Bosch 1617EVS 2-1/4 HP Variable-Speed Router
|
List Price: Our Price: $161.99 You Save: $185.01 (53%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $137.69 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
|---|
Tools and Hardware Reviews of Bosch 1617EVS 2-1/4 HP Variable-Speed Router
Customer Review: Just about the perfect midsize router
Summary: 4 Stars
I've worked with a number of routers over the years and found this one to be well-suited to my needs. The handles are low for better balance, and the soft start is great for control. One small disappointment was unpacking it and seeing oxidation all over the machined surfaces. After an hour with a buffing wheel, it was the shiniest router in the shop. Still, I recommend it.Customer Review: Like cutting butter
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best routers I have ever used. I originally set out to buy the Porter Cable, which I am sure is a fine router as they usually are, however what sold me was the ease of adjusting the height and the locking mechanism. I am glad I made the choice for the Bosch. It is quite light and has a lot of torgue. The thing jumps in your hand when you hit the switch. Cuts are clean and smooth ( a good bit helps ). A definate recomendation from my experience with it.Customer Review: More on the switch
Summary: 4 Stars
As others have noted, this is a great router. Mine spends most of its life in a router table with a router lift and works great. I use a remote switch mounted to the side of my table, so the switch on the router lives in the 'on' position. After regular use it was time to replace the bearing. In doing so I flipped the switch off. This led to an immediate switch failure. I tried using compressed air to clear sawdust, but this didn't work for me. After ordering a replacement switch from [...] and swapping it I'm up and running again. Its a pretty simple repair. I got curious about the failure on old switch, so I disassembled it (using a small screwdriver to gently separate the bottom from the sides and pulling the bottom portion out) and found that it was indeed packed with enough sawdust to prevent the contacts from meeting. I simply blew the sawdust out, repositioned the contact and snapped it back together. Good as new, took maybe 3 minutes and now I have a spare if this happens again. So if your switch fails and you're moderately mechanically inclined and own a continuity tester, you can easily order a new on from an online source, but you can also probably fix the switch yourself and not lose 3-4 days waiting for a part to arrive. Even if you make a mistake and damage the switch trying to repair it, you're no worse off than if you ordered a new one. For preventive maintainance, you might want to hit the switch with some compressed air on a regular basis just to minimize dust build-up.Customer Review: Nearly perfect (nearly...)
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this router when it first came out. It's my second router.At its latest pricing you get a plunge base included for what I paid
for just the router.
What's great about it? As everyone said, the motor is smooth. The
built-in speed adjust is nice. The best thing is the depth adjust.
So easy, and accurate. If you measure that you need to go 11/64th
deeper, you can dial it in and know you'll get exactly 11/64ths.
Also, the quick release on the coarse depth is nice in that you can
drop the router down so the bit safely retracted, then when you pop
it up it's still at the depth you fine tuned before for a perfect
repeat cut.
What don't I like? The ergonomics--as someone mentioned, its a bit
top heavy and with round knobs it wants to swivel in my hands. And I
can never find the on/off switch. A hair tall and narrow to feel
comfortable sitting upside down on its motor for bit changes too.
Customer Review: Nice Router But It Has ON/OFF Switch Problems
Summary: 4 Stars
I have owned this router for 1 year now and for the most part I like it. However I have been having a problem with the ON/OFF switch. I was just about to take it to BOSCH Service when I decided to read some wood forums on the product. It appears that I am not the only one to have this problem. Several posts on different forums and even on this Amazon site, people are complaining of the ON/OFF switch failing or working intermittently. One reviewer said that you can gently remove the switch and clean it, which I did, this corrected the problem but it appears that the switch is prone to this dust problem. Other then the switch problem that can be frustrating especially when you're in the middle of using it, the router performs well. The variable speed and soft start are very nice. If Bosch fixes the switch problem this is easy a 5 star product.