Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello olf'ers
Im on the look out for a used router, i intend
to make some (a good few) radius dishes and forms and mabye use
it for truss rod cavitys later on down the road
What size and power do i need for these type jobs
thanks
tomas

i´m on the same boat as you and am planning of buying the bosh GKF 600 : http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-bosch- ... rod784588/

cheers,
miguel.

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Thanks for the replys guys
i would have thought a 600w lam trimmer
would burn up or become worn after makin a good few radius dishes/forms
i was going to get one of those for on for binding
but i guess ill get a laminate trimmer first
thanks again

Yes I think a lam trimer for a radius dish is a bit under powered but I guess if you go slow and only a 1/16" depth increment you might be OK.
The ridgid works well for lutherie.
MM

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Mike McNerney

That's what I have for light-medium hand held work. We call it the Bosch Colt here. I use a large 3hp router for heavier work and also inverted in a table for Shaper duties.

For what it's worth... I have 2 Colts, 1 Porter Cable & one Rigid lam trimmer & like the Rigid best, by far.
Any decent quality 1/2" router will do the "big router" work you need to do. Personally, I would avoid the cheap Asian made routers with names like "Superior" or "King". Stick with an American or European brand name. It may still be made in China but will have much higher quality control at the factory.
Just my 2 cents worth.

Are the current Rigid trimmers any different than the old ones? I've got two 3HP Makitas and an old B&D, and I need something a little more manageable for fine work.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I am not familiar with the old Rigid trimmers, so I can't comment on that. The one I have has base adjustments similar to a big router with a screw for fine up & down adjust... Very nice. I like the switch location & function. It is a push pull switch mounted on top, so there is no confusion whether it's on or off, when you plug it in. Also, a quick slap on the top of the router turns it off if things get a bit hairy. No fumbling for a "guarded" switch. It is almost impossible to turn the router on by accident.
I find the Rigid re-centres more accurately in the base after a depth adjustment. Important when making multiple passes to reach a desired depth of cut. The Bosch Colts I have fall down badly on this score.

I will agree that for actual work on a guitar, a laminate trimmer would be sufficient, however you did ask about making radius dishes with them. If I were to have only one router, I would go with one of the 2 HP plunge routers. One big issue with the laminate trimmer is that you are stuck with 1/4" bits, and for dishes, that may not have the length of bit that you need. Most of those accessories are useless except for trimming laminates and will likely never get used.

Depending on method of making a dish, do the math before you start, what is the rise on a 15 foot radius over 24"? Then figure the thickness of the guide rail at its thinnest point, and how much bit needs to be in the collet. I don't know what it all will add up to, but I know that it is getting close to maxing out the length of a 1/4" bit. With a regular router you can use a 1/2" bit and have plenty to spare.

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@ Miguel,
I have the bosh GKF 600. It is a good machine, the only problem is the height fine adjustment; very difficult to adjust, not very precise.
Have you looked at the Dewalt? Plunge and fixed base:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/dewalt-d2620 ... rod847127/

hey antonio, thanks for the heads up! i ended up choosing the colt for all the positive reviews i´ve red (here and elsewhere), i was not aware of that... the dewalt still seems a bit overkill to me (and expensive). i suppose it would be better than buying a trimmer that would be useless though...
at first i was torned between the bosh and this makita: http://www.babys-mart.co.uk/itemdetl.ph ... fi_Topline , do you have any opinion about it?


um abraco,
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

The recommendation for Tomas to look at the Ridgid or Porter Cable trimmers are good except that they are not sold on this side of the pond, Tomas is in Ireland. I have both the DeWalt and Bosch trimmers, the DeWalt in my binding jig and the Bosch for the rosette cutter, both work exceptionally well at their respective tasks. The Makita is another that should be considered.

I used an 1100W Bosch router to make my dishes, but any comparable router would have worked just as well, so look at the budget options from Axminster, Screwfix or Machine Mart.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Hey Miguel, your link show another thing. I only have the Bosch laminate trimmer.
I supose the Bosch 600 is the same as the colt model. Am I correct?

sorry for that... besides the router, i´m also looking for a carrier for my newborn baby girl and got the links messed up...

on topic: the real link for the makita: http://www.axminster.co.uk/makita-3708f ... prod20254/
i suppose the colt is the USA version of the GKF 600 (or vice-versa). anyhow, they should be similar enough (the pics are).


cheers,
miguel.

_________________
member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Thanks again for all the help guys
Its good to hear from all your valuable opinions
good luck and happy building
tomas

The old Ridgid trimmers Model #2400 are pure crap , when compared to the new ones, Model #2401. Ridgid corrected everything that was wrong about the old model, and then some. A joy to use!

Bob

Thanks Bob. I wasn't sure if the new Rigid was the good one or not.

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

So far I'm liking my DeWalt 611 . A little larger then most laminate trimmers but not much and 1.25 hp. Pretty smooth and not all that loud.
http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DWP611PK-T ... 743&sr=8-1
It's about $180 for the pack.
I still have a PC310 in the classifieds.
I don't know for a dish though, I like a 1/2" shank bit for that task.

the Bosch Colt is a great little router. It packs a full horse power into a router the size of a laminate trimmer. I have six routers and it's usually the first one I reach for. For all around shop use the Bosch 1617 EVS PK is good plunge fixed base combo for a reasonable price. I've been a woodworker all my life and I can tell you having multiple routers is a good thing. For making radius dishes and bending forms you need a router with some umph that can run half inch shanks. I use a down shear flush trim bit and a template to route the parts for mine. My Colt won't cut it On the other hand for routing rosette channels or binding and purfling channels a big router is over kill.

There is a $30.00 rebate on that kit if you buy prior to June 30th, 2011.
http://www.toolrebates.com/DeWalt/2011DeWaltRouter.pdf

Depends what you are doing and having several is best. For the router table I have the Milwaukee 3 1/2 HP router. It is a wonderful router and the extra power and mass really makes it much smoother. I have a Bosch colt set up for routing binding and purfling ledges. It's OK, but I have to believe there is something better. For general purpose handheld, I have a very old Rockwell router. This is no longer made, but the PC310 is based on this old router. These are more like small routers than laminate trimmers. I think they are great.

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For acoustic guitar building I use a lam trimmer for almost everything - PC 310 here, when/if that goes I'll likely get a Bosch Colt. For electric work, jigs, molds, dishes, etc. I use one of the bigger routers - A Bosch 1617, Porter Cable 690 and/or big bad Triton 3HP in the table. Each has its use.

If I had to pick just one it would probably be the PC 690 in the fixed base. Bosch 1617 with plunge base a close second, and that's mostly because I build quite a lot of electrics.