Guest Marcoelwray Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 @honza992 thanks, that DeWalt seems a good choice! Price is decent, accessories look more than decent! My friend (he's a carpenter) keep telling me Festool but IMVHO, it's more dedicated for the pros and you pay a service I'll probably never use. After all, DeWalt is a logical sequel to Elu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhay Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 (edited) That Dewalt is probably a nice bit of kit, but quite expensive for a 1/4" router. In my opinion, you could happily use 2 routers to build solid body bass/guitars. A big 1/2" router is good for routing the final body outline with a template and doing the trussrod channel. A smaller 1/4" router is great for pickup and neck cavities, binding, etc. You can use a big 1/2" router for the smaller jobs, but they are big, heavy and most people are scared of them. They are a good choice if you are burly, are going to put them in a router table, or have other uses for a router - maybe you want to also build furniture, do DIY, etc. 1/4" routers are much easier to handle for finer tasks and can be pushed to to body outlines and truss rod channels at a pinch. They are perhaps a safer choice for a 'first' router. Bosch 1/4" routers seem to be popular with luthiers, and Stewmac sell one of these. [Edit, I see this was mentioned earlier. In fairness, the Bosch routers are a lot cheaper than the Dewalt recommended, which may explain the popularity]. If you want a big (1/2") no-nonsense router that is 'trade' quality, a relatively cheap option is the Hitachi M12VE/ . I have one of these, and can testify it is a beast. Dust collection is pretty terrible, but not a problem if you put it in a table, which most people do. Above table adjustment requires a router raizer or lift, which isn't ideal. Edited January 11, 2019 by samhay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Can I just give a shout out to the Dremel router base. I am replacing the pickups in my Status Electro (I know, how dare I) and literally had to take a few mms off the back pickup route to make it fit. Felt my normal router (blue Bosch) would a bit overkill so invested £30 in the Dremel base. Fantastic for the small/fine stuff! Will be using the Dremel for mods/tweaks moving forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
converse320 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 On 08/01/2019 at 07:47, Norris said: For larger jobs I use my old DeWalt DW613. For lighter jobs I use my new Makita RT0700. The Makita doesn't have a plunge function, but being a smaller and lighter router, it is much easier to handle without becoming fatigued. I don't think there are many guitar building tasks that I couldn't tackle with the Makita I have 4 routers. This Makita is the one I use nearly all the time. Its super light, very low vibration and powerful enough for 95% of all jobs. You can get a plunge attachment for it which works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marcoelwray Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I thought about this Makita too but as plunge is not its primary function (IMHO) the DeWalt stays on the top of my workshop wishlist. Thanks though, because I looked at it many times. I think I will go for the DeWalt then a trend 1/2" , when I'll have money for each of them. Not sure yet for the Trend but it looks very well worthed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
converse320 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I've got the big Makita 1/2" router, but the only time I use it is for solid wood worktops, and then only reluctantly. Its all very well having "tools that are man enough for the job", but a big 1/2" router can be pretty hairy unless used with extreme care. My big Makita is going in my new router table........ I think of the little Makita as simply a motor unit. It will do pretty much anything I need, and does it really well with the right accessory. Haven't used the DeWalt, but a lot of carpenters like their stuff so I'm sure it would be good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 On 21/01/2019 at 19:20, HazBeen said: Can I just give a shout out to the Dremel router base. I am replacing the pickups in my Status Electro (I know, how dare I) and literally had to take a few mms off the back pickup route to make it fit. Felt my normal router (blue Bosch) would a bit overkill so invested £30 in the Dremel base. Fantastic for the small/fine stuff! Will be using the Dremel for mods/tweaks moving forward. Wot R U doing, Harry ?!? 🤪 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 This is mine, bought after my brother "borrowed" my old one. I started with a very old Elu with 1/2 bits and heavy as a Panzer. Still have my fingers and stomach. 🤣 So here is my new home, wasn't cheap at the time, but I can use 6 and 8 mm bits as well as 1/4 and 1/2, so don't have to worry about the bits I buy : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, Hellzero said: Wot R U doing, Harry ?!? 🤪 It’s done, and it sounds glorious! Not only the pickups, also replaced the preamp and bypassed the piezo. Now it is well and truly how I want it. Edited January 23, 2019 by HazBeen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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