Expert: Jamie Yocono - 7/6/2007

Question
Hi Jamie,

I'm the fellow who asked you a little while back about building cabinet doors for stained glass inserts.

I bought a couple of books : "Router Basics" by Spielman and "Building Cabinet Doors & Drawers" by Danny Proulx.

Now, I am looking into the tools required. I have no table saw or router. I do, however, have a circular saw.

I would prefer to start off small so I was thinking maybe getting a router would be sufficient at the beginning (also I'm worried about chopping off some fingers if I get that table saw ;)).

I went to look at routers at the local hardware stores as well as looking at on-line reviews.

First , the choice seems to between a fixed base or plunge router, although it seems now that the plunge router is the way to go (although some routers have a fixed base kit).

There seems to be a lot of choices (Bosch, Porter Cable, Skil, Makita, Freud, Triton, etc...) along with different horse powers, amps, etc.

Prices range from $138 (Skil SK1825, 2hp) to $367 (Bosch 1619EVS, 3 1/4hp ) although there is a "Black and Decker" one for $69.98 (2hp). The salesperson at the store was highly recommending the Triton models (one at $198 for a 2 1/4 hp model and $268 for a 3 1/4 hp one).

On-line, most people recommend getting a plunge router with at least 3hp, to allow for possible use as a table router.

Before checking out the routers, I was hoping on spending maybe up to $150. I am not sure exactly how much wood-working I will actually be doing in the future (although the router does look like a very nice machine).

I would very much like your opinion.

Thanks,
Mike  

Answer
Mike,

What comes first, the chicken or the egg? That's the elusive question in woodworking- which comes first, a router or the tablesaw? More on that later.....

The industry standard for routers is a Porter Cable.  Model 690, in particular. They sell a kit that has both the fixed base and the plunge base, with one motor unit. So if you buy that, you get the best of both worlds.

You mentioned some other brands- here's my opinion. Certain manufacturers make certain tools that are great. Like-  Bosch sanders are great, much better than all the other brands. DeWalt cordless drills stand out, too. I'll only use a Milwaukee screw-gun, not a Porter Cable.  Get it? But if you're talking routers- you're talking Porter Cable.

I have about 10 routers, Mike- and the one I pick up most often is a light one. My big routers simply weigh too much, they make me tire out, and they're a pain for doing delicate routing. Like on your door inserts. So that salesman who wanted to sell you a 2 1/4 hp router is overselling you, in my opinion.

Once you get proficient at using a router, you're probably going to use one hand to steer it, which is what I do with my light routers and laminate trimmers.

So my best recommendation is to buy that Porter cable kit. Here's a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-694VK-Horsepower-Plunge-Variable/dp/B00009OYF...

Now here's my opinion about your overall question. You said you only have a circular saw, and the required tools are a table saw and a router. I couldn't agree more. But I think you're looking at it backwards- you need the table saw first. You can cut a lot of that joinery on your saw, like rabbets, dados, half lap joints, tenons, etc.  In fact, when I was just starting out, one of my first jobs was a kitchen remodeling job. I built all the kitchen cabinets with just a tablesaw. Later, when I could afford a router, I built MANY kitchens (doors too) with just a tablesaw and a router.

There's a lot a router can do, but the true heart and soul of a woodshop is the tablesaw. You need to be able to cut wood straight, with minimal chipping.  

Here is my suggestion- look in the want ads for a used tablesaw. I recently sold a Delta contractor's saw for $500 to a neighbor. So there are decent deals out there. Once you have a saw with a decent fence, you can drill a hole and install a router from the underside of one of your side tables, thus making a "router table" out of your tablesaw. The fence is used for both routing, and sawing.  It's a good, easy system for a beginner. I won't go into detail about it now, as it depends on the brands of tools you buy. But it's pretty easy to do. I used to have 3 tablesaw in my shop, each one had a router mounted under it. Sweet.

Last thing- if the tablesaw is definitely out of your budget, and you're still stuck on buying a router, I would buy a Porter Cable 690. I use my fixed base 10 times more than I use a plunge base, I think it depends on what you're making. But a plunge base isn't a necessity. It's a luxury, so don't just assume that you need one.

If you're doing light duty routing, you might even want to look at one of those new Porter cable smaller routers, I think they're a 1 hp model. I remember seeing one, but don't know anything about it.  The good thing about PC routers is that they have a ton of accessories available, all that you need, really. If you buy a different brand, you're always searching for certain things, like extra collets, template guides, edge guides, etc. Porter Cable has it all, and it's all integrated for each model. Try finding parts for a Triton - like an edge guide or brushes.

This is sort of off topic, but if you're looking to build doors, did you ever think about using half lap joints? They are easy to make on either a tablesaw or a router, and they're strong. And look nice.  If you don't know how to cut one, write back and I'll help.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this helps.

Jamie