# Hitachi M12VC 11 vs Bosch 1617evspk



## Randydb (Apr 12, 2015)

Hi,
My 8 year old King Canada router is squealing and making a lot of noise. I don't know much about routers but I am assuming its the bearings. I paid $75 for it and it has served me well.
Checking craigslist there is a Hitachi M12VC 11($200) kit and a Bosch 1617evspk kit($220). Canadian $$.

I see that sometimes the the Bosch goes for $250+tax on sale...$285ish. 

Is one of these routers better than the other? I do more router table work than hand held. Maybe 70-30. 
Also, my King is 3.25hp I think. These are something like 2.5hp. How is this going to change things?
When I am cutting bores for flutes I like to be able to take large cuts because I don't need beauty inside the flute. Just get the material out. So sometimes I am using a 3/4" bit and cutting 3/4 deep.

Thanks for the help in advance.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Randy; aside from buying a new router,_ always a good thing _
you might also want to replace the King's bearings. Other members have reported back that it's _not_ a huge obstacle. 
Even if you only get as far as stripping it down...take lots of before and during pictures for reassembly reference... it'll be an interesting project. Cleaning the brush holders and replacing the brushes would also be a worthwhile objective.
Just out of curiosity, what's the AMP rating on the King?


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## Randydb (Apr 12, 2015)

15 amps.
To be honest this King has been a charm for me. Smoking great considering I paid $75. 
I read a fellows break down of how to redo a bosch router and after reading that I didn't figure it was worth it to try to redo mine. Bosch needed gear puller, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I'm handy enough to do it, but it looked like a lot of headache and 3 or 4 hours. 

Maybe the King is easier. I should look it up before buying I suppose. Would save me $200+. 

When I searched King Canada routers I saw a lot of posts about what crap they are. Only lasted 3 hrs, garbage, don't waste your time, etc. blah, etc and so on. But honestly, mine has been great. It has been used a ton, pushed hard at times, and just kept on spinning.


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

I'm probably more like 80% table and 20% hand-held. Looking strictly at hand-held, much of that 20% is plunge routing, the rest could be done fixed base or plunge. With the Bosch 1617 EVSPK, the fixed base is designed for table use, which leaves the more versatile plunge base for hand-held work. Many routers recommend the plunge base in the table, which means removing the table-mounted base if one needed a plunge router for a hand-held operation. If i only had one router for hand-held work, i'd much prefer a plunge base.

As for table mounted...Another nice feature of the 1617 is that the depth adjustment is all vertical, no rotating the machine to set the depth. This allows the switch, depth adjustment and base latch to be in the same position all the time. Not sure on the Hitachi plunge base, but if i recall correctly in the fixed base it's a motor twist to set depth? 

Everything i did with a router this weekend was hand-held--and i needed the plunge base most of the time. Other people may feel differently, but I do like my 1617!!

earl


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I bought a fixed M12VC new at Canadian Tire for $130 on sale so a used combo set at $200 sounds expensive. Dan is probably right about fixing the King. New bearings could be as cheap as $20 if you look around. The VC does have a twist ring adjustment. The Bosch would probably work better although I love using the VC for hand held jobs. I have a V2 for the table.


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## Randydb (Apr 12, 2015)

I emailed King Canada while I was at my son's soccer game today. They emailed me back with a parts diagram and price list in less than 90 minutes. Not bad for a Sunday! 

I have a set of brushes that came with the router. I shouldn't need new brush holders? Just clean them? The guy doing the bosch replaced the holders too. It looks like the brushes are an easy one. 

I know the bearings need to be replaced...I can see there is a set top and bottom. 

Anything else I should be doing at the same time? The speed control dial has started moving as the router vibrates. Slows down. I could see replacing that while I have it apart. 

Is there somewhere here where someone talks through taking a King apart? I can't find it on youtube or the web in general.
Randy


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*More is Better*

"I should look it up before buying I suppose. Would save me $200+...."
:surprise:
No, no, no! That's not what I meant, You NEED multiple routers; it's the natural order of things! We're trying to help the economy here.


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## Tagwatts (Apr 11, 2012)

I purchased on line the Bosch 1617evspk complete kit for 189 and free shipping on Amazon a bit ago. So the $200 may or may not be to high. I just went and looked again. The price that I saw was now 219. I have only used the Bosch Router a tiny bit. However one of my bosses used it a lot for creating raised panels for his kitchen cabinets. I just watched in awe as he used the router with the Bosch table.

Just my two cents for what it is worth. 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. If your time is worth anything, new may be the way to go.


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## Randydb (Apr 12, 2015)

So 219 USD works out to 264 cnd plus 12% tax....$295 cnd. Usually you see things go for about half of what they are new.

What you say about time being worth something...I was adding that up. I will spend about 30-40 on parts and then if I just pay myself $20/hrs I am going to have to take less than 3 hrs. I have so many things on the go, I think it might be more expedient to just buy one and get on to my other projects.
From what I see here I should be fine with either the bosch or Hitachi kit. I think I will email the guys and see if either will take $150. That seems to be a more realistic price second hand.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

I have two 1617 combo kits, and a Triton...and the DeWalt compact combo. They all get used. Today it was the 1617 in the plunge base doing some flush trim work.


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## Randydb (Apr 12, 2015)

Found the Hitachi kit on sale for $180 at KMS Tools today and bought it. I think it will serve me well for a long time.
Thanks for everyones input.
Randy


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## woodworker28 (May 1, 2015)

Randydb said:


> Found the Hitachi kit on sale for $180 at KMS Tools today and bought it. I think it will serve me well for a long time.
> Thanks for everyones input.
> Randy


you will be very happy with your choice Hitachi is a great router
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