Thread: Dewalt 621XE or Bosch GOF1600CE

Cannot comment about the Bosch machine other than to say there's been a few owners disappointed in its reliability on the Bosch UK "Bob" community forum. I wouldn't read too much into that, however. People rarely go onto a manufacturer's website to share pleasant experiences; whereas they're all too willing (as am I, it must be said) to scream from the metaphorical mountaintops about their bad ones.

I'm personally a big fan of DeWalt's routers. Always have been. Nobody else's ever feels quite as "right", or intuitive, an extension of one's hand - call it what you will - as theirs. Some are downright weird, & unfortunately many alternatives are just rubbish. All except for the original Elus of course, the ancestors from which the DeWalts are the ba@#tard offspring. The Elus are from a different age, when manufacture was less about assembly lines & more about hand assembly by craftsmen with dedication, skill and the pride of skilled workmanship hard won through years of experience. Just like Swiss watches, in fact. Nobody makes tools that way anymore, because nobody is prepared to pay for that level of detail & skilled execution.

The DW621 is a particularly useful & versatile machine. It has the credentials to be an easily & intuitively handled pure hand-held device for freehand carving & lettering with a nice light plunge action, positive return spring, and all important controls (with the probably unneccessary exception of the speed controller) at one's fingertips whilst plunged into a cut. It also has a nice, safe & reasonably easily used lock off/lock on handle mounted switch & plunge lock.

It has a particularly easily seen & used millimetric plunge scale that is repeatable, reliable & adjustable which can be interpolated down to around 0.1mm accuracy. Even with my fading eyesight. The fence, in steel, is just OK. It, too has a fine adjuster built in. The older type alloy fences are a lesson in engineering by contrast. It still mates with many of the older Elu MOF 96 & 97 fences, rods, mini & maxi spindle moulder/router tables that frequently appear in the usual second hand tool sources, often at bargain prices. It does however have unique collets & guide bushes, which it shares with the "big daddy" DeWalt DW626 2300w monster router. In fact the amazing array of OEM & aftermarket accessories, some long defunct, that are available second hand is an extremely attractive reason to sway that way in my opinion. But I'm biased.

Its abilities with 1/2" bits is I'd suggest limited to straights <25mm or so, especially at depth, and edge moulding profile bits up to about 35mm or so overall diameter. Anything bigger really requires more power, and is probably on the upper limits of hand held safety anyway in any router. I certainly wouldn't recommend this router for driving the sort of bits normally the province of router tables. Multi-wing VJ lining moulders, finger, glue & mitre joint cutters, panel raisers & the like.

There's actually an extremely rare iteration that's available in the UK, Germany & other continental markets that's exactly the same only better: the DW622. This baby, with a cool 1400 watts is otherwise indistinguishable in every other way & has just as much versatility for precision, fine and detailed work, plus another 25-30% odd of grunt for the upper end of the suggested bit sizes, where power is always a good thing.

They're rare because they're expensive. Almost as much (& occasionally more when new) than the much bigger 2000w DW625 trade router, probably the most ubiquitous & numerous router model ever produced. But from a handling and versatility perspective, the smaller router is a pretty exquisite & exotic sports car in comparison to the big V8 Yankee muscle car of the DW625, which definitely requires a firm hand to tame it.

But I'm biased, in case you hadn't noticed by now. I suggest you get a feel of both the Bosch & DeWalt & go with whichever feels right for you.

Originally Posted by Woiim

Hi, could any one please advise which of the DW621XE or Bosch GOF1600 would be best for doing mostly rebates, grooves and round over etc. I like the DW621 for its 1/2" and !/4" adapatability but I also like the extra p;ower of the Bosch. Are there 1/4" adapters available for the Bosch?

I think you will find that the Bosch comes standard with both a 1/4" and 1/2" collet.

then there are after market collets from this mob Elaire Corporation -Router Collets
you can get collets for 1/8", 6 mm, 8 mm, 3/8", 12 mm among others.

