newer model and it did not even come close to the old one for power. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrich1 Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 I suggest the Triton 3 1/4 router. It is able to be mounted to a table and no lift is needed. All you do is take out a spring and it can be adjusted from the top. I put mine into my table saw to save space and use up dead space. For smaller projects I have a Makita compact router with both sides and plunge bases. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMG Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 3 hours ago, SetBuilder said: I know one guy who cuts the angles for raised panel doors on a table saw, he stands the wood on end. I have not tried it myself yet though. In my really early woodworking days I used this process due to a lack of funds, but would not recommend it in general. Too much of a pain to get the tongue thickness properly sized. The only time I would use it currently would be if I was working with a particularly difficult material and needed to clear the excess prior to passing it through the shaper. I also do not recommend using the table saw to produce a panel edge by passing a panel across a dado set, or any other blade, at an angle to the blade. I watched someone take the tip off of one of their fingers once when a kickback occurred, using a dado set, knocking the panel into their nuts, causing an involuntary reaction that passed the finger across the blade set. Correct tool for the job and all, you know... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryS Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 15 hours ago, rrmccabe said: What wood are you planning on using for the raised panel doors? Raised panel bits need lots of HP. The other question is, do you plan on using a router lift so you can make easy bit changes and height adjustments from the top or are you willing to work under the table making adjustments with a plunge router and bit changes? My picks for router table router and handheld router are going to be totally different. If I planned on doing a fair amount of hardwood raised panel work I would be purchasing a 3 1/4 HP unit. Everything right now is in the planning stages. We want to remodel our kitchen sometime next winter and I was just getting together some information so when I do start to plan to build a router table I have the right size that I need to do the doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryS Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Thank you everyone with some great info. Like I said I'm in the planning stages right now. So when I do find the right plans to build a router table for my needs I can also get the right size router for what I want to do. Plans are as of right now is to start remodeling the kitchen sometime next winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay-J Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 If you plan on making raised panel doors, I would definitely invest in a 3 1/4 hp router. My suggestion is to buy either the Hitachi M12V2 (known as the ugly one) or the Hitachi M12VE (newest model). I actually just had my m12VE Hitachi router delivered today. They both go for around $200.00 or $210.00. I have the Router Raizer brand lift on mine made by Router Technologies. Works really well, great customer service over there, and very inexpensive for a router lift (less than $100.00??). This set-up is one of the cheapest ones I know, but very effective.. Tritons are good routers too. Their 3 hp model is in the $280.00 - $300.00 range. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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