If I had to pick my favorite and most useful power tool in my shop I would have to pick my wood routers
. Wood routers are always a key component of any professional or handyman's wood shop. Because of the flexibility of a wood router they will likely receive a lot of use so knowing what to look for when considering a router is essential.
Let's talk about some of the things you should look for when choosing a wood router.
1. The first thing is to decide what you will mainly be using the router for. If you plan to use it for laminating countertops then go with a small palm sized router. There is no need to invest in a large router with more power then you'll ever need. At the end of the day you will appreciate the light weight and small profile of a laminate router.
If you're going to do edge routing like table top profiles then stick with a 1 to 1 1/2 horsepower router. This will be plenty of power to do edge profiles and even dado joints for furniture.
If you want to do something like like sign making or carving then go with a plunge router. The types of routers will allow you to begin your cut in the middle of your wood as well as the edge.
2. Be aware of the power of the wood router. I would suggest you start out with a router with 1 1/2 to 2 horsepower. This is plenty of power for almost any project you undertake. However if you plan on using your router to make cabinet doors or use big router bits you will need a lot more power.
I would suggest you purchase a dedicated router for these tasks and mount it in a router table. This is a specialized router that you probably won't use everyday.
3. Buy a router with a 1/2-inch collet rather than a 1/4-inch collet when possible. The collet determines the size of the bits you can use in your router. With a 1/4-inch collet you can only use bits with a 1/4-inch shank. But a router with a 1/2-inch collet allows you to use bits with both a 1/4-inch as well as a 1/2-inch shank.