I'm looking to buy a router that will be used mounted into a home made router table.
I figure that what I need is a fixed base router like this (DeWalt.com). A plunge router seems too fiddly to adjust the cut depth when under a table.
However, this type of router doesn't seem to be available in the UK.

Am I missing something? Do better plunge routers have some adjustment feature that my cheap one doesn't

If it is a fixed base router I want, where can I get one (the UK DeWalt dite doesn't list them)?

Plunge lock? My cheap one locks wherever you want it to, I don't use it as much as I used to and would get one with a 1/2" shank if I was replacing it but never having used it in a table I can't see the benefit of not having a plunge facility but I can see the drawbacks of not having one.

i use a dewalt plunge router (dw625 i think it is) for work. It wouldnt be possible to move it up and down whilst attached to a table, as the springs are too powerful. Ive certainly never noticed another way of adjusting it accurately. It does have a good bottom stop but thats not much use here. However, if you make it easy to remove from the table, it would be possible i suppose.

What sort of stuff do you want to use it for?

My cheap plunge router has a lock on it too. Trouble is that if I want to set a precise depth, it is a bit of a fiddle - as JoelP points out, the springs are too strong.

The fixed base routers seem to use a ring that you rotate to adjust to set the depth. This would be much easier for making tiny adjustments with when using the router

I want to use it for quite a few tasks where it is easier to move the wood over a fixed router bit.

I know that I could make jigs to use with a hand held router but this would be a pest

if you make the router table like this example it looks easy to remove the router to adjust.

http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?Site=woodworking&ID=201

or you could buy a fixed based router

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1250W-Fixed-Base-Router_W0QQitemZ300014388580QQihZ020QQcategoryZ20781QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Edited on 6/8/06 by Aboardman]

this looks a bit cheap but would do the job.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1250W-Fixed-Base-Router_W0QQitemZ300014388580QQihZ020QQcategoryZ20781QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or there is this, much better quality.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/recno/5/product-Bosch-GMF1400CE-Router-480380.htm


russ.