The right route

My interest in routers and its diverse use lead me to investigate more ways in which to use your router. I came to the conclusion that the uses for these specialist woodworking tools are endless.

We have seen in these last few years that people are moving away from bulky tools that do way more than they need from them, and instead are purchasing tools that better match their needs.

I recently took charge of a newly launched Makita RT0700C, a 710W motor with various interchangeable bases, which each serves a different purpose. It includes a plunge base, tilt base and fix base to make working with it a pleasure.

It might not always be needed to use the different basis, but they do come in handy where you sometimes don’t have the correct router bit to perform certain jobs or just to make certain jobs a little easier. For instance, the offset base allows the router to trim as close as just a few millimetres away from a wall.

The new Makita RT0700C Compact Router features a variable speed motor that delivered 10,000 – 30,000rpm.

Additionally, the motor features an electric speed control that maintains constant speed even under load and a soft-start feature that makes the router easier to handle and safes the motor for longer.

The RT0700C comes with a standard router base that uses a rack-and-pinion system to offer fine depth adjustments.

A cam-lock system allows users to make faster adjustments as well as quick removes for the router base. The RT0700C also includes a ¼ inch and ? inch collet (which you will probably never user) straight guide, dust nozzle – straight guide and two wrenches.

Fixed base routers are the standard and are found in most woodworkers shops in large part because they do not have the problem of being top heavy and difficult to learn as some plunge models. You can still do plunge type work with a fixed base router, but have to angle in the bit which is difficult and in some cases dangerous.

So if you know you will be working by hand the plunge router may be the better option despite the difficulties learning to handle those models as compared to the fixed base. But if you can only afford one, you should probably start with a plunge router.

Read the full article on page 44 of the August 2012 issue.