# Small routers comparison



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Last Tuesday afternoon Chris and I took a bunch of photos comparing the three most popular small routers with plunge bases: the Bosch Colt, the Trend T-4 and the DeWalt 611. Tomorrow morning we will be performance testing these models at a "Sawdust Saturday." I tried to get the new Makita RT0700CX3 but none are available locally. Last night Chris told me the November issue of Wood Magazine features small router comparison testing; I guess great minds think alike. 

Here are our initial observations on these three models:

The Colt palm router has the most comfortable handles and the best turret design. The plunge action requires medium pressure and is rock steady. The ergonomic grip on the motor makes this the best choice for one handed routing with the fixed base. The Colt requires either the quick change adapter or a different sub base plate to use guide bushings.

The DeWalt compact router has a good turret design and the sub base plate accepts PC style guide bushings. The handles are good but they are offset and it just felt wrong to both Chris and I. We could not get the dust collection adapter locally(even from the service center) but Amazon lists them for $7. The 611 has the softest plunge pressure and felt solid.

The Trend T-4 has the stiffest plunge pressure and the round handles are ok. The T-4 accepts all of the Trend guide bushings which makes it the best choice for template work. The turret is terrible(see photo) and Trend still uses slotted screws for accessories.(first thing I would change) When the motor is removed from the base it is great for two handed use as a die grinder or for power carving. The T-4 has the most power based on the amps rating. It is the only model to include the dust collection adapter, a 5/8"/16 mm guide bushing and adapter for using PC style guide bushings. A foot is included for use with the VariJig accessories. The plunge lock lever is on the right side of the router.(must be a UK thing  )

Once we complete the actual use testing tomorrow I will post our conclusions.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Hi Mike - a couple of things to check on your Trend that I noticed on mine:
First, 
The guide bushing and adapter use the countersink/flat head screws. Mine pulled off center when tightened down. didn't do anything with the 5/8" bushing, except not use it, but on the adapter, I switched to button head cap screws and flip the adapter upside down. I could probably open the holes up a little on the bushing and use the cap screws on it.

Secondly - and I just noticed this lately, is a lot of slop in the posts. I hadn't noticed it before and I've had it a little over a year, but it shouldn't be worn yet.:fie:


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Thanks for the heads up John; I will keep a close eye on the alignment. This makes me wonder if the supplied steel bushing is the problem or the mounting holes. I will be sure to test this using the Trend alignment pins I got with my Unibase. I will also compare the bushings from the 3 sets and the 40 mm steel bushing to see if there is a difference. Since you say there is play in the posts that may be where the problem lies.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Mike said:


> Thanks for the heads up John; I will keep a close eye on the alignment. This makes me wonder if the supplied steel bushing is the problem or the mounting holes. I will be sure to test this using the Trend alignment pins I got with my Unibase. I will also compare the bushings from the 3 sets and the 40 mm steel bushing to see if there is a difference. Since you say there is play in the posts that may be where the problem lies.


Hi Mike - The bushing itself moved. I havent got the Trend alignment pin, been using the one from Milescraft. It also was happening with the universal adapter with a PC bushing. I like the setups where the entire baseplate is aligned as then you can remove and reinstall the adapter without religning, ala the Freud system. I had the bushing issue since day one, the post issue is new and more concerning as there isn't much of a workaround, at least none that have occurred to me. Well, I guess the workaround I came up with is a plunge base for the colt. I needed a small plunge router and picked up the Trend,,, about 2 months later deWalt announced the 611:laugh:


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Mike said:


> The Trend T-4.....
> 
> The plunge lock lever is on the right side of the router.(must be a UK thing  )


Hi Mike

The turret lock being on the left makes the T-4 "compatible" with heavier Elu/European-designed DWs like the MOF31/98/177, DW624/625 and derivatives such as the Trend T10/T11, etc. It might have been better off with a twist to lock left knob like many other small routers (e.g Elu MOF96/OF97, Trend T5, Perles OF-808, DW613/614/615/620/621/622, Metabo Signal OFe.1229, etc)

Pity that you couldn't get hold of the Makita - having similar problems over here

Regards

Phil


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Phil, Makita contacted me last night so we may soon have the RT0700CX3 to test.


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

That full Makita kit looks pretty good for the money--i hope you get the chance to test is out and report. Once i win the Hoosier Lottery, i'll make the 4 hour drive up there for a Sawdust Saturday!! Have a great time.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Here are the results of our evaluation of these small routers:

SteveMI prefered the DeWalt 611. I did not care for the collet which only has two flats for the wrench. (All others use 6 sided collets to make it easy to get the wrench on) The flat sides of the base mean you have to keep the router oriented with one of the rounded ends on the material for support. I feel a larger base would make this model much easier to use. (I hear you cheering Pat!)

The Colt handles made it the most comfortable and the large round base really helped with control. Note the small shaft lock wrench for use with the plunge base. Bosch could of put a window in the base so the push button shaft lock was accessible but I prefer the two wrench method. Since this model uses the same guide bushing accessories as the 1617 and MR23 routers that should be a plus for members who own those models... no duplication.

The Trend T-4 was more difficult for setting the height and bit changes because you can not flip it over and sit it on the motor like the other two models tested. The narrow base needs the optional foot for stability. The dust collection adapter fits closest to the motor of any of these small routers. You can see the wide range of guide bushings for this model and the addition of the Varijig accessories make this very easy to set up for most template work. I included photos of the new feather board and the new longer clamps that fit in the bottom of the Varijig; these make clamping easier with no restrictions.

