There has been some posts about the Bosch having a short lifespan. Some posts about the DeWalt 611 (a new member to the palm router lineup) and some may be looking into the Ridgid from HD. I would like to hear from others in this forum, on this subject. For example: likes, dislikes, pros, cons, importance of features, longjevity, price and was your choice a dedicated router to the Shark or used as a multi tasker? Also lets hear if you have any fixes/mods. Last of all, if you had to purchase another router at this time, what would chose? or list your choices in the order you would buy them.
I hope this proves to be an interesting topic with lots of diff prospectives and good feedback for those looking to purchase a new router for their Shark.
dwayne, I would like to replace my bosch, it is starting to get really loud. i think it is starting to wear out. I even have the whole machine inside a 40" X 40" X 24" clear polycarbonate cover to help contain dust and noise. If anyone knows what model of router is quietest please add to this post. I have a Fein vac systen to keep dust to a min. because they run so quiet.
Joe
It sounds to me as if the brushes in your router motor are wearing out. New ones are less than $10 bucks. What happens is when they begin to wear out past a certain point the electricity begins to arc with a sort of snap crackle pop sort of noise. The Bosch Colt is an excellent machine. I recently got my hands on the new Dewault trim router and I have to admit it is very quiet relative to the colt. But I got it off craigslist for 60 dollars brand new. if you bought it in the stores it is closer to 150-200.
I have both the Bosch Colt and the Dewalt. I now primarily run the Dewalt on mine. The only reason I bought another router is that I kept running the Colt into the tabletop when I was learning the ropes and the coulet was getting a little out of true. I was in a rush to get the problem fixed and the store didn't have a replacement coulet in stock but did have a Dewalt, so I brought it home. Now that the colt is fixed I just haven't had a need to switch. The Dewalt does seem to run a little quieter (though I'm sure my neighbors would disagree). I do demos at the Tukwila, Washington Rockler Store and there the machine is equipt with a Colt. I haven't had any problems (other than self inflicted) with either and I use my Shark almost everyday.
Over the last year I made a mount for each of these routers, ran them, and measured their runout, etc...
Makita 3707FC, Ridgid R2401, Dewalt DWP611, and Bosch Colt
The colt I had was one of the units with runout problems due mainly to the collet. (see the tread on Colt runout)
Very noisy and low quality cuts in wood and metal. Not really useable in that state.
had to get a Precisebits collet setup which also allowed 1/4 and 1/8 inch bits. Cuts are now as they should be.
Tried the Makita next, very good quality cut, low noise, leds lighting the work area.. Liked it a lot.
Ridgid was not any better than the Makita, but can be fitted with Precisebits collets.
Dewalt seems like a very nice unit. good accuracy and runout from the factory. waiting for Precisebits to offer collets and nuts for that router.
It would be great to see the factory offer mounts for all of these and allow a new customer to choose the mount they want shipped with the shark.
There are some good alternatives out there.
I'm a new member, but OLD user. ('08, I think....) Anyway, Mine came with a Rotozip. It seems to do what I need it to do, and rebuild kits are only 15 bucks. What are the advantages of the palm routers that they are using now? More torque?
