Makita RF1101KIT2, Good router at a good price
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Good router at a good price
I bought this router after extensive research. I looked at Makita, Porter Cable and Dewalt. It basically came down to the PC and the Makita since I read many reviews about the Dewalt motor going out rather quickly! This is a great router kit for the money. Router has plenty of power, and is fairly quiet, too. Zipped right through oak and ash with no problem. Variable speed and soft start are nice. It also comes with 1/4 and 1/2 collets which is awesome. Another nice thing is that the porter cable guide bushings work with this router. The case for this router is very nice and holds everything well.The only two problems I have with this router are with the plunge base and the power switch. The plunge base has a very smooth action when you get it, but the slides seem to get filled up with sawdust fairly quickly (A common plunge router problem) and the clear chip guard comes off too easily. The other problem is that the power switch is on the top of the router (like the porter cable 690), which is a difficult spot to turn it off at. It would be nice to have the switch at your hands. It seems that basically this router is just a copy of the Porter Cable 690 with an extra 1/2 hp. With the great deals on the PC 690 and the fact that basically ANY accessory works with the PC, make the 690 also a good choice. One nice thing about the PC is the ability to use a D handle (an add on) which puts the switch at your fingertips. I opted to go with the extra 1/2 hp however and have not been disappointed. Either one is a solid choice.
Update (2/9/2012): I also found some auctions for this item here.
The featured review for this product, Makita RF1101KIT2 2-1/4-Horsepower Variable Speed Plunge Router Kit Tools & Hardware, was written by Brian M. Terreau.
The average rating for this item is out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.
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Tags: fixed-base routers, makita router, plunge routers, router, routers, woodworking
Posted on: June 11, 2010
Filed under: Reviews
Reviews (3)
Brian M. Terreau
April 27th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Good router at a good price
Rated 5 stars.
S. Sampson
May 19th, 2010 at 6:42 am
Very good buy
Very good router. Robust and smooth good engine Makita typical crafts. Lightweight and easy to use and operate. Its powerful and easy through the woods. Carrying case, it is easy to keep all its accessories together. It comes with half and quarter of an inch for each gripper tailed strawberries. Flat bottom allows for easy bit. I can not say enough good things about it.
A. Babcock
May 29th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Good router, I guess…
I’ve had this router kit for about 4 months and have used it on three projects so far. It has performed well–powerful, accurate, smooth.
But I have a couple of complaints. The first is that the collet wrenches supplied tend to slip. I have a large crescent-style adjustable wrench that I substitute for one of the wrenches when I tighten/loosen the collet, which reduces the slipping by about half. But the remaining Makita wrench still contrives to slip most of the time. Perhaps this is intentional, to prevent the user from overtightening the collet?
My second complaint is perhaps attributable to my own clumsiness. The plastic collar that is meant to index the depth of cut falls out with great regularity when the base is removed and the clamp is loose. Each time it falls out, it breaks off one of the tabs that is meant to hold it in place. There are only three tabs, so it is not long before the collar is useless. But the markings on it seemed rather crude and difficult to read, so I really don’t miss it very much.
This brings me to my last point, and I want to be clear where I’m coming from, because my reactions to this router may be highly skewed. My first router, which I still have, was a 5/8 horsepower, 1/4-inch collet Craftsman number that I paid $35 for in 1972 or 1973. To adjust depth of cut on this guy, you loosen the clamp and slide the motor up or down. There’s a scale which is practically unreadable, and which I always ignored, preferring to measure the depth of the bit below the router base directly. I found this arrangement awkward, although I managed to do a certain amount of work with it.
The Makita has a helical depth adjustment, which helps, and the aforementioned plastic depth collar, which doesn’t help much, and the final result is that the Makita is only slightly less clunky than my 35-year-old Craftsman. Frankly, I expected more progress in 35 years…
I wanted to buy a Triton 2 1/4 HP router, but they were unavailable, and I needed a more powerful machine, so I got the Makita. But I wonder what I might have gained in convenience and usability if the Triton had been available.
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