Popular Woodworking 2007-06 № 162, страница 40

The Milwaukee's fine adjustment on Routers without a fine-thread adjustment on the fixed as they seem - the hole to reach the screw can fill with its fixed base was the favorite of the base have coarse threads on the motor housing. Depth of debris, and you'll likely need to bend down anyway to routers tested. cut is set by twisting the base in the motor housing. see the edge of the bit.

plunge router, and are looking for a second, choosing one that releases in the same way will help you avoid confusion.

Most of the plunge levers were in an easy-to-access position. The lever on the Freud was awkwardly placed, and required the use of a

finger as well as a thumb to operate the lever.

Depth Adjustments

I'm a perfectionist, so I need a simple and reliable way to change the depth-of-cut to make that final, half-a-hair adjustment. I get frus

trated if there is enough play in the mechanism due to coarse threads or enough sloppiness to make the bit move more than I expect when I reverse direction.

Rating the fine adjustments is difficult because not all the routers tested use the same mechanism in each of the three possible configurations (plunge base, fixed base, and fixed base in a router table).

There are two basic systems used with the fixed bases. The first, found on the Bosch, Craftsman, Freud, Milwaukee, Porter-Cable and Ridgid, employs a threaded rod that's adj usted with the thumb and forefinger.

The other system, used by DeWalt, Hitachi and Makita has large coarse threads that spiral around the motor housing. Twisting the motor in the base raises and lowers the motor. Both systems worked well with the fixed bases in this test.

The Milwaukee latch system was the most user-friendly; the base didn't move when I locked it down. The Bosch, Craftsman and Ridgid moved slightly when locking the base.

On the Freud router, the adjustment knob is longer than

it needs to be, and keeps the top of the router off the table if you flip it up side down to change or adjust the bit. The Porter-Cable adjustment had some play in it, about a half-turn, before engaging when changing directions. The Hitachi sits loosely on its threaded motor housing, and it can drop when the motor latch is released.

Mounted in a router table, the threaded rod adjustments work a little better than the threaded motor housing. The Bosch, Craftsman, Milwaukee, Ridgid, Freud and Porter-Cable can be adjusted from above the table with an accessory tool. The Porter-Cable also includes a motor latch that can be engaged from above the table.

Above-the-table adjustment sounds like a good idea, but the access to the adjustment can easily fill with dust and you still need to bend down to see the bit and, except for the Porter-Cable, lock and release the motor base's grip on the motor.

When set up as plunge routers, final cutting depth is set with a depth-stop rod, and a turret for making stepped cuts. The Bosch, Craftsman and DeWalt have a

Several of the routers offered above-the-table depth adjustment, but the Porter-Cable is the only one with an above-the-table motor latch.

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Popular Woodworking June 2007