Best Router For Woodworking Reviews And Guide

While working on the best router for woodworking reviews, it became very clear that it is one of the most essential machines for the carpenters.

A router is a powerful, compact wood cutting tool that brings a lot of comfort and ease to professional carpenters. Professional carpenters recall that before routers were there in the market, they used to have a large collection of wooden planes in different shapes which they used to give cuts and make great designs on wooden boards. A router is a high speed electric powered milling machine used to carve out wood to create designs on wooden boards.

However, there are a large numbers of applications apart from carving designs on wood. Routers can give designer curved edges, internal cuts, etc. with great ease. Initially there were two variants of routers available in the market, the fixed base routers and the plunge base router, but now most of the popular models offer both the bases. Now, one can use any of the interchangeable bases to use the router either on a fixed router table or in the handheld mode. Woodworking router reviews, evaluates all the three versions of the best CNC router for woodworking available in the market.

Best router for woodworking reviews

Hitachi KM12VC Plunge and Fixed Base Variable Speed Route

The Hitachi KM12VC is an interchangeable base router offers both plunge and fixed base applications with a powerful 2-1/4 HP 11 Amps motor. The motor offers variable RPM’s from 8000 to 24000 RPM’s.

The Hitachi KM12VC router is very silent in comparison to other high power routers available in the market. The router comes with a 5 year warranty for complete peace of mind. The five year warranty is the feature that helped this router to be a popular router.

Pros

• It has a powerful motor.
• It offers great stability in both plunge and fixed applications.
• The five year warranty is a huge benefit.
• Fine depth adjustment for great precision
• Two stage motor release clamp makes it very quick and easy to make the height adjustments.
• The height adjustment scale can be used to fix the router to replicate the same depth again and again.

Cons

• The carbon brushes wear off at a faster rate, but they are covered under warranty.
• The collets coming with the router are not great, however after replacing the collets is not costly.
• Some users find the motor a little bulkier than other models available in the market.

User Reviews: 

Most users like the product, the five year warranty and silent operations are the features that most of the users like the most. The Hitachi KM12VC is one of the best router for woodworking. People says that this machine is the perfect choice for extremely harsh conditions. The warranty plays an important role in such conditions.

Bosch 1617EVS 2-1/4 HP Variable-Speed Router

The fixed base Bosch 1617 EVS router is the most efficient fixed base router for woodworking. However, a plunge base for the router is available separately for users that require plunge base applications. The Bosch 1617 EVS router is powered by a powerful 2.25 HP, 12 Amps motor to ensure that it cuts through all kinds of wooden materials.

The motor can be adjusted anywhere between 8000 and 25000 RPM’s using an adjuster. The great respect for the brand and a very high inclination of the professionals are the factors that helped this router make it to the best router for woodworking reviews.

Pros

• Powered by a really powerful 12 Amps motor.
• It offers great stability for all kinds of fixed applications.
• Heat treated hardened blades for durability.
• The router can be combined with a large number of accessories for great applications.
• Rugged design with a huge percentage of metal body for durability.
• Soft Start to ensure that the cuts are made with great precision.

Cons

• The router offers only one year warranty while competitors offer warranties up to five years.
• The router is fixed base model while the competitors offer both the fixed and removable bases around the same price.

User Reviews: 

The users are highly satisfied with the performance. Although there were no problems with the Bosch 1617 EVS router, but most users feel that the brand should offer a longer warranty. The interchangeable plunge base as an in-box accessory so that the users don’t have to buy it separately.

DEWALT DWP611 Variable Speed Compact Router with LED’s

The light yet powerful Dewalt DWP611 is equipped with a 1.25 HP motor that offers a wide range of speeds for precise cutting. The router comes with a high precision adjustment rings that ensure that every cut is made with great precision and accuracy.

The LED lights give a very clear view of the surface being cut. The silent operations and lightweight design are the features that earned this router a position in the popular catagory.

Pros

• Very stable design
• Precise cutting using the adjustment rings
• High quality transparent acrylic base for improved visibility.
• The small motor ensures lower power consumption and very silent operations.
• The LED’s make it very easy for the users to have a close look at the cut.

Cons

• The motor is fairly weak in comparison to the competitors. It is a small 1.25 HP motor while the industry average is above 2 HP.
• Some users find the motor a little bulkier than other models available in the market.

User Reviews: 

Although some users find the Dewalt DWP611 router a little less powered, most of the users find it an amazing for all kinds of applications. The machine is light, easy to maneuver and works very quietly.

PORTER-CABLE 7518 Fixed Base 5-Speed Router

The most powerful fixed base router that made it to the top five routers, Porter Cable 7518 is equipped with a 3.25 HP motor. The powerful 15 Amps motor makes it powerful and durable for the toughest applications.

The five speed adjuster allows the users to adjust the speed between 10,000 and 21,000 RPM’s. If you work with the hardest woods or with thick laminates, it is the most suited machine for you. The sheer power and durability are a factors of this router.

Pros

• A very powerful motor.
• Sturdy aluminum body and base for durability.
• Sealed switch and bearings for enhanced machine durability.
• Soft Start for easy pickup and high precision.
• The auto-release of collet is the unique feature of this machine.

