Thread: Bench top router table

I'm kind of on the same boat and looking into a 1617evs myself. But where are you getting it from? I can't find it anywhere online (in Australia).

Pneumatica is from Texas.

oh of course, sorry.

He hasn't said if he's from Texas USA or the town of Texas on the NSW/QLD border.

Εither way, Bosch will ship it to AU from Amazon.com for about $310 incl shipping (I presume that's USD).
But I'm hesitating because I can't tell if it will work with the different voltage.

Originally Posted by Pneumatica

New to forum. Thanks for the add. This question has probably been asked many times here. Patience please. I’m an old guy that just retired. Now I have time for this. I am somewhat handy - been an industrial electrician/electronic technician for a long time. New to woodworking. I am going to buy a bench top router table and need advice. Is the Bosch ra1181 a good choice for a beginner? I know that I am buying a new Bosch 1617evs to mount on a table. Will the ra1181 give me good, accurate service? Other model recommendations? Thanks

So anyway while researching for my own purposes I did end up watching a few review videos of the RA1181 and it does seem like a decent unit. I would say you can easily beat it in features and accuracy if you make one yourself, but if you're not so inclined this will do just fine. It's not a high end unit, and all those little knobs will eventually get a bit annoying, but it will most certainly do for 99% of jobs. I like how it has all the electricals already done to start the vac and router at the same time, and the plate looks solid. I also like the design of the fence, easy to shim for jointing. Not sure what is the competition exactly but it seems a much better unit than some cheapies I've seen on the market.

Or, if you're feeling particularly handy and like to save a few pennies, have you considered building your own? It's not difficult, and here's a free full set of plans and detailed build instructions:

HOME | templates

Patrick is a retired doctor with a slightly 'ocd perfectionist' approach that leads to some great ideas. Scroll down to the link for the free plans, and have at it - build video also online.

Originally Posted by Spyro

So anyway while researching for my own purposes I did end up watching a few review videos of the RA1181 and it does seem like a decent unit. I would say you can easily beat it in features and accuracy if you make one yourself, but if you're not so inclined this will do just fine. It's not a high end unit, and all those little knobs will eventually get a bit annoying, but it will most certainly do for 99% of jobs. I like how it has all the electricals already done to start the vac and router at the same time, and the plate looks solid. I also like the design of the fence, easy to shim for jointing. Not sure what is the competition exactly but it seems a much better unit than some cheapies I've seen on the market.

Thanks

Thank you for the replies. And yes, I live in Texas in the USA