Router Boss has arrived.

[Rattrap]

Well the new toy i been waiting for has arrived, i got my new Router Boss at long last. With my first little project on it close to finished i thought it time to show a couple of pics.
heres a link to the RB for anyone interested;
http://www.thecraftsmangallery.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
The box is made from huon pine with blackwood trim.
So far i've coated it with boiled linseed oil & i'll probably finish it with a satin wipe on polly.

[fubar]

so whats it like in comparison to the woodrat? when youve got time could you do a review?
thanks dennis

[Rattrap]

Hi Denis, I'm planing on doing a review on it as soon as i get some time. I wanted to get a finished or near finished project before i did the review.
As to a comparision, it performs like the woodrat should have. Very similar to use but its square, level & smooth to use with no movement in the fence. Setting up for cutting the pins with the green wings is much simpler & more accurate. When i was initally messing round with cutting pins on some scrap timber i was able to pull the timber in & out of the clamps as i sliced off paper thin shavings till i had the fit i was happy with & with no jogging at all.

[ravna]

Hi Guys
Have been mulling over the purchase of a Wood Rat for some time but was intrigued with your comments about the Routermaster being far superior and easier to use, so I for one would be greatly interested in your review as it may change my ideas on what to buy.
Cheers John M.

[Rattrap]

Sorry guys i've been meaning to get to the review but i've had that many other things going on that i've barely touched the Router Boss.
If you'd like to do some reading up on the RB there is an excellent site for both the RB & the Rat by a guy called Aldel.
http://www.aldel.co.uk/Contents.htm
I'm pretty sure hes not directly connected to the makers of either machines.
I've used both machines as we have a woodrat at the community shed & i have the RB at home now. In my mind what they effectively come down to is that the woodrat was a great idea & the router boss is a very similar idea but done much better.
I am still planning on doing my own review but i still have quite a lot going on here so i'm not sure when i'll get it done. I've also got all the addon kits but they are mostly still in their packages waiting to be setup.

[ravna]

Hi Have just had a look at the Aldel site, not much there at the moment but he certainly seem exited. Meant to ask yesterday where you bought your RB from? John .M

[Rattrap]

At the moment they are still only avail thru the craftsman gallery in the US.
http://www.thecraftsmangallery.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

[econ]

What were the shipping costs like and did it take long to arrive ?
Thanks.

[Rattrap]

I can't really speak on shipping times as i was on the waiting list for the first batch of the bosses tho they have been quick since then on sending out upgraded parts or jigs. I don't have the original paperwork from shipping but from memory it was over $200 plus a further $100+ for customs.

[Des.K.]

Received mine just over a week ago. Took seven days from the time the order was placed to when it hit Customs in Sydney (?). Then one or two days for delivery after I paid the Customs charges to UPS.

Shipping was US$508, and it has to go by UPS because of weight.

Customs/UPS charges came to just under AU$300.

An expensive exercise, but from what I've read, it should be worth it.

The Craftsman Gallery could not be faulted in their handling of this order, and the subsequent order I placed for a range of router bits and other bits and pieces. Well done.

Des

[rayintheuk]

Wow - that is some investment. It all seems to add up to around $1,850 Aus or £900 sterling. I hope you get a great deal of use from it and that it was the tool for the job. :)

Ray

[Des.K.]

Have just returned from Japan, and in the process of setting up a business and workshop, so in the scheme of things, it's only a small % of my initial outlay. Before, when woodworking was a hobby, it possibly would have been a bit harder to justify that cost, but now it's a business and time is critical, I'm optimistic that it will pay for itself fairly soon, especially with the specific function it will perform.:fingerscrossed:

Des

[econ]

Thanks Rattrap and Des for the speedy reply.I only had my post up for a few hours. :2tsup:

At the same time I also emailed Craftsman Gallery for a quote on the postage.
$US500 to Australia for UPS to send the basic unit. What the :)(:)(:)( !!!! ????

I know USA postage rates are high sometimes reaching the value of stuff being bought but with the exchange rate it makes for a very expensive unit.

Craftsman kindly offered to look into an alternative shipping company because they think its expensive too so we'll see what happens and I'll keep people informed.

Econ

[Rattrap]

my postage & customs costs would have been bout the same, wow i must have been trying to block that pain out some. lol Or maybe i'm just starting to believe the tall tails i tell SWMBO.
The problem with the shipping cost is the length of the RB, it pushes the price up into a higher bracket than what you would expect for its weight.
Over on the RB forums a dude posted a comparison to other machines according to what the RB can do, it makes alot more financial sense when u see it layed out. Heres a quick copy & paste from the thread. I haven't devled deep into his calculations to see if they stack up & i don't plan to, i already got my RB. lol

"I've compiled the following. It isn't meant to be exhaustive but I believe it is a fair high-level comparison.

Stand Alone Tools

BenchTop Mortiser $230.00
DT Jig $400.00
Router Table $400.00
Tenon Cutter $70.00
Total: $1100.00


MultiFunction Tools

Leigh D4 $599.00
Leigh FMT $699.00
Total: $1298.00



MultiRouter $2,700.00
Stand $165.00
Templates $700.00
Additional Clamp $60.00
Total: $3,625.00



RouterBoss (36") $749.00
AccPkg $279.00
MultiAngleTable $189.00
Additional Precision Stop $34.00
Total: $1,251.00



The following is a list of individual features that other products may offer but only the RouterBoss combines all of them. If you add the cost of these features into the stand-alone units (where possible) the total cost easily exceeds that of the RouterBoss. I've not included a DRO for any of the tools.

Precision Indexing
No Jigs/Templates
Any Bit
Any Joint
Compound Angles
Suitable For Light Duty Production
Extremely Small Footprint"

[econ]

Yes, I saw that post too. As you say its a good thing the memory of pain subsides after a while otherwise we'd be in intensive care on a morphine drip
trying to overcome the hits our credit card takes in pursuit of our obsession , hobby I mean.:)

Once I take a big relaxing breath and take stock of the facts : all reports say the Boss is well made ,its more than versatile, there is attention to detail, the maker is active with updates,provides good service etc. there is justification in buying it. (see how the brain is capable of rationalising anything)

So for the price of a couple of Festool tools :U you're getting something of equal quality. Hmmm is this what I tell the chief financial officer ?:oo: