Routers

Our expert tests reveal which routers have the edge - and the ones that don't shape up

Routers have been around for a long time, but TV makeover shows have raised their profile recently, bringing them out of the serious hobbyist's workshop and into the hands of less experienced users. You might have caught a glimpse of one moulding panels for a kitchen cabinet door or creating attractively moulded edges to bookshelves.

Recently DIY sheds and catalogues have started offering routers at temptingly low prices. But if you're new to routing, is it worth giving in to the impulse and buying a cheap one to see what you can do with it? We gave 16 routers, ranging in price from £28 to £108, to an expert woodworker to find which might suit a beginner. Some were a big let down, and some cheap and cheerful models have limited capabilities.

Get into the Groove

So what is a router and what can you do with one? At a basic level a router is a power tool that uses a cutter rotating at very high speed to create grooves in wood.

There are two basic types of cutters. Self-guiding ones have a small disk-shaped bearing above or below the cutter, which is pressed up against the edge of the workpiece to position the cut. These can also be used to follow templates. Plain cutters can be used for routing freehand, with a 'side fence' (see 'Necessities and Accessories'), or by running the router's base plate against a straight edge.

Cutters come in many different shapes and sizes. A wide straight-edged cutter is perfect for creating a housing - a groove across a plank of wood that you might use for setting shelves in a bookcase. A small inverted triangular cutter makes a V-shaped groove that's ideal for cutting letters in wood (to create a house name-plaque, say).

Some cutters are designed for using along the edge of wood and can be used to create edge mouldings, like the rounded top of skirting boards, or a bevelled edge to a decorative panel. You can even create woodworking joints like dovetails or mitres, but you will need accessories called jigs to set the router up to cut some of these.

Cutters vary widely in price and quality. Some routers you buy include cutters; with others, you'll have to buy them separately. A box of at least six basic cutters costs less than £15; better quality or specialised cutters can cost anything up to £100 each.

Our expert wasn't particularly impressed with the quality of some of the cutters supplied with the routers. However, he suggested that a set of cheap cutters can be useful to experiment with. When you've worked out which types of cutter you'll use most, you can invest in better quality ones.

Like drill bits, cutters are not a fixed part of the router but are held in by a collet. Collets come in several sizes: ¼- or ½-inch predominate in the UK, but 6mm or 8mm ones are also common. The measurements refer to the diameter of the cutter shank that they are designed to hold. Fixing a cutter into the collet is simpler if there is a spindle lock, which prevents the collet spinning round as you try to tighten it down, without you having to hold it with a spanner. The table shows which models tested have a spindle lock.

Necessities and Accessories

The routers we tested come in a variety of shapes, sizes and powers. Which you choose will depend on what you want to use it for. If you're about to embark on making panelled doors or fitting kitchen worktops, you'll need a heavy-duty variable-speed model, but if you're going to stick to occasional edge-moulding, a light-weight single-speed model might do. If you're looking to buy your first router, we recommend you keep your options open by plumping for a medium-powered (850 to 1,100W) variable-speed router.

A side fence makes sure that a groove or cut is parallel with the edge of the wood (above, left). The guide bush (the disc in the centre of the router) can be used with a template for lettering (above, right).

Basic Considerations

Convenience features and design points often accounted for the different overall scores of the routers tested.

Switches
For safety, the best type of switch is a two-button trigger combination, which means the router can be switched on only when it is being held ready to use. But left-handed people may find this type uncomfortable to use. Our expert generally preferred slider switches, which leave your hands free to concentrate on the job in hand. We suggest you try a couple out to see which you find easiest to use.

Variable speed
It's useful to be able to vary the speed depending on the type of job, the diameter of cutter and the kind of wood that you are routing. This gives you more control over the quality of the finish and helps prevent the cutter burning the wood.

Depth setters
Some routers come with adjustable depth setters - metal rods that stick up from the base at different heights and limit the depth the router can cut. These can be handy if you're trying to make a deep groove, as you get a better finish by taking two passes at increasing depth than by trying to do it all in one go.

Dust extractors
Routers generate a lot of dust, which is thrown far and wide, especially when working on the edge of a piece of wood. The routers we tested can be connected to a vacuum cleaner or extractor unit via their dust extractors. Most of these are removable plastic spouts, which fix to the base around the cutter. Unfortunately, they often get in the way and make it harder to change the collets and cutters, and they can limit how deep you can plunge the router.

