# Forum Home Renovation Tools & Products  Whats a good router for occasional use?

## wozzzzza

i am after a router for occasional use around the house for various things. anyone recommend a half decent one that is not too expensive?? are there any to stay away from??
is Ryobi a good brand?

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## China

Personaly I would choose a Bosch, green version would be good that type of use

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## Tannwin

I bought an elcheapo GMC for one particular job. It had an assortment of cutters and did what I wanted it to.

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## goldie1

x2 on the bosch green but if its just for occasional use most any of the el cheapos will do

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## Godzilla73

G'day, I find i can accomplish most tasks with one of these. Would also recommend the slightly cheaper Maktec version as well.   
The square base is also easy to make jigs for rebates and so on.

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## wozzzzza

dont really wanna spend over $100, the bosch one is $129 the cheapest i can find. 
anyone know how good the ozito is?? Plunge Router 850W PRR-850 | Power Tools | Ozito Australia New Zealand can get from bunnings for $60

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## chrisp

> dont really wanna spend over $100, the bosch one is $129 the cheapest i can find. 
> anyone know how good the ozito is?? Plunge Router 850W PRR-850 | Power Tools | Ozito Australia New Zealand can get from bunnings for $60

  These aren't too bad.  From memory, the design is an old design (from Bosch?) that has been copied by many makers.  I think the design is old and is no longer protected, but it is a good design.   I have the same/similar and use it for small jobs such as sign making. 
This sign was made with one...

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## wozzzzza

how did you make that sign with a hand held router?? a lot of jigs?? 
also, just looking closely at the position of the on/off switch for that ozito router, its in the middle of the body, hard to reach by th elooks, you have to take one hand off the router in order to switch it off??? not really what i was after in a router, i would of thought that would be dangerous.

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## chrisp

> how did you make that sign with a hand held router?? a lot of jigs??

  I printed the letters out in a large font on paper.   I then use photo-mount adhesive to hold the paper on the timber.  I then route through the paper.  If you look carefully, you'll see that most letters are mostly made of straight segments - so I use a straight edge to do the bulk of them.  Most of the curved sections on the letters was just done freehand.  For the curvy ones (only the "O"s in this case), I just make a template out of ply or Masonite and used a guide bush.  A light weight router like this is good for this type of work.  Any internal square/sharp sections were finished by hand with a chisel. 
Final clean-up was to run the sign over a jointer to remove the remaining paper and any scratches or marks from the routing process.

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## Belair_Boy

> anyone know how good the ozito is?? Plunge Router 850W PRR-850 | Power Tools | Ozito Australia New Zealand can get from bunnings for $60

  How can you go wrong with a $60 router with a 3 year replacement warranty!  :Smilie: 
The Ozito tools I have bought from Bunnies have not been half bad and better than I expected. (still a disposable tool but at the cost of a hire any future use is a bonus). 
The switch may not be much of an issue.  My Makita laminate trimmer has the switch on the end of the body (simple on off toggle switch) but as it is small and light I don't feel it is more dangerous than any other router.  Just keep your body away from the sharp spinning bits.  :Biggrin:    

> is Ryobi a good brand

  IMHO Ryobi are at the toy/disposable end of the power tool market, but if priced right anything can be worth a go.  You pay your money and take your chances, but consumer laws say it has to be fit for purpose.

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## Pitto

> G'day, I find i can accomplish most tasks with one of these. Would also recommend the slightly cheaper Maktec version as well.   
> The square base is also easy to make jigs for rebates and so on.

  ^^^^ WHAT HE SAID. 
i have had mine for about 15years now and still going strong. its the old silver version of this, and Tradetools make a pretty good copy of it too.  TradeTools - TTD350T-TT 1/4" TRIMMER IN ALUMINIUM CASE

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