Having started routing last year with the inexpensive Skil 1810 fixed base. The easy to operate router taught me that I enjoyed routing as a method of cutting to the point of needing another router along with a better table.
Fixed Base - One Wrench Bit Change - 1 3/4 Horsepower
Once reaching the capacity of the Skil router I felt limited in what I could safely route. Partly due to the small router table and fence accompanying it and my desire to cut mortises, which in order to do correctly and safely would require a plunge base. As for the fence, almost every time I attempted to run a board along the fence on the Skil Table I experienced failure on part of the fence or guard. With the guard removed the fence is improved, but I didn’t like the idea of exposing the bit. I obtained more use out of the table with a straight board with a notch cut out for the bit or a straight edge level clamped to the table if my mark was far enough from the bit than with the damnable fence Skil provided with their free ass table. Don’t get me wrong here…I checked in Lowe’s and it seems Skil has upped the ante in their latest versions with a usable fence. Surprise, surprise…I got the crappy one.
Also since getting the Bosch 1617EVS 2 1/4 HP Router a few months back it was not entirely disappointing to find it will not mount in the Skil table I have thus freeing me to justify the expense of a suitable router table.
Having received a $150 Lowe’s card for Christmas a new router table was first on my list since it has become apparent I’m not going to build a full table as I had originally planned, mainly because it seems that I need a decent router table or a joiner to build a good one.
I could put one together and probably have had the time it just wouldn’t be square as I’d like and it’d be held together with 3 1/2″ Course thread deck screws. It would sit level though – one way or the other.
My Choices
Looking at my local Lowe’s selection of a couple of Skil tables better than the one I have. Mainly the RAS900
, or the Bosch 1171 which I nearly purchased. However I did some searching online and found the 1181 by Bosch which sports a larger table, a cast aluminum top, where the 1171 is melamine. The 1181 seemed as if you would have better access to the router getting it in and out of the table, since it’s base is open and the 1171 is closed.
The only difference was price and availability. The 1181 ranged from $189 at Home Depot, to $250 online. However the table was not available at Home Depot, but could be shipped at an additional cost blowing the $189 out of the water. I was able to locate an 1811 online for $160 plus shipping brought it to $192.00 at Tool Orbit. Not bad, actually that would be better than buying it at my local HD since I’d have to pay nearly $13.50 in taxes putting the router table at around $202 so I ended up saving about $10 over what I would have had to pay for one locally. Now it’s just a matter of time before it arrives and I see if it’s all it’s cracked up to be.
Note: since ordering my table I accidentally made a router table. I thought I was making a stand for my 24 gallon aquarium, but it turned out to be a router table, or at least a router table stand to sit a benchtop table on. I’ll post images soon on the project.