Worse still, few of the dust extractors in our test worked very well, even though we hooked them up to a top-quality extraction unit. Because of this, you'd be wise to wear a dust mask and goggles, and avoid using a router in a confined space.

Basic Considerations: II

Side fences
A side fence is an accessory that helps you ensure that the routed groove is parallel to the edge of the wood. Many of the side fences supplied with the routers appeared to be identical but fitted some routers better than others (see the 'Using a fence' rating in the table).

Guide bushes
A guide bush is a plastic or metal disc with a projecting central lip that attaches to the base of the router to help move a router accurately around a template. There's a wide range of templates that will help you create lettering, door lock housings or woodworking joints.

Some guide bushes are fitted by screwing them in to the dust extractor, which means the plunge depth is limited. In this case you'll probably have to use a long-shanked cutter that will reach down through the base, template and guide bush.

Detachable housing
The Bosch, JCB and Trend routers can be detached from their bases and used with accessories such as rotary files and rasps for woodcarving or sharpening lawnmower blades. It's dangerous to use cutters when the router is detached from its base. The Trend manual makes this clear; the Bosch and JCB manuals don't.

Poor show

How We Tested

We asked an expert woodworker with more than 20 years' experience of testing routers to put our routers through their paces in his workshop. He rated their performance and ease of use in a number of common tasks, like edge-moulding, cutting a housing, using a guide bush to follow a simple template, and using a side fence to help cut straight grooves.

Professional routers can be used for a lot more than just cutting grooves, so we also asked our expert to explore the versatility of our test models. To do this he used a range of routing accessories from his own collection to complete some more complicated woodworking tasks. These included using the routers in a router table (for carrying out heavier-duty tasks such as complicated mouldings more easily), and creating dovetail joints.

Our expert also cast his eye over the range of cutters and accessories supplied with each router and commented on the quality of the whole router bundle and its compatibility with standard accessories.

We also had the routers tested for safety to check that they didn't pose any unacceptable hazards. There were no serious problems, though of course, you should always take great care when using a router, because it has a sharp cutter whizzing round at great speed.

Best Buy Guide

We've chosen routers that will provide the best start for a novice user. Our Best Buys combine value for money with a good performance and the potential to be used in a wide range of routing tasks.

The medium-powered 1,100W Black & Decker KW850EKA (£71 from Machine Mart) gave above-average results in all the basic routing tasks. It comes with a set of cutters, a guide bush and side fence. A similar model, the KW850E, without the cutters costs about £60. We had to obtain the user instructions from Black & Decker because they were missing from the models we bought to test, so check that they're included if you're buying one.

The higher-powered Performance Pro CLM2050R (£99, only from B&Q) is also good value, especially if you are going to be doing a lot of heavy-duty routing. Our expert liked its size and solidity and thought it was the most able and versatile router of the 16 we tested. It comes with 15 cutters, guide bush and side fence. The cutters didn't seem very durable, but they will cope with a wide range of cutting and moulding applications, so you could at least experiment with the ones supplied and buy better ones if you find them useful.

The Ferm FBF-8E (£36 from Screwfix) and Axminster AW635R (£45 from Axminster) are also good routers. They don't come with cutters - but you can pick up a set of cheap cutters for around £15, so they are still good value. The Ferm router is to be replaced but is still available from Screwfix via its website, by quoting catalogue number 17118 - see 'Contacts' for details.

Black & Decker KW850EKA	Performance Pro CLM2050R	Ferm FBF-8E	Axminster AW635R

Routers On Test

Using Your Router

• It's important not to mix and match imperial and metric cutters and collets, because a ¼-inch (6.35mm) collet can't hold a 6mm cutter securely. It would be extremely dangerous if the cutter came flying out revolving at 30,000rpm.
• Routers are noisy, so wear ear defenders when you use them.
• Always wear eye protection when using a router.
• Wear stout footwear - a router dropped on a foot could cause a serious injury.
• Never change collets or cutters with the router plugged into the power supply.
• Make sure you trail the cable so that you don't trip over it.
• Never switch on the router with the cutter in contact with the workpiece.
• Keep your cutters clean - clean them with solvent and treat them with a lubricant such as WD40 after each use.
• Don't try to make too deep a cut - you will get a better finish by making a series of shallow cuts.
• Store cutters carefully. Don't drop them into a bag or box - the blades will chip.

Contacts