Operation "Don't overpay" and other adventures when choosing a hand router

Those who work with wood know how important a convenient and reliable hand router is, because they can do a lot of operations - remove shavings, make longitudinal and cross cuts, holes, cut grooves, etc. At the same time, despite the variety, it is difficult to choose a tool that would meet the necessary requirements and cost no too expensive.

Types of milling cutters

There are several types of hand routers. The most popular are submersible and edging models. The immersion tool is first deepened into the material, after which it is fixed and the work continues according to the template. When using a hand-held edge router, it is important to determine the depth in advance, since it cannot be changed in the process, work on it is performed using a parallel stop.

Advantages of the Bosch POF 1200 AE router

On the advice of friends, I chose the Bosch POF 1200 AE model and did not regret it. Among its advantages:

· Comfortable grip, relatively light weight (less than 4 kg).

· Transparent screen that protects from dust and particles.

· Despite the average power (1200 W), it copes well with the processing of different types of wood.

· In the presence of a system to stabilize the number of revolutions, which has a positive effect on the quality of work.

· It is possible to connect a dust extraction module.

· Cutters change quickly enough.

Of the shortcomings, I can note the lack of a smooth start, which at the beginning of working with the tool led to small defects. Before buying a Bosch POF 1200 AE, I had practically no experience in using a hand router, so an experienced craftsman probably won't have such a problem.

The rest of the model is satisfied, I think that the cost is fully consistent with the quality.

Which hand router do you use? What advantages and disadvantages have you noticed while using?