A Wood Router is A Must Have for Every Serious Woodworker

When you are looking to make a wood working project fancy and add that finished look to it that makes it look professional, you will need a wood router. Wood routers have often been touted as a must have tool for all wood workers because of their amazing versatility. When you have a router in your workshop you will be able to create all sorts of amazing projects that look professionally finished.

There Are Two Types of Wood Routers That You Can Choose From:

A fixed base router - With a fixed base router you have to set the depth of the cut before you turn on the machine, and you cannot change it while you are working. This may become a problem for some more experienced woodworkers. A plus side to these machines though are they are lighter and less expensive than plunge routers.

A Plunge router - Plunge routers allow you to change the depth of the cut while the machine is on. This is a great feature if you are making multiple passes on a piece of wood. There are depth stops to allow for an accurate depth while working as well. When you have a plunge router you can invert it in a table and use it as a shaper and work with small pieces of wood as well.  You can see why they are more expensive but they sure give you a whole lot of versatility for the extra cost.

It is important to remember that while most tools for the woodshop are rated by amps, routers are rated by horsepower (hp) the heavier the tool, the more horsepower it will have.

When you're choosing a wood router you will notice that there are three bit sizes available to you. ¼” 3/8” and ½” The most common sizes are ¼” and ½” however, if you can, choose a ½” router because these wood routers will accept ¼” bits as well if you purchase the adapters, however a ¼” router will not be able to accept ½” bits which will limit your project choices.

There are many different types of  wood router bits available, and you will be able to change bits depending on your project and your own needs. Many of the new wood routers make changing bits easier than the older models which will eliminate some of the struggle.

The general rule with wood routers is that once you have one, you will not believe that you ever got along without it. It is best to splurge on a router and buy the best one that you can afford for the best performance possible. You want a solid machine that will not shake or vibrate creating an unprofessional finish.