Thanks for all your response. Ended up getting the Dewalt 621XE, only thing annoyed me after purchase was that it does not have adjustable speed setting just soft start and variable speed in the trigger which is a bit hard to maintain. But feels good and plunge is good. Will see how it goes
Thanks

Originally Posted by Woiim

Thanks for all your response. Ended up getting the Dewalt 621XE, only thing annoyed me after purchase was that it does not have adjustable speed setting just soft start and variable speed in the trigger which is a bit hard to maintain. But feels good and plunge is good. Will see how it goes
Thanks

Now that's seriously wierd! No speed control? A variable speed trigger? That's not the DW621 that I know and erm... like a lot.

Can you post a photo? DeWalt the company must be effin' idiots. When you've inherited a solid gold design like they had with their Elu routers, apart from upping the power a tad, why muck about with a near perfect design?

A variable speed trigger on a router! That's going to take quite some time for me to get my head around......

Why, DeWalt, oh why?

That does not sound correct. The DW621, sold by Sydney Tools, has variable speed ...

https://sydneytools.com.au/dewalt-dw...-plunge-router



Here is my Elu version (centre). The blue wheel at the top is the variable speed control ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

Speed control
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/10...?page=8#manual

Sorry guys but I did buy off Sydney Tools and there isn't a speed control. The manual is for the 622 as well so I presume the speed control is on that model. On other Dewalt routers the control is on the flat section near the lead exit but nothing on the 621XE

Not meaning to be a doubting Thomas, even 'though it is Easter, i simply cannot believe that your DW621 doesn't have a speed control. It should be right up the top where, as you've described, the yellow casing meets the black, just forward of the power cord grommet & more or less sandwiched between the 2 case mouldings.

Turn your machine back to front, check the type certification sticker says "DW621" & 1100w & 8000-24000rpm or whatever it says. For some bizarre reason if these fundamental telltales are missing, along with your speed controller, then I suspect that you may have instead a DW620, which is a 900w, fixed speed (24K) machine, now long defunct & as far as I'm aware never actually available in OZ.

I simply cannot believe that it has a variable speed trigger. Such a feature just wouldn't be sufficiently safe, where sudden speed variations mid cut could create extremely hazardous radial torque reactions. Send us some pictures please: both front & back. Have you started it up yet? Are you sure the trigger is variable speed & not the return spring loaded double-action lock-on/lock-off switch that I suspect it is?

As previously mentioned the DW621 & 622 are VISUALLY INDISTINGUISHABLE, as they share complete commonality in all aspects barring the obviously unseen motor armature & maybe the field windings. If you indeed have a Dw621, then all the same features & physical appearance are there, just as illustrated in the above photographs and in your manual.

Originally Posted by Woiim

Sorry guys but I did buy off Sydney Tools and there isn't a speed control. The manual is for the 622 as well so I presume the speed control is on that model. On other Dewalt routers the control is on the flat section near the lead exit but nothing on the 621XE

Sydney Tools describes the 621XE as "variable speed"

the copy of the manual available here http://service.dewalt.com.au/PDMSDoc...22_gb_typ3.pdf describes the use of the speed control on page 8, and indicates it's location in Figure 1. It also indicates that apart from being dual voltage (230/115), the 622 is the same as a 621 except that the 621 comes with 1/4" and 1/2" collets, while the 622 is supplied with 12 mm and 1/2" collects.

If your DW621 doesn't have a variable speed control knob, then the most likely explanation is that the factory packaged something other than a 621 in the 621 box. Which is not unheard of.
Regardless, Sydney Tools has not supplied what was advertised, meaning you, as a consumer, are entitled to return what you have and replace it with a variable speed router. Even if the replacement is another maker's variable speed router.

Sorry guys, I have taken it out of plastic and the speed control is there, was looking for it on the top but it is recessed on the side of the topcover. My apologies