# Square vs. round base.



## rstermer (Apr 22, 2008)

I've been watching old router workshop videos and noticed that the Hitachi router they used is always shown with a square base attached. All my PC routers came with round bases as did my old Rockwell, so that is what I am used to. Is there an advantage to the square base? Situations where one is preferred to the other? Which do you use and why? 

Thanks for your thoughts,

rstermer


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## Barreller (Jun 1, 2009)

I love my DW625 (well both of them really!) with round bases with a flat side as well.

Steve


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI rstermer

Square is best  pie is round but the base plate on the routers works best if it's square..

8" x 8" works out very well for most jobs,,,I'm not sure why the Mfg.make the round,most don't fit the router base right..

I could list all the advantages but the post would be to long for that 
I think it comes down to ,,you can use the sq.base in more ways than the round ones, or to say one item for more than one type of job..


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## Woodnut65 (Oct 11, 2004)

Hi restermer: The Router Workshop was sponsored by Oak-Park. The square base used in the show uses the 1 1/2" brass guides that Oak- Park sells as well as some other systems that can be used with the square base. Asquare base is alot easier and more accurate to use when you are using a straight edge to guide the router when making a cut free hand. If a round base is used and for some reason the bit is not perfectly centered through the plate your cut could go off due to turning the router as you make the cut. Some manufacturers make bases that are round except for one side. It too makes the base easier to use. woodnut65


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Once you have your router attached to a mounting plate there are few reasons to remove it. There are advantages this way such as having the flat edge to guide with, the ability to install roller bearings or pins in two diagonal corners and use them for centering on a board to cut a mortise or keyhole, don't forget the fact that the larger base makes for more stabile free hand routing. That common sense stuff will get you every time.


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## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

If you make a square base, a good idea would be to make each side offset so that you can make a dado or whatever wider. Let's call the top the 12 o'clock position and that is that side that goes up against a straight edge. You could add a little bit to each side so that you can increase the width somewhat easily.

For example:
12 o'clock = 0
3 o'clock = +1/64"
6 o'clock = +1/32"
9 o'clock = +1/16"

or
12 o'clock = 0
3 o'clock = +1/32"
6 o'clock = +1/16"
9 o'clock = +1/8"

or
12 o'clock = 0
3 o'clock = +1/16"
6 o'clock = +1/8"
9 o'clock = +1/4"

I haven't built one an incremental base yet, but I saw it in a book. Attached is an example of what I'm talking about in case my explanation was confusing.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Noob

Thanks I always like to see new ways of doing it,,

You know me and jigs ,the one below is almost the same but it can be use in both ways , make the slot wider and just a bit thiner 
Lets say you want a .688 slot and all you have is 1/4" wide bit or a 3/8" you would make one pass and set the wooden guide to what you want to end up with,make one more or two passes and you have it done. all with one 8" x 8" plate..

Once you have a 8" x 8" plate you have the room to add a small guide out of some hardwood ...a quick and easy way to move the bit over just a little bit with no math needed, I use the brass setup bars most of the time or a drill bit to set up the guide 
Plus you can use almost any bit for the job...


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Noob said:


> If you make a square base, a good idea would be to make each side offset so that you can make a dado or whatever wider. Let's call the top the 12 o'clock position and that is that side that goes up against a straight edge. You could add a little bit to each side so that you can increase the width somewhat easily.
> 
> For example:
> 12 o'clock = 0
> ...


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## FWFreitag (Nov 24, 2008)

Yes, when using the router with a jig (ie. mortising jig for example) it allows you to keep the router base in the same position to the work piece or in the jig. If the router base is round - you have a hard time keeping the router bit in the same position relative to the workpiece. Many routers (Bosch and even some of the newer PCs) now have a round base on one side and square on the other side - the best of both worlds.


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## downhill (Nov 21, 2008)

I suppose with a piece of plexiglass, one could even make a new base?


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## Aeneas (Apr 19, 2011)

Patrick Spielman ("The Router Handbook") has a couple of pages on making a square base, mentioning--in reply to Downhill's musing above--one out of plexiglass. No details on how he did that, just that being able to see through the base helps. He also has an example of an MDF square base with different distances from the center to each of the four edges, but I have to say that Noob (above) made it a lot clearer! Thanks, Noob. Spielman deals with 1/64ths of an inch, but I would think you'd have to have pretty accurate measuring tools for that.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

downhill said:


> I suppose with a piece of plexiglass, one could even make a new base?


I did mine that way. Cheap and easy. Just use the existing baseplate as a template for the holes. When I need to freehand, I just pop it out of the table and use it the way it is. The extra width allows you to put one hand on the plexi for better stability when doing edge profiles or trimming laminate.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

G’day Bob

Welcome to the router forum. 

Thank you for joining us


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Barreller said:


> I love my DW625 (well both of them really!) with round bases with a flat side as well.


I'm with Steve. I use MOF177e(s) (the DW625s progenitor) plus other Elu routers and the round with one flat works well. Round bases seem rarely to be perfectly centred of even perfectly round which makes using the base edge as a guide a bit problematic. As most of my non-table routing is done with either bearing guided cutters, guide bushes or the side fence the base design is not that important to me, however having a flat edge to use against a guide without the need to fit extra sub-bases is a boon

Phil


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## Quillman (Aug 16, 2010)

Whilst using the subbase as a guide is not the best of guidance systems, a round or square subbase does, on occasion, make sense & there are advantages of one over the other.
They are trivial & few, however.
In my view, the round subbase is rarely centered to the cutter.
As such, working the diameter (of the plate or casting) off of a guide stick will show variations of the cutter pathway as the router rotates down the length of the guide stick. These variations can be tolerable or miserable.
Notwithstanding, provided you keep the router against the guide stick at all times, the cutter pathway deviations are generally small. So on inside cuts I'd use a round plate if I had no other guide system.
A slight deviation of the router pathway with a straight edged plate or casting would have disastrous consequences to the cutter pathway. It will be squiggly.

On outside cuts the scenario is the same whence using a round subbase. Any errors as you twisted the router against a guide stick, would be permenently inherited x the work & irreversible.

Now a square or straight edged subbase on an outside cut will yield a straight cut line, unless the router is trapped between the work and the stick. A distinct advantage; no matter how poorly you may handle the router with a square edge casting, the excavation will be straight on an outside cut.
Makes subbases.


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## Mario1970 (Dec 18, 2021)

Round base routers are the easiest and most accurate to use. You can turn round base router back side to side and it will still give you accurate cut. You can very easily perfectly centre your base using an centring cone. Flat edge routers even when used along a fence, can deviate ruining your work piece. Stick to round base.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

G'day @Mario1970 , welcome to the forum.

Be aware, however that a centering cone is only to cente the hole for a template guide. It may not centre the base, if the base is not 100% accurate.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Very old original post. I use a round base, but placed a mark on one side and keep that spot against the straight edge. This compensates for any error in the centering of the base.


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @Mario1970


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## Rebelwork Woodworking (Sep 11, 2004)

Round or square or even flat on a spot all have advantages. 

I had problems with a Bosch router on an omnijig with a router template. As I rotate the router the dovetails got tighter or looser. Afher checking I found the router bit not centered to tge plastic base. I contacted Router Man and purchased a new perfectly centered base and the problem was solved...


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