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It's a moot point though because I think I'm getting a Porter Cable Model 893/5 multi-base router kit for Christmas.P.S.: It's amazing how little attention is being paid to cutting speeds for different materials. if you get the metaphor). This machine is a very good tool and it did a job I needed to get done with plastic material but it is very loud. Tool makers (i.e., drills, routers) should take a hint from microwave ovens and their programmed cook times for different foods. We need tools with accurate electronic speed controls delivering constant power. It has an aircraft-carrier-catapult start and it takes a lot of time to spin down. I should have purchased the Model 5616 with variable speed and soft start.
Softstart would be nice, but I knew when I bought it what it had and what it didn't. The optional plate allows for use of brass collars. Love the BodyGrip and power of this small router. Extremely well built and accurate basic tool.
It has been a little difficult to get my hand in and I find is so easy just to grab the router without the strap. Very powerful router. I would prefer the PC model with the D handle. I removed the handle to allow me to get into tighter spaces. I wished the router had a soft start. I bought this tool on clearance from Lowe's.
I must agree with another reviewer about it being difficult to get your hand in the strap. I removed the velcro strap and the handle on that side. I must say Milwaukee has great customer service and supplied me with the missing wrenches for this tool. This router has a lot of torque at start up. I can always put it back on if I need it. I like having the ability to hold the router with one hand with ease.
This model was on sale for $50.00.
For example, I use a 3 hp plunge unit in a large router table - it's soft-start and variable speed, with plenty of power for those super-large panel door cutters, and bit changing needs but ONE wrench from the table top - because the tool's drive shaft can be locked. E.g., in ALL of the units I looked at where height adjusts via the motor assembly screwing into the base, the router bit shaft is hardly ever in the very center after you tighten the motor housing clamp. If I sit my router flat on a bench (with no bit), and turn it on and let go, it just hums, doesn't wander at all - and runs smooth as silk, although it's hardly quiet.Since through dovetails need two routers to be set up (for productivity), I'm thinking of buying another one of these. Soft-start was not important, although that would have been a nice plus.
This is important to me, because when routing dovetails, I hold a vacuum hose in my left hand, and the router in my right hand, so a two-hands-needed router won't work.2.Router bits stay in the precise center of the base, even when bit depth is adjusted. Besides, it would be underpowered and too high-speed (for large bits).The reviewer whose unit vibrated too much might have had a defective router - mine hardly vibrates at all. After reading all the non-plunge router reviews I could find, and looking at each model in local stores, several tool features sold me on this unit. It helps living in a large metropolitan area, as numerous local stores sell professional-grade routers.1.This is the only mid-sized router I could find that is designed to be controllable with one hand, with quick access to the off/on switch using your right thumb. While this may not be critical for most router applications, it is whenever using template guides. Model 5615-20 is JUST the router - no case and no router base.
This Milwaukee unit needs TWO wrenches (included) to change bits; and while it's amazingly simple to insert or remove bits with the router sitting on a bench, that wouldn't be so if it was under a [router] table. In fact, fast stopping of the bit would have been even more useful - i.e., it takes several seconds for the bit to stop after switching the tool to off. It hasn't been used enough to testify to its longevity, but so far, it's just what the doctor ordered. As with any well-designed router, you can set it upside down, because nothing sticks out.Owning 5 routers of various types, I can assure you that there is no "perfect" router for all purposes. E.g., to make dovetail joints or use door hinge templates.3.Router is relatively light and easy to handle.4.Model 5615-21 comes with a well-designed case and a clever built-in removable router base (click on customer photos above). The micro-adjusting screw is perfect for doing dovetails or door hinge routing, where you're typically moving the bit in or out, but 1/100" at a time. (If you hold the router in your left hand, the switch won't be in the right place for your thumb).
I bought this router primarily to use with a Leigh 24" dovetail jig, although it's used for other purposes. The case provides outstanding tool protection and has extra space around the tool for storage. This may sound pretty basic, but this is the only (non-plunge) router I could find where this was true. There is no need to remove the bit from the router - as it is protected from damage while sitting right side up on the base, either with the base in the case, or with the base removed from the case.
The height adjustment is also a good idea, but in the everyday world doesnot offer an advantage over other systems, unless you dedicate this to a router table.My big gripe about this tool is the bearings have failed on me twice in the past nine months. The strap idea is great, however it takes longer to pick it up, get comfortable and go. Keep in mind I use this tool only when another router is not available and I have not experienced this problem with my other routers. I am a fiish carpenter who uses 4 routers set up with different bits most days. I have owned this router for nearly 2 years and find myself reaching for any other router other than this one.
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