Cons

• That very heavy machine that requires a lot of power.
• The five speed adjuster is inferior to the slide adjusters in other routers that allow you to precisely fine tune the RPM’s.
• The machine is a little noisier because of its heavy motor.

User Reviews: 

There is a clear verdict of the customers for this machine, if you have heavy usage and require the machine to be powerful, it is the best machine for you. If you do not require a very powerful machine, Porter Cable 7518 machine will add weight and require more power with no benefits. This reviews give us a clear verdict that this machine is specifically suitable for heavy usage and to cut through hard variants of wood.

Black & Decker RP250 Variable Speed Plunge Router

The Black and Decker RP250 is a Plunge router specially designed for all kinds of applications that require a movable router. It is a great router for all kinds of tasks that require a plunge router, but is not suitable for stable fixed base applications.

The Black and Decker RP250 comes with a powerful 10 Amps motor with a 2 year warranty. The low cost and great manoeuvrability is a great feature of this router  to make it popular.

Pros

• Powerful 10 amps motor.
• Perfect router for decorative cuttings.
• Easy to maneuver because of its light weight and compact design.

Cons

• A little noisy for a 10 amps motor.
• The spindle lock of the collet.

User Reviews: 

Very compact and easy to maneuver router, Black and Decker RP250 failed to impress customers. Most customers compare the router as a branded alternative of the poor quality routers.

However, those interested in artistic wood work are very much impressed by the manoeuvrability of the machine. For them, it is the best equipment available in the market for high precision cuts with great manoeuvrability. This router as the best plunged base low cost router available in the market.

Things to Look For

We tried to understand what features make the best router for woodworking. When selecting a router model, make sure that there are four features in the model. These features enhance the applicability and ease of use of the router. Here are the features that will make a huge impact on the usage of the best CNC router for woodworking.

Interchangeable Bases

The popular router models offer both fixed and plunged bases. These bases increase the number of applications, the router can be utilized for. It is indicate that users now prefer a machine that takes care of both the tasks.

Easy Depth Adjuster

The models that offer easy depth adjustment without the use of any tool are the best models in terms of practical applicability. When adjusting heights for hundreds of times a day, the ease of adjustment becomes a crucial factor.

Smooth Plunge Bases

The plunge bases should be made of top quality materials with no obstructions like spring. The operations should be smooth, free of any resistance. This router reviews have a clear verdict, there is no need of any kind of support for the plunge base arms, the users are more comfortable using them without a spring or any such support.

Easy Bit Removal

The Bit removal process should be very easy, there are times when a user needs to change the bit after every few minutes to change the size of the hole. So, it is also a crucial factor to be considered while selecting the best CNC router for woodworking. During this reviews the professionals argued that router is different from a saw, with a saw you don’t remove the blade very often.

However, in a router to create a particular design, you need to replace the head multiple times. So, it’s an important feature of best CNC router for woodworking.

Who Needs A Router?

All kinds of carpenters, furniture designers, interior decorators and professionals who deal in artistic wood works need to have a router to give an exceptional finish to their work. Carpenters who deal with products like doors, cupboards etc. feel the machine as a blessing for their profession.

I had an understanding that the router is used just by carpenters. However, there are many more professionals who use a router for woodworking.

Why One Needs A Router?

Router gives a great finish to the wooden materials by carving great designs on wooden materials, giving the edges with great details and creating exceptional designs on wood. A router is an essential equipment for artistic and professional carpenters who love to give their products a great finish and with unique designs.

Best router for woodworking reviews indicate that there are three types of cuttings that can be done using a router.

• Straight Cutting
• Rabbet Cutting
• Spiral-Up Cutting

How The Products On This Review Were Selected?

Reviewing products might be a profession for some, but there are people who are passionate about certain product or industry. Carpentry tools are one of the most wonderful marvels of engineering that have changed the way the carpenters work. Driven by a keen interest, I did a great research on various router options available in the market.

After spending several weeks I came across a list of a dozen routers based on the consumer reviews and product specifications. I was still in a dilemma to choose the best machines before I am make recommendation to others. I went to the experts, the carpenters who have spent decades in the profession and asked them about every machine.

It was a very easy process to select top five brands once I started discussing the experts, they all shared almost similar opinion with a few carpenters favoring certain brands. All the experts ranked the top five in their top five while shuffling between them in the rankings, it became very easy for me to determine the best CNC router for woodworking available in the market.

The hard work paid off and I was able to come up with the reviews. Here are the five best CNC router for woodworking picked up by the experienced professionals of the industry.

Final Verdict

The DEWALT DWP611 is our pick of the router models among the various models we evaluated for best router for woodworking reviews. DEWALT enjoys the position of favorite equipment manufacturer for a large number of carpenters.

Most professional carpenters agree that other brands offer some great features, but DEWALT offers an unmatched perfection in the product. The DEWALT DWP611 is very compact, silent and powerful at the same time. It is an engineering marvel which makes it easy for the carpenters to give great finish and styles to wooden works.

We highly recommend DEWALT DWP611 as best CNC router for woodworking only because it is the most recommended brand by the carpenter community along with great features backed by the huge brand value of DEWALT.