My Routers

I currently own three: The Ryobi is a big boy, too heavy (15.6 pounds) to hand hold reasonably. It was made in the late 1980's and is long discontinued. The word is though, it is a workhorse and ideal for a router table, which is where mine will live. Available used these days for under $100 It is variable speed with soft start. It is my only router with a 1/2 inch collet.

I tried to buy the Porter-Cable 690LRVS 11 Amp, but just when the shop I went to ordered it for me, Porter Cable stopped making it. Apparently the 690 is a pretty much legendary all time favorite, it comes with 1/4 and 1/2 inch collets. It has a soft start, which some folks say isn't that soft. It weighs 8 pounds, which is just 2 pounds more than my Black and Decker. When I couldn't get this item, I upgraded to the Porter-Cable 892, which may be a blessing in disguise.

My local Woodcraft store had a deal where you bring in an old router and get $50 off on a new router. I chose one of these and traded in my old Skil 548.

I am on Router Forums as "Tucson Tom" since April, 2012.


Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's Welding pages / tom@mmto.org