All of these small routers cut well. Chris, Barb, Brian and I preferred the Colt. (Barb just ordered one) The $70 sale price for the T-4 made it the best deal for the money by a large margin. Members should be happy with any of these models.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Hi Mike - Nice report. I agree that I prefer the Colt plunge by a fair margin over the T-4. That said, I also acknowledge a substantial cost differential. I decided not to get involved with the Bosch guides but made two extra baseplates for the Porter Cable and the Lee Valley/Oak Park bushings. I like the Bosch clip in's just have to much money tied up in the others. 
Just curious, did you find any issues with the T-4 bushing alignment? With the number of Trend bushings available, that could become a big issue with some users. 
Once again, thanks for the summary


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

John, I still have not noticed an alignment problem on my T4. This may be due to the Unibase alignment pins and guide I used when setting mine up. I have the Unibase on one of my MRP23 routers which is the same as the GOF1600 for our friends on the other side of the pond; no problems with alignment there either.

I did use the Colt in the plunge base for edging some boards and it performed well.


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## SteveMI (May 29, 2011)

*Test results*

(Think I posted this in the wrong place originally)

Mike held a play day at his place to compare the plunge base models of the Colt, DW-611 and the Trend. I was interested due to my current plunge router being a PC 6912 motor / 6931 plunge base which is a beast for smaller work. Plus it isn't variable speed. 

My visual observations were;

Trend - plunge release on opposite side, plunge release in opposite release mode, cable out of the top, turret levels are all adjustable with threaded screws, slightly stiffer plunge spring, dust hose goes out straight up

Bosch Colt - grips instead of knobs, turret detent positions weren't as easily found, full circle base, dust hose goes out at an angle, two wrenches needed for bit change

Dewalt - shaft lock button for bit change, turret is 4 fixed and one adjustable, scale is closer to pointer, LED lights underneath,

Use comments;
The testing scenario included using a smaller round over bit on rectangle samples. 

Weight was not objectionable on any of them.

All of the three seemed to rock doing the round over if you didn't pay attention due to the base size. My experience with plunge routers is that the larger the base, the better on this and the Colt had a full circle to be better at this Even with the Colt though, I would consider making a bigger base or using strips around the piece being routed to "lean" the base part that is in space.

I liked the shaft stop button on the Dewalt, but Mike considers it a minus due to some of his experience with casting that have broken. 

Adjusting bit height was easy on the Colt and DW since you could set the router on the flat top of the motor. The Trend has its cord coming out the top and needed to be wrestled a bit on its side.

The Colt height gauge scale is much further from the pointer and seemed useless to me. Initial height is usually done with a gauge block while tightening the bit, but my experience with plunge routers is that at times you want to change it slightly deeper or higher. That is where changing the rod a fraction comes in. With the Colt it is so far away that it really depends on what angle you are looking to determine the change you are making. The Dewalt pointer was right against the scale.

Plunge on all of them was smooth and reasonable, with the Trend being just a bit stiffer.

We didn't use the dust collection during the testing. That is one big complaint on my PC.

My conclusion
During the play day I was very interested in the Trend due to the price being near half of the others. After thinking about it, I am leaning to the DW611. I have a Bosch ROS and Jigsaw that are couple of my favorite tools, but I don't really see the Colt plunge being the same caliber. I do some inlay and the LED should help.

Other Rambling

If you take the Colt and DW611 motors out their bases, the Colt would be much friendlier to do hand carving with. Not something I would do.

Hopefully I didn't mix up some of my facts as it has been a week or more since the play day and I didn't take any written notes. Mike can correct those.

I don't already have a colt, so if it was just adding a plunge base it might have swayed my decision.

Steve.


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## thm33578 (Aug 7, 2012)

nice!!


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## Peteroo (Aug 17, 2011)

Hi Mike
here in the sparsley populated south Pacific we are serviced with the 611 de walt. However, the plunge has a lot of slop in it like the Bosch gof1600 if the triger handle is rotated into the motor from below its pivot point after plunging and with the plunge lock unlocked. I have noticed that on other routers that if pressure is placed on the lock turret only, the plunge is smooth. On the Bosch you have to be trying to unsettle the plunge with the trigger handle to get the slop. May I ask if this is also the same with the little 611 please? What do you think of this foible with routers? It is not apparent on my old Festo of900e and I could not provoke this on the Festool of1400. Both routers are ferruled at the opening of the body around the turret. What would it take the manufacturers to reduce this slop with a nylon or bronz bush on the non lock turret. I have in the past polished the turrets with autosol and then rubbed them with Bitron penetrating oil with exceptional results on the Festo of900e. Do you think it is possible to do the same with the new Bosch gof1600ce please?
Thanking you in anticipation
regards
Peteroo


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Peter, routers are a series of compromises. All of them have very sloppy threads on their collets and some of the plunge mechanisms do have a large degree of slop. Some brands are worse than others and none of them are perfect. That said they still get the job done. I have not found the need to do anything to my MRC23EVSK router, it works just fine. If you find the need to modify your router then go for it.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Nice report as usual Mike! A while ago I read a review of the Makita version, and it came off very well. I wonder if you all would add it to you reviews.


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## KenBee (Jan 1, 2011)

I have a DeWalt 611 Kit with Pat Warner built bases for both the fixed and plunge bases and both are also set up to use inlay bushings. Like the Ridgid it has the LED lights which is a plus over all other routers. I consider it a state of the art router and if mine was the last one on earth it would take a couple thousand dollars to buy it. The only other compact router with a plunge base I would even consider buying would be the Makita Kit.


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