First off we would not consider ourselves serious woodworkers, being friends/colleagues with many whom we would consider at least serious hobbyists we have an appreciation for the depths of capabilities in the world of routers. Our router competencies are somewhat limited to giving projects round edges, material removal and some basic joinery. This does perhaps give us a perspective a little closer to many of the purchaser of this new Makita Compact Router Kit RT0700CX3 ($234, Amazon) which may be their first router purchase.
This kit comes with a lot of really cool router accessories including trim guide, (2) dust nozzles, (2) collects, fix base, plunge base, tilt base and even an offset base. All this fits nicely into the huge Teal Makita bag that looks like it might double as a beach cooler for a case of beer. There are several compartments and a few pockets on the inside of the lid but we do wish there was some kind of case to store all the loose odds and ends that come with this kit.
After we tested out all the options we found this really great European produced video that does an excellent job of going in deep to explain all the aspects of the kit, we definitely recommend watching this if you are considering this compact router. Then just for kicks watch the 1 minute US version below it with the DJ voice over and rock music background which tells you very little about the product. It is sad that the European video is so much more useful and so very simple.
European Version 7:51
US Version 1:01
Against the Competition
There are not too many competitors in the compact router market however they are definitely becoming more popular. The most notable would be the original Bosch Colt PR20EVSK ($89, Ohio Power Tool) and the more recent Dewalt/Porter Cable (previous post) units which were the first compacts to include a plunge base. The main difference between the Dewalt and Porter Cable version is that the Dewalt is variable speed and has a LED light. The Makita kit definitely has the most options out of the box and is a variable speed but no LED light.
On the plunge base we definitely liked the Makita the best, with 3 versions in front of us the Bosch clearly seemed like the most basic. The Porter Cable twist base system is honestly a little awkward but probably becomes second nature if you used it frequently. This twist style does allow for easier fine adjusting vs the Makita which requires the clamp to release then retighten for any adjustments. The downfall of the Dewalt/Porter Cable twist is that it is too easy to accidentally make fine adjustments while working.
On the plunge base it was very close call between the Makita and Porter Cable, we felt both options were very nice. One major difference in use was that the Makita plungers freely and the lock has to be engaged vs the Porter Cable is locked and the switch has to be engaged to move. The Makita does come with all the dust collection attachments for both fixed and plunge which is definitely a big plus. See 35 more of the comparison photos in this Facebook photo album.
One attachment we really wish we had ahead of the offset router base was a basic router table. Makita doesn’t make one but if you are interested Rockler does and it’s pretty inexpensive Compact Router Table ($62, Amazon). Watch Chris Marshall from the Woodworkers Journal go over some of the features in the video below.
