Skill DeWalt or Bosch

[8ntruck 6,998]

I'm considering a new router, since I have need for one here in our winter quarters and my old router is 700 miles away in our summer quarters.

 

Was at a big box store looking at options.  Skill, DeWalt, and Bosch have similar offerings.  Fixed and plunge bases, adjustable speed, 1/4 and 1/2 inch collects, and similar hp ratings.  Skill is the least expensive, DeWalt is $100 higher, and Bosch is another $40.

 

Comments?  Opinions (only about the routers - I'm on to this bunch!)?  Reccomendations?

[ebinmaine 67,408]

IMHO.....

 

Skil. I haven't personally had the best luck. 

I'd ...... cross that off the list. 

 

Dewalt. Good stuff. I've had just a couple Dewalt tools. Both were excellent. I have the portable band saw. 

 

Bosch. Very little personal experience but I can't remember the last bad word I've heard about one.  

 

Given the close price between the Dewalt and Bosch I'd get each one out at the store and see how YOU feel holding the grips, using the features etc.  

[Racinbob 11,048]

Only out of those three? Dewalts are great tools. I have several but not their router. I have a Porter Cable router and it's been great but no plunge. If I was looking for one today it would probably be a Ridgid. Great tools and bulletproof warranty. 

[Achto 27,562]

Price pretty much reflects the quality of these items IMO. If your are looking for second fill in, the Skill will do the trick. I have one that has been good to me, but I don't use it a whole lot. If you plan on working the snot out of it, then I would go with the Bosch.

Edited February 15 by Achto

[C-85 681]

Why not Milwaukee, they're great tools, and besides that, my son works for them!  They are usually more expensive than a lot of other tools, but often worth it!

 

 

C-85

[wh500special 2,168]

Porter Cable used to be the default standard for routers but they quit making them the last few years.  Almost all the accessories on the market seemed made to fit the PC format.  Guide bushings, base plate adapters, motor holders for tables, etc.  
 

I have a bunch of routers both for personal use and at work.  Most are the now unavailable Porter Cable 690 but we’ve been replacing with the Bosch as they burn out. 
 

  I now have the Bosch model 1617EVS with both bases as my general use router.  It’s probably the kit you’re looking at.  
 

Mostly, it just feels right for me so is comfortable to use.   I don’t know that it’s any better or worse than the other brands.  It has nice wrenches for the collets, a nice switch, etc.  it doesn’t vibrate madly like the old Black and Decker I used years ago.   I just like it.   
 

one of the guys bought the higher end Harbor Freight Hercules models as a trial and they definitely don’t feel as nice.  And they burn through brushes pretty fast too.

 

i think the key is to hold them in your hands at the store and see how they feel, whether you can reach the switch, operate the plunge, etc.  Bosch worked nice for me. 
 

Steve 

 

PS - at work we use the routers pretty hard.  We rarely rout wood… usually it’s aluminum, foam, and composite. 

Edited February 15 by wh500special

[formariz 11,987]

Routers, routers, routers. Hard to believe but I have owned and used dozens of them of virtually every brand out there and in commercial applications. From vintage Stanley’s to the latest Festool I have used them all extensively. Lots to consider as far as options go. Not one single router is ideal for all applications. I have fixed base ones, plunge, 3HP large ones to small trimmers. 
They are hard to compare because features vary on them so one is not always comparing apples to apples. No one talks much about it but in a router how they are balanced is a big thing. A tall top heavy router with two little handles on the base and a switch on the very top is not a good design. If you are stuck to those 3 brands as far as they go Dewalt, and Bosch in that order. I will not buy a Skill. 
 Both of those will have 1/4 and 1/2” capability which is essential. 
 My advice is not to limit yourself to those 3 brands. Here as far as routers go Makita is king, specially the large plunge routers of which I own three. I have never worked with a more comfortable, convenient, powerful , versatile,or reliable router. With the exception of perhaps a Festool no other brand even comes close to all those qualities. For the last 40 years that has been so. Some Harbor Freight trimmers and routers are knockoffs of Makitas, I do also own several Porter Cable fixed base and several Dewalts. When I had to work for a living the constant changing of cutters was not an effective way of doing things so I had routers dedicated to particular tasks and cutters already set even in cutting depth hence the reason for so many. 

[wh500special 2,168]

Interesting that Cas mentioned Festool.   If you’re unfamiliar, they are worth a look.   Be prepared for sticker shock.    

You’d be looking at the OF-1400 to be comparable.   Festool OF-1400 Router

 

They are very expensive compared to most things on the market.  But they can offer increased value depending on what your priorities are.  If you view these European-made tools in light of what you used to pay in real terms for tools that were made in the USA ( as compared to modern tools made in the Far East) their price doesn’t seem so bad. 

Steve

[Pullstart 62,834]

It’s funny, or sad, that Skill is considered garbage any more.  Hand me the box of Kleenex, and a Skillsaw.  

[Treepep 562]

@formariz  has it smothered!  I hobby woodwork and have a selection of angle grinders with dedicated grit/ball gouge etc.  My favorite is the bosch.  High rpm (seemingly) and noticeably less kickback.  My dewalt I need two hands on or I can spring a leak.   Always mind the P.P.E. but as we know them power tools do not care what I am wearing.   

 

Festool. heck yeah if you will use it.  My 40 year old router will do everything I need for the rest of my life.  That money is a couple and possibly a few horses worth of change.

 

I gotta ask... What pray tell are you considering routing?

[ANTPER 207]

15 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

I'm considering a new router, since I have need for one here in our winter quarters and my old router is 700 miles away in our summer quarters.

 

Was at a big box store looking at options.  Skill, DeWalt, and Bosch have similar offerings.  Fixed and plunge bases, adjustable speed, 1/4 and 1/2 inch collects, and similar hp ratings.  Skill is the least expensive, DeWalt is $100 higher, and Bosch is another $40.

 

Comments?  Opinions (only about the routers - I'm on to this bunch!)?  

I'm a retired Matco Tools distributor and in my experience Milwaukee always my top pick. Milwaukee is top notch and always bring up great new products. Out of your three options I'd go Dewalt.

[8ntruck 6,998]

The current project is making some trim for our century old house. Looks like getting a close enough match to some small crown mouldings is going to require an ogee cutter.  The barn out back needs some 1/2 lap cedar sliding replaced as well.   The current crop of commercially available mouldings are not close enough to what I want, so I need to make my own.

 

Besides, my current router is a 35 year old Craftsman with a 1/4" chuck.  I'm thinking it might be time to update to a router with 1/2" shaft capability and current motor technology.

[formariz 11,987]

Curious as to the profile needed. How much of it do you need?

[formariz 11,987]

6 hours ago, Pullstart said:

It’s funny, or sad, that Skill is considered garbage any more.  Hand me the box of Kleenex, and a Skillsaw.  

 Now you have me feeling bad about your sadness. No one said Skill is garbage. It certainly is not. It may be inferior to the other options which it certainly is but not garbage. It is on a different level price reflecting that. It will certainly do the same work as the others just without the comfort, convenience or durability of them. If it is all one can afford nothing wrong with it. Also if something to be only used a couple of times once in a while definitely as good as the others. It’s all about the type of usage and what one expects from it.
Nothing to do with the name either. Regardless of name lots of these tools today are made in the same place. The technology is created in their respective place of origin but the Manafacturing is pretty much all in the same geographical location. It’s the quality control that varies in most cases. Price differences are price differences so everyone can afford something. 
  I own a couple of old Skillsaws and they are tanks. They were designed to be so and not “Cadillacs”.  
 However having said all of that and being very partial to Makita routers ,if I  was looking to buy another one today and had to choose between a new one which again is made in that same place and a twenty year old one still made in Japan, I would come home with the old one. 

[Mickwhitt 4,607]

I'm pretty sold on milwaukee power tools.

That said I don't have a router from their range, I don't really do much woodwork. 

But the tools I do have are pretty tough so I can't see the routers being any different. 

Could you find a mill that may be able to prepare the mouldings for you? Certainly easier than a router. 

[Racinbob 11,048]

Not a problem with a router table. 

I definitely agree with the comments on Milwaukee. Great tools. 

[JoeM 7,873]

I looked at Milwaukee 1/2" brush-less impact and compared it to the Hercules one at Harbor Fright. Very, very close to identical except for color. And price Hercules was less than half of the Milwaukee.

Hercules had some pretty impressive test results on the tube. But I DK what happens in the long run. 

I will say I had a Hercules 1/2" drill driver stop working and took it in and they ask no questions just handed me a new one. 

 

I am not sure there are to many items made whole in the US.

I read where now a lot of free world companies are partially held by Chinese investment companies.

I even seen where they have a 40% stake in some Toyota of Japan products. 

 

And my 25 year old Craftsmen router has been tortured and hangs right in there. 

Can't help but to buy stuff where the vendor will back up the sale. 

[Racinbob 11,048]

I agree 100% on the  manfacturer supporting their product which is why I mentioned Ridgid. In 2011 I purchased one of their 18v drills. The kit had two batteries and I purchased one more. I registered everything for the warranty. About a year ago, after 11 years of hard use, the switch was getting funky. I thought about just buying a switch but I decided to send them an email about it. I also mentioned that the batteries were starting to run down quicker than they used to. They replied back stating that they had three new batteries on their way and to take the drill  back to Home Depot. The batteries arrived in a couple days and when I took the drill to HD I handed it to the customer service gal along with the email from Ridgid. I ended walking out of there with a complete kit, drill, another battery, charger and case. 

[formariz 11,987]

The one on left from July /1986

 the one on right from March/1992

 Both made in Japan.

 Both have had hard commercial use since then with the exception of the last couple years. The one on right  has always been used on router table and has made literally made miles and miles of moldings and raised panels. Both same bearings and brushes. Both as smooth and precise as when they came out of box. Height change on one on router table can be done with only thumb and index finger whether stopped or running. Every single adjustment on hand used one able to be made while running without taking one’s hands of handles.

 

[Handy Don 12,210]

22 hours ago, wh500special said:

Bosch model 1617EVS

Gifted to me by my children after my son did a lot of research. At the time, I didn’t know what I would do with a router--now I do!

I concur with most of the above comments, especially with paying close attention to comfort, convenience, and frequency of use. You MUST handle the different units before committing to a purchase. I also agree that having both ¼ and ½” collets (and the horsepower to handle the larger bits) can give you more flexibility and make the job go easier. Variable speed has been helpful for me, as well, when shifting between wood and other materials like formica and plexiglass.

I ended up getting a router table (now built into my table saw table) and a nice feature of this Bosch model is that I can quickly switch the motor between the plunge and table bases, both of which were included in the original kit. At first I was skeptical of the ultra-precise depth controls (overkill?), but I’ve since found that they are useful!

[Beap52 809]

OK, you all made me get off the divan and head to the shop to snap a picture of my routers.  I wouldn't buy another Skill.  It needs to be adjusted on a regular basis or it drifts deeper resulting uneven cutting.  It's probably 4 years old.  My old faithful, a Craftsman, has got to be at least 50 years old. I like the handles and is still my "go to".

[pfrederi 17,708]

Who owns who...

TTI and Stanley have it pretty